Sunday, May 4, 2008

Busy in the Bee Yard

Today Sunday, May 4th, 2008, it started out a chilly 37 degrees this morning around 6:30 a.m., and I didn't think it would get warm enough to remove the shipping packages from the Hives, but by noon it was up to 67 degrees and by mid afternoon it had made it up to 70. This method of placing the packages into the hive after removing half of the frames seemed to be a very easy way to install the packages. Even though it was not what my first choice was going to be, to begin with, it seemed to work out great. All of the bees had moved from the shipping containers to the frames that were left in the hive. We also got a really nice surprise on Hive #2, the Bees had already released the queen and I spotted her down in the Hive, they also had started building some really nice comb, which was just as white as it could be. After removing the packages from each of the two hives, I then installed the remaining frames into both of the hives. Now they can go to town and start filling them with comb. I did also find out that bees can eat...When I first removed the telescoping cover and the inner cover from both of the hives, we found that the feeders were already half empty. Each of the hives had already gone through nearly a half gallon apiece of the Sugar Syrup in less than two days. While we were adding the frames back into Hive #1, I decided to check and see if the queen had been released...she hadn't, so it may be a few more days before she gets set free from her cage. The hives were also really buzzing with activity after the temperature came up enough for the bees to come out. We got to see many bees coming back to the hive packing Pollen, which was a very light shade of yellow. I am not sure what the pollen was from, but they were really bringing it in this afternoon. The bees were also doing some sort of dance when they were coming back into Hive #2, this afternoon...They would land and then they would be standing on what looked like three legs, with the tail ends raised into the air. Not sure on what it meant, but it was really cool to watch. We have video of me working both of the hives, but until I find my cable for the camcorder to hook to the computer I cannot get it on the page. Give me time and I will either find the one I have misplaced or I will end up buying a new one. Well it has been a terrible long day, but it turned out to be a great day, from they way it started and I ended up getting quite a bit accomplished...I had the bees taken care of and I got my new tiller motor on the tiller, and now I think I am tired enough to call it a day. That and my vacation is over, from this past week, so it's back to work on Monday.

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