Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Heinzie]

Day 2 field trip, all kinds of mischief lol

 

[babylady4]

I topped them off tonight. Good thing too, they were building rogue comb everywhere! I should have added the super a week ago....

At the rate they are producing, ill need to add another super by the end of the month.

I did join the local bee club. I figure I need to tap into the experienced folk for knowledge (kind of like here). They are having an event on the 21st; I’ll try to get pictures.

I keep looking for a free shed so I can get ready for chickens....

 

[jvls1942]

BL4, you know those old timer bee keepers will tell you that they are still learning..
I can tell you a couple of things.
don't set the hives close to a road. too many of them can get hit by cars as they fly across.
keep fresh water close to the hive.
bees start to move when the temp reaches about 50F. so set the hive in a shady spot but where the morning sun can hit it.
watch the incoming bees. you can draw a straight line from the direction they came from to figure out where they are getting the honey. Ever hear the expression, bee line? they fly straight to the hive with their load..
.......jiminwisc......

 

[jvls1942]

BL4 , It seems to me that you mentioned that you liked black raspberries ??
I had a couple canes growing right at the base of a couple of black walnut trees.. they started themselves, with the help of birds, I presume.. I also have a couple of bushes near the house. I am going to try to root some of the canes to help them spread. they don't spread through the roots like reds do. the cane has to touch the ground and take root..
just thought you might like to know this.
If I am successful, maybe I can dig some and bring them to the bash next spring..
don't hold your breath, but wish me luck.
.....jiminwisc......

 

[CherMoz]

Round four started with half the patch picked.
No nose rubbing intended BigZ

 

[bigzio]

Yep, I knew that you were just sharing the harvest...I was just kidding...bean snapping in your future.
We have a wild abundance of red raspberries and black caps here...amazing how packed with flavor the wild red raspberries have and the patch by the woods that I use to mow is all raspberries now….sweet.....see what happens when rustic is allowed to take over!

bigz

 

[CherMoz]

Yup, we have wild black caps here, too, no wild red ones though. This is a photo from about three weeks ago.

 

[bigzio]

If we have a really good crop of black caps, we make jelly out of them...we so prefer any homemade jelly or jam to store bought...in fact while we eat jelly or jam almost daily, I haven't bought store bought jelly in 46 years...LOL! Wish it was only 20 years though...

bigz

 

[CherMoz]

I've wondered if people actually buy jelly/jam as I walk past it. We've always made our own jams. This is the recipe I use now, substituting other fruits for the blueberries. We especially love triple berry using strawberries, black caps, and red raspberries.
11 cups blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions here if anyone is interested:
https://www.driscolls.com/recipe
/blueberry-lemon-honey-jam

 

[babylady4]

I miss making my own jam.... I completely missed the strawberries.

We have some wild blackcaps here too....but I would not be opposed to getting more.

I do know a little bit about bees.... mine are downhill, so the weighted down returning workers don’t have such a hard time.