These last few days, the weather has been a mixed bag of rain, sun, and more rain. Between fixing the newly acquired hives and making sure each of them have their personal “Queens.” We’ve been working in our veggie garden trying to get it ready for planting. The raspberries have begun to send out their lovely flowers and the honey bees are all over them. We’ve also seen the bees bring loads of pollen from several locations.

Beehive after a swarm – notice the bees working and the lack of honey or brood on the frame.

The four swarms we captured and gave to a fellow beekeeper, who had lost his bees this winter, are still thriving as well. We are so pleased. And, the bees we tried to capture from the old house, well, they are now living in an observation hive at our town’s visitor center. (For more on swarms, see an earlier post April Fool’s – No Joke!).

This weekend, May 19, the MEBA will have their spring workshop. We will travel out to a local beekeeper’s farm in the cove, and there we will have a chance to learn more about the lovely ladies and how well our hives are doing this time of year.

Here’s hoping you have a glorious week and bless all of you who are Mom’s! May your year be as lovely as your Mother’s Day!

Honey Cheers,
Hobbit Queen

Related articles

• The Viking Splits The Hives (lilsuburbanhomestead.wordpress.com)
• Bee in his bonnet about creating a buzz (yorkshirepost.co.uk)
• Beekeeping Basics: Before You Get Started (apartmenttherapy.com)

I’m about a month late in completing the award’s requirements, even though my heart has remained touched by Sandra’s thoughtfulness. I hope to do my best in fulfilling the requirements, which include posting the Sunshine Award badge (i.e., You’ll find it here with this post), passing the award along to ten other bloggers deserving of the award (i.e., Those are listed below in no particular order in bullet format.) I hope you will take time to visit each honored Sunshine Blogger’s site and learn from them, as I have. Last, but surely the hardest to complete, IMHO, the sharing of ten things about myself.*

Sunshine Blog Award

I now present to you the Ten bloggers (in no particular order) I award each of you, the Sunshine Award:

• My Latin Notebook: Or What I Learned on the Way to the Forum – Blogger LJ Gormley: Where does one begin to explain this magnificent blog? The title alone is engrossing. One of my all time favorite movies, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”, is reflected in this blog. The mixture of humor, light-hearted witticisms, and clear insights is a joy to read.

• The Garden Diaries: The Ups and Downs of the Gardening World – Blogger Claire Jones: Anyone who loves gardening will love reading this blog. Claire has such great ideas and her landscaping prowess is fantastic! Claire says of herself, ” I am a ‘down to earth’ gardener with perpetually dirty fingernails. I own a whole wardrobe of well-worn and comfortable gardening duds and I am a sucker for gardening gadgets galore!” We are kindred spirits for sure!

• Adventures in Beeland’s Blog: My Beekeeping Bumbles – Blogger Emily Heath: Pure “Bee” joy! On the About Page, Emily placed a picture of someone jumping for joy. The picture perfectly depicts the entire feel of her blog.  Her insights, suggestions, and reflections are wonderful to read and provide loads of information. Even though she is in the UK and I in the States, I find we are learning a lot together, which is wonderful!

• Wolf Tree Wild: Where Ecology and Economy Co-Exist – Blogger Ruby and her many “fur” family friends: The title of this blog says a lot about Ruby. This quote from her About Page, does too: “I believe, the trick to making something beautiful is to care about it. Now I know that sounds cliché, but I find its true.” This is so typical of what you find when you read her blog, a lot of care!

• My Blog: Poetry, Short Stories, & Comments – Blogger  ????  The poetry is marvelous! The reflections and comments just as engaging. My hope is that one day, this blogger will provide more information on his or her About Page. I’d love to know more about him or her. May be this award will help to nudge that along.

• Tales of an Urban Bee Farmer: Many a Mickle Makes a Muckle  – Blogger Steve – If I’m not mistaken, this is Steve’s second blog. He also managed one titled: Up! Elgin Community Garden’s Blog — these two blogs offer a world of great information. I so love the pictures, too! The advice for beekeeping and how it works in the urban area of life is well worth a read.

• Kathryn Almay: Writing, Editing, Technical Communications – Blogger Kathryn Almay – This blog is so full of excellent writing ideas, thoughts, anecdotes, and short insights into the writing life. It gives me a shot in the arm each time I read. The quality of Kathryn’s blog is found in her description of her ‘non-writing’ life: “In my non-writing life I am, among other things, a Big Sister, a volunteer nature educator, a change ringer, and a full-time dog owner. I also enjoy cooking, reading, hiking, and traveling.” And, I must mention, her writing services (as seen in her portfolio) are stellar!

