First hands-on Beekeeping experience

I started the day at an Organic Gardening Seminar learning about how to run an organic farm. Although most of the information in this seminar was well above my ability and land availability, I did learn a few new things about extending my growing season, how to build a seedling shack, and some basic organic pest control. I also enjoyed learning about some of the tools and tractors that are available. But the real fun came this afternoon.

While at the seminar I received a call from the president of the Lady Beekeepers. She was going to inspect her hives today and wanted Kevin and I to join them to get some real hands-on experience. Naturally, I first had a moment of panic. Was she really wanting us their? Would we be imposing? Would they be finished before we got their? But, as he always does, Kevin managed to keep me calm and insist that we should go and learn as much as we can. So we grabbed our bee garb and hit the road.

I purchased a jacket and bee hood combination that is conveniently sealed quite well. This combined with my XXXS gloves made me very confident. I simply tucked my blue jeans into my socks and was ready to go. Kevin, on the other hand, was not blessed with an outfit. He simply got stuck with the standard equipment from the beginner's kit we purchased:  helmet, veil, gloves. We managed to make it work, though. We duck-taped his waist and the veil to try and keep out any curious bees.

We cautiously walked across the field behind the house. I suddenly became very aware of how tiny our yard is and how close our hive will be to every square inch of my garden. But anyways, we were ready to encounter our first cloud of bees. President and husband are very friendly people and they greeted us first by inspecting that we were sufficiently protected. (It was their idea to tuck our jeans into our socks and tape down Kevin's veil.) Then, we dove straight in. I watched as they unstacked a hive box, carefully loosened each frame, and then inspected the frames for content. Some contained honey, some contained brood and honey, and some were just being laid with brood by very busy queens. We did get to see 3 queen bees (each in different hives, of course). Very beautiful creatures.

We talked about scraping off comb that was built on the outside of the frames and removing the propolis (bee glue made from pine sap to fill cracks or otherwise seal all the frames and boxes together). We also talked about things like feeding (5lbs of sugar per gallon of water, with a hint of peppermint oil in the first batch to prevent tracheal mites). We learned about removing a few unfortunate drone larvae to inspect for varroa mites and also how to spread a bead of food-grade mineral oil on top of each frame to prevent the same.

Kevin also learned what it feels like to get stung (or rather was reminded). After about an hour, one managed to get inside his veil. We were able to remove this one without any problem, but then while walking one innocent bee was resting on his Achilles heel and was smashed against the back of his boot. In response, she stung him through his sock. He managed to not scream profanity, but he did seem quite surprised. So far, it only hurt for a little while and there doesn't appear to be any swelling.
Needless to say, we learned a great deal. The best part is that hands-on experience is priceless. Having just a little bit of time gives you the confidence to do it on your own. You can read and research all you want, but it just isn't the same as getting your hands dirty. She told us of an old man who helped them get started with their hives. Now they are passing that to us, and one day we will pass it to another.

Equipment and tools are the biggest challenge in terms of investment. Honestly, when I chose bees over chickens, I assumed we would be spending less money, but this does not seem to be the case. So far we have purchased the following items:  Hive kit (boxes, frames, base, screen bottom board, inner cover, metal-topped outer cover, foundation), a nuc box, beginner's kit (helmet, veil, gloves, book, bee brush, 2 feeders, hive tool, smoker), hooded jacket for me, gloves for me, another book (kids book for my students), a frame spacer tool, wire, wire embedder, brass eyelets, eyelet tool, a backup hat/veil for guests, a frame holder, and eco wood treatment.

I am sure this list will continue to grow, but we have the main items needed to get the bees for sure. (I am still awaiting the arrival of the foundation. I have emailed Kelley Bees a third time regarding the foundation that was supposed to be in my original order. I have only heard that they were checking to verify that it was not shipped, but nothing else so far. This is frustrating given that the bees will swarm in the next month or so, and our frames aren't complete until we have it.)

So, now we wait. We wait on the remaining tools and foundation to arrive, and for the bees to swarm. The swarm will most likely occur in April. We installed a reed privacy fence of sorts around the part of our yard that touches our neighbor. This will be good to keep the bees out of sight and it will also cause them to fly above anyone outside the yard as well. Bees tend to fly up and over obstacles and only descend on a source of pollen, so getting them to fly up usually keeps them out of people's hair (literally). Honestly, my only concern is when the neighbor mows, since the noise might disturb the hive, but the reeds should help with this too. Today we also "painted" our boxes with the eco wood treatment. Really, my next steps are to continue growing my yeast starter, and tending my garden. I am well aware of a busy growing season ahead, so a little down time, while in some ways disappointing, is still appreciated.