What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Curly green fingers]

2 kg of fondant each added to my garden hives today as they are weighing 30kgs+ brood/half nats.
I had a few guard bee's say hello but all pretty good last time I opened up was in early Oct 18 ... I'll check on the weekend to see what's happening .
Does anyone speak to there bee's ???
Me" hello girlys" ... I always say this to them then I put the world to rights with further conversation ..

 

[Tom Jay]

<snip>Does anyone speak to there bee's ???
Me" hello girlys" ... I always say this to them then I put the world to rights with further conversation ..

I never speak to the workers nor the drones and I always speak, with respect, to the queen when I see her. Addressing her, "Lady". It was a little while into my beekeeping that I realised this was my invariable way every time I'm at the hives. I think that my silence, broken only when I speak to a queen, is part of me being 'in the zone' of being a calm gentle presence.

 

[Millet]

2 kg of fondant each added to my garden hives today as they are weighing 30kgs+ brood/half nats.
I had a few guard bee's say hello but all pretty good last time I opened up was in early Oct 18 ... I'll check on the weekend to see what's happening .
Does anyone speak to there bee's ???
Me" hello girlys" ... I always say this to them then I put the world to rights with further conversation ..

Nope ...

 

[Goran]

Cards for this season are on the deck.. Strong " winter" flow of goat willows and cornel.. Mountain got live colors of green and yellow spots of them.. It is early development in which bees goes hard.. Hail to the climate changes.. How Del boy would say: Who dares, wins! Just to don't finish as all of his " dares"..
The colleagues who took the frames out say that colonies already stretched the brood on 6 frames ( though palm size)..
It is such refreshing walking beneath the willows and cornels and hearing the buzzing and sensing the smell of spring..
Me personally, I am not afraid for the bees - I have golden reserve for them if time of trouble occur. I am worried if soon all the fruit open the flowers and all got scorched with just one decent frost..

 

[birdsandbees]

I never speak to the workers nor the drones and I always speak, with respect, to the queen when I see her. Addressing her, "Lady". It was a little while into my beekeeping that I realised this was my invariable way every time I'm at the hives. I think that my silence, broken only when I speak to a queen, is part of me being 'in the zone' of being a calm gentle presence.

Oh I speak to all of them, usually telling them to stop being stupid and if needs must a few expletives get thrown in, I do also praise the good ones and definitely have my favourites.

 

[citrus]

I play them music or test match special if I am there a while

got a site radio that is perfect for it !

but never ever play classic fm ...

. they played flight of the bumblebee once

 

[Curly green fingers]

I play them music or test match special if I am there a while

got a site radio that is perfect for it !

but never ever play classic fm ...

. they played flight of the bumblebee once

I tried ing with a guitar once I don't think they liked air on a g string ( classical music) .
Started playing a bit of jazz it was more like it...

 

[Millet]

The only time i do say anything is when i get stung but i will not repeat on here what i say..

 

[Newbeeneil]

Checked on a few of my hives today, two of them had put brace comb in the takeaway pots I use for feeding fondant so I removed it to find it was all drone comb and all laid up with eggs....... these girls sure want some boys!!!

 

[Swarm]

Bless them, always makes me smile.

 

[Millet]

I ordered 12.5kg of fondant from Abelo on Sunday and it came rather quickly as always.. this morning to be precise..conveniently it came in 2.5kg bags so no faffing about cutting a full block up and getting sticky putting it in takeaway tubs..i simply sliced the bag and placed it on some shim of the top bars of the nuc in the garden and removed some drone brace comb from a takeaway tub..

 

[Curly green fingers]

I ordered 12.5kg of fondant from Abelo on Sunday and it came rather quickly as always.. this morning to be precise..conveniently it came in 2.5kg bags so no faffing about cutting a full block up and getting sticky putting it in takeaway tubs..i simply sliced the bag and placed it on some shim of the top bars of the nuc in the garden and removed some drone brace comb from a takeaway tub..

How much do you pay Steve if you don't mind me asking .
I've paid £30 for 25kgs from the village baker .
Half put on hives yesterday.

 

[Millet]

How much do you pay Steve if you don't mind me asking .
I've paid £30 for 25kgs from the village baker .
Half put on hives yesterday.

Google it Mark @ Abelo.. i can get it cheaper but with it being bagged and ready to use i do not mind spending the odd quid here and there..like i said it saves cutting up full blocks..maybe give them a call.. you might get a deal on larger quantities..

 

[Hivemaker.]

Bako fondant currently just over £6 for 12.5kg... and free delivery.
Easy to cut with a spade.

 

[Tom Jay]

The only time i do say anything is when i get stung but i will not repeat on here what i say..

You've reminded me mate: the only time I speak to a worker is when she has stung me. And I apologise to her in her dying agony. In my book every sting on a beekeeper is the beekeepers fault.

Sorry if I'm taking 'the moral high ground' here! But it's the way I feel about it. I know - romantic twaddle …

 

[Tom Jay]

Re Fondant. I made my own yesterday, to the Edinburgh association recipe. Is that crazy? I'll see tomorrow if they have wanted to eat it.

 

[Millet]

Bako fondant currently just over £6 for 12.5kg... and free delivery.
Easy to cut with a spade.

If i was in your numbers i would use a meat cleaver..

 

[Millet]

You've reminded me mate: the only time I speak to a worker is when she has stung me. And I apologise to her in her dying agony. In my book every sting on a beekeeper is the beekeepers fault.

Sorry if I'm taking 'the moral high ground' here! But it's the way I feel about it. I know - romantic twaddle …

Try getting some mongrel bees from Thirsk and report back to us if it was your fault you got stung..

 

[Tom Jay]

Try getting some mongrel bees from Thirsk and report back to us if it was your fault you got stung..

Oh I had my angry queen for a season! wow were they trouble, but 80lb later from that one hive I wasn't complaining too much. That was the 2017 season and then she and her brood got killed off by the Beast from the East so I didn't need to make the decision to take her out or not last season. She was the result of an artificial swarm I did so where her mother's mating drones came from who knows.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Bako fondant currently just over £6 for 12.5kg... and free delivery.
Easy to cut with a spade.

Your buying it in big quantity's though HM ?
Or is that a bulk standard price ? And from whom?

I'll need more for sure, but not enough to have to cut it with a spade maybe a good trowel .