What did you do in the Apiary today?

[ugcheleuce]

100kg? What are they foraging on, lead?

No, of course I'm exaggerating. It certainly felt like 100 kg. Or, I could claim that I was simply rounding up to the nearest 100. I'm also exaggerating on the bees... it was more like 18 or 17, not 20 (counting only the ones that actually breached the cloth -- the bee suit was fully of stings round the calves that didn't get to my skin, thankfully).

This is only the third time (I think) that I got stung. The previous time that I dropped a hive and got bees all over me, I didn't get any stings. By Sunday evening when I got home, the stings were red but not very swollen. By Monday morning they were swollen and only some of them were still very red. We thought that the medicine I took would be fine (2 x antihistamine in the evening, 1 x antihistamine in the morning, plus cortizone ointment) would do the trick, but by Monday evening both my ankles and feet as well as my right hand were so swollen that we were getting worried about blood flow getting cut off from the fingers and toes, so we went to the hospital where they gave me horse medicine, and suggested lots of cold packs and moisturiser cream.

The problem is stupidity, really. You can't move a hive this big by yourself. Well, no, you can, but the hive is heavier towards the end of the move, so. Fortunately the hive bodies were glued together fairly well, so the only problem was that the bottom brood box shifted off the bottom board. I was able to leave the hive overnight and correct it the next morning with just a little bit of smoke.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I get stung most weeks. Touch wood doesn't bother me at all now: very lucky. More pleasurably, checked some grafts made over the weekend and 3/6. My favourite part of beekeeping.

 

[Tremyfro]

No, of course I'm exaggerating. It certainly felt like 100 kg. Or, I could claim that I was simply rounding up to the nearest 100. I'm also exaggerating on the bees... it was more like 18 or 17, not 20 (counting only the ones that actually breached the cloth -- the bee suit was fully of stings round the calves that didn't get to my skin, thankfully).

This is only the third time (I think) that I got stung. The previous time that I dropped a hive and got bees all over me, I didn't get any stings. By Sunday evening when I got home, the stings were red but not very swollen. By Monday morning they were swollen and only some of them were still very red. We thought that the medicine I took would be fine (2 x antihistamine in the evening, 1 x antihistamine in the morning, plus cortizone ointment) would do the trick, but by Monday evening both my ankles and feet as well as my right hand were so swollen that we were getting worried about blood flow getting cut off from the fingers and toes, so we went to the hospital where they gave me horse medicine, and suggested lots of cold packs and moisturiser cream.

The problem is stupidity, really. You can't move a hive this big by yourself. Well, no, you can, but the hive is heavier towards the end of the move, so. Fortunately the hive bodies were glued together fairly well, so the only problem was that the bottom brood box shifted off the bottom board. I was able to leave the hive overnight and correct it the next morning with just a little bit of smoke.

Sorry to hear about your stings...my OH swells up like that when he gets stung....very uncomfortable.
I was looking at your pictures....is the tilted hive occupied? My OH spent ages with the spirit level getting the paving slabs level....does it not matter as much as he thinks?

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Sorry to hear about your stings...my OH swells up like that when he gets stung....very uncomfortable.
I was looking at your pictures....is the tilted hive occupied? My OH spent ages with the spirit level getting the paving slabs level....does it not matter as much as he thinks?

A "gentle" slope is good for drainage

As to the stings, my ankles took a severe beating when I was at the association breeding apiary a few weeks ago. My own daft fault for omitting to put my wedding wellingtons in the car boot and using dealer boots, hoping the legs of my beesuit wouldn't ride up. (they did).
I sat with my feet in a deep bowl of very hot water and a splash of dettol, repeating a few times. Stung on the Saturday and back to almost normal by the Monday evening.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

my wedding wellingtons

I wore a pair of Loakes black oxfords for mine - Queen's regulations didn't allow wellingtons with my uniform

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I wore a pair of Loakes black oxfords for mine - Queen's regulations didn't allow wellingtons with my uniform

Mine are white with steel toecaps hence I get asked often if I am on my way to a wedding real reason for white is they were cheaper than other colours from ebay.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Out in Lesotho, amongst the herd boys white wellies were a symbol of real status!

