FLOWERS BEES AND BREAD

Our Vitex bushes are in full bloom and the flying critters love them and wee enjoy watching.  Bees and butterflies (tried to get a few in a picture but they didn't come out).

There are regular honey bees of course but we also love the large bees that frequent the flowers.

This is a carpenter bee...

And this is a bumblebee.  Love the fuzzy nature of these bumblebees.  They look like stuffed animals, ha!

Hope you are having a good weekend.  It's rainy on and off again.  More on that tomorrow.

Yesterday, 2nd Man made some white bread...

...and this morning we had some as toast.  It's always so good, crispy and toasty on the outside and still soft inside.  Toast with a little butter is so good.

It's almost a comfort food. 

As we post this, it's starting to rain again.  Sigh.

THE BAD BEES ARE GONE

Just about a year ago, we posted HERE about the bees that took over the one hive we had left.  It was 100% my fault for not removing the "tempting" empty home when we lost our bees.  I removed one hive but not this one (see post for details).

Then some wild bees took it over.  At first we thought capturing a wild swarm can be a good thing.  But after observing them, we found the new bees to be aggressive.  VERY aggressive.  There are reports in the area of Africanized bees.

A few times they chased me to the house.  I finally just stopped mowing in the former bee yard.  We called a couple of bee removal experts but either the wait was long or they wouldn't come that far out.  They also charged a LOT of money.

Since we were not going to that area anyway, we just sort of left them alone.

The grass grew and the hive became just part of the background.  I could always see bees on it (the white color makes that easy) and so I just stayed away.  Flash forward to last weekend.  I looked in that direction as usual but didn't see any activity.  I carefully got closer and didn't see anything.

The hive was empty.

Here it is after I got up close.  Definitely empty.  What a relief.  I'm not sure where they went or what happened but we're OK with it.

I removed the top so that another hive will not be tempted though I don't think they would since the other creepy crawlies have taken over.

It was too hot to deal with disposing of the pieces we don't want (most likely all of them). Some of you will wonder about honey.  There was none that we could salvage as ants and bugs had taken over. Plus the wild bees took over a hive where the wax had melted and honey had fermented so if there had been any, it would probably have tasted pretty funky.

 We still have one complete hive put up in storage along with the matching copper roof from this hive (wasn't going to let THAT go).  Not sure what else will be salvageable but I think when we next venture into beekeeping, we'll start with keeping just one hive alive for a few seasons as a start.

A BEE PROBLEM

I haven't posted about this because we had to give it some time to check it out so we'd know the outcome.

When we lost our last beehive, I was lazy and didn't throw away the hive boxes right away.  They would have either had to be meticulously cleaned (the wax melted and the honey fermented, ugh) or hauled off and dumped.  I left it alone as Winter approached and figured I'd tackle it in the Springtime.

Months passed.

When mowing season was about to start this year I walked the property as I always do to make sure I wasn't going to mow over any fallen limbs.  Imagine our surprise when we found bees in our empty hive!  We had captured a wild swarm!  I know many beekeepers hope to capture wild swarms and purposely set up hives for that reason.  That wasn't our intent but somehow we got them anyway. 

I figured I'd wait a few weeks to see how they settled in to the hive.  Over this time however, I found that they seemed more aggressive than normal bees.  I went to the hive once with my suit on and they pelted the suit repeatedly.  This made me nervous.  

In recent weeks as I have mowed, I have found them to be even more aggressive than they were before.  They are easily agitated.  Remember, I had the boxes set up with the three hives of bees we had in the past and I could mow pretty close to them and they were fine. These bees however, you can't get within a couple hundred yards before they start swarming around outside the hive box, often turning the exterior of the box from white to brown. 

This last time I mowed, I did my usual mowing job while staying far away from the hive (the grass is getting really tall around the hive area).  I looked over and they were pouring out like smoke and heading my direction.  I punched the speed on the mower, got to the driveway, jumped off and ran as fast as I could toward the house.  They chased me almost all the way and a few even kept going and were hitting the screen door of the house.  I wasn't stung thankfully, but it was like some scary attack of the bees movie.  

