Chapter 1 of our Honeybee adventure has begun!
Dad called this morning to tell me the bees were ready and once he picked them up and got them loaded into the new hives he built for us, he would be on his way with them.
Once here, Dad and Hubby worked on getting a level spot dug out in the ground to set the blocks on....
Then the hives were placed on top of the block and leveled.
Dad did such a great job on the hives- they are built so neatly and secure.
Now comes the fun part- opening the "door" and letting them out! Dad pried away the small screen over the opening and out they came....
Now the exciting (and nervy) part- I got to "feed" them! Dad showed me how to take the top of the brood box off and brush all the bees on top back down into the box. Then, I had to place the feed box on top and pour the honey/water mixture in for them. (Sorry there are no pictures of this, but it's hard to do this and take pictures at the same time.) And since we forgot to buy a bonnet, I got to experience doing this WITHOUT any protection on my head- just gloves.
Here goes......
It really wasn't as bad as I thought.... I just tried to keep my cool. I did squeal once when one got in my hair, but I managed to hold it together. (And my bladder.)
This is their new home... I hope they will be happy and thrive here on our little farm!
Hey Paula!
ReplyDeleteI find this so fascinating! I think I would have been "freaking out" with all those bees around! Yikes! I just hope you have a plentiful harvest of honey!
I've been looking forward to your post about this day. It's all very interesting and exciting to me. Best of luck Paula.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool!! I keep joking with my hubby and mom that I'm going to start beekeeping. They just laugh because they know I would be too chicken! Have fun and enjoy that wonderful honey!!!!
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful experience! Paula I think many of us are vicariously living this adventure --the boxes are quite sturdy and will you have to keep feeding them or is this to tell them "this is home kiddos"?
ReplyDeleteApril, Mildred and Leslie- thank you all for your sweet words... and I can't wait to taste the honey from "our bees"!
ReplyDeleteLinda Sue- you are too funny... Dad says we will have to "feed" them only once or twice more, then by that time they should be able to find food on their own!
I am fascinated with your bee keeping. I would be a big, ole chicken when it came to doing anything around the bees. The hives look wonderful...your dad did a fabulous job. I hope you get lots and lots of sweet honey. NEAT!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so interested in tracking your progress with this latest project! Great pictures!!
ReplyDeleteWe just don't see many honeybees around here anymore. I suppose we need a hive too?
ReplyDeleteFarmMan family kept bees when he was growing up and talks about getting a colony.
I'll have to show him your pictures.
Good luck with them Paula.
Pam
Paula you are a brave gal. lol. The hives are away from the house far enough the bees won't be bothering you, right? I'm scared of bees...but sure like their honey.
ReplyDeleteThat is going to be so cool. We have a bee keeper that keeps hives on my dads property. I don't know if I would have enough nerve to actually get into the hive though! Yikes. Glad you were o.k.!
ReplyDeleteCiNdEeS' GaRdEn
Hi Paula,
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! You are braver than me though....I bet that honey will be soooo sweet and yummy!
Keep us posted.
Tracey
I love the photo of your dad working with your husband...such a precious thing. This fascinates me, my grandpa was a beekeeper...he went to an agrictulture college...and put a lot of what he learned to good use! I cannot wait to see more of this adventure and I just want you to know that I love, LOVE your blog!
ReplyDeleteXOXO
Joni
Hey Paula,
ReplyDeleteGood job! Make sure you feed them some sugar water until they get stronger! Good Luck!
Those are some nice lookin honey bees, lol! Can't wait to see your honey you get!Good luck and.....Don't get stung:)
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to follow you on this new adventure!!! Can't wait to see the next installment!
ReplyDeletebuzzzzzzzzzzzz!
:)Doreen
Such useful creatures! It's wonderful that you are going to care for them! Fresh, free honey for you! Woo Hoo! :)
ReplyDeleteYEAH!!!! Let the Bee adventures begin!!!! I have always wanted to raise bees........life is taking us in a different direction so I will be living vicariously through you!!!! Happy Bee Keeping!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I'm so excited for you and I'm looking forward to hearing about your bee experiences.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome. I have never seen that done before. I will be excited to see when you get your first batch of honey from your bees!
ReplyDeleteAwesome, girlie! We know how viyal the bees are and wish you the very best of luck with these hives. We depend on the heavily scented flora to draw bees here. I think this will be a great experience for you and James......
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! This brings back some great memories for me. My daddy used to keep bees when I was a little girl and I remember having to stay on the other side of the fence and watch him so I wouldn't get stung. I'm 32 now, but I remember how important it was to my daddy that I was a "big girl" and stayed on the other side of that fence.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! I think this will be a great experience for you. I hope you find the whole thing as fascinating as I did when I was five!
