How are your hives doing?

[histopicker]

How are your hives doing? Have any of you done some inspections? My girls are plugging along alright. Only three of my captured swarms are growing, the others have been shaken into the thriving colonies without their queens.

My Apiary is growing. I have now built eight more Nucleus boxes giving me a total of twelve. I need to get them started.

I also have been building frames from scratch. They are extremely labor intensive; sixteen sawing steps before you assemble them. I am having a blast building my own equipment.

[topper]

Building frames from scratch. Labor intensive isn't the word for it!!! One time I did it too, just to know that I could.

When I first started in beekeeping, an elderly 'keeper (who was also a Root Dealer) lent me the various parts of a hive so I could copy them.

Also one of the bee magazines, at the time, had an article on building hive including making a jig for cutting the finger joints. 

Local saw mill would cut lumber to proper dimensions to make the deep hives. I only used deeps -- keep things simple & consistent.

Warms my heart, knowing someone out there is building their own frames.

Karma coming your way.

[histopicker]

May 16, 2015 20:54:59 GMT -5 topper said:

Building frames from scratch. Labor intensive isn't the word for it!!! One time I did it too, just to know that I could.

When I first started in beekeeping, an elderly 'keeper (who was also a Root Dealer) lent me the various parts of a hive so I could copy them.

Also one of the bee magazines, at the time, had an article on building hive including making a jig for cutting the finger joints. 

Local saw mill would cut lumber to proper dimensions to make the deep hives. I only used deeps -- keep things simple & consistent.

Warms my heart, knowing someone out there is building their own frames.

Karma coming your way.

Thanks Topper; I am not going to use the box joints on my hives. I use a rabbit joint and lots of glue, they will last.
The frames are really a task but, I sure do enjoy knowing I built them.

[Brad H.]

Will have an inspection this week and plan on posting pics. They sure are busy. Bringing back legs full of pollen. No shortage of flowering trees around for them too. So far so good!

[topper]

Histo, as I understand it, the rabbit joint with "the new generation of glues" is more than strong enough for hive bodies.

When I had made up that bunch of frames, I cut the ends of the top bars with a radius at the corners -- made it easy to identify the homemade from the factory frames. Bees couldn't care less which they used.

Don't know how true it is, but had heard that there is/was some "machine" you put a piece of wood in one end & frame parts come out the other? Never pursued it. Figured I couldn't afford such a machine to begin with.

It seems that no matter how big a beekeeper gets, no matter how many hives he runs, no matter how many states he travels to for pollination. Most all beekeepers are inveterate experimenters! 

And yet still in touch with the old ways - the history - the I can build it myself... which goes full circle to, experimenting -- I can build it better myself..

Well anyway...

[histopicker]

I get paid if I work or not so I figure; the time I spend building equipment is free anyway. This being said, not counting labor, I can build it far less costly than I can buy it.

Now that is some artful justification!!

[topper]

Yep!

Never could understand. Someone will say something like, " why handload shotshells," or why do this, or why do that. "...My time is too valuable to justify doing -- what ever."

Then there is the ever present & popular, "Why take time off to go deer hunting? When I can buy a lot of meat with a day's wages."

Well then, how do they justify the time spent sitting in front of a TV? That one hour program they just watched cost them 25 or 50 bucks in labor. That dinner they sat down to cost 30 bucks in labor -- in time spent.

Wait. Bad example. People don't have the time to spend with family around the dinner table. They instead watch an episode of "The Waltons" or "Blue Bloods" sitting around the table.  

"They" will never know the feeling of catching a trout on a fly they tied themselves.

Sorry. Seem to be on a philosophical kick this morning.

[histopicker]

May 17, 2015 14:29:13 GMT -5 topper said:

Yep!

Never could understand. Someone will say something like, " why handload shotshells," or why do this, or why do that. "...My time is too valuable to justify doing -- what ever."

Then there is the ever present & popular, "Why take time off to go deer hunting? When I can buy a lot of meat with a day's wages."

Well then, how do they justify the time spent sitting in front of a TV? That one hour program they just watched cost them 25 or 50 bucks in labor. That dinner they sat down to cost 30 bucks in labor -- in time spent.

Wait. Bad example. People don't have the time to spend with family around the dinner table. They instead watch an episode of "The Waltons" or "Blue Bloods" sitting around the table.  

"They" will never know the feeling of catching a trout on a fly they tied themselves.

Sorry. Seem to be on a philosophical kick this morning.

I can find no fault with anything you just stated.

[bk]

The ladies are doing well this year. Odd thing is I have two hives at are like twins.  Even found the queens today on the same frames. Good numbers, good brood, and making honey. Stole a taste today of the fresh uncapped. So good.

[Deleted]

I made some more progress this weekend in getting some more hive components painted up. Need to get a few more things in order then I'll be ready to go. The buddy that's going to help me on this is getting calls almost weekly on swarms, so hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks, I'll be in business.

[Deleted]

Quick update. My buddy catching swarms told me yesterday to get a couple boxes ready, as he may be out in a week with a swarm or two. He told me to get two in place in case, but also said to put 3 cotton balls with a few drops of lemongrass oil on them, put them in a plastic sandwich bag, and put one bag each in the box. It may draw a swarm, and since I would have them ready, it wouldn't hurt to try. He's attracted several swarms so far just doing this. Anyway, I got 2 boxes out yesterday Updates to follow.

[Brad H.]

Good luck CJ. I've never heard of that. Will be interesting to see if that works.

[histopicker]

remember to not zip the bags shut.

[soldim]

We tried splitting some of our bigger hives a couple of weeks back. Most are doing fine, but two only seem to be getting by. We'll have to wait and see if they get strong enough this summer to make it through next winter.

No swarms caught this year so far, generally we get two or three.

[Deleted]

Wahoo...buddy is bringing out a smarm tonight around dark.

[Deleted]

Honestly I'm glad I'm not around, one thing I for (SURE) remeber from being a kid is don't fug with bees.

GOOD lUCK

[Brad H.]

Free bees! Wonder if that's where the term freebies originated?

[histopicker]

Jun 10, 2015 19:19:29 GMT -5 Brad H. said:

Free bees! Wonder if that's where the term freebies originated?

No doubt!