It's ALMOST Time...

It's been over a month since I've posted here...

I've been busy just "tweaking" the hive as it were.

In other words I've been messing with a good thing and about screwed it up!  It's been a hard, long month waiting for the girls to arrive.  I keep fiddeling with this and touching up that...well you know how it goes.

BUT...

Tomorrow is the day!  I talked to the supplier and he says they are due in tomorrow after 5pm.  I might actually get a break.  For the last 4 days we've been in the middle of heavy thunderstorms and winds gusting to 45mph.  NOT a good forcast for working with a package of bees!

But the weather broke today, and tomorrow's forecast is clear, calm and a high of 80!  I have my fingers crossed.

Here is a shot of the hive finished and painted...and the Boardman Feeder inserted in to a moddified Division Board...



And here it is in the back yard...I'm testing the smoker...acually I'm testing ME because I'm sure the smoker works just fine...

NOW THE NAIL BITING STARTS...

Well here's what I have so far -

There's no floor, or roof for that matter. Actually there's no entrance either....

Believe it or not htis took us (I couldn't have done it with out Linda) about 4 hours to build.  Yes - I verified it - I cannot cut a straight line.  But with Linda's perserverence I pushed through and finished.

Next:  the screen floor and the roof.  I really want a nice looking gabled roof too.  If I can't cut a straight line then maybe I'll be better at angles!!!

One more shot of the assembly:

Notice the printed out instructions on the table!

They are getting closer!  The Bees are still scheduled for an April delivery!

I "aquired" a radial arm saw this weekend. In case you didn't know I can't cut a straight line.  I was prohibited from owning a saw by the County for years. 

I've downloaded plans for a Top Bar Hive, and it's time to build it.  I rebuilt the saw today, and aligned it...so I MAY be able to cut a straight line...finally....

Here is what it looked like when I bought it home...

Tomorrow I'll go and get the lumber for the hive and post a pic of the saw in action!

Stay Tuned....

Waiting....

and not very patiently!

Well actually I'm still reading everything I can get my hands on...

I've placed markers in the backyard where I think I might want to put the lil' girls, and watching the sun move across the yard from morning till night.

Where I thought I wanted to put them dosen't get any direct sunlight untill 11am, give or take.  I might have to move the colony back towards the privacy fence a little.

I really wanted them where I had a bird's eye view from the couch in the living room, but I'm not going to sacrifice their health for my visual benefit.

Mentor Session 1

Amazing!  That's all I can say.

After attending the local bee association's monthly meeting, I met a bunch of great people. 
I learned more that night than with all of the study time I had spent with the books.

THEN today I went to a mentor session with 7 others and was blown away!
2 hours in the class room and then 2 hours out in the yard with the bees!

And I mean real hands on...It was totally awsome.

Here's Mike showing how to load the smoker correctly...and keep it working....

Showing us where the bees are eating the stored honey to get through the winter...

See how the bees have drawn the wax up from the foudation to make the cells....

The colony in the box...no I didn't use a zoom lense...I'm standing right over the box...no gloves or veil needed....

Yep...that's my hand!  I reached in and took one of the Drones out of the box and we passed it hand to hand.  AWSOME!

Okay, enough awsomeness for the moment.  I'll close this post with a short video I shot :)

How It All Began....

I've always been interested in Honey Bees - when I was overseas in Europe and Asia I seemed to be a little more aware of the Honey Bee colonies than everyone else was....

Finally decided to take the plunge.  I know, I know..I live in a subdivision in the city limits...how am I going to do this and not alienate the neighbors?

Well, for one thing I have great neighbors, mostly europeans themselves, and they have green thumbs!  The backyards, heck even the the front yards in my cul de sac are filled with exotic plants and trees.

So it was just natural to add a Honey Bee colony to the backyard and make their yards even better!  Of course I haven't told them yet!

SO...I've paid for the box o' bees as I call them and am expecting delivery April the 1st of 2011.

The woodenware or beeware or whatever it's supposed to be called should arrive next weekend.

In 2 days I will be going to the local bee club's first meeting of the year. I'm anxious to see if's i'm shut out as an outsider or welcomed in to the group.  Only time will tell.

I'm going to share my trials and tribulations here, as often as I can.  Photos. Video.  Text.  Medical Records..(just kidding with that one)

Stay Tuned!