Beek Geek Update
I hope y'all are having the best day! This is a beek geek update...stuff keeping me busy these days. I will be attempting some informative bee posts as I learn more.
all my photos, but I had to screenshot them all to make them load upright🙄
One of the new hive boxes. Figured I might start decorating some for fun
We picked up 5 new hives, full brood box and 2 mediums full of capped honey on each hive! It was late August when we got them. Close to winter, but I am hoping since they had 6 weeks before frost to continue storing honey for the winter that they will survive here. In the spring I should be able to split the colonies. Fingers crossed! I will also be feeding them with candy boards and pollen patties over the winter. I'll do a post about over wintering them next week!
I am also taking a course on Beekeeping at my Algonquin college. I was super nervous at first but I am 3 classes in and loving it. There is a ton of info being thrown at us in a short period of time, but I think I am catching most of it.
Canada's capital highway is empty at this hour on Sunday's apparently. It makes the drive from the country a bit shorter
My class is in building H!
We extracted our first honey harvest a few weeks ago as well! I think we got about 30lbs of surplus honey as we left each hive a super full for themselves for the winter. We have a simple 2 frame manual spinner that worked great. Looking forward to next year, really hoping the bees survive our crazy winter weather! I have big dreams of expanding my apiary!
Frames of capped honey waiting to be extracted. They are a thing of beauty, we try to preserve the comb as perfectly as possible so they can use it again without too much repair work
My daughter helping my husband with decapping. The hot knife makes the job much easier
Hive check with 2 of my beek girlfriends at the beginning of this month. Meeting some pretty cool peeps on this beekeeping journey
So far, I am finding this beekeeping thing to be incredibly intimidating and equally empowering, if that makes any sense. I hope that I become a beekeeper that is successful in keeping happy, healthy colonies. I practice gentle techniques and treatments and above all, I will always do what is best for my bee ladies. Happy bees, happy hives is what I am striving for! I hope to document my progress this year here and will search for more beeks here on Steemit!
Thank you for reading! Take care of you and yours ❤
Oh wow ! That is amazing :) I want to learn more about bees and honey !!
It is cool that you joined that class and also that you found new friends ! :D
My grandfather was a beekeeper for living but I was to feared from bees so I came with him just really rarely.
I am excited for more to come from you :)
That is so cool that your grandfather kept bees! It must have been scary for you being afraid back then. I am most comfortable when I am in my full suit, I have been stung in the legs while only wearing a veil. Knowing you are protected helps greatly mentally I find. Thank you, I am pretty excited too!! Have the best day!!
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Thanks so much for sharing all of this. I dream of keeping bees but find it a little daunting - it terrifies me that I could accidental kill them. This winter we'll be studying and reading all we can and hopefully this spring finally we'll make it a reality. Keep on sharing - I'd love to follow your journey with this.
Full disclosure....I am super worried about the same thing. I am so worried about the winter as well as upcoming mite treatment...plus there is so much conflicting information out there about care for them!! So far, I keep reminding myself that they have been being bees forever and that in nature they survive so I am just here to help them. I will totally share as much as I can here!! I think you should go for it this spring!!!
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Thanks for sharing that - I really am happy for you, and love your positive perspective on it. I can relate to all the conflicting information, I've spent a fair bit of time on bee keeping forums and such and there is such a divide on certain topics (medications vs natural and all that).
Cool reading about your bees and what you are doing and learning. Liked the one where your daughter was capping. :))
Awww thank you:) Aren't bees just the coolest?? I hope my daughter takes a shine to beekeeping....so far she is pretty interested!
Bee suits are like the belts that karate practitioners use. They start out white, then turn black over time as they are used. If they're really really black, you have found a master.
May your suit turn so black that it stands up by itself....
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Wow, thank you so much!!! Congrats @squishysquid as well!!
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@craigcryptoking has hives as well if you're looking for more bee keeping steemians!
Aaahhhh!!! That is amazing @nateonsteemit, thank you! I am now following him and wow, just scanning his posts it looks like I could learn a ton from him!!!
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