No worries Barbarian.. if he does find a big ROCK he cant pick it up, were safe!!
So I assume you mean long term, where as the 2014 thread is short term?
2014 is going to be a season of growth, and a bit of trial. 2015 will also be about growth, but not as dramatic as 2014. I want, and need more honey and wax from the 2015 season, so production hives WILL be split, but they will be small splits into nuc's rather than hives so the production hives have the strength to grow without as much propensity to swarm so I can get MOAR Honey!
I will be watching and checking my bees this year, and next year for mites. I will be watching how well they winter, and I will be paying attention to aggressiveness as well as production. Late 2016 I hope to re queen from my best hives, so those bees that go into winter will be from offspring queens whos mothers did exceptionally well the winter before. 2017 and beyond will be a continuation of picking the best of what I have to move forward with. Purchasing TOP rated queens from other places to add to the genetics I have, and learning where my LINE is drawn in the sand. If I cross that line, and beekeeping begins to become more work than enjoyment, I will back off on the number of hives. If I find that I have not yet crossed that line, I will keep growing until I do. Until I find a balance that will hopefully carry me through the next thirty years, or however long I have left.
2014, I will be working a lot with my father, as he is fascinated with the bees, and my daughter who has expressed interest in helping. Making memories we can all carry with us until our time ends. With a little blessing from above, I hope to spend many years with my father among our bees, and many more years with my daughter. SHE is the one working candles for my wife, and bees with me. Our hope is that what we are building will be something SHE can carry forward well after we are gone.
