User:Peggy Garnes/Beeyard
2013 April 29
Drone frames came out clean and I am glad. Breaking the brood cycle in August helps in the spring. Missed on the reversing, the girls are building up steady. Did the frist graft on 4-22 and tonight got the nucs ready for the queen cells. Now cross my fingers for good weather for mating flights! Will graft again on Weds. for the second round. Will probably need alot of queens this year - everyone seems to have had winter kills to deal with. Finally came in from the bees at 9:30...it's dark out there!
2013 March
Ordered more equipment and got it painted and assembled. Put the pollen patties on the second week of March, too cold to go in before that. All the production hives look good and strong. Lots of bees - makes me smile!
2013 Feb 10
Not too bad out today-going up to 43 degrees. The girls are crawling around and eating their candy bricks-one nuc has just about eaten the whole thing! I guess I will make another batch today to keep on hand. I will order pollen patties for the girls and some extra for the upcoming meeting. March is just around the corner and the bees will be looking for pollen. Not a bad winter so far...hope the groundhog was right and spring is close. The daffoldils are already coming up!
2013 Jan. 6
New Year!!! So far all are alive and tucked in the snow. Kinda free insulation for all. The other day it warmed enough for some to venture out and die in the snow. I just hate to see bodies on the white snow...you would think that they would know better than to go out in the cold. Getting ready to put on the sugar bricks I made at the end of this week when the temps go up to 50. Just a quick in and out. Checked today and some were on a small brick that was placed in December. Hope this winter stays mild!
2012 Dec 23
Cold today, but the sun is out. Some of the snow and ice is melting but no bees are stirring. The wind break held for the wild winds the other night. I hope the girls will be warm enough...time to think of next year and what I will do different and what will stay the same. New mating nucs, new grafting scheduales and new equipment to put into use. Maybe trap pollen this year?
2012 Nov 18
Beautiful day...sunny and 57 degrees-warm for today. The bees are very busy collecting the dry pollen that I set out for them. One day I will learn how to insert a picture...got a few of them today but can't get them to post on the report. Something else to add to the list to learn this winter...MIKE-HELP!!!
2012 Nov 2
All is quiet now at the Garnes Apiary. The last of the nucs are tucked in for the winter, nice and heavy with stores. The garden will supply a nice windbreak for the girls. Equipment has been sorted and stored. The new french hive has been stained and is ready for the first spring swarm to populate it. It's like a tiny top bar hive, but square. (with windows to peek in ) All the bottom boards are in now and I am getting the insulation inserts ready for the tops now(or as soon as Chuck gets them finished). He is such a great husband! I am off to the OSBA meeting in the morning to learn more on raising queens. Hope to help produce more area queens next year!
2012 Oct 10
Strong winds today and cool with bits of sun...sounds like a day to work in the beeyard (instead of planting blueberries, junipers and winterberry bushes). I still have nucs to move to their winter location, but not enough time today for that. Combined a queenless hive with a stronger hive and moved that to the side of the bee barn for winter. They should like it there, sun and a great view of the yard. This week I want to move out some of the nucs and reset the tar paper underneath them and re-board the area for grass control for next year. These nucs are barely moveable now with so much stores and bees. I hope that they winter well. The big hives are so heavy now that I can't lift one side of them at all. These bees have done a great job of getting ready early for winter. All are still being well-behaved when I peek in on them. I just love my girls!!!
2012 Sept 16
Lots of activity today...can't go in because I'm canning today. Lots of beautiful pollen! Goldenrod smell can't get much stronger at this apiary! :( Keep looking at those honey supers that need to get taken off and know they have to be next on the to-do-list! Time...never enough of it.
2012 Sept 12
Bee Inspector came today, all is well but apparently the bees didn't like the intrusion. Have been testy since the look-through. Goldenrod continues to come in full force and tons of fresh pollen.
2012 Sept 10
Good grief....time goes too fast. The girls are getting the goldenrod in and smelling up the whole yard. I'm sure the neighbors are wondering what happened over here. Time to put three nucs in styrofoam to see how they do. The rest of the nucs will be moved to their winter spot soon. Lots of bees going into winter...
2012 Aug 23
Got throught the mating nucs yesterday...Lots of bees and queens. A bit of robbing started and the yellow jackets need something done about them. Made all the entrances smaller and now have to decide on wintering in wood or styrofoam. Anyone have some thoughts??? Will check the regular hives this weekend and tidy the beeyard abit. Can't belive it will be Labor Day soon.
2012 Aug 9
The last group of queens have emerged and are now in their mating nucs. Time to start condensing for winter. Styrofoam nucs need to be ordered and assembled. Pollen patties and feed ordered. New gravel paths made to the bee barn. Lots to do...so why am I taking time to go to Vermont? Oh yes, to order all of this with free shipping? No, maybe just a vacation from Medina. Hate to see summer come to an end.