• Memory Bears by Bonnie: A Ministry of Love – Blogger Bonnie, a Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing Assistant, says of her blog: “Memory Bears are there for those that are hurting due to the loss of a loved one. More than one request for Memory Bears has come from a family who was told about them, but had never been to this website. As you learn about the bears, you might think of someone who could benefit from this ministry.” What else can one say? Visit her site, follow her blog, you’ll be blessed.

• Krista and Jess – Blogger  Krista, Jess, Levi, and Family – Just plain delightful and so prolific! They have such awesome posts! I get a kick out of watching this family through their blog! They say on their About Page: “We started this blog in the summer of 2008 mostly for family and friends after we surprised them by running off to Canada to elope.” <– this kinda says it all!

• Twists of a Tale – Blogger Rosa Lee Jude – My writing buddy, who is still searching for the “right” blog focus. I am hoping that this spray of “Sunshine” will inspire her to get her little writing muse in gear for crafting her blog! You so deserve to showcase your writing for others to enjoy on a weekly, if not daily basis!

And now to answering the 10 questions about me:

1. Favorite Color:   Blue
2. Favorite Animal:  Dogs — especially our Grand Dog and our sweet friends, Princess Mia, Burl, and Sophie
3. Favorite Number: 7. It’s always been a favorite number. I think it is because of how it sounds.
4. Favorite Drink:  Green Tea, Water, Milk, and Coffee — not exactly one choice, but I do love all four.
5. Facebook or Twitter:  Facebook. I am not on Twitter.
6. Your Passion:  Besides the obvious answers of Hobbit King, Princess Daughter, and GrandDog, you may have noticed that I am just a little obsessed with honey bees. I also happen to love writing, reading, and the magic of mathematics. I am a little eclectic in that I also love gardening – vegetable & flowers as  well as I dabble in arts-n-crafts of various sorts, especially stained glass, making cordials, and canning of various foods.
7. Giving or Receiving Presents:  Giving. There is something special about observing a family member or friend enjoy a gift that I knew when I found it would be the “right” gift for that special moment.
8. Favorite Day:  Friday! The beginning of the weekend, which our family enjoys in many different ways, but always in some way (even when we are apart) we celebrate.
9. Favorite Flower: Of course, I have two – Casa Blanca Oriental Lilly and Peonies – tree Peonies to be exact. In addition to being beautiful flowers, they are fun to watch grow…but, yeah you guessed it, I also have others I love! Roses, glads of all types, all kinds of herbs, and lilacs — oh my — let’s make it simple…I love all flowers!
10. Favorite Food: This one is the hardest to select just a few. I think I’ll have to say bread, but then I could also say seafood, and I must say, I love Italian food of all types, especially authentic pasta dishes with a strong taste of olive oil and garlic, yet, I do believe I’d have to select unique dishes and blends of flavors. Yea, you got it…all food!

Well, that’s it for now.  Thanks for reading along.
Honey Cheers,
Hobbit Queen

Related articles

• The Kreative and Sunshine Awards (Writer and Dreamer at Work)

• On the Sunshine Award (A Million Words)

• You are my Sunshine – Part Two (Learn to Blog with Mandy Allen)

*(If it is passed on to you, the same “rules” apply.  But I hope you will see this not as a burden, but something fun, and the honor that I would like for it to be.  But please feel absolutely no pressure to accept the award!  I will understand completely!)

VT Memory Ribbon

In Memory and Honor of April 16, 2007 – Virginia Tech

This Post is in Memory of those who perished at VA Tech on April 16, 2007 and in Honor of those who survived and those who went to the aid of those harmed. May we never forget!

Life changes!

It changes on a dime as some have said.

This April has been full of swift changes in the beekeeping world of Hobbit King and me. As I posted earlier, Hobbit King and I had our first swarm of bees on April 1, 2012 (See the post April Fool’s Swarm — Our First Swarm). This morning, while out doing some chores in the garden, I heard that sound that has become so familiar these last couple of weeks — the sound of a bee swarm. Hive Number One was swarming yet again! And, no, I didn’t have a camera with me. Worse, I’d placed our bee suits in the wash. So, I stood there and watched what is now our seventh swarm move to a pine tree.

Luckily, the swarm landed on a fairly low branch.

Latest Swarm -4-17-12

Hobbit King came home at lunch time, and without his trusty bee gloves (they were in the wash machine), he put on his leather work gloves and an extra beekeeper’s jacket we have hanging around for visitors to use. He went out and began to scoop the swarm into a nuc box. The bees flocked to his hands and stung him repeatedly. We’ve now learned they don’t like that yellow leather.