Congratulations on getting your bees! You are so much braver than me! I think it would be so awesome to have fresh honey, though.
ReplyDeleteHi Paula
ReplyDeleteYou are a very brave girl!
I am allergic to bee stings so I avoid them. We have a nest of native bees in the fork of an old tree up in my horses stable paddock but they only swarm once a year and I stay away from them. Apparently they have been in the same tree for over 60 years, probably longer (an old timer told me he remembers it as a kid)
Rose
Aren't bees just a miracle? I often stand close to my Hubby while he works with his bees, and I do not wear protective clothing. Honeybees are seldom dangerous and prone to stinging unprovoked...most people mix them up with yellow jackets, hornets and wasps, and they seem to sting without provocation . The honeybees them selves are often victims of yellow jackets, hornets and wasps.
ReplyDeleteWe have had our grandchildren help their poppa with his bees too!
Congratulations on a wonderful farm addition, honey bees!
Happy Beekeeping! I hope your bees are healthy and productive. Nice to see more people giving this most important of insects the help they need. Its so alarming, reading about the virus that's destroying so many hives.
ReplyDeleteAli @ A Cosy Life
I'm with Joni about the photos- I have a couple of photos of my Dad working here on the place with my husband, and those pics are a treasure to me.
ReplyDeleteI am very excited about your new venture! What an amazing thing- I'm looking forward to reading about the whole process.
Blessings,
Pam
Oh I'm so jealous!! I want bees to but I'm allergic and the hubby is scared of bees. So I have to live vicariously through others.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog too!!!
Oh my Paula! How exciting! Wonderful pictures!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Maryjane
That is wonderful. I would like to get some someday. I Look forward to reading and learning from your adventure!
ReplyDeleteVery cool, Paula! Joy and I just went on a field trip to a bee farm a couple of weeks ago and it was SO interesting! I'm going to show a picture from it real soon! Good luck with your bees! You're a brave soul, in my book!
ReplyDeleteTammy
Hey QUEENbee!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThey are BEEautiful!!!
I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!
Please say you have the bonnet on the way?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too bad someone couldn't have been videoing you during the process.;-)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like such fun. I want bees! Even more, I want their honey!
Hi - best of luck - we live in MD. and my friend Gretchen's husband took a course at the local fairgrounds on bee keeping. He and their 6 y/o son work together in their bee outfits as a team (he had his first one at 3!). Last year was their biggest crop of honey - 400 pounds. They bottled and sold it all - their label is "Buck Naked Farm". It mad terrific Christmas gifts for me to give people. Have fun...keep us updated, Jennifer
ReplyDeleteThis was just way too cool to read about! I've thought about you ever since your post where you mentioned you were going to do this. I'm scared to death of bees, so I'm not sure I would have held my cool (or my bladder!!!!). Please keep us posted as to how it all goes!!
ReplyDeleteCora
Congrats on the new bees!! I think that would be something neat to have once we have more land!
ReplyDeleteBee careful! :) hee hee.
Hope you harvest some tasty honey! That's a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! I hope your bee adventure is a fun one! Blessings,Kathleen
ReplyDeleteThis is very exciting-I feel like I am right there with ya!
ReplyDeleteDebra
Hey, Congrats on the bees! Are they located inside a pasture with other large animals? Goats and such will stay away from hives usually, but horses and cows often will brush against a a hive and knock them over...just fyi...many of my beekeeper friends have suffered that fate!
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, get a veil and have fun! Honey season is upon us!
How exciting...and how brave of you. I am so scared of just one bee buzzing around me, I cannot imagine doing what you are doing! We recently realized that we have a good size honey bee nest on our property, which we are grateful for as we have seen so few bees in the past few years!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool!!! I am terrified of bees, but I do appreciate their job here on our planet and respect them for that! How wonderful that you are caring for them!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting...I used to work at our churches fruit stand and we had bees so I am not too afraid of them...only got stung once....I find them fascinating creatures.....
ReplyDeleteOh Paula, you are a better woman than me! Of course we already knew that since your battle with the snake in your henhouse!!!
ReplyDeleteI looooooove good honey but I am soooo darned scared of honey bees. My father-in-law had honey bees and they would eat me alive when we rode by on our horses but they wouldn't even consider stinging Danny. I always told him it's because I was so sweet!!!!
Good luck!! I wish you lots of yummy honey!!
That is so interesting! But I have to admit that I don't know if I'd have been able to keep from freaking out...
ReplyDeleteLove the view of your property from the hives. It looks so tranquil and beautiful!
Patricia :o)
It's been a while since I've visited The Fraker Farm! Bees - how wonderful! You are a brave lady. I don't know if I could do it.
ReplyDelete