Setting up our Bee Hive
Yesterday afternoon we moved the ladies outside (for those of you that didn’t visit yesterday, read about the ladies here). We carried the hive outside when it was warm and set up in the spot we picked at the back of our property.
We chose this location because we are surrounded by woods and this is the least likely spot for our bees to bother any neighbors.
I tell you what, this bee suit cracks me up every time I see it. It kind of looks like a space man landed in the back yard.
The ladies were much more active today since it was warmer. You can see them all clustering around the opening where we had the feeding jar (we removed the jar for this photo).
We set the hive up just like it was in the garage. Tomorrow morning when it’s still chilly we’ll take off the bottom box and remove the original cage that they came in. We removed the covering from the door and replaced it with a smaller one, allowing them access to the outside, but not opening it up too much so predators don’t get in.
The ladies sure were happy to get out and stretch their wings.
They were all taking their orientation flights. Bees take short trips that get progressively longer to orient themselves to the position of their new hive. I was out working later and some of the ladies were getting quite brave in their trips out, they were buzzing by me in the front yard.
So does our experience convince anyone else to try keeping bees?
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Installing a Package of Bees
Yesterday afternoon we headed over to Wooster, OH to pick up the new addition to the Chiot’s Run Family. We now have an extra 10,000 ladies in the household. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, we got our bees! We picked them up from Dave at Ohio Honey Farms, he has a few hives in his front yard (and this is only a small portion of them).
On our way home Mr Chiot’s looked at me and said, “This has the makings of a horrible nightmare. The story would go something like this, ‘I picked up my package of bees and all was going well. I heard something in the back of the car and then a swarm of bees attacked my face. I ran off the road into a ditch ….'” We had a good laugh about that on our way home.
When we arrived home we proceeded to follow Dave’s instructions for, “the easy way to install a new package of bees”. It’s much different than the way the books tell you to do it. We decided his way sounded great, and since he’s a veteran beekeeper we figured he knew what he was talking about.
First we pried to lid off of the box of bees, then we removed the can of sugar syrup and the queen cage (the queens come in their own little cage inside the bigger cage of bees). Then you put the small wooden lid back on to keep the bees inside until you want to release them.
Then the box of bees is placed in an empty super on top of the bottom board of the hive (lid on it’s removed after we get the queen cage suspended above). This process takes the place of banging the box of bees and then dumping them into the hive, this seemed like a much “nicer” option both for us and the bees.
We taped a piece of wood over the opening of the hive to keep the bees inside until we move them outside (this afternoon when it’s warm).
We then proceeded to hang the queen cage in a super with frames (the part the bees build comb on) above the empty box that has the bee cage in it. We wired her in so that the bees could still reach her. She will be released into the hive in 3 days (thanks for the question Christy).
Her cage gets placed over to the side so that the jar of sugar syrup that you put on top to feed them doesn’t drip on her and get her wet.
After placing the super with the queen on top of the box that has the bee cage in it, remove the lid from the box of bees below, then place a the inner hive cover with a jar of sugar syrup on top so that the bees have something to eat.
Then you put an empty box or two (we used 2 because they were small ones) and then the hive cover to keep them warm and to keep them inside.
It was a much easier process than we were expecting, thanks to Dave’s great installation instructions and the cold weather which makes the bees pretty lethargic.
Mr Chiot’s says, “Bee suit is optional”. We only have one bee suit, so I wasn’t wearing one (I decided I didn’t want one, I’m going to be brave and do without). We only had 10 bees that “escaped” when we opened the box, and they were all caught and put into the hive. So our bees are quietly tucked in the garage, waiting for us to put them outside later today when it warms up. We checked on them at midnight last night and all of the bees were out of the original box and clustering around the queen cage just like they’re supposed to.
We’re trying to come up with a name for our hive, any great suggestions?
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Looks Like Winter?
When we woke up yesterday morning it no longer looked like spring here in Ohio. Everything was covered with a blanket of snow. Fortunately everything I have outside can take a little cold & snow.
I really don’t mind days like this, they make me appreciate the nice days even more. Not to mention, if we didn’t have days like this I’d never get the house cleaned. I also spend the snowy/rainy spring days making up batches of soup and bread for the freezer. They make quick meals on those days that I spend every daylight hour getting outside chores finished up.
What do you spend the snowy/rainy days doing?
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What a Difference a Day Makes
What a difference a day makes in the weather here in Ohio. On Sunday it was sunny and warm with the high around 65-70. Yesterday it was cold and snowing with the lows in the 20’s – BRRRRR.
This is not uncommon in Ohio, it happens quite often in the spring and in the fall. We can even have fairly cold weather in the middle of the summer.
This is the main reason I have a cold frame and the reason we decided to build hoop houses on our raised beds.
My little lettuces & beets are tucked warmly inside the cold frame, it allows me to plant things out much earlier than I would if I didn’t have it. The good thing is that weather will be warming up this week just in time for us to get our bees (that happens on Wed).
Do you live an area with rapidly changing weather? What do you do to extend the season?
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Ushering in Spring
I don’t know what is considered the first sign of spring where you are, but here in Ohio it’s the sunny yellow blossoms of the forsythia bushes.
They are such lovely bushes with their cascades of yellow blossoms so early in the year. I love their weeping nature, I’ve always thought about getting a start and training it as a standard.
I got my forsythia from my mom, she has a huge hedge of them (50 feet long by 6-10 feet wide). They spread easily, so there’s really no point in buying plants if you know someone that already has one. I’m hoping to get a few more this summer to plant around our property, you just can’t beat this lovely plant when you need a tough hedge.
What’s the first sign of spring in your area?
