Today was about bees in a couple ways. My local group, the Prince William Regional Beekeepers Association, held an open house for anyone interested in Bee School this coming January. That certainly includes me, so I drove over to the meeting to find a room full of potential beekeepers. Continue reading
Month: November 2014
The Hive Mind
I have been thinking about hives. While I am still keen to have a top bar hive, existing beekeepers keep telling me that I should start with Langstroth hives before trying top bars. So after some angst, I decided to seek some solace and advice in books and online. Continue reading
The Bee Man of Orn
Yesterday my daughter S and I attended a meeting of the Prince William Regional Beekeepers Association in Manassas, Virginia. It was our first meeting and I think we both enjoyed ourselves. I told her it would be boring – best to set expectations such that she wouldn’t be disappointed – and she wanted to come anyway. The simple pleasures of parenting. Continue reading
A Book of Bees
There are lots of books about bees and beekeeping, so I thought I would share the few I have read or listened to since my little obsession began. Reading (or listening) to a book makes one qualified to have an opinion on it, so enjoy. Continue reading
But where are all the bees? (TBH 2 of 6)
Welcome to Top Bar Tuesdays! This is the second post in a six-part series on top bar hive design. I was surprised to see how many variations there were for the basic shape of a top bar hive, and how little many authors discussed the different options, so I thought a few posts highlighting what I see as pros and cons of common approaches might be useful.
This post looks at the body of the hive, in particular the end of the hive. Continue reading
The Hive At Gettysburg
Today I built a nuc! There is not much for an aspiring beekeeper to do around here in November, so I thought this might be a good distraction. I’m not the best woodworker, and I’m not sure I really need this for my first year, but you never know. The day went fairly well and I’m happy with the result.
My new nuc box that matches the interior shape of my current top bar hive
Bees with eeb 