He positioned the nuc box in such a way that we hope the bees will move in with the queen. I can’t get close enough to take pictures because my bee suit is also hanging up to dry. But, below you’ll see pics of some of the earlier swarms we have also had since my post on April 3rd.

These are pics of the bees that swarmed a second time after we captured them. These bees are part of the ones we lost.

First Swarm reformed high upon a walnut tree. This is the swarm right after a hail storm moved through on 4-4-12.

Bees lying dead on ground from rain and hail storm. We ended up loosing this swarm. We hope the bee scouts came back and the Queen and her hive found a good home.

Cluster of bees knocked off the tree during storm. These bees managed to rejoin the hive before the hive departed for parts unknown.

In the past week and one-half, we’ve had six swarms. Two we lost as they bound for parts unknown. Then we managed to capture two and move them into new beehives Hobbit King just constructed. The remaining two swarms happened this past Saturday. We managed to capture them in a nuc box and take them to a fellow beekeeper’s house. He had lost four of his hives over the winter, so he was very happy to receive the bees.

The following pictures are of various stages of bee swarms and events over the past week:

Hive One starting to swarm. The sound from this many bees is very impressive.

The swarm from Hive One clustering on one of the fence posts on 4-07-12

Another swarm on 4-13-12. We were becoming experts at catching swarms.

Bees organizing themselves and marching into the nuc box where the Queen is now located.

If you look closely, you can see a few bees holding their rear ends up in the air. They are also fanning their wings. This is to tell the other bees where that the Queen is now located in the hive and to come on in! Fascinating!!

If that wasn’t enough, Hobbit King received a phone call that there were some bees in a house that was in the process of being torn down. He was happy to hear about this call, because it came about the time we lost the first two swarms we’d caught.

He gathered up his gear and a chain saw, went to the house, only to learn that the bees had been in the house so long there was no hope of finding where the queen might be hiding. The bees had made there home in the attic (impossible to get to with the old structure) and down the side of the building. These pictures shows you how Hobbit King tried to find the queen. We drove back over later on Saturday evening and found that a lot of the bees had moved on. We are hoping they packed up and found a new home and aren’t up in the attic where they may perish when the house is torn down.

This shows part of the beehive in the side of the house. Notice the hive moved to the ground when the wall was removed.

Bees gorging on honey in prep to move it to a new location.

Bees communicating to tell each other where to move the honey.

Closeup of bees working the hive in the old house on 4-14-12.

Since we now have two additional hives for our beehive compound, Hobbit King decided to enlarge the fenced area so that the winds would not bother the bees going to and fro from their hives. While working, he needed a post hole digger. He is in his bee suit, and he comes walking over to me where I’m working in the garden, without my bee suit on.

I look up at him and he is standing there with a dozen or more bees swarming around him like Pig-Pen from Peanuts, who always seemed to have a dust cloud hanging over his head. I inform Hobbit King he needs to stay back so that I don’t get stung. Hobbit King finds this funny. He proceeds to come over to me. I, of course, am not happy. You see, I have been taking great pride (smugness, some would call it and rightfully so) in the fact I’d managed to avoid getting stung by a bee since we started beekeeping, which will be a year this May.

That ended Sunday! I got stung! A little lady landed in my hair. I freaked. I got stung! Then, to add insult to injury. I ran and closed myself up in the greenhouse to get away from Hobbit King and his hoard of bees. He comes over to the greenhouse and opens the door and proceeds to laugh at me.

Well, all things being equal. I’m just glad he found out the yellow leather gloves don’t work when he is working in the bees. Smugness indeed!

Seriously, getting stung by a bee is no fun. I don’t wish it on the bee, either. When a honey bee stings, she dies. It is her way of defending herself and her hive. So, I was more upset that a bee died because of my stupidity, then the fact I got stung. I guess you have to be a beekeeper to understand that feeling. I know before I became a beekeeper, I wasn’t real fond of hanging around bees due to their stingers.

Now, my outlook on honey bees is a total different point of view. I understand their value. I understand their uniqueness. I cherish their existence. Just as I cherish all the souls who have walked this Earth before me and will do so after me.

Life is a precious gift given to us by a supreme being we may not know, we may not understand, or we may look forward to meeting one day. However you think or believe is not important, but do one thing on behalf of the honey bee, cherish the life you are given. Be happy, be proud, and be thankful!

Honey Cheers,
Hobbit Queen

Related articles

• Swarming of the Bees – It is That Time of Year Again! (thegardendiaries.wordpress.com)
• Now-i-am-really-scared-are-they-lulling-us-into-a-false-sense-of-smug-beekeeping (mylatinnotebook.wordpress.com)
• Va. Tech Marking 5 Years Since Campus Massacre (abcnews.go.com)
• The Pfeiffer Center (www.pfeiffercenter.org/index.aspx)
• Swarm Sense (thrivefarm.wordpress.com)

Got busy last week and do I have a lot to share! I hope to bring you up to snuff real soon, like tomorrow!

