Five-minute Friday: Expectation

The five-minute Friday is from the Gypsy Mama blog, and challenges us to just write for 5 minutes on given subject. I have set the timer and am off with it!!! Expectation.....this word struck me as I read it because I am a Labor and Delivery nurse, and every patient I see has definite expectations regarding the new life coming into the world. Sometimes our 'expectations' get tangled up with 'potential' and neither are met....I have been accused of setting expectations of others too high, but I am a believer that all things should be done to the best of our ability, and I am left confused why anyone would do anything otherwise....A scripture comes to mind: "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord"....expecting today to be a great day, full of thankfulness and gratitude for all thd expectations I have seen fulfilled--with joy and laughter--and I am content.

Honeybees in the Backyard

I've been absent from my blogspot for a while--just don't have too much to add to your day...but I am excited about one thing: it is the middle of May, and I have 4 hives that don't need queens.  I hope I am not speaking too soon, but the last time  I looked, all my hives were "queen-right" and happy. I have very calm bees.

One of the hives is in my backyard, where I get to watch them every day, if I so choose, Today, I took pictures of my 'green' hive.  There are 2 reasons I call it my green hive.

1.) It is green in color. I used a green stain that I had leftover from adirondack chairs my neighbor made for us.


Just added the second deep last weekend!



The 'girls' are so busy--see the pollen?



2.)  I call it green because I am treating it a little different than the other 3 hives.  I am not going to use any chemicals at all on this hive....I have one of those annoying oil-filled beetle traps on it instead of that XXXeversopoisonousXXX fiprinol (or something like that).  So, we'll see how that goes.



Pink salvia blooming now!!!



 I have more honey-frames filled on this one at home than my other 3 hives...I think since the neighborhood I live in has mostly irrigated lawns, flower gardens and small vegetable gardens, there is no drought here.  Its awfully dry out where my other hives are. See if you can spot the pollen on one of the bees on the landing board.....also there is pink salvia new to my yard this year...thanks VHB for the seeds!!!

That's all for now......one day I will learn how to format these photos and the text to go with them.

till next time, remember to bee kind!!

kb

Queen-right is a good sight!

I have a peculiar way of "doing business"....I lost all three colonies over the past season, but bought a new hive to begin this year with 4... My husband asked me this question: "Aren't you supposed to learn how to do this right, before you expand the operation?" When I think of how much sense that makes, I wonder to myself....why? Why did I get another hive.....plus an extra deep (so perhaps, one of my colonies will be so awesome I'll run one with a double deep). What is so compelling that I would spend this money in these tight times? What makes it worth it? It's not for the money I get from selling honey.....it's not because I have nothing else to do.....it's not because it is a hobby I know everything about! I think it has something to do with the wonder of Mother Nature. The sweet way honeybees work together to serve a common purpose. I am fascinated just watching the activity on the landing board...and imagining what's going on in secret between the man-made frames inside. I'm installing a new colony in my backyard this weekend. I've checked with my neighbors and they don't mind...a couple even want to watch me!! I have a beekeeper friend who gave me a split a few weeks ago. I checked on my newly accepted queen yesterday, and she is a laying racehorse.....is it OK to talk about a honeybee that way?? She had at least 4 frames of capped brood, eggs, larvae , the whole works. I'm excited. Hopefully the 3 new packages coming this weekend will get as good a start, and then we'll have rain and nectar this year!! Queen-right just feels so good!! Till next time, Bee kind! Kb

Back in the Bee Business!

After having one colony obscond sometime in December...and finding my double-deep dead-out in The winter, I'm back in the bee business! Which is kinda funny, -cause I'm not actually in any business at all! By saying I'm back in the business, all I mean is that I have a new colony, new queen, and a new attitude! I CAN DO THIS!!! First week of April will find me with 3 more colonies.....so I'll manage 4 hives I this year....and actually keep records! Hopefully, you'll benefit from my new year's effort! Bee kind, KB

Double deeps, no more

Collected sample of bees from my bottom deep......all dead, a little handful of a cluster. Will send to the lab to see if there is any disease detected. I suspect they just froze to death....in south Georgia....froze to death. Crazy.I'm. so. Sad. Now I have just a 5-frame nuc I hope makes it through winter.....a sort of starting over. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you bees.....I mean peace. ;0) Bee kind, Kb

First "dead-out" leaves me puzzled

.....and sad.....I can't believe my strongest colony is no more. I went out to feed the bees for the first time(they had plenty stored away) and found one of my hives empty....empty...like my heart felt when I lifted the medium super of pollen and honey and found no bees... Gone. Was it the queen who was so strong just 2 weeks ago? Was it the workers who decided enough is enough? I only hope they all took off to some hollow tree somewhere, to live through winter. I realize the bees do not answer to me, but I was hoping for this colony to remain strong......guess I'll just hold off getting my 4th hive till 2013. On a brighter note, Merry Christmas y'all. Bee thankful, Kb

It's here!!!!

It's been a lovely weekend.
Almost frost on the pumpkin Friday morning....first fire in the fireplace and home-made Brunswick stew...and Then, today, mid-seventies, with the most gorgeous autummmmmn sky.  I close my eyes and breathe in the season...mmmmm

OK...back to reality.

 Harvested the honey this weekend...(my first ever!!)
did ya hear that?

Harvested the honey this weekend!!!

Thankful for the electric decapping knife...it removes the caps from the honey cells to allow the honey to flow fly out. The honey flies out, because we spin it around in an extractor at the speed of sound  a very fast rate, and by centrifugal force, the honey spins out into a huge "tub'...sort of....anyway, I should have taken a picture of the manual extractor at work...we had a 'slanging' good time.
After the honey exited the extractor, through a double veryfinesieve, it fell into a bucket with a "honey gate"...I especially like the honey-gate.
It's kinda too late to get into all that, since I have to be at work in a quick 7.5 hours!!



from the flower //to the bee //to the hive---from the frame..to the extractor...to the veryfinesieve...to this bucket
to the bottle to the tongue of grateful souls!! ;0)





DD gets in on the action. His help is invaluable!!




Very thankful for the harvest, albeit a small one.  More thankful for so many other blessings.
It's been a lovely weekend!!


bee kind to one another!!
kb