No.
Not going to happen.

It's very possible that we have captured an Africanized swarm (i.e. what they used to call "killer bees").  They have all the signs of this and from what I've seen up close, they also match the description (more golden yellow, darker bands, etc).

This may sound odd but while I loved working the bees we had (I even took a hands on beekeeping class and loved it), something about these bees gave me a sense of foreboding.  I can't explain it but from the moment I first saw them, something in me said to be careful.  When walking near them gathering dewberries a few weeks back, they made the hair stand up on my arms and my heart beat faster.  Could have been imagination or maybe it is indeed wise to listen to your instinct.

With 2nd Family having kids visiting, us having visitors or workers, dogs and cats roaming around, even the deer and other wildlife we have passing through the property, we just can't have the potential for something bad happening because of the bees.

As much as it pains us (because of the importance of bees), whether they are Africanized or angry feral honeybees, they have to go. We have called a couple of professionals to see about coming to remove the hive and they can take the boxes and then relocate them elsewhere if that's possible. We just can't have them at the farm.

Never a dull moment!

BEE DECISION

Well, after much soul searching and looking at lists of things we need to do this year, we have decided to hold off on bees this season.  

Bee on flower, see you next year

As much as I want to jump back into it, I need to devote the right time to it and be able to make sure their new homes are perfect in every way possible.

The original plan was to spend the weekends this Winter getting the new bee yard set up and rearranged.  But working on the orchard, in between unexpectedly rainy and freezing weekends, took longer than planned.  Now it's already time to start working on the garden and if we ordered bees, it would be time to pick them up at the end of March first of April.  

As such, we haven't had a chance yet to relocate the hives and we wanted to have some flowers and perennials planted for them too.  As for things to do, we still have to work on the flower beds around the house and outside of garden, a new fence needs to go up, we need to do some work on the house itself, a couple of big clearing projects to do as well.  There is just a lot to get done and we don't want to run out of time to do all of that either.

It's just another year.  That will be here before we know it.  Heck, this time last year I had just put in the second hive (which subsequently succumbed to CCD).

Now I can trim trees around the future 'new' location of the hives and use power tools that make lots of noise without bothering the bees.  

A PLACE TO SIT AND JUST BEE

Things have been happening at the farm, working on a variety of projects. 
Here is one of them:

This is a concrete bench that "Ma" left behind when she sold us the house and moved.  Now I see why she didn't take it with her...it weighs a ton.  OK, maybe not a ton but a few hundred pounds easily.  It's been behind the house, in three pieces, for a few years.  The part you sit on and the two end pieces.  

Solid concrete and very heavy.  

So I got the hose out and cleaned it up.  Since the bench's new home was more than an acre away, I got out the trusty Rubbermaid garden cart and took the pieces over one at a time.

  Here is a closeup of the detail on the bench.  It's cute and we think it fits in with its new "woodland" home, right?

Bench in the bee yard 

This is in the bee yard area.  I wanted to begin creating a space to sit and watch the bees from a distance as well as a place to just sit and relax after working with them.  It's far enough away that I can take the suit off in the heat of the Summer and organize my supplies, take notes, etc while doing bee work.

Our goal is to eventually have flowers growing all over this area.  I was thinking of cardboard laid around in various spots so it kills the grass and makes the soil ready for seeds.  Then I could scratch up the ground under it, scatter some flower seeds around, and cover with potting soil/compost. Seems like that might be an easier way for quick color. 

We'll see how that goes! 

Above is a photo showing where things are going.  The new location is a bit more protected from hot sunshine as is the site for future expansion. 

Yep, this means we're getting back on the horse, er back on the hive? And by "we" of course I mean "me" as 2nd Man will only be providing moral support for my beekeeping adventures, LOL.  For now it'll be back to one hive this Spring (when the bees are ready) and we'll see if I can keep them healthy and happy through an actual honey harvest and beyond of course.  