2012 July 22
Hot but beautiful day. Checked on the hives at the Root Homestead...doing great. Went out to a member's home and checked on their bees. Their hive is doing good and the new beekeepers are on track. Tomorrow I need to work on the fair entries and the products for sale. Such a busy time for me and my bees.
2012 July 15
What a month for honey! With all this heat and the bees are still bring in nector. The queens are mating and laying beautiful frames and grafting sessions are doing great. It's about time to start getting ready for winter...checking for mite load and hive beetle, requeening old hives and getting entries ready for the fair. Time is such an issue.
2012 June 29
This heat is making the girls hangout on the front of the hives, this is when a hive painted brown is not a good thing. Lids have been opened and shades put on some of the nucs. The queens seem to enjoy this extra heat and have been mated successfully. Their patterns are full and complete on the deep frames provided. Still can't get over the black color. Hope this next batch of queens move along as nice. Getting a little tired of feeding so many. It's almost time to be shutting down production and getting ready for winter. I think that I might try styrofoam nucs???
2012 June 3
All the bees are doing great. The club's hives have gone to live at the bee yard and most of the nucs have gone to their new homes. The OSBA Queen project has given me alot more to do with the 48 hr cells (3 of 5)and the fresh graft cells (11 of 15) - the new virgin queens are either in nucs or queen castles and weather cooperating, will be mated soon. Lots of mouths to feed in the meantime. Glad I stock piled equipment...just about used it all. Happy the swarm calls have slowed down. Honey supers are going on weekly on many hives. Should be a good year for honey surplus. Going to try some new honey comb ideas.
2012 May 3
What crazy weather we keep having. Spent 5 1/2 hours in the bee yard yesterday doing splits, making nucs and rearranging brood chambers. Then I got a swarm call and off I went! New drawn comb on the way. Can we ever get enough drawn out? All is quiet today, all the rearranging seems to have settled in quite well. The club packages are doing great. Drinking down a quart of syrup every two days. The queens are gaining weight and are looking great. Can't wait to get them to the redesigned club bee yard. Lots of new equipment to generate more interest! Got a new camera for the bees...got banished from using the house camera...somehow propolis got on it??How did that happen?
2012 April 4
Beautiful day today. New bees out orientating and there is lots of activity. The sound of bees fills the air. Reversing is complete and several hives have an extra deep added for more bees. All the pollen patties are about consumed and feed jars have all been removed with the nectar starting to come in finally. Can't wait for the drone population to get to the purple eye stage for grafting to start. I love this time of the year, don't you?? This year I am going to mark my queens, so get ready to see the drones in my area painted, too. Just for practice, of course.
2012 Feb 22
Warm, sunny day for the bees. 50ish temps...crazy for this February! Hung out the dry pollen substitute feeder and it's covered with bees. All the hives and nucs have someone bringing in the dry pollen I put out in the feeder. The feeder jars in the hives and nucs are being worked nicely. With that, hopefully, I should have some very happy girls coming out of winter! It's a good day in the beeyard.
2012 Feb 6
Very nice weather for this time of the year. The girls appreciate the chance to get out and stretch. I have been putting out dry pollen substitute and they are taking it in like mad. A good sign..babies to feed! I worry that all this warm weather will deplete the winter stores. So far everyone is doing great. One nuc didn't make it :( not enough bees going in. I probably should have combined it with another. Can't find my picture...I need a computer class! TRACY???? Just kidding.
2012 Jan 18
Finally snow! The bees are tucked in and waiting for spring. With such a long time time before a hard cold, I hope that there will be enough stores to get them through the rest of winter. Here's hoping for the best.
2012 Jan 7
Still not cold, a few bees out on Friday flying. Ground too wet to check hives. This up and down temps are making ME crazy. I will have to keep checking weights so they don't run out out food.
2011 Dec 31
The year has ended and the bees are resting. I hope they have enough stores and that the weather gets cold soon and stays that way. Still feeding and they are still taking dry pollen from the bag. The new equipment came and will give me something to do this winter. Looking forward to spring and the bees flying once again!!
2011 Dec 6
Rain!!! Still have 4 nucs to move to their winter resting place but not cold enough for them to cluster yet. Still have some wrapping I could do. Need a week off! Two nucs still taking syrup...this cold coming will put an end to that. Hope they stored enough. Sunday I set out the powdered pollen and the bees were all over it again. Still amazes me. Time to get out the catalogs...order some projects for winter. Maybe find free shipping!
2011 Nov 28
Great weather still. Some of the nucs are still taking syrup and the visitors to the pollen bag are surprising. The bees dive in and come out coated in pollen. It seems that all the hives have some coming in. I still have 4 nucs to move to their winter resting place, but the temps need to drop before I can get these moved. Finally got the two windbreaks in place and secured. Thank goodness for the nice weather. With each warm day, I have to wonder how much they are eating of their winter stores?? Will there be enough to get them thru the cold ahead? I guess we will find out come spring.
