I think of myself as enthusiastic and energetic in pursuing my passions, but some people have said that sometimes I go a bit too far. Blogging about beekeeping allows other beekeepers to share my dilemmas and sometimes people also give a really useful second opinion and point out a mistake, so it helps me learn. Gwan, gwan, gwan... make a comment. 
I'm not sure who reads the blogs apart from my Mum, but since she is my most avid follower, I've decided to stop drivelling on about beekeeping in the other place and to do so here instead. (The other forum has closed its doors to those who do not have a special membership number.)
So, back from hols in Turkey last weekend and off to check the bees at the allotment with a couple of the students on Sunday morning. Weather not great; quite windy and threatening showers, but they had to be checked.
The good news was that the colony where I had to do the artificial swarm in the dark on the Friday before I went on hols was all OK and I needn't have fretted about losing sight of the queen in the dark. Also all the nucs look good. Fingers crossed that I will be able to sell them later to offset some of the money I squander on equipment.
Bad news was that through lack of time I had had to rush the setting up the mininucs for the queens and some of the bees had absconded.
I recombined a couple of the colonies that I had done artificial swarms on and packaged up the old queens with some attendants and candy and sent them off to the Forum Microscopist for him to look at. The man in the Post Office was not that impressed.
One of the recombined colonies is much taller than me...two jumbo brood boxes and about 5 supers. I hope it doesn't get blown over in this storm.
I went to the wasteland apairy in the afternoon and spent more hours checking nucs and setting up the fancy hive for the Adopt a Hive scheme. By 5pm I was pooped and my back hurt and decided to take a gamble and not inspect the last 2 colonies....not sure I've ever done that before, but the queens are clipped, so a slightly smaller risk that they won't swarm, or at least that I won't lose the bees.
In the week I checked the small colonies in the garden. Both queens laying well, but the swarm in the nuc had filled the roof with brace comb and not used the box at all. I shook them all out, gave them back a little bit of stores and brood and closed off the hole in the crownboard, so they will have to start again. If it is bad weather again tomorrow, I will give them some fondant so that they won't starve.
I'm hoping we are going to get started on the instrumental insemination this weekend - that is bound to be interesting.
I'm not sure who reads the blogs apart from my Mum, but since she is my most avid follower, I've decided to stop drivelling on about beekeeping in the other place and to do so here instead. (The other forum has closed its doors to those who do not have a special membership number.)
So, back from hols in Turkey last weekend and off to check the bees at the allotment with a couple of the students on Sunday morning. Weather not great; quite windy and threatening showers, but they had to be checked.
The good news was that the colony where I had to do the artificial swarm in the dark on the Friday before I went on hols was all OK and I needn't have fretted about losing sight of the queen in the dark. Also all the nucs look good. Fingers crossed that I will be able to sell them later to offset some of the money I squander on equipment.
Bad news was that through lack of time I had had to rush the setting up the mininucs for the queens and some of the bees had absconded.
I recombined a couple of the colonies that I had done artificial swarms on and packaged up the old queens with some attendants and candy and sent them off to the Forum Microscopist for him to look at. The man in the Post Office was not that impressed.
One of the recombined colonies is much taller than me...two jumbo brood boxes and about 5 supers. I hope it doesn't get blown over in this storm.
I went to the wasteland apairy in the afternoon and spent more hours checking nucs and setting up the fancy hive for the Adopt a Hive scheme. By 5pm I was pooped and my back hurt and decided to take a gamble and not inspect the last 2 colonies....not sure I've ever done that before, but the queens are clipped, so a slightly smaller risk that they won't swarm, or at least that I won't lose the bees.
In the week I checked the small colonies in the garden. Both queens laying well, but the swarm in the nuc had filled the roof with brace comb and not used the box at all. I shook them all out, gave them back a little bit of stores and brood and closed off the hole in the crownboard, so they will have to start again. If it is bad weather again tomorrow, I will give them some fondant so that they won't starve.
I'm hoping we are going to get started on the instrumental insemination this weekend - that is bound to be interesting.