We ended up having six swarms!!!! Yes, it was amazing. We lost two, captured two for ourselves, and gave two away to a fellow beekeeper who had lost four of his hives earlier this year.

So all-n-all not too bad of a week. Hobbit King also managed to get me stung! Yep…I had almost made it a year without any bee stings. I was soooo proud of myself. Oh well…so goes the life of a beekeeper!

I’ll share all on my blog entry tomorrow! Have a great evening!

Honey Cheers,
Hobbit Queen

PS…I’ll have pics too!

Saturday, April 1, Hobbit King and I were working down in the garden. Hobbit Princess and Grand Dog had come over to help out. The day before, we had treated the hives with the second application of Terramycin  (See previous post regarding first treatment).

Grand Dog watching over Hobbit’s Bend Farm!

Grand Dog was sitting out in the field watching the action and making sure we were all safe and happy. All of a sudden, I heard this buzz begin to come out of the hive area. It was just as you might imagine several thousand bees would sound.

The amazing part is that it took the bees several minutes to get themselves to where they were moving with a purpose. They swarmed around the hive for a very long time. Just as suddenly as the swarm started coming out of the hive, the swarm seemed to take shape and begin to follow the queen.

It was obvious the swarm was stabilizing when it no longer looked like the bees where just flying around like a “mad hatter” running around. It actually took on the shape of a well formed tornado. That is, it looked just like I’d seen cartoonist draw a bee swarm in a funnel shape. The bees were flying in a whirl and the whirl moved over to the pine trees about 100 yards away from the hive. Alas no picture of this! Yes, I know. Where’s a blasted camera when you need one!

Hobbit King went up to get the camera and I positioned myself just far enough away from the swarm so I could watch where they might land.

Bees moving toward Pine Tree

The queen moved over to the tree and the bees appeared to be trying to determine where to go as you can see in the picture the bees are flying in mass, but it is not well formed.

Just as suddenly, the swarm formed perfectly on the tree branch.

Fully formed swarm of bees on tree branch

Hobbit King gathered up his equipment, the tractor, a ladder, and we dressed in our gear. He wanted to try and capture the swarm. Keep in mind, this was something we had only heard about others doing. We had not seen nor were we real sure just what would happen.

Preparing to capture the swarm

Hobbit Princess said she’d stay back and keep Grand Dog out of the middle of things. With the tractor positioned, the ladder securely in place, the nuc box in position with a platform on the forks of the tractor, Hobbit King ventured up while I snapped pictures. Yep, you can say I had the easier job. One I liked.

These pictures show Hobbit King shaking the branches and hoping we had moved the queen into the box.

Hobbit King wiping the bees into the nuc box looking for the queen

Partial knock-down of the swarm

Bees moving to the box -- we hope the Queen is in there!

Next you see the bees that landed on the platform. They began to march into the box where the queen was now resting. As many times as I’ve heard this described, I can only say that seeing it first hand is just miraculous. No, it’s amazing! Just breathe taking! Nature working in such a wonderful way.

Bees on the platform beginning to move into the Nuc Box where the Queen is located

Closeup of bees moving into the Nuc Box

While we let the bees take their time moving into the nuc box, Hobbit King quickly built a special stand to set the nuc box until we can get a permanent hive built. Yes, you guessed it. We weren’t ready for a swarm. Lesson learned!

We will go the end of the week and purchase the materials we need to build a full hive. And, yes, we will buy extra to have on hand.

It was an awesome experience and one I hope we will see again, except we hope to be better prepared. Oh the joys of spring!!

Here’s hoping your April is as full of surprises as our April Fool’s Swarm was for us!

Honey Cheers,
Hobbit Queen

Bee foraging on a cherry blossom!

Another view of a bee on a cherry blossom. Lovely!

Hobbit Daughter and I began working in the bees on Friday, March 23, 2012 in hopes of beating the rains. We were told by our bee mentor that we needed to treat the bees since the hives were producing brood.

So, Hobbit Daughter and I dawned our bee suits (no pictures taken to protect the innocent) and made our way to the hives.

The skies were over cast and you could see out into the distance that a storm was brewing. We didn’t have a lot of time to treat the bees with the strips of Apistan and the powder of Terramycin. The part we must be very careful about is making sure we have the Terramycin out six weeks before the honey flow.

