Tuesday 25 June 2013

Bee Business......

So I did get down the plot this morning and got some much needed weeding done but there is still plenty left to do.

The suns has shone all day and the temperatures have been nice and the wind has died down...this of course made it perfect weather for inspecting bee hives.

As luck would have it Jez who was one of the tutors on the course rang me just as I finished work and said he was going over to his hives and would I like to go so of course I jumped at the chance.

Jez's hives have expanded from the three he had when we did the open apiary visit to eight with the swarms he has caught over the season. Today we were re-housing one of the swarms from a nucleus which they had filled into s full hive. We went through and slowly replaced the comb they had drawn into the hive and i got my first look at a real live queen which we also captured and then after I wimped out Jez marked in red for the colour of the year.

i took my camera with me but with all that was going on I forgot to take any photos...maybe next time.

It was great to go out to the hives again and just makes me want my bees even more. Jez did say today that he is quite happy to bring one of his hives over for me to look after whilst I get sorted to get my own sorted out next year,...this has given me more incentive than ever to get the land sorted so I will be doubling my efforts form now on.

The best thing about the evening was when Jez scooped some comb off from the nucleus hive which the bees had started to build and fill with honey within the feeding chamber and I got to suck the honey out of it and eat some of the wax too...it doesn't get much better or purer than that!!

Will catch you all up on my allotment antics tomorrow!!
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10 comments:

  1. Wow! What a great day you had. I'd love a close up visit to a bee hive.

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    1. It really is awesome to see all the bees working ...even better when you get to watch one newly emerge from it's cell!!

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  2. I hope you made sure the comb you sucked was bee free.

    So what did he mark the queen with?

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    1. I didn't start eating until I was well away from the hives Sue...they are known for wanting their honey back!!

      The queen was marked with a special pen that has a paint in it that is safe to use...I don't know what it's made of but I will purchase the proper pens when I get my own bees as I wouldn't want to use something that might damage the queen or make the other bee's reject her.

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  3. Oh wow, that sounds like so much fun.

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  4. That would be a great first step in to beekeeping, looking after a hive until you get your own set up. It's always good to have someone on hand to help with any queries if you get stuck.

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    1. I think it will give me a real confidence boost for when I get my own hive and colony Jo. It also helps Jez out by lightening his load a bit!!

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  5. well that all sounds rather exciting.

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    1. I kind of what to jump up and down on the spot and squeal about it Ann!!

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keep it clean...keep it relevant...I look forward to reading your comments!!