Beez pleezz

[Trish Stretton]

Good to hear you get honey fro him, all that lovely organic flowers being put to good use. lol

I didnt get to take pics today- its been a busy family day.
Tomorrow, promise.

Its almost that time where I am busy seed sowing. I'm so looking forward to spring/summer...not that its been all that cold this winter, just sick of all the rain and being stuck inside...driving me nuts.

 

[Trish Stretton]

 

[flowerbug]

View attachment 36333
View attachment 36334

wow! neato! a good example of the saying, "Busy as bees!"

 

[Trish Stretton]

Yeah! Its got lots of hollows and tunnels that the camera just doesnt pic up. I need to get over this and process it, its been sitting there entertaining me now for months. lol

 

[flowerbug]

Yeah! Its got lots of hollows and tunnels that the camera just doesnt pic up. I need to get over this and process it, its been sitting there entertaining me now for months. lol

i agree that a camera can't capture everything the eyes notice, but those two pictures are pretty good at showing some details.

did you get around to doing it yet?

 

[Trish Stretton]

Yep, I got 2 1/2 x750ml jars of honey from it. There is still the last little bit I'm trying to squeeze out of the wax, trying to get every last drop.
I think thats just under 3kg.

I washed the cappings from the other frames and added some yeast to it, just bog standard baking yeast cos I dont have and wine yeast. Its sitting in the kitchen out of direct sunlight, but I think its probably a bit too cold for it to really get started.It does have some bubbles on the top though, so something is happening in there.

I'm keeping the wax I just did in a sealed container in the freezer so when it comes time to rack the 'mead', I will have some fresh honey water to do any topping up.
No idea how it will turn out, but it should be consumable. lol

 

[flowerbug]

Yep, I got 2 1/2 x750ml jars of honey from it. There is still the last little bit I'm trying to squeeze out of the wax, trying to get every last drop.
I think thats just under 3kg.

I washed the cappings from the other frames and added some yeast to it, just bog standard baking yeast cos I dont have and wine yeast. Its sitting in the kitchen out of direct sunlight, but I think its probably a bit too cold for it to really get started.It does have some bubbles on the top though, so something is happening in there.

I'm keeping the wax I just did in a sealed container in the freezer so when it comes time to rack the 'mead', I will have some fresh honey water to do any topping up.
No idea how it will turn out, but it should be consumable. lol

good luck!

 

[Trish Stretton]

This morning was such a beautiful sunny, warm still day- no nasty cold wind for a change so i decided to inspect the hives. It is a bit early but its been such a warm winter and they are both so busy, I just had to find out what is going on in there.
I was just going to inspect Rua cos I cant see into that one, but after having such an easy time....and the smoker was still going, so I did Tahi as well.

Before I start, I like to think about what I am trying to do/achieve with the inspection.
Cos this is the first of the 'new year', one target is to stay calm and get used to inspecting again and the other was to make sure the brood looks good.
I have seen from looking at the entrance that they are flying well and bringing in a good amount of pollen, so I wasnt too worried about their stores I think I probably leave them too much honey, but better too much than not enough.
Everything looked really good and afterwards, I listen, ear pressed to the end wall to hear how they sound. You can tell if they have been stressed cos the noise is different and louder...all good there too. It also tells you if you accidently have lost or killed the Queen cos they really sound low and loud- roar. Nada
I always go back and check the entrance and listen through the wall after a couple of hours just to make sure. I expect to hear a low hum/ business as usual sound and yep.

One thing I did differently this time with the gloves I wear, is to use cotton gloves under bog standard dish washing gloves-had a hair tie holding the open bits closed against my jacket.
I got sick of my nitrile gloves slipping due to sweat and the fact that they dont actually fit that well- I need large gloves but the fingers are too long.
Its alot easier to work with gloves that stay put and are not getting in the way like they were. I'm hoping that this will also help stop me from getting stung...I still absolutely hate being stung.

 

[Trish Stretton]

I started my Oxalic acid vapour treatments again yesterday.
Today, I checked the sticky boards and found Tahi had dropped 14 mites and Rua only 7.
Quite pleased with that, but will be treating every 4 days for the next month just to make sure everything is all good.

My report form for this years official AFB inspectiona arrived today, so I need to contact my inspector to organise a time to get this done.
I think they will both pass, based on the last inspection, but....you never really know til its done.

Our area has Just had some reports of Covid-19, which is not what I wanted to hear, if this is proved true, our area might be going back into level 3 lockdown like Auckland has. Lucky for me, I will still be allowed to go to work.
I think I will still be able to get the hives inspected because they are considered livestock and it is essential that they are inspected for AFB.

 

[flowerbug]

i hope it doesn't go much further. you guys have managed to keep it from getting so much worse and deserve a lot of respect for that IMO.

glad to hear about the lack of mites and hope the inspection can happen and it goes well.