 

[Tremyfro]

A "gentle" slope is good for drainage
Yes I understand those with solid floors would need a slight slope...but am I right in thinking OMF will drain anyway...especially poly hives as they have a built in drainage slope to the OMF?
I find the hot water treatment the best too. Or a hairdryer on difficult to reach areas!

 

[beewade]

United an a/s with a swarm caught in the garden a few weeks ago, hoping they can build up quick and get some honey in. After that I hived a swarm in a nuc into a new national brood box. One sting today, they're really not the calmest bees!

 

[dlawr42103]

Lime Crazy!!!

6:30 this morning, quite cold, light drizzle... And I was very suprised to find apiary alive!.. Thousands of bees from all hives all heading to and from the same direction... From a distance looked like a small twister in my garden ... Eventually found they were all heading to a line of large line trees abt quarter of mile from home... Excellent!!!

 

[maddydog]

Checked two colonies in glorious sunshine. Wrapped up just in time coz it absolutely chucked it down 5 mins after I finished, fascinating to watch the bees dash for home before the downpour.

 

[Goran]

38 celsius in shade.. Beards.. If I can call that beards, I think queen and 2 bees left in a hives. All are out. Almost every front side full of bees..
Evenso, early morning they go for honeydew. Seems I will extract nothing more, will have to leave them and to plan feeding.. So I postponed any extraction untill this Sahara weather resolves..

 

[ugcheleuce]

I was looking at your pictures....is the tilted hive occupied? My OH spent ages with the spirit level getting the paving slabs level....does it not matter as much as he thinks?

The "tilted hive" is actually two tiny nucs in honey supers, with solid bottom boards, with an empty brood box in-between, to keep the two flight entrances separate. The frames hang "cold way", and the flight entrances are at the forward sloping end, so the frames do hang "straight down", although the cells are rotated by about 15 degrees. I have no idea what effect that would have on the bees.

I also use a spirit level with my hives, if I'm likely to ever put a syrup feeder on top, because the last thing you want with a syrup feeder is them bees not being able to drink it all because the hive is tilted backwards, or not being able to fill it with the preferred amount of syrup because the hive is tilted (in any direction). Just a slight tilt takes away quite a bit of volume from a shallow syrup feeder.

 

[Tremyfro]

Ah....that was what my OH said...about the feeders. I hang my frames warmway...so front to back level would be important. I thought he was being over fussy...but turns out he was right...fancy that!

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Checked my grafts made on Sat. Pleased to find 1/3 open (had hoped for 2 but 1 will do) which if I have my count right (anyone?) means I grafted a one-day-old larva. The others were 2 (none were sealed on Monday). So know I know what those both look like, which is good. Now to stop faffing around and leave well alone until Apidea time on Monday (for the two older and less promising ones; the one-day-old will stay in the builder, since that should be it for this year).

 

[jonnybeegood]

Creamed 20lb of hawthorn honey with some rape honey, its lovely

 

[nantmoel]

Well not strictly in the apiary but! I visited a sawmill to source some Western Red Cedar to make a few hives and supers over the winter months.

 

[Swarm]

38 celsius in shade.. Beards.. If I can call that beards, I think queen and 2 bees left in a hives. All are out. Almost every front side full of bees..
Evenso, early morning they go for honeydew. Seems I will extract nothing more, will have to leave them and to plan feeding.. So I postponed any extraction untill this Sahara weather resolves..

Wow!
It was warmer here in Spring than it is now.

 

[nantmoel]

Wow!
It was warmer here in Spring than it is now.

All this Lime, Bramble and Rose Bay Willow Herb waiting for the bees and its pissing down and cold! We are NOT happy.

 

[Goran]

This evening were all the thunders and flashing, bringing a lot of black clouds.. As result dropped 3 drops of rain.. I would be sooner scorched with a flash than a got wet..
Already I can see.. We will have scorched plant life this summer.. Irrigiation - cannot afford.. Even I had once idiot idea to try to save some money and get loans to drill some artesian well. Then I heard that if I do, the administration will put counter on it and say please pay the water ( and when calculated as somebody told me, slight difference if all scorch than got amount water I need). So, if they pay the drilling I will happily pay as much I can afford according to counter..
I wonder where from all the bitterness come..