If at first , second , you don't succeed, try try again, right?

More in the coming days!

A BEE HELLO

Snapped this pic recently and we love it...

(click to enlarge)

I was taking some pictures of flowers at the farm and snapped this bee who seemed to be holding up her hand and looking at the camera as if to say hello... 

Couldn't resist sharing!

Enjoy!

BEEHIVE WARNING SIGN

Well, this came in out of the blue.  As I worked on clearing the area where our hive was and our future additional hives will be, we thought we should get a sign.  2nd Family often has visitors and while they are rarely on our property where the hives are, you never know...so we thought it would be a nice reminder.

Caution Beehive Sign

Well, we had ordered this a few months ago but it was out of stock.  We actually forgot that we had ordered it until it was charged to our card and arrived in the mail.  A not needed right now reminder of our loss but also a reminder that we should persevere and keep moving forward.

We bought ours via Amazon, there are multiple signs and different styles, so there is something for everyone.  

Click here BEEHIVE SIGN at Amazon for the search if interested.

Bee Yard Sign

I stuck it in the ground where the hive is (this hive is the dead one which I need to take care of once the cooler weather arrives).  But I wanted to stick the sign in the ground anyway and see what it looked like.  It will be a nice reminder for visitors to be cautious in that area.

And now I think the beekeeping bug is slowly creeping back...but we have plenty of time to get ready.  If we order bees, we order in November but don't pick up until next Spring.  

One more thing for "the list", ha.

DEATH OF A BEEHIVE

This WAS our surviving beehive, about a year and a half old.  When I got to the farm and walked over to check on the ladies, this is what I was met with.  

NOOOOO!!!!

Dead beehive

...not a pretty sight.  Those are dead bees.  And liquid running out.  Gross.  It was all I could do not to just start pulling parts off without wearing the bee suit.  There were a few bees buzzing around and they weren't happy, that's for sure.

Here is the backside...

The whole area smelled of fermented honey.  Have you ever had "mead"?  It smelled like that.  I checked the liquid (by touch and smell only) and it was mostly honey but much like water.  I guess honey is close to 20% water and exposing it to the heat of the sun turned it more into a liquid.  

Of course I hoped that perhaps there was a way to save it so I immediately got the bee suit on and took the top off.  I'll spare you that picture, suffice to say it was some live bees, maggots and ruined comb.  No way to know if the queen was even still alive...it was pretty much a disaster inside.  The entire upper portion had broken and leaked and flooded everything three levels below.

It's a pretty startling setback...and yes, I felt like a failure.  I do believe I may bear responsibility as I had not yet harvested honey and the hive just may have gotten too full. The bees have to have room to be able to cool their hive and I didn't give them that.  The hive also sits in full sun and we've had heat index temps of over 110 degrees many days.  I've read that most of the time that doesn't matter, but there are reports of hive comb melting in other states, perhaps it was just the right combination of everything. 

It's a mess for sure.  I'm not even sure how many of the hive parts are salvageable.  Maybe it just has some bad vibes and it's time for new if we do it again.  Which of course bring us to the big question...

Do we do this next Spring?  

Do we "try, try again" as the saying goes?  

Relocate to a semi-shaded area?

If we do opt in again do we have two hives or one?

Or do we just chalk it up to lesson learned and move on to something else?

We haven't quite decided yet...it's too soon to just jump right back in and make that decision, we have time to think about it.  There is other stuff to focus on, not to mention take a break with a majority of outside working for the rest of the month (and a Fall garden to start planning).  

We order the bees in the Fall for pickup early next Spring.  That seems like a long way off but about six months from now is February and we'll be getting ready for Spring planting again!

RIP Ariadne and your hive, sorry for not doing our best!

HAPPY WORKING BEES

I snapped this picture last weekend.  Now of course there is no way to know if these are ours but odds are pretty good they are from "Ariadne Hive"...

This is a weed, can't remember the name, that I saw movement around (it was on the fence line) and so I walked over there to see what was going on.  I couldn't believe it...the bees were going crazy collecting pollen.  They were digging around and at times almost "disappearing" inside it.

