Author Topic: Checking in with the front desk... (Read 11666 times)

Intheswamp · « **on:** April 12, 2014, 11:01:10 pm »

Just saying howdy. I see some familiar faces and not familiar faces here. Looks like a good group, I'll try not to mess it up.

I'm locatd in south central Alabama and I've been keeping bees now for three years so still consider myself a rank newbie. I've got lots more to learn but at least the bees nor the honey have run me off yet...and I haven't killed them, either.

Kits, cats, swarms,and all I've got 8 hives going...really only wanted 5, but...bees happen. My bees are local bees, some feral, some from my two mentors who haven't bought bees in decades...they're in the area of the queen producers advertising in the ancient ABJ's...Greenville, Honoraville, Ft. Deposit, Alabama area. Heavy dose of caucasian...gentle bees (now watch them light me up the next time out!!!).

The flows on....

Ed

Bsweet · « **Reply #1 on:** April 12, 2014, 11:17:21 pm »

Welcome, Glad to have you here,. Jim

kebee · « **Reply #2 on:** April 13, 2014, 07:03:19 am »

Welcome Intheswamp, glad you are here with us on the forum.

Ken

Perry · « **Reply #3 on:** April 13, 2014, 07:43:22 am »

Well hello there!

Glad to see you found us. A pretty friendly group of enthusiasts here.
8 hives, only wanted 5.......

We'll have a talk at the end of this season and see how many you have Ed.

tbonekel · « **Reply #4 on:** April 13, 2014, 08:50:31 am »

Welcome! I have four hives. I don't really know how many I want. I'm hoping to have a few more, though.

tbonekel · « **Reply #5 on:** April 13, 2014, 09:05:10 am »

By the way Ed, I really love your Bee Weather.com link at the bottom! I especially like the verses! I guess I can't customize it for my area, can I?

Intheswamp · « **Reply #6 on:** April 13, 2014, 10:17:24 am »

Thanks for the welcome, everyone. It's good to be in such good company.

Howdy Perry...long time no see...well, I can see, but I haven't seen, er talked, er well, you know what I mean!

I actually started out with a tiny nuc of bees that I got one December (my mentors wanted me to get used to handling bees)...they're still living. I planned on five and so far eight has been my peak.

tbonekel, the software default is for the station location. I can add Bells, TX as an area forecast in the drop down forecast menu. I'll have to check on whether it's possible to set the default per user as to what the forecast window opens up to.

Thanks again for the welcomes!!!!!!!
Ed

G3farms · « **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2014, 11:41:58 am »

Welcome to the forum Ed, you probably recognize a bunch of us. Hope you can hang around.

Riverrat · « **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2014, 03:53:30 pm »

welcome aboard

Intheswamp · « **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2014, 06:09:50 pm »

Thanks again for the welcome, ya'll.

Perry, here is what I started with back in November of 2011...

Originally I set up five hive stands (cement blocks) with the idea of starting with three different hives in spring of 2012. Here is where I'm at today in 2014...

Ed

Jen · « **Reply #10 on:** April 13, 2014, 06:25:14 pm »

Omg I love it! the first picture is precious with that one lone hive out there all by it's lonesome. And look at your apiary now! Looks like little bee castles out there. Sweet!

Perry · « **Reply #11 on:** April 13, 2014, 07:41:35 pm »

Looks like some nice bee pasture!
Ed, you better get started on building more boxes. Oh, you'll need a few extra bottom boards, inner covers and lids too.

rcannon · « **Reply #12 on:** April 13, 2014, 08:31:51 pm »

Hey, Ed.

blueblood · « **Reply #13 on:** April 13, 2014, 08:50:00 pm »

Welcome Ed, good to see ya!

riverbee · « **Reply #14 on:** April 14, 2014, 12:37:54 am »

hi ed, welcome to the forum!.......you still driving a jeep you lit a smoker in and left it to burn? (i think, trying to remember?!).......

Intheswamp · « **Reply #15 on:** April 14, 2014, 12:53:16 am »

Yelp, riverbee,...I call'er "Old Smokey" now.<grin>

riverbee · « **Reply #16 on:** April 14, 2014, 02:00:14 am »

...............

BoilerJim · « **Reply #17 on:** April 14, 2014, 07:00:49 am »

Welcome to our humble abode, Ed.

Intheswamp · « **Reply #18 on:** April 15, 2014, 12:13:54 pm »

Jen, that little beehive was a 5 frame deep nuc box with 5 medium frames of a queenless colony. It was in late fall / early winter when my mentor called and said he had a little fist of a swarm for me. I went over the next day but for some reason the small nuc had gotten severely robbed and the queen was gone. Anyhow, my mentor told me to take it on with me...it'd give me some bees to get used to (stung by!) before I got my colonies from him in the spring. It was a good learning experience for me. A month later I ended up getting a queenright colony from a friend of his...8 medium frames for a dollar a frame (they *really* wanted me to have bees!)...that little meager colony of bees is the one that issued the swarm that went into the neighboring hive. It turned into a strong hive BUT...I haven't gotten honey off of it yet.

Hopefully this year it will get it's act together. The beeyard has grown in the last few years, though I haven't by choice done anything to grow it except for one cutout (the hive that received that strange swarm).

Perry, I hear you on getting more woodware ready. My shortage right now is frames, I think I'm ok on most everything else...I hope! ...and will be jumping on putting frames together *very* shortly.

Intheswamp · « **Reply #19 on:** April 22, 2014, 01:03:51 am »

<sigh> Ok, call in "nine", now. Got home Saturday afternoon late, with a fever and aches. Figured I'd better check the "swarm spot" out. Walked into the privet thicket and a few bees were flying at the top of the bushes but nothing hanging that I could see. I realy didn't want to mess with a swarm the way I felt, I really didn't. But, something seemed...."suspicious".

I looked up in the branches again but still didn't see anything. It was kind of overcast and dim in the thicket but then I looked down under where seveal swarms have clustered. There on the ground was a flat cushion of bees not quiet 2 feet in diameter and an inch or so thick, it'd make a small nuc. <sigh>...I really didn't want to mess with a swarm...did I mention I was running a 101f fever?<groan> I managed to grab a medium super and slapped bottomboard and a top on it and tighten a ratchet strap around it. I set it on the ground and gently pushed it into the edge of the "cushion"...it wasn't long before the bees started their march into the hive. I kept looking as they moved in and their she was...looked to be a virgin queen...most surely an afterswarm from one of the larger swarms earlier. Anyhow, she went it. I was about to drop at that point, so I left them their to figure it out on their own...and I went and collapsed.

I slept for quiet a while and opted not to move the bees that night...didn't feel like it. Well, the next day (Easter Day) I wasn't much better. I let them have Easter off, and didn't mess with them again. So, that gave them a full day yesterday *and* again today to get oriented in their new home....in a location that I don't want them. I went down there tonight, sealed them up and carried them down to the beeyard. I stuck a bunch of privet branches in the ground in front of the hive to hopefully make them re-orient. It's only a couple of hundred feet from the beeyard to where they clustered and were they spent two days in the hive at. I'll check tomorrow and see if it seems a lot of foragers are returning to the old spot.

It was a small swarm and the slot I had to place them is between two strong hives. Maybe they'll pick up some drifters.

Ah well, so what's one more, eh?

Ed