Apr 23
After 2 weeks of delays, the bees are here. 110 packages of bees arrived around 7 and Saturday. While I was eager to get them started, I really didn’t mind the delay due to all the bad weather, and even snow we had the previous weeks. By 8 the first beekeeper had already picked …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/the-bees-are-here/
Apr 14
It seems like winter just doesn’t want to let go this spring. I’ve actually seen snow falling more than half the days this past week. It hasn’t been terribly warm this week and the snow that has been sweeping across the country from Colorado to the Northeast arived this afternoon. I couldn’t get a picture …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/snowstorm-in-mid-april/
Apr 09
What is wrong with this picture? April and today at 41 degrees, was the warmest day in the past 6. 4 of those days I’ve awoke to find snow on the ground. (I had a picture of hives in the snow take just yesterday, but it was on a new camera phone and I just …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/where-did-april-go/
Mar 15
As I wrote the previous post I know losses were high. But until I got into the rest of the yards, I didn’t know how high. At home they weren’t too bad, but some of the out yards got hit hard. It’s nothing like anything I’ve seen before. Everyone I’ve talked to in the state …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/winter-losses/
Mar 12
Large drifts still have not yet melted, but it’s finally above freezing with temperatures near 50 for the past few days. The latter part of last week was spent mixing up sugar syrup and feeding hives to get them moving and prevent starvation. I also put out dry pollen substitue to keep them busy until …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/the-season-begins/
Dec 01
It’s been in the high 50′s and low 60′s for more than a week now, with lows that often didn’t get below 50. It’s the kind of warm spell you would kill for in mid March that brings the Silver Maple’s into bloom and gives the bees a huge jump start in spring. The kind …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/heat-wave/
Oct 20
Last week brought our first hard freeze finishing off what goldenrod remained and the last of the tomatoes in the garden. Only the small white asters remain for the bees. Most of the hives are all set for winter and have plenty of stores, but I am still feeding quite a few of the mid …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/fall-is-here/
Sep 29
The honey harvest is finished as of this past weekend. I was a bit dissapointing this year as the yield was 40% less than last year. Considering I had more hives in production than last year and the average per hive was probably 50% of normal (and perhaps 60% of last years average). But it …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/honey-harvest-the-epilogue/
Sep 20
Sometimes I really wonder what queens are thinking. I came home today to and looking out the window of my bedroom where my observation hive is mounted I saw what looked like a queen, motionless on the ground a foot away from the extrance tube. Looking closer I saw the white dot on her back, …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/what-are-queens-thinking/
Sep 20
In the worst possible place.
This past weekend was spent combining mating nucs back into full size hives and inspecting the rest of my hives. I actually took Friday off of work and spend 3 solid days doing nothing but combining and inspecting. If it weren’t for the heavy fog Friday and Saturday morning I …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/blog/beekeeping/found-a-queen/
