What did you do in the Apiary today?

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusty Rhodes View Post
Well, you dozy p!llock!


Sorry, but you just lost all sympathy.

That's not a mistake a woman would make.*


Dusty

* My wife said that!!!:iagree:laughing-smiley-014:laughing-smiley-014:laughing-smiley-014:laughing-smiley-014[/
 
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my lovely placid bees were a bit tetchy today and for the first time I used a bit of smoke to calm them. Think their mood was maybe due to the storm that arrived here about an hour after I'd gone through the hive.

Also spent a bit on the TH****S sale (using my own credit card!)
 
Aaahhhh.

Hmmmmm.

I was so busy taking the p*ss out of stephenpug, and admiring the clever put-down of 'er indoors, that I failed to realise the implications for my own household.

Dusty


:redface::banghead::redface::banghead:

Yyyerrrs - last winter - around about my birthday thank goodness(after ordering broods and supers in the T's sale) had a panic moment on the way to work, on the last day of their sale - couldn't remember how many bundles of frames I had left in the attic. so promptly fired up the old laptop at the services put in an order for loads of packs of seconds frames (well they'll always come in handy to help out other local beeks without the foresight to keep a stock, or a mother to receive the mail) and paid (I thought) via paypal.
A few days later SWMBO called me - "some girl called Gill just called and asked for you by your first name - something has gone wrong and your payment for some beekeeping stuff didn't go through, it's OK I've paid - call it your birthday present)
Can't risk taking her to the WBKA convention either, walked in to the trade hall and one of the CWJ girls just shouted over the crowd "hello Emyr, got your stuff out the back, come and get it when you're not busy!" :banghead:
 
Today I have done something stupid my wife has gone ahead of me to our cottage in France (work commitments) so I am sat here bored and decided to have a quick LOOK at the Th%%%s sale but could not resist spending a load of money on things I can manage without
Any advice on excuses greatly received

The order was not for you but for me in France and you dropped them off to me on the way down through France . Honest I would not blackmail you later . Well maybe . OK I would !!!
 
Watched about 15 wasps circling the hives , flying very low to the ground. Obviously up to no good! First lot I have seen this year. Lots of my girls guarding the entrance though!

Seems a shame to install entrance block. Will check again tomorrow.
 
Removed two frames from the brood chamber that were filled with Honey and no foundation tricky job getting them into a tray.
 
Inspected all three hives. Nuc looked stronger after the frame I gave it three weeks ago. Hive it came from didn't look much stronger I dummied it down as they are only on six frames and put a board over the crownboard holes.
The latest hive which was up in a tree as a bait hive had it's first inspection today.
The weather said sunny and cloudy but it started to rain so I abandoned it about six frames in.
Must have been a prime swarm as they have 3/4 filled ten frames (14x12) and started putting honey in another in only three weeks.
The frames were really heavy.
Grumpy bees though, hopefully was just the weather.
 
Beginners morning at the apiary my newly mated queen is now laying on two frames (she's only been going about a week) and we spotted her - lovely shapely dark queen - a bit small but I'm sure she'll fill out nicely once she gets into her stride.
 
Went through the whole hive for the first time in four weeks. No queen cells - praise be ! All looking good, they have filled out 12 foundationless frames, plenty of capped brood and stores building nicely. I ripped the finger out of my latex glove on the first frame but carried on - didn't get stung. Was a bit worried as it was muggy and we've had a thunder storm here this evening. No problem, although I used a cover cloth as there were a lot of bees about. Spotted HM again so must be getting better at it !

Realised I've dropped a goolie with my hive design - 2" of beespace above the mesh floor - they are building free comb on the bottom of my 14 x 12 frames - and filling it ! Now 14 x 14.5 !! Nice and straight though and well attached. They seem to prefer to extend the comb on the bottom of the frames to filling out the two empty frames I gave them last week. Tyical bees - do what they please !
 
lebouche: what distinguishes a swarm that can fill an entire hive in 3 weeks like that, which looks incredibly impressive, from a struggling nuke? Is is just the numbers in a prime swarm?
Well I'm still a novice but I think it was a prime swarm meaning they were great in number when they arrived.
The nuke is long suffering. It came from a cut out and then was ravaged by wax moth. I also think the queen stopped laying for a while after treating with trickle in the winter.
The numbers have just been too low for it to be sustainable although today I saw progress as has much more brood than previously.
 
Hi Pargayle,
What are you going to do with the comb you have to cut off. Are there brood in any of it?
 

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