Bad, Bad, Deer!

Mid-April  

The new queens are laying, so except for cutting away some unusual comb (some of it with drone brood) I left them alone.  This unusual comb (a second layer attached to the same top of a frame) results from the way the queen's box is hung between frames when the colony is first introduced.  They have about 3-4 days to build comb with the box hanging between the frames.  The frames are normally kept at bee-space width (normally around 3/8"), but the little box the queen is transported in is too large to maintain that optimal space between the frames in which she is hanging.  Bee space can be anything from about 1/4" to 3/8".  Any thing larger and they create extra comb (as is the case with what I cut out).  Anything smaller and they will fill the space with propolis.

Hive Names?

One day my wife suggested we should name the colonies.  "OK, how 'bout 1, 2, and 3".  She gave me a "no, silly" look so I then suggested "Tom, Dick, and Harry".  I can't begin to describe the look she gave me then.

Blackberries

What a great surprise!

A week ago I found a very large blackberry bush hidden along the west side of the little creek that carries the pond overflow.  This bush is about twice as tall as I am and as big as our present kitchen - that's not saying much but it is a large bramble.  It was in full bloom and the bees were all over it.  I was out walking one day trying to envision what we should do with the property to improve the quail habitat (jumped a covey of about 20 birds one day), honey production, and overall beauty.  I think a few northern red oaks will improve the fall colors around here, it isn't hard to improve on brown.  The blackberry bush caught my eye because it was the only thing blooming on that side of the property.  We are looking forward to some blackberry syrup, jam and cobbler.  Next spring will be a good time to plant some quail habitat and more deciduous trees.

Deer Damage

Bad, Bad, Deer!

Yesterday, April 28th, I cultivated the sunflower patch and the strawberry patch, which really needed it.  I was very disappointed to find that deer had been eating the tops off of the sunflowers (about 50% had been chomped down a bit).  Since the deer were thoughtful enough to leave us some leaves on each plant I have hope they will recover.  I installed some deer repellent around the sunflowers and strawberry plants.  I planted at least 75 more sunflower seeds today.  I hope the repellant works.

The Queens Have Been Released!

April 11, 2012  - "Release the Prisoners"

Today I released the queens using the hand release method - which I used last year as well.  I'm OK with this method except I almost drowned the first queen.  You're supposed to give the queen a short burst of sugar water on her back to make her wings heavy, then she won't have a desire to fly.  With the first hive, I used two short blasts and when she flattened out against the side of her little cage I panicked!  I can't imagine what the surface tension of water must feel like to a small creature like a bee.  Anyway, I shook the cage a little and managed somehow to exude enough life out of her to get her out of the drowning pool.  The weather has been very windy so I won't be able to open the hive to see if she is laying eggs until Tuesday evening the 17th.  We'll see.  Here is a short video of the second release.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31974115/Queen%20Release%204-11-2012%20%282%29.wmv

The second queen crawled out of the cage and onto my hand.  You can see me reach in and remove the empty cage with my right hand.  I don't like it when they crawl onto my hands, I'm afraid they will crawl up my arm and fly away.  Thankfully that didn't happen.  The whole process took about 12 minutes per hive.

OK, you wonder about my sanity.  I mean, I just learned that I have severe reactions to bee stings and I used my bare hands to release the queen.  I'm not sure I could have used gloves, I had my EpiPen and a friend close by to help in case I got into trouble.


April 14, 2012 - Mowing, Planting and a Pleasant Surprise!

Today I was a mowin' fool.  It takes about 4 hours but I got it all done!  For those of you who didn't get to experience the drought we had last year the difference this year is amazing.  South Central Kansas is absolutely beautiful!  As I was reviewing our recent plantings (fruit trees, strawberries and potatoes) I was surprised to see that two of our flowering pears aren't flowering pears at all, they are truly fruit bearing pears.  They are stuck in a cluster with two flowering pears (non fruit bearing), these will have to go to make room for real pears!  Everything else looks very healthy.  I planted my wife's mammoth sunflowers today.  They have been living in pots for about 3 weeks and I am sure they are more happy in the ground.

48 Sunflower plants are in.

Yellow Clover - looking good.

Pears!

I think one objective for this farm is to get enough variety and quantity to provide a prolonged nectar season for the bees.  To accomplish this (in addition to the strawberries and fruit trees we planted last year and this) we planted yellow clover last fall.  We planted more yellow clover and Dutch white clover this spring, but don't expect any blossoms this year.  It is my understanding that they must overwinter at least once before they will flower.  We also planted alfalfa in a one acre plot this spring.  Alfalfa should flower during the same year in which it was planted.  We will probably plant more sunflowers soon.

WOW! I didn't see that one coming!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

I started the smoker at around 11am and put the meat on at 12pm. There is an art to maintaining the correct temperature but with a little practice I should be able to get it down. I spent most of my afternoon monitoring the cooking temperature and tending the firebox. We received an inch of moisture from a slow steady morning rain and that meant that the range was closed due to mud. So I made a plan to move one of the knife targets from the range up into the pecan orchard. I would just need a little help carrying it. Our guests arrived at around 3:30pm and my wife and son showed up soon afterwards. The meat was already smoked, wrapped, and on the smoker for the final cooking. The kids had fun throwing blades while the adults visited.  I wanted to but didn't get a chance to throw knives.

Ready, Set, Go!

The Queen

At around 4:30pm it was time to release the bees. Early this morning I picked up the two packages of bees that I ordered in January and they spent most of the day under the porch at the house. We carried everything we would need for the release to the apiary and got started. Using the standard introduction method (remove and place the queen and then dump the rest) you always end up with a lot of confused bees flying around. This time one of them got stuck beneath my glasses at my temple and she stung me. Not long after that another one got caught in my collar and stung me on my neck. I've been stung before and, other than some local swelling and pain, I was never really bothered by the stings. This time however, I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable as time passed. By the time we got the second set of bees released (largely due to the help of my friend and brother-in-law) I was in no shape to continue without some medical intervention. I got a ride into town to purchase some Benadryl. By the time we got to the grocery store, my hands and feet were swollen and extremely itchy, I had broken out under my arms (which also itched), my ear canals were constricted, and my tongue and face were swollen. I took my first dose of Benadryl as soon as we left the store and in about 30 minutes I could feel improvement. Wow, I never saw that one coming. What a disappointing discovery and a horrible experience! Oh well.

The Big Dump!

One Down, One to Go

The rest of the evening was very pleasant (meal and visit around the bonfire). I am looking forward to going back out there today to release the queens and check on the newcomers (or for lack of a better term "new bees").  This time I will be armed with an EpiPen and I will wear my veil. 

P.S. Thank you, Theresa, for the very nice photos.

A Beautiful End to the Day!