Very cool to see!

GONE GIRLS

CLICK HERE for yesterday's post about the water and now today...welp, bad news...the new hive is gone.  

Not only gone, but GONE GONE...

Absconded bees

When I looked at the new hive, there wasn't any activity at the entrance.  That worried me so I quickly donned the bee suit and took the hive apart.  

Nothing...nada...zilch...
Didn't even look like they did anything.  Almost seems as if they left not long after they were put in.  I didn't even need the bee suit, in fact, I took my gloves off and just took it apart.  I made sure it was clean and I put it up in the barn so it would be safe until whatever comes next

Most likely it was something called "absconding" which is when a colony of bees just leaves.  It's not like they died, they were just gone.  I looked all over the property to see if they moved elsewhere but nothing.  Of course with 11 acres, and much of it flooded, they could have been up in a tree anywhere and I could have easily missed them.  The queen is clipped though (she can't fly) so I'm not sure how they vanished and where they could have gone.  Maybe she died since she got released from her cage too soon?  Or somehow got out of the hive and without a queen, the others just left?  Of course, they were installed a few days before 17" of rain.  The hive was dry inside, but maybe they just didn't like the constant downpour?  Weren't established enough to, pardon the pun, 'weather it'?  I guess we'll never know...

Thankfully, Ariadne hive right next door is doing wonderfully, literally buzzing with activity (I love standing next to it and hearing the hum).

I have contacted the apiary to see if I can get some more but I think they sustained some water damage in the floods.  It's always a learning curve and this will just be another lesson...

HOW TO INSTALL A PACKAGE OF BEES

For this year's installation, I did it a bit differently.

First of all, I had to go pick them up.  Here they are, 10,000 bees and one queen.  All passengers in the back seat.  As I imagined last year, I was one car accident away from making the national news...or the Darwin Awards, LOL!.

There is however a soothing hum that emanates from the box, it reminds me of a machine of some sort. Upon reflection, I guess a functioning hive IS a machine of sorts.

I gathered up all the parts, the smoker, my suit, and some tools and got ready.  Again, you want to have everything together and ready because you don't want to be running around trying to find stuff with 10,000 bees waiting.

First I put the stand and bottom board onto the metal stand.  I also got the supers and other hive components ready with the frames in place.  

Package of bees with queen

Here is the package of bees, ready for queen extraction.  The spray bottle is filled with sugar water, you spritz the bees and it makes them more docile, albeit temporarily.  They are too busy eating.  I think we can relate, ha.  This is a standard package.  That round can is the feeding can. It's filled with sugar water and feeds the bees while they are in the package.  That metal strip you see is actually holding the queen cage.  Be careful as you pull the metal can out (this leaves a large hole filled with bees), and hold on to the queen cage.

Queen cage

Here is what it looks like when you pull it out.  The queen is in there, sealed up at both ends by a "candy" plug.  The bees all over it are called "attendant bees".  They are trying to serve their queen, grooming her, feeding her, etc.  She is in the cage however and so their goal becomes to eat through the candy plugs to get her out.  During this time, the thousands of bees bond, hopefully, to her and accept her as their queen.  

Here is where I had a bit of a problem.  I went to pop what I thought was a small cork out of the end where the plug was (so the bees can get to her easily) but it was the end of the candy plug and I inadvertently  released her!  D'oh!  It happens, especially if they been working hard to get through the candy plugs.  She climbed out onto one of the frames.  Thankfully, I ordered her "clipped and marked", so that means I could find her easily (she had a bright blue dot marked on her) and she can't fly away.  Now I only had to worry about accidentally smashing her.

Package of bees in the hive

Here is how I did it a bit differently.  Conventional wisdom has the bees aggressively shaken out of their box and "poured/dumped" into the hive.  This seemed to me last year to be kind of aggressive compared to what should be a gentle procedure (everything you do when working with bees should always be slow and gentle).  I found several places online that suggested this method.  You use an empty 'super' or two to create the space.  I placed the package, once the can was removed and the queen was in the lower frames, upside down so that the bees can find their way out.

