Crownhillbees.com Blog Retired
When I first started backyard beekeeping as a hobby, I blogged about it at http://www.crownhillbees.com. I recently read over the old site again, and decided that rather than letting it linger out there in abandoned blog never-never-land, I would import the posts and host them here on the DanTheBeeMan blog. I hope you enjoy reading […]
Countdown to Honey Time!
It’s the time of the year, where Beekeepers in the Pacific Northwest are getting ready to have their final honey harvest. Last week, I reserved a 4-frame extractor, uncapping tank, and an electric uncapping knife from the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association (PSBA). I joined PSBA earlier this year, because they are the local Beekeeper’s club, […]
Yellow Jackets
I won’t be doing an inspection today, as I will be otherwise occupied getting things in order, and finishing up some projects I have been working on while K & B were out of town. They are coming back tomorrow – Hooray! I’m taking a bit of a gamble, since I did not see any […]
It finally happened…
Well, I sort of knew it was bound to happen eventually: I got stung. While doing a hive inspection. Actually, just after the inspection. I went almost four months without any incident, and even did many inspections without gloves. And I didn’t even get stung on my hand – I got stung on my thigh! […]
Almost full!
I have been observing the activity of the hives throughout the week, and based on how busy both are, I think they can go another week before a full inspection. I did however want to see how much room was left in the honey supers, so I just finished a “mini-inspection”. So I just removed […]
The Hot Days of Summer
It’s been another very hot week (for us in the Pacific Northwest anyway, we’re not used to prolonged periods of 80 degree weather). The bees seem to be loving it. Today I decided to knock out the inspection before the heat of the day really kicked in. I had planned to start right after getting […]
What a difference a week makes
Well, three weeks actually. It’s been two weeks since the last inspection, and three weeks since I put on the honey supers. In both hives, there was significant progress. This is a view into the honey super of West hive. You can see drawn out comb, and the beginnings of white capping: Honey! This is […]
It’s Hot. Happy Birthday, America
I won’t be doing an inspection this weekend. It’s too damn hot, and it’s Benny’s first 4th of July. We’ve got some celebrating to do, and the bees get a holiday break, too. Happy 233rd Birthday, America! 🙂
A little disappointed
It’s been a week since I put on the honey supers. It’s been very nice weather, sunny and warm. Yet, there was zero evidence of comb building activity in either super. Neither West Hive nor East Hive appeared to have mad any progress. Maybe one week just isn’t enough, especially since I stopped feeding them […]
Honey Super Time
Today was my first official Father’s Day, but I set a side a little slice of time in the afternoon to check in on the bees. Both hives seem to be doing great. There are noticeably more bees per hive than I started out with. Most of the brownish-colored ones that I started with appear […]