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Fresh Nectar..

The bees girls are busy at work, nectar is gathered and made into honey.  When the process is complete, the bees will cap each cell with wax to seal in the honey .  This is a frame showing the nectar in the wax cells before being finished and capped !

Poplar Blossom

The beautiful tulip poplar blossom - responsible for the red tint to our local honey.

Do you have what it takes to be a beekeeper ?

Tulip Poplars

Tulip poplar trees are our major local nectar source but they can get quite big so remember this when planting one.

 

Blackberries and bees !

Are you seeing the wild blackberry bushes in bloom along our roads ?  Good bee food !

The "rush" before the storm

My bees work feverishly before approaching thunderstorms.  Rushing to get that last bit of nectar or pollen before the rain.

Too much pollen in air !

Living down in a little valley, I love seeing the bees flying during the late afternoon (backlit by the sun). Today there is so much pollen floating in the air it is competing with my bees for attention !

Bees gathering blackberry nectar

What a beautiful Spring day, tulip poplars are blooming and blackberries too.  Our bees are very busy..

The Flow is ON !

My big Tulip poplars are starting to bloom in the top !  "The Flow" is on.  This is when our excess honey should be made - go bees !

Honeybees & blueberries

Freezing temps here this morning but the bees are working my blueberry bushes this afternoon.

Wild Cherry Blooming

Wild Cherry blossoms are brightening up the woodland - good food for our bees and now a freeze warning tonight... argh...

The piney woods on a warm spring afternoon...

I use dry pine needles for my bee smoker fuel.  With the impending rain I made a trip to the woods yesterday afternoon to gather some.  The temp was warm - the wonderful smell of a piney wood on a warm day will always seem like home to me.  I also found these beauties along the way.

Pussy Willows

Pussy Willows are such fun plants and they provide early pollen.  My bees love them.

Handmade Soap with Honey !

My honey and soap has traveled much farther than me ! Both have been to Italy. My Beetacular (lemongrass blend) is the feature soap at Villa Sant'Andrea
(http://www.santandreacortona.com/). Enjoy this beautiful location if you plan a trip abroad. But those of you who are stateside can also enjoy Beetacular ! http://carolinahoneybees.com/

Spring and buzzing bees.

A busy day in the bee yard !

Getting My Swarm Trap Ready !

One of my important early spring activities is checking my swarm traps.  I have one that is placed about 100 yards north of my bee yard.  I have caught a swarm in this trap every summer.  Sometimes it is a swarm that has left my own hives and at least once - it was a swarm from another apiary or a wild colony.  My swarm trap is made of an old weathered deep hive box with a nailed on top and bottom.  Ten Frames are inside the box and there are a few frames of old comb that will smell good to a bee and will not represent a real loss to me if they are destroyed. After the cold, windy weather -
I could see that the box had shifted and needed some attention.

 It is rare to get out to this box without being accompanied by the goats.  Who would have guessed that they knew so much about honeybee swarm traps ?! They certainly do not like the boxes that are full of bees !

Daisy is especially concerned that some of the frames must have too much propolis or (bee glue) on the ends to fit properly in the box. As for me, I feel that old frames are especially attractive to scout bees.  Scout bees leave the mother colony in advance of a swarm and select possible new home sites. Blake has become bored with the whole process and laid down to rest.  Daisy and I finish putting the box back up in the tree.  It is only about 6 ft off the ground but I have to place it low enough that I can get it down later when bees/honey are inside. 

All finished and ready for Spring.  I will need to walk by this box every week during the swarm season.  If a colony moves in,   I will remove it quickly or it will be so heavy I will not be able to get it down without help !

We have just finished and a scout bee is already checking it out !

New bees...it's spring..well almost

It's a great day when new bees come and the sun even came out long enough to put them in their new home !

Spring flowers

Honeybees and daffodils..

Local Honey