You have to be gentle when you place the package down so that you don't kill any, or certainly as few as possible.  In my case, I had to also worry about the queen roaming around.  Anyway, by doing this, they can come out at their own pace instead of being unceremoniously dumped.  They will find the queen (usually in her cage) and then release her.  In this case, they found her quickly. Just put the top back on and wait.  NORMALLY, you wait a few days and check to see if the queen is out of the cage but in our case, I don't have to worry

 about that.  Now I just have to hope they all bond with her.

On Sunday I went back out and checked and they were coming in and out like they should.  That jar is the Boardman Feeder.  It has sugar water to keep them fed while they acclimate to their new surroundings. 

When you pull the package out, most of the bees have moved into the hive.  The few stragglers still inside will find their way home if you leave it on the ground next to the hive.

Here is a shot of the skies I was fending off both days.  Welcome to the world ladies, the rainy season is coming!

THE BEES ARE IN

So yesterday was hiving day and now, without further ado, here is the newest hive to join our existing one, introducing...

"Queen Hera"

We are naming our hive queens after Goddesses from mythology.  

Hera replaces Persephone who, sadly, didn't make it last year.  

Her next door neighbor is Queen Ariadne...

Garden Hives

I will have pictures about the installation later but it (mostly) went well, I'll have a post soon.  It was a good day, though it did rain and I had to cut the day short.  But I'm back again this morning to see how everything fared overnight and hoping for no rain today so I can get some more work done in the garden.

THE BEES ARE COMING

RAIN OR SHINE,
Today is bee arrival day! 

As this posts, I'll be in the car heading to a place just outside of Houston to pick them up.  2nd Man is not going, he is a bit apprehensive about riding in the car with 10,000 bees.  I can certainly understand.  He leaves the 'bee stuff' to me.

There is rain in the forecast and rain on the radar (red dot is downtown Houston) so it will be a wet day, hopefully though just hit and miss, with more miss than hit.

We ordered our replacement hive last December.  CLICK HERE for the post when we ordered them and what kind, etc.

Above is where they will be.  "Ariadne" hive (we name the queens after Greek/Roman mythology) is on the left.  The new one will be placed next to it as a replacement to the one that we lost last year.  

If when we keep two hives alive and healthy through a season, then this time next year we will be picking up two more packages of bees and adding two more hives on our property.

After the bees are installed in their new home, I'll be working on the garden area and the front flower beds the rest of the day, again, depending on weather, and then I'll have to go back out on Sunday to check on the bees and work some more on the garden (more weather).  I'll take pictures!

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

HAPPY BEES AND DEWBERRIES

I noticed recently, a couple of weekends ago, that Ariadne hive, pun intended, was buzzing with activity.  Thought I'd share one reason why...

The girls were flying in loaded up with pollen...

Then I realized that they are in close proxmitiy to a large dewberry patch on our property that I've been cultivating and mowing around over the years to keep it just dewberries.  See all those white flowers?

Beehive near dewberries

They are dewberry blooms!  That means that the bees don't have far to fly to reach this wonderful source of pollen.  A quick flight over...

...and back, bringing pollen to the hive.

Dewberry patch

This is just one part of this particular dewberry patch, it's probably an acre in size.  As I walked up to it, you could literally HEAR the buzzing from the bees.  We have dewberry patches scattered all around the property but because some areas are hard to reach, I've been mowing around this spot for a few years (and even cleared a path through it) to make gathering easier.

Bees on flowers

Can you see the bees in this photo?  There are four.  It was the best picture I could get because they were always in motion.  I wanted one that had lots of bees in it.  

We're not 100% sure it's the bees (possibly the mild Winter, or a combination of both), but 2nd Family said they've never seen this many blooms on the dewberries.  They also said their fruit trees are covered in blooms (and bees!) so we do believe that bees make the world a better place.