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Tag Archives: HoneybeeLives

The Bees Are Here!

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Inspiration, Projects

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

backyard beekeeping, backyard bees, bee supplies, bees, honey, honeybee nucleus, HoneybeeLives, honeybees, living with bees and kids, living with kids

StarHive

After six months of waiting, our backyard bees have finally arrived!  I must say I am a bit in love.  We don’t have any other pets and we already feel attached to them after a week.  Josie wants nothing but to sit near the hives ,which she calls the ‘bee house’, and watch them every morning.  Ada is upset that I have yet to let her suit up and pull frames out with me.  I took classes with amazing teachers through Honeybee Lives and spent the winter reading and stocking up on bee supplies.  We have years and years of learning ahead of us.  These sweet girls have yet to give me a sting, which I have no doubt deserved thus far.  I am clumsy and hesitant still- not to mention hugely pregnant.  But they quietly let me transfer them from the nucleus boxes into our waiting hives without my wearing gloves (which can prevent sensitive feeling and cause you to squish bees).  My smoker went out in the middle of the transfer and I am sure I bounced them around more than I needed to.  I changed my mind about where their water should be placed, after I not so brilliantly bought what I thought was chicken waterer at an antique shop.  It turned out to be a chicken feeder and all of the bee water came cascading out of the holes when I filled it.  (My parents are going to laugh at me for that one.  What kind of a farm girl am I anyway?!) I honestly got the feeling that I had just given birth when I finally had all of the girls in their new homes last week.

It rained and rained at the end of the week here, so I had to wait impatiently until Saturday to check on the hives.  Inside of one they had already drawn out comb on the new frames by several inches.  The frames were filling up with nectar and brood and I saw many busy foragers flying in with their pollen baskets full.  Chris and I debated whether the quieter hive was being robbed, and later came to realize it was new foragers out on their first flights away from the hive.  They were just memorizing the entrance of their still new homes.  All of this bee activity is sort of magical.  Watching them fly and move and cooperated so precisely it an amazing thing to see.  I feel so lucky to be able to have them here.  I have to agree with Josie- all I want to do is sit and watch the bee house too.

Nucs
Frames2

Frames

QueenCage

TwoHives

SpotHIve

Frames1

Comb1

Pollen
TwoHivesSide

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What We’ve Found in the Back Yard So Far

14 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Projects

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Arbor Day Foundation, back yard for children, backyard bees, finding marbles in the back yard, gardening, home, HoneybeeLives, Spring Hill Nurseries planting, spring planting, tree planting

Marbles
Our marble count is now up to 59.  We find them almost every time we dig around in the back yard.  Chris is almost done raking and sifting the soil to prepare for sod this spring.  The bulbs we planted in the fall are unfurling little leaves and all of the plants except one peony seem to have made it through the winter.  (For the record I think the Hurricane Sandy delay at the post office killed the peony in the fall).  Spring Hill Nurseries sent a replacement peony at no charge and this one is looking much happier.  We ordered most of our plants for the back yard from Spring Hill Nurseries and they were wonderful to work with.  We just ordered a cherry tree from the Arbor Day Foundation and are anxiously awaiting the delivery of our first family tree.  The cherry’s sweet-smelling light pink flowers will be beautiful next spring.  (And Ada approved of the color).  The Arbor Day Foundation has incredibly inexpensive trees and they are even cheaper if you become a member.  We ordered this Japanese Flowering Cherry and it was under $20 with shipping.  Amazing!  We are also carving out a space for our bees (!) in the back yard.  Our spare room is full of pine boxes and frames and gear for them.  I cannot wait for the ladies to arrive in May!  I took a beekeeping class in January with two wonderful teachers: Grai St. Clair Rice and Chris Harp from HoneybeeLives.  I have been spending every free moment on these winter days reading about beekeeping.  We are so excited about our new back yard.  It finally feels like we are making this house our own and we can’t wait to watch our garden and our children grow here.  I do have to admit though, that I will miss finding the marbles while we clean the soil.

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