A new name for the apitherapy hut--"Hive House" by my daughter Cassandra. A haven for rest and rejuvenation--RR at HH. More of the roof done today with all of the boards up and the tar paper on. Had the grandsons "helping" me off and on today. Alder, trailing arbutus, peach willow, and maple blossoms are appearing about two weeks earlier than usual. The bees are coming in with pollen and very happy for it!!
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Roof/ceiling boards go on ,but still a few to go. A mixture of boards--poplar,cedar, cherry, spruce, balsam, and white pine. Another great day to be outside,but kinda hot at 62 degrees.
Only a bit of work on Sunday that shows, but prepared the floor boards for later. From standing tree to rafters today. A beautiful day to work in the North Country. Thirty degrees in the morning but 47 and sunny in the afternoon--the bees were flying!! Will start on the roof boards tomorrow.
The Superior Beekeeping Club spent the day last Wednesday at the Co-op talking bees to the patrons of the store. The observation hive helped to attract attention as we passed out literature pertaining to pollinators and the issues confronting them.
Thank-you to the Co-op for highlighting the role of pollinators in our food supply. Pictures by Chad Mckinney A nice day to work outside --sunny and 40 degrees.It was nice to get rid of the snow from Wednesday. Posts all set in the ground and the foundation beams set on two sides(need to get more blocks) and floor joists in. Won't see much visual progress in the next couple of days but getting floor boards, wall logs,and other materials ready.
Work on the mill to ready white cedar logs. They are being squared on 2 sides then stripped of their bark. The balsam pine is stripped--note how at this time of year the bark comes off in large strips. When dry, these are great fire starters. Raining now so will not get much done.
****Check the club page for info on our Wed. project an the Marquette Food Co-op. I finally started the process as the snow left the area and the weather warmed. The coming week looks to be cold with rain/flurries so might not get much done. The 5 frame nucs will be used for the hives under the benches-may have to go to a regular hive later. I will post some pics of milling the cedar logs and stripping balsam pines for support logs tomorrow. I don't have a plan so just making it up as I go. The style will be similar to the log cabin built last year and the outdoor kitchen.
**** The bees came in and they look great. Thanks Michelle!!! Just had coffee with longtime beekeeper Tom Nebel from the Gladstone area. This guy has forgot more more than I will ever know about bees. Following is what he did this year to hive his bees.
***This is not for the faint hearted or probably new beekeepers. 1. Use a "lip" as mentioned in another tipaday. 2. Shake the bees into the hive/lip. 3. Pull the cork from the queen package& drop the package onto the hive/mass of bees. 4. Cover quickly!! __________________ Yesterday's beautiful 65 degrees had the bees flying and coming back loaded with pollen. Tracking it down led me to the low areas where the tag alders grow. Out of the wind and in the warm sun, the bees were all over the alders. You could set back and watch the activity and here the hum/buzz in the air. For my bee keeping friends here and downstate that don't think alders produce anything for bees--here is a picture!! Yes that is snow in the background. Pussy willow and Maple blossoms will not come until the 1st or 2nd week of May. *** Check the Club page for package update. Reduce you entrance to its smallest hole. Then put a loose"plug" of grass (dried is ok) into the hole. They will soon remove this. If they don"t within a couple of days--pull it out. TIP A DAY 5 Feed your new bees a 1 to 1 sugar water solution. At this time of year, place it near the bees so they don't need to break cluster to get at it.
Place the queen cage just off the inner hive cover hole. this will allow the cluster to form around her but she will not be in danger of a leaky feeder.
***check club page for bee package update. |
Joel LantzKeeper of bees. Archives
February 2022
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