After we got into the bees, I realized I was more nervous working around them than when I’m with Hobbit King. I wondered why I was nervous and I believe it was because I had never worked in the bees like this on my own before. Yes, Hobbit Daughter was with me, but this was her third time and she was just as new to this as me.

It was funny, while we were moving from hive to hive, Hobbit Daughter kept calming me down and speaking softly to me. I got a kick out of listening to her trying to help me be calm. All was going well, until we got to the third hive.

The top super had two hive frames from the brood chamber that were glued to the super. Now, what would we do? I walked around the bees, trying to not linger in the front. But, guess where the hives were stuck. Yep, in the front.

Suddenly, the bees began to get more irritated than normal. We had smoked them lightly as we’ve learned that you don’t want to smoke them too much. But, those little ladies were not happy when I removed the two lower frames. They had built a brood nest across the upper and lower frame. Oh my! They were mad.

We both stepped back and let the bees adjust to us being there. We looked up at the clouds and saw that the storm was starting to move in. After adding the strips and applying the powder, we replaced the top super box and repositioned the top cover and lid.

We had one more hive to do and we’d be done. I was trying so hard not to let the storm looming overhead get me overly nervous. And, I was doing just fine until the wind started to pick up. As life would go, just as we were placing the top cover back on the last hive the large rain drops began to fall.

Hobbit Daughter and I replaced the tools in the tool box, cleaned up the area, jumped into the gator, and made a “bee line” to the house. We no sooner got inside and a hard rain began to fall. We could not have been any luckier.

<<<<<<>>>>>>

Yesterday, Hobbit King feed the bees. The last three days we had horrible storms with hail. We knew the bees would be hungry. They were eager to drink the sweet syrup. I had hoped to get some bee tea by now, but unfortunately, I have not. So, we decided to give the bees a boost using the syrup. During this time of the year, you use a different ratio of sugar to water; 1:1 is the preferred ratio.

Bees gorging on the sweet syrup!

For the last couple of days, Hobbit King has been building work tables that we can use to help us stage the hives when we need to work in them. Yesterday, Hobbit King began placing the work tables at the back of our hive compound. The tables are designed to withstand a lot of weight, which is good. We also will be able to place our tool box up on the table to cut down on the need to bend over so much while working in the hives. Another good thing.

Working on attaching work table. See tool box on the ground.

Left Work Table Ready for use

Hobbit King attaching the second work table. Almost done!

Grand Dog helping us work in the hives.

We had a very cold night last night, so we will check on the bees today and maybe feed them again.

Here’s hoping you have a glorious last week of March!

Honey Cheers,
Hobbit Queen

Related Articles:

Related articles

• 3/10/11 hive check (myhoneybees.wordpress.com)
• One hive makes it through the winter, one doesn’t (sfgate.com)
• Swarming of the Bees – It is That Time of Year Again! (thegardendiaries.wordpress.com)

Wow…the honey bees were definitely out in force today. We have a large (~ 25 feet tall and at least just as wide) weeping cheery tree in full bloom. The sound the bees made while foraging over the tree was impressive, if not a little scary when you walked under the branches.

I tried capturing the effect with my cell phone in picture and sound. Alas, the sound did not work at all. Not that I expected it to, but I was really hoping. Hobbit Daughter had told us that she had tried to capture the sound with her phone and all she got was the sound of Grand Dog barking.

The pictures were actually not too bad. My problem is my lack of tech savvy in trying to figure out how to send myself the pictures when I don’t have Internet access with my phone. I forgot I cancelled the feature when I renewed my contract in order to save some cash.

There had to be over 2,000 bees on the tree. Some where bumble bees, but by far the majority were honey bees. It’s hard to know if they were all our bees. All I know is that in years past, the sound was nothing like we heard today. Hobbit King and I think it must be a mixture of bees flying in and working the tree, happily foraging together.

I walked down to our bird bath where Hobbit King placed a cinder block in the water along with the corn cob I talked about last time. The bees were covering the surfaces that were not too deep in the water, getting what they needed to make bee bread for their brood.

The hives are so alive. It is so impressive sitting and watching the bees come and go!

Tomorrow, I’ll go out with my trusty digital camera and capture the lovely ladies at work.

Here’s hoping the honey bees have a restful evening. As hard as they worked today, I’m sure their little bee wings are plum worn out.

Honey Cheers,
Hobbit Queen

Honey Bees gathering water in a bird bath.

Hobbit King and I think the queens in all four hives may have begun laying eggs the end of January or early February. From the time a queen lays  her eggs until a worker bee emerges, it takes about  21 Days. In contrast, queens take about 16 days while drones take about 24 days.

