Delivery of my hives had occurred and I used the cold-ish spring months to paint and decorate the hive.  I also used that time to get the hive and bees ready for the transfer of the bees into the new hive.  This Big Mama hive had double deep frames attached together with wire.  ​ Double Deep Horizontal Frames I installed a few of these frames in a double boxed hive that I had in my apiary.  This way the bees could start working  (making wax) on the […]

I’ve been a beekeeper now for 9 years.  I do not have any of the original hives that I started with, but in this day and age, I am not sure any beekeeper can keep a hive alive for 9 years.  I’ve made plenty of mistakes in those 9 years!  Yes, some did result in the loss of hives, so I have learned to make splits and increase the number of hives, because you just know that you are going to lose some.  I’ve learned that even the best beekeepers lose hives.  It is just […]

It has been a very busy year.  Tomorrow is already June!  I’ve been doing some different things this year.  Yes, I am still keeping bees, I am just trying some new types of hives.   Hives that give the bees just a little more insulation and that make it a bit easier on the beekeeper.   I don’t have a lot of time today to write about all that I have accomplished this year, but I promise I will in my June blog. So stay tuned for the June Blog!!!!  […]

What a crazy long Winter and up and down Spring!!  I think that we have finally broke the cold and are seeing seasonal temperatures.  It is snowing and a blizzard up North as I type this.  Every spring is different!  Weather is CRAZY!!I state this because the weather is a very important factor in Beekeeping.  A very cold winter can be really hard on the bees, but it is mostly the lack of foraging and the plants to forage on when the weather stays cold and snowy for […]

It does not usually get too cold here in North Carolina, or at least not for very long.  Except for this winter. We had temps in the low teens and single digits for far longer than I have ever seen in the 30 years that I have been here.Now February has arrived and the temps warmed up.  They tend to warm quickly here and we have already had several days of high 70’s, if not low 80’s.  That big flux in temperatures has made everything POP!!  Not only did my daffodils shoot […]

2018 – WOW – The years pass so quickly, and like most cold winters, I worry about my bees!   Do they have enough food?  Can they survive temperatures in the teens and single digits?  Most years it does not get really cold in North Carolina.  Well, this year was one of the exceptions.  In December 2017 we had temps in the teens and single digits for about 2 weeks.  Then there was a little bit of reprieve of temps in the 40’s and 50’s and then another waft o […]