Beautiful record setting March 6th 2009.

The tempture by 11:00 AM was 66F breaking the old record set in 1961.I looked at the 17 colonies we have here at home and seem all 17 are still alive, Yea. I go tell Kare to get ready to go check our out yards. The first out yard we checked is a small tree nursery where we never were able to replace all our losses from last year. Of the two colonies remaining there one was alive and going strong. The second was however dead. Checking them it appeared they had lost the queen in the fall and a laying worker took over as there were lots of small bullet capped drone brood. They were in the top box with a full box of honey on the bottom. I think the laying worker kept the girls in the top box covering brood when the cold temps hit.Go to the second out yard another one where we were not able to replace all the losses of last spring. It is in the front yard of people who many years ago kept bees but gave it up when vorroa took their colonies which as a young couple they didn't have funds to start anew.Both colonies were going strong.Go to the third bee yard also one where we were not able to replace all that died last year. Still we have 6 colonies there way back at the rear of the Christmas tree farm. First thing was the mud and snow drifts remainging to get back there. I hope Pual isn't to upset over the 6 to 8 inch ruts.All six colonies alive and I got my first sting of the year/season.Across the road at the horse farm we have two colonies remainig from the twelve that had been there in 2007.Since they are way to the back and across a couple of hay fields we walked back to look at them. One was alive and one had died out in the bottom box with a full box of honey on top. I hadn't taken a hive tool so wasn't able to get any frames out to get a good look at them to see if I could figure out a cause of death. At the green house yard we have three colonies again due to mud we walked back to check them out. Good thing we were walking as we still sunk in about 8 inches the mud was so bad in the trail out there. Again I didn't take a hive tool so the one dead colony out there I didn't get any frames out to figure cause of death. I had expected that one to be a dead really as they built up so slow last spring (one we had to treat for Nosma creana.) In Sept they were still in a single deep. I robbed several other colonies so I could put six frames of honey in the second box for them figureing they would have time to full four frames of drawn comb by winter. They had by Oct filled those four frames.Next yard a mile down the road, a nothing special yard in a naturlist ladies front yard. She had attended a class I had given on honey bees at a nature center and asked if we would like to place some bees in her yard. Of the two colonies we still had alive there last fall, both were doing well.Next was a truck farm that raises vegtables for sale at a road side stand they keep. Our bees are back in a clearing in the woods. Three colonies remain from or 63% losses of spring 2008. All three were alive.Next yard is what we call the Stone yard, people who own the land have a last name of Stone. All six colonies there are alive also, One may be on the weak side but is still alive never the less.We then drive to the next county where we have two yards and due to the losses of 2008 we have three colonies in each. The first we call the Gale yard as that is the name of the road we take to get there. The land belongs to a young couple who lived in a city til a couple of years ago. The husband is a school teacher and the wife is a township cop.This was once farm land cut up into 10 acre lots. All three colonies were alive there which was a surprize since one of the outer covers had been blowen off. NOTE TO SELF, ONE BRICK IS NOT ENOUGH TO HOLD A OUTER COVER ON A HIVE IN 30 & 40 MPH WINDS. As we got back to the pick up I recieved a call from a fellow at the next yard we were going to visit. He said all three colonies had the front of the hive just black. He also said that they were raiding all his bird feeders and the bees looked bigger. I told him we were on the way there. Sure enough the bees were going in the bird feeders and even throwing out seeds to get to the dust as a pollen supplement. All three were alive. I told him we raise big bees.Our Di yard is Kares sisters farm. The big red barn makes a real nice north wind break. Last year we had lost all but one colony there. This year all six we have there are alive still.Next is our Woody yard as that is the name of the fellow that owns the land. We had bought the colonies from a retireing bee keeper in 2005. I think it broke the fellows heart not being able to work his bees after nearly 60 years. We bought them from him in April and he passed in June. I learned a lot from him in just those few months and miss him greatly still. All five of the remaining colonies remaining there from 2008 are still alive.Of sixty five colonies we lost three. We have two that are still alive but weaker than the rest. Is raining today, supposed to rain tomorrow too. Mondays for cast is supposed to be clear so if the pollen patties arrive that we ordered to go with what we have on hand we will start placeing them. Kare may also find time in her busy week to make syrup I can put on.

Our increases.

Bee keeping started out to save some honey bees living in a tree, then just to be a hobby. After several years now it has turned in to a spring into the fall job.

The six above pictured hives of seven were our first venture from our own home yard. We bought the seven colonies from a bee keeper who had gotten sick and could no longer work them.

I would call him after we bought the bees with questions and to inform him how they were doing. He got a great kick out of the story of how I learned that one breed of bees is not as gentil as others after I got stung about 20 some times the first time I opened the hives to look at the bees.

The 3 colonies of bees I had at home were Itialian, considered one of the gentilest breed of bee. I had often worked the home bees the summer before with a base ball hat and tee shirt. Well the SMR Carnoloinas the lived in the new hives are not that gentil. They came out the top of the hive whenI lifted the cover off and said HELLO, then proceded to teach me a helmit and veil would be needed when looking in on them.

We reduced the number of bees in those hive by making nucs with them. that lessing of the over crouding seem to help gentel them, stillnot enough to not wear a helmit and veil.

We started getting calls to catch swarms that summer too. Not a lot of them but enough that we went into the winter with 22 colonies.

My life with Honey bees Or the girls in my life

My Beekeeping story

It began in October of 2002 when I cut down a dead Ash tree for firewood. I never knew it was home to Honey Bees till I had nearly all the lower part blocked up to split into fire wood size.
Kare my wife had told me of watching a PBS program about the wild honey bees dieing out because of a mite. Since we had about 2,000sq.ft. Of perennial flowerbeds at that time I didn’t want the bees to die. I tried to find a local beekeeper to help me save them to no avail. I then turned to the Internet, where I found Jim, a West Michigan beekeeper.
Jim told me what I needed to do to get the bees thru the winter, which did work.
After fixing things so the bees would over winter I discovered, I had questions about honeybees. Jim was kind and answered all my questions and told me other things also. Jim suggested that when spring came I should take steps to get the wild bees in a standard hive box and become a beekeeper. Before Jim left with his honey bees for the winter in Flordia he explained just how I should go about doing that.
Some how I managed to loose Jims E Mail address, I no longer had him to ask for advice when spring arrived. I bungled my way thru but still need some answers. Once again the internet saved my neck. I met Joel a beekeeper in Missouri. Joel had years of experince which he shared with me. I told him that after a week it looked like the girls were not going up into the hives. Joel sent me a frame of drawn comb, I didn't even know what drawn comb was. After a month with much bee activity they just were not around any more. After another two weeks with no bees around, Joel said they had probably found a new home on their own because there was some thing about the hives they must have not liked. Joel told me of a place here in Michigan where I could buy a nuc of bees. I took the frame I had built to hold the hives around the log down when I removed the hive bodies. A mouse had been in there, Joel told me that would make the bees leave.
He also told me he hadn't been feeling well and had went to the doctor. Joel told me that he might not make it to harvest any more honey, said what comes about just happens for a reason. I never heard from Joel after the last week in May 2003. I sent snail mail and e mails to no avail.
I was able to find Jims address latter that summer though. I continue to write him about the bees. I was surprized to have him invite me to go to queen rearing school with him in May.

I also had a second tree which was home to honey bees on my property but had knowen about that one. That one is a story of it's own.


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