We think the bees we see flying out of the hives are the oldest winter hive bees and will be dying off in the next few weeks. The newly raised bees are working the interior of the hive doing a variety of house cleaning duties since they emerged in the past week or two.

This table shows the duties of the honey bee at different stages of development:

Source: The ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture, 41st ed.

We, as young beekeepers, are still learning how the bee colony evolves over the course of the year. We have read and learned in our bee classes that the bee colony follows an annual cycle of growth, which typically begins in spring with a rapid expansion of the brood nest, as soon as pollen is available for feeding larvae.

What we don’t know yet, as this is our first time with the bees at the beginning of their annual life cycle, is whether or not our hives began their production of brood as early as January. This year, we had a mild winter. We suspect that our bees began in earnest raising brood about two weeks ago when we first saw pollen being collected.

Whenever the bees begin their brood rearing cycle, it accelerates in the heart of spring. Most likely for us, the peak will be in late April or early May. The hive needs to build up in number in order to take advantage of the nectar flow. So far, it appears our bees are doing just that.

The skill Hobbit King and I must develop as beekeepers is the ability to predict when the nectar flow will occur in order to help the honey bees achieve a maximum population of harvesters at exactly the right time.

I know. I asked the very same question, “Just how are we supposed to do that?”

The key is the management, as skillfully as we can, of the swarming impulse. If a colony swarms unexpectedly and we aren’t ready, we will harvest significantly less honey from the hive because the number of workers will be cut in half in one swoop.

The part that is the hardest is learning how to manage the bees in order to use the swarming impulse to breed a new queen. The goal is to keep all the bees in the colony together. This increases our chances of getting a good harvest this year. If you remember, when we got our bees in May of last year (2011), our goal was to help them adapt and allow them to learn where the best eating ground is for our location. We did not harvest any honey from our bees their first year living on Hobbit’s Bend Farm.

Last week, Hobbit King and Hobbit Daughter added a shallow brood chamber to each hive. We managed to get through the winter with one deep brood chamber per hive. We knew going into Winter that having only one deep brood chamber with honey stores was a risk. We were fortunate we had a mild winter.

We went into the winter with four hives and it appears we are leaving the winter season with four hives. Now, we must wait and see how the bees do in building their hives in preparation for the nectar flow season.

When Hobbit King saw the bees on the corn cob, he snapped this picture.

Honey Bees gathering water from the empty seed pockets of a corn cob.

We aren’t sure, but we think we threw the corn cob out during the winter. It could be something stolen from our garden debris and dropped by a raccoon in the swamp near the bee hive. Look how the bees gathered on the corn drinking water from the empty pockets that once held the corn seed.

Honey Bees are marvelous creatures. Every time we see something fascinating or we marvel at their existence, we realize we have so much more to learn.

Honey Bees flying in and out of hive gathering pollen and water.

I personally love to watch them sitting on a flower after they have worked it so hard gathering pollen or nectar. Their little legs are so full of pollen, they can barely move. It looks as if they are contemplating sitting there to rest. It’s funny how we assign “human” qualities to animals.

This past year of watching our four hives makes me wish the world could live as they do. In harmony as best as they can. Going about their own way, taking care of their own. Never seeking to be more than they are. Happy in who they are, and doing the best job they can for their hive.

We need to assign “Honey Bee” qualities to ourselves. We just might be happier!

Have a glorious week!

Honey Cheers,
Hobbit Queen

Brrrr! It is cold out there!

The weather these last few weeks has definitely been bizarre here in the states. This past weekend the tornadoes wrecked havoc and mayhem all around us. We were definitely blessed that the path of the tornadoes dissolved away just about the time they were to arrive in our little part of the world. As they say around here,”We missed a bullet, for sure!”

So, how are the bees, I bet you are wondering.

Take a look for yourself! The following pictures were taken February 28 on a nice warm day. Pollen is popping out on sugar maples and willow trees and loads of spring bulbs. Look closely at the bees and you’ll notice their little hind legs are just full of the “good stuff.” And, with the warm temperatures, the little ladies were having great fun flying in and out with such speed. To paraphrase Chef Emeril Lagasse, I wish these pictures had ‘hear-a-sound’ as the buzz of the hives was something to hear.

Figure 1: Bees are coming out of the hive quickly to take cleansing flights and to forage for food.

Figure 2: Hive 3 - Bees are flying in and out as fast as they can!

Figure 3: Notice the blurred bee flying to the hive? See how its hind legs are heavy with pollen.

Figure 4: Oh, look at the "yellow gold" the bees have found!