2011 Oct 11
Out looking for a queen I can get out for Ken. They are not very happy about me looking around at this time. All seem to be doing fine and are progressing nicely toward their winter store goals. I think that Ken may be out of luck...I had to leave before all the inspections were complete so I will try to finish tomorrow if the weather permits. I hope that a queen from one of the late swarms will be able to relocate and then I will combine the girls left behind with another nuc. All in all, they weren't too angry, just two hives. Seems there is always someone in the group that has to make a statement.
2011 Oct 10
What a great day today...the bees are flying like crazy. Bringing in heavy pollen and lots of nectar. I don't know from where but do I really need to know? They have done fantastic this summer even the nucs are filling their second box of comb. I think that I will bundle two nucs together and then wrap them with a foam lid for extra protection. Unfortunately they will have to get moved off the beach to a more protected area. That I think I will do that in November once they cluster up. The "mother" hives are filling fast and getting heavier by the day. They should be ready soon for their wintering mode. Will try to get some pictures tomorrow before the computer class.
2011 Sept 11
This is a little late to be relocating...what are these girls thinking. It will be a neat experiment to see if they can make enough comb and stores for the winter.I think I found where this came from. Gave me something to do on this rainy afternoon. The girls are collecting pollen and nectar like crazy. Even a slight rain doesn't stop them. I just love my girls!!!
2011 Aug 13
The hives and nucs are just exploding. I am so pleased with the progress the nucs have made. Some have had to be moved into 10 deeps to contain them. The queens are laying full framed, both sides. I will try and get a picture posted. Honey did well this year considering that I wanted bees not honey. I still have extracting to finish and cut comb to get boxed. Not enough time.
2011 July
This month is crazy with family and fair prep. I will post in August. Have to get my entries in!!!
2011 June 7
Wow, time is just flying. The hives are roaring with bees busy bringing in nectar. The nucs have progressed well. Some even have had to be moved into deeps. I have been keeping them long enough to insure that the queens are laying a good, consistant pattern before letting them leave to their new home. Looks like I will have to do some splits, too. I think I need more equipment!!! I hope that everyone is having a good year!
2011 May 11
Great day to be in my beeyard. The hives are bubbling over with bees. Started doing nucs today using the overwintered stock. Lots of queen cells to choose from. So far eight are looking good. Lots of brood, honey, pollen and bees!!!
2011 April 29
What a whirl wind we had at the house. One hive with nucs on top was blown over, scattering bees and equipment. Lots of bees!!! I think the bees were happy just to be uprighted and covered. A hurried reassembly and back indoors was all I could manage and then off to work. Once a break in this weather occurs, I will reassess the damages. One would think a good size rock would hold things in place. Can anyone stop some of this rain????
2011 April 20
Nothing in the drawn comb department yet, but the girls are hanging out up there. Maybe I will add some to a couple of other hives, too. Still too wet to open the brood chambers to get another peek. Would like to spread out the brood nest some. Hope this rain stops soon before the hives float away.
2011 April 10
Dreary day again, but the bees are humming along nicely. Pollen is coming in like crazy. Added two nucs with foundation to two of the heavy, overwintered hives in hopes that when the nector flow starts they can draw out the comb. Hope it works.
2011 March 12
Work starts today on assembling nucs for the Ohio queens that have been ordered. Ten to assemble, prime, paint and store until the queens get here. I think we will give them a beach front view.
2011 March 10
Mixed sugar water 1 to 1 ration and added honey b healthy, amino-b and noseama liquid treatment together and then put a pint on each hive. All the girls, except hive 3, were calm and accepted the jar without incident. Looks like hive #3 will have a new queen in their furture. After about an hour, I rechecked the hives and everyone was busy on the jars. Looks good. I marked the calendar to repeat this on the 20th of the month. Now all I need is a nice warm day to reverse the deeps.
2011 March 8
Beautiful day for the beekeeper...a little soggy but sunny. The girls are out flying and I scraped out the bottom boards as best I could. All the hives are still heavy but everyone seems to be hanging out at the top. I need to get them reversed, but I didn't have the smoker lit. Tomorrow I will add some sugar water with noseama treatment for prevention. At the Wooster meeting they advised to treat in the spring and then again in the fall. One pint per colony with treatment will be easy to apply. Hope it's not raining too hard.
2011 February 20
Got the girls loaded up and moved about a week ago when the weather was milder. They had a day and a night the recluster after their ride on tractor. A couple of days ago, when the temps were up, all the hives were out flying. Everyone made the trip and survived.
2011 January 25
Starting to think about moving hives this winter while they are still clustering.
Not looking forward to it.
2011 January 10
This is my first entry.
After my first computer training session with Mike I am ready to start keeping my bee log online with you. So far this year the girls are doing great. During the 2 day warm spell that we had, the girls were out flying. It's quite a sight to see so many out and doing a bit of house cleaning. Dead bodies were being thrown out into the snow! Less for me to clean in the spring. So far all look good. I hope it stays that way. All but one is still good and heavy. The light one will have to be fed as soon as weather permits. I will try to attach a picture tomorrow.
