Author Topic: hung up my smoker  (Read 2924 times)

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Offline rober

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hung up my smoker
« on: August 06, 2023, 03:58:11 pm »
my oldest daughter has taken up beekeeping. i passed a lot of equipment & hives & knowledge on to her. she's also lucky enough to have 3 beekeepers living within 5 miles of her who are eager to help her.
yesterday she picked up my last hive & over the coming winter she'll clear out my bee shed of any unsold equipment. i just had back surgery so i'll be down for months but i might start a couple new hives in the spring by catching swarms ( i'm on soooo many swarm list & on call for 7 police & fire & parks depts. ) & try raising queens. if that doesn't work out i'll give my daughter those hives as well. my guitar repair business is picking up so i'll have plenty to do living the life of a geezer. i'll still be perusing these forums from time to time.
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Offline RAST

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Re: hung up my smoker
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2023, 08:25:09 pm »
Gonna miss you, been here a long time. Good luck and God bless.

Offline Zweefer

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Re: hung up my smoker
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2023, 12:28:00 am »
Glad to hear you have someone to pass the torch on to! 
You don’t have to currently keep bees to hang out here with us either!  I am eager to hear talked of swarm catching and queen rearing in your future.  Have you decided on what method you will be using for your propagation?
Keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.
Henry David Thoreau

Offline rober

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Re: hung up my smoker
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2023, 07:26:49 am »
i've taken several hands on classes on raising queens. i've successfully grafted larva & i have the nicot system. grant gulliard lectured on the nicot before he passed & i have his pamphlet on using it. i also had many hours of face time with him. i'll try both techniques. grant said he had a 60% success rate of mated queens making it back to the hive. getting lost, car windshields, & hungry birds take their toll.
as far as swarms i love catching them. i can sell them or give them to my daughter if she needs them. i'll no longer be doing cut-outs. i quit doing trap-outs years ago. too little return for the effort.

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: hung up my smoker
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2023, 12:03:17 pm »
1.  Thanks for letting us know what is going on with you.  Some people just fade away and we have no idea what happened.
2.  Thank you for all your contributions to the forum.  Questions, responses to questions, and thoughts are what keep the forum going.
3.  A quote and a reminder to younger beekeepers.  "There are two types of beekeepers.  Those with bad backs and those that will have bad backs."
4.  We look forward to hearing about your queen rearing endeavors.  Stay in touch.  Beekeepers need to learn queen rearing techniques and we are always looking for local queens.

Stay well, rober and good luck with your back!