Figure 5: Pollen on My Knees -- see related blog posted earlier

Figure 6: Notice the two bees where the arrow points; it appears they may be fighting or the bee on its back has died and it is being removed from the hive. Notice the pollen on the legs of the other bees.

Okay, now, what do you think? Hobbit King and I believe our little ladies are doing just fine. We took these pictures and showed them to our Bee Mentor and he agreed. We learned that if we keep watching over them these next few weeks and we prepare to provide them a little extra food, if the weather turns bad, like it has these last few days, the hives will continue to do well.

Why would you think it would be hard on the bees during this time of year when some plants are beginning to bud out and we are about to have Spring? It is because the hives have begun to produce their young. The Queen began laying eggs most likely back near the end of January or early February. It takes about 21 days for new ones to emerge.

This is critical for the survival of the hive as the “winter” bees are about spent. They have worked all winter to keep the hive warm and to protect the brood the Queen laid prior to winter. Those bees are tired and are about ready to give up their last breath of life. That is why when it snows during this time of year, you will often find lots of dead bees at the base of the hives. The hive is beginning its new cycle. The older bees are making way for the young.

A hive is most healthy when its life cycle provides a steady replacement of young to old without producing too many of either too fast. With the influx of new bees, rearing of brood, and the dying off of older bees, the honey stores that was prepared last fall will be eaten quickly. The more mature bees will need to forage for large quantities of pollen in order to make the “bee bread” for the brood as well as feed the emerging new bees, who will be hungry and ready to work.

It is amazing that all of this activity is happening while the world around the honey bee is full of cold winds, blistering rains and snows, and in some areas damaging and killing storms.

The honey bee continues to marvel Hobbit King and I. Each time we visit the hives we are so excited to see what may happen with them next.

Recently, we were also inspired while listening to Gunther Hauk, founder of the Spikenard Farm and Honeybee Sanctuary, during a recent Mountain Empire Beekeepers Association (MEBA) meeting. Gunther shared a few of his experiences, his philosophies, and his dream for all who want to help the honey bee. If you have not visited his website, I encourage you to do so.

If you happen to raise bees, I also encourage you to purchase his “Bee Tea.” You can also do as I am planning to do, and that is grow the flowers and herbs he recommends on his website and make your own “bee tea!” This bee tea is for the BEES! Gunther told us how he developed this mix to feed his bees. He said that when you mix it with some of their honey, it provides them with good, healthy, food that will help them build a strong hive. Hobbit King and I plan on trying it out this spring.

This week Hobbit King and I will begin building the next set of frames for the hives. We will need to prepare a second super each hive for the bees to grow into, store their honey, and then we will see how well we do. With any luck, we’ll be harvesting some honey for us to try in early summer. Keep your fingers crossed for us and check back and see how we are doing. Now that the break is over for us beekeepers, the plan is to post more news more often.

Honeybee Hives at Hobbit's Bend Farm

Honey Cheers to you and yours,
Hobbit Queen

Honey bees do a remarkable thing in the winter. They hold it! Yep, that is what I said. They hold it! They don’t go to the bathroom in their hive. They wait until a warm day (i.e., temperatures must be at least above 55 degrees F) and they take what beekeepers call “a Cleansing Flight.”

If you know of a beekeeper, find out when you can go visit his or her hives on a nice warm day in winter and you’ll be amazed. And, if you have a vehicle that you’ve noticed little, tiny black dots on it during a warm day in winter, those dots are a result of a cleansing flight by honey bees near by.

A few days ago, we captured in the picture (Picture 1), the bees taking flight on a nice warm day . If this were a video, you’d see that as fast as the bees fly out of the hive, they fly back in. They don’t dilly-dally around. They get down to business, do their business, and get back to helping keep the brood and the rest of the hive warm.

Picture 1 - Hive 2 w/Honey Bees in Cleansing Flight

This hive is what we refer to as Hive 2. It looks healthy and there seems to be a lot of bees scrambling out of the small hive opening. We narrow the hive opening in order to reduce the loss of heat and to keep vermin, such as mice out of the hives.

The next picture of Hive 3 seems less active. This hive, in late summer/early fall, we placed a second super on with frames. Our bee mentor said he was afraid we may have done that too late and now we think he may have been right. The hive grew too big, too fast. We think we may have had a late fall swarm. Since we are young beekeepers, we didn’t recognize when a swarm happens  or realize it. Now, it appears this hive is smaller in numbers, which makes it hard for the bees to make it through the winter. We hope we are wrong. (See Picture 2)

Picture 2 - Hive 3 w/Honey Bees in Cleansing Flight

Honey bees need several things in order to make it through the winter. They need about 60 lbs. of honey stored; a large number of winter bees to protect the brood and keep the hive warm; and they need a well established brood and hive that is healthy so that the stress of winter does not reduce the hive in number any more than is necessary.

