🐝💗Our Backyard Beekeeping Journey!💗🐝

[asorum]

I keep three hives here. It was a good summer for them this year.

 

[drstratton]

I keep three hives here. It was a good summer for them this year.

Nice!

How long have you had them?

 

[asorum]

I have had hives for maybe six years. I get about 30% to overwinter.

 

[drstratton]

I have had hives for maybe six years. I get about 30% to overwinter.

That's awesome. I see you're from Alaska. That must come with some unique challenges.

I'm hoping we can get ours to over winter.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Mid 70s Sunday, will be the last deep chk. Lowest night temps mid 40s for the next ten nights. Looks like I'll keep feeding syrup. No need to wrap just yet. Still flying heavy in the warmer mid to late afternoon. I am enjoying the morning dose of fall honey.

 

[drstratton]

Just inspected the combined hive. It's completely integrated. The queen is laying a lot of eggs, filling in where the capped brood has hatched. Saw a bunch of bees emerging. So glad we decided to combine.

All 3 hives are feeling quite heavy. We'll continue to feed and add sugar bricks once it gets too cold for the syrup. The bees were very active today, flying in and out, still bringing in pollen. I'm feeling good about how things are looking.

The freezer is full of frames. A good portion are well drawn. The girls can hit the ground running in the spring, if we get them through winter. If not we will be well ahead of how we started this year. Hopefully we won't have to order any bees at the being of the season. If the #2 hive makes it through, I would really like to raise queens from her. She has been strong and consistent all season long. Would be great to raise my own and not have to buy new queens, although I wouldn't mind getting some from Randy Oliver or the Golden West Queens.

So thankful we didn't sell this freezer.

 

[Sally PB]

A neighbor goes to a lot of estate sales. I told her to please watch for a freezer for me. I might check out a used appliance store in the area to see what I can find.

 

[drstratton]

A neighbor goes to a lot of estate sales. I told her to please watch for a freezer for me. I might check out a used appliance store in the area to see what I can find.

I hope you can find one. We had one, then bought another during Covid. Then our son gave us theirs when they moved. Before bees, three was too many.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

DW is happy, me not so much. Dropped of 48 lbs of honey to the vender yesterday on our way out of town. Before we got a mile out of town vender called DW and said had just sold two jars and this was about 10:00AM the day before the annual festival starts! W informed me that we will be supplying honey from May through October. This is what happens when two women put their heads together. I got back into bees to relax! All reserves are gone and now into our fall stock. I was planning on one split in the spring but now looking at least two depending on what honey we have left from the festival. Now that I'm done whining over good fortune, those of you who run 9 frames in a 10 frame box how much of an increase do you average per medium deep?

 

[Sally PB]

Now that I'm done whining over good fortune,

Speaking of fortune, what do you get for your honey?

I was hoping we'd have some to sell, but not this year. Spring harvest (our very first, yay!) was about 30 pounds, but the second was only about 12.

Thinking we'd get more the second harvest, we gave away half of our first. Ok, neighborly goodwill is worth a lot.

Hubby just likes some honey on his toast every now and then. I want honey to bake with, to cook with, to brew kombucha with...