A brief update on some recent happenings with our local bee club and my hives. We had weather in the high 60’s F, almost 20 C, on Friday. A great time for the bees to catch some relief from our sub-freezing temperatures. It was a brief respite, as Saturday’s temperature dropped into the 30’s F, near 0 C. Continue reading
Bee… or bee not, there is no try
It has been bitterly cold the last two weeks (at least by Virginia standards), often below 10 F (-12 C) overnight, and that is without the wind. As a young beekeeper, I worry that my hives will not handle the cold well. One or two may already have died out, for all I know. Unfortunately it is still January so we must wait. Nothing to do but publish my beekeeping goals for 2018. Continue reading
More than Honey
Happy New Year! Time for my thoughts on the past year; I will cover the year ahead in another post. Most situations can always be better or worse, and my beekeeping in 2017 was no exception. It is bitterly cold by our standards in the U.S. right now, so a fine time to curl up in my favorite chair and think about bees. Continue reading
The Twelve Months of Beekeeping
It is time once again for my annual Christmas beekeeping song. This is my third year of creative genius, with past years featuring holiday classics such as I Heard the Bees on Christmas Day and The mites before Christmas. Continue reading
Dribble, dribble, foil mites and trouble bees
Winter….. Snow, cold, and wind….. The bees cluster in their hives and beekeepers keep watch, read a few beekeeping books, and prepare for spring. As we near the winter solstice, this seems like a good time for a status update on my six hives. So here it is. Continue reading
Like a bee in a candy store
Happy Thanksgiving weekend from the United States, when families and friends come together to eat a lot of food, watch sports, and give thanks for the good things in life. The official holiday was started by none other than our first president George Washington, who proclaimed November 26, 1789 “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” (at least, according to Wikipedia).
I found some time to both appreciate and tend my bees this weekend, and made some candy boards for them to snack on during our cold (cool?) winter nights. We had temperatures around 60 F (15 C) all weekend, so it was a good time to finish my winter preparations.
Three finished candy boards for my Langstroth hives. ©Erik Brown
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
The Virginia State Beekeeper’s Association (VSBA) held its 2017 Fall Meeting on November 4, 2017. This one-day meeting is held each fall at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Virginia. As this is a two hour drive from my house, it makes for a nice day trip. I also received my Apprentice Beekeeper certificate as part of the event. Continue reading