A “warm day opportunity” and a warm day in winter is looked upon as an opportunity for the beekeeper just as it is a cleansing time for the honey bee. This day is opportune because the beekeeper can help stack the odds in favor of his or her bees by giving them a supplemental feeding and it gives him or her a chance to check on the hives to make sure the hives are faring well.

Hive One (shown in Picture 3) shows a feeder in place on top of the hive body. The bees have been using propolis to varnish the wood, cracks, and crevices carefully filling them so that no noxious life forms may live in the hive and pose a hazard to the bees. Propolis also waterproofs the inside of the hive and protects the hive from attack by invaders, such as bacteria, molds, yeasts, fungi, insects, and other pests. In the picture, notice the tops of the frames have some honeycomb being built. You’ll also see a slight sheen in the edges of the super as it aligns with the hive body. The bees have been working to seal the two boxes together. When we left the feeder in the hive and came back a few days later, we found the bees had begun to seal the feeder to the frames using propolis.

Picture 3 - Hive One showing inside of hive

Another amazing fact that Honey Bees use propolis is to encompass a large animal in the hive, such as a snake or a mouse. The bees can’t move the large animal out of the hive, so they remove body hair from the animal, cover it with propolis, and it will reduce the odor of the decaying animal as well as reduce microbial growth. This protects them and if I were to come across something like that I do believe I’d stay away from that hive. Wow!

The fascinating part of beekeeping so far has been learning how efficient the honey bee is in all things. The picture of Hive 2 (See Picture 4) shows just how busy the little ladies are even in the cold of winter. When we placed the two supers on top of the hive body to provide a place to keep the feeder when we feed, the tops of the frames were free of any honeycomb or traces of activity by the bees. If you look carefully at Picture 4, you’ll see the bees have built a lot of honeycomb and used the propolis. They only do this on warm days as when the temperature is below 50, they must tend to the brood and work their wings to circulate heat to keep the hive at a constant temperature of 92 degrees F.

Picture 4 - Hive 2 inside of the hive

Warm periods in the winter are very important for two main reasons, first the bees must periodically break the cluster they form to protect the hive and gorge on their honey stores or they will starve. It is the honey and their fat bodies that provide the energy for warming the cluster interior to the needed temperature to protect the brood. Second, a warm period provides for the cleansing flight to allow the bees to void their feces. Any older bees will be found dead on the snow after such winter flights. Because we’ve not had too much snow this year and many warm days so far, we’ve not seen that many bees perish. It doesn’t mean they haven’t, it just means we haven’t seen much evidence close to the hives. Since the ones who perish tend to be older bees, it is not a serious situation as their time with us is limited and they have already provided a great service to their colony.

Picture 5 - Hive 3 inside of the hive

Picture 5 shows the interior of Hive 3. This hive is the one mentioned earlier that we fear had a late, fall swarm. It is also our largest hive with an extra super including frames full of honey. Hobbit King and I have a bet going on. He thinks the hive is weak due to the fall swarm. I think the bees are just fine and that their number is far greater than it appears. You see, we haven’t checked down below this upper super, so we really don’t know if the lower hive body is small in number or booming with bees.  Hobbit King is currently sitting in his easy chair dreaming of how he’ll spend his winnings when we find out this spring.

Picture 6 - Hive 4 inside of hive with lots of bees - Should we be worried?

Notice how full Hive 4 looks. (See picture 6). This hive was a very weak hive, or so we thought. It is just buzzing with activity and the bees look like they are outgrowing their home. Or are they? Could they be out of food and the cluster has moved to the top? We don’t know. We will need to keep a close eye on this hive as March nears or if the weather stays warmer than normal as a swarm may happen when we are not looking or worse the little ladies could starve. It could result in us loosing our hive before we are prepared to prevent it.

It is a new year for our honey bees. They are working through the cold days to keep the hive protected and warm while preparing for the arrival of spring.

Long, cold winter days and nights are ideal for beekeepers to talk and read about bees. Hobbit King and I are making plans and goals for beekeeping chores to come this spring. January is a good time to reflect on how the hives did the previous year and assemble or repair beekeeping equipment. It is also a great time to attend a beekeeper meeting. We’ll “bee” going to our MEBA meeting in a few weeks. Until then, reflect on your past year, ponder what changes you need to make, prepare for spring arrival, and learn from the honey bee!

Always with Honey Cheers,
Hobbit Queen

P.S. Be sure to vote if you like this blog post. It sure helps with the ranking. And, sign-up to follow along…Happy Cleansing Flights To You!