Here is a quick video on some spring garden herb tips for 2021
Hot day in the City
Here is some video of bees bearding. This is often confused with a “swarm”. The bees are trying to stay cool outside the hive. This is a new nuc that I have not moved to my box because I wanted them to get very strong.
Small Hive
This has been a challenging time. Went to visit a hive today and found less than 20 bees.
The recent rains has not helped this hive and I may have to pickup a new package. Thus, one of the plights of modern beekeeping is the constant cycle of issues.
Bee Safe! Michelle
Bees 🐝 in the time of Covid
One of my accomplishments for the week was picking up bees and this morning we installed them. Stay safe and I will update you on my progress. Below are some photos and video of my husband Warren helping me early on Saturday morning .
BeeMore 🐝 Update
Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few months. I have started my garden but, I’m this time of Covid-19, I have found it difficult to start my own classes. However, I will start posting resources and progress on my latest projects.
Bee safe and Bee well! Michelle
This Weekend: Biodynamic Beekeeping Event at WWS!
An interesting seminar being held in Washington, DC.
Join our sister school, the Washington Waldorf School, