I was pleasantly surprised to discover recently that one of the people who attended my intro to honeybees and beekeeping workshops wrote a little review on her blog! Thanks Bianca! These workshops were geared toward families, so they were not highly technical nor were they designed to tell you everything you need to know to … Read more
Yesterday I showed some photos of honeycomb that was built perpendicular to the wooden frames. Today, I’m showing you the other half of the honey super – not quite so perpendicular, but still curvy enough that the frames can’t be put into a honey extractor. If you look closely on the left-hand side you can … Read more
I was filling my backyard pool today (thanks Bianca!) and decided to do a bit of skimming. I guess this gal was thirsty – or maybe got too hot? – she showed up on the skimmer. Then I started noticing that there was more than one bee in the pool…. hmmm….
Setting up the bee escape and waiting for a few days allows the beekeeper to come back and take the box of honey without having to shake out the bees and piss them off. Or use a bee brush on the frames, which I can’t do anyway since the comb is not actually in the individual frames. It’s kind of meandering through the honey super. So I need a bee escape. And I need to go check it soon, since it’s been on there for a bit.
Here’s a pic of the escape:
I’ve filtered my first half-cup of honey through this old food mill that belonged to my Grandma – see the honeycomb in the cone – and now I just want to look at it! I’ve tasted it, but that’s all. It’s a very light yellow – here’s the comparison to Ken’s:
I received a phone call this morning from a lady at Canada Post – they had a buzzing package for me. The queen bee and her attendants have arrived already! I was very thankful she decided to call me to pick it up, rather than sent it out with a letter carrier. It’s been so hot, and she was worried that the bees might overheat, as was I. Not worried anymore, I’ve got my queen!
Let’s take a look:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such beautiful hornets – a deep metallic blue, so shimmery and sleek. Very sexy insects. Unfortunately they’re all over my sister’s garden, so they will have to be taken care of at some point. My two little nephews don’t need to be stung by these gorgeous pollinators! Here you see them on the parsley flowers, doing their part to ensure that my brother-in-law has viable parsley seeds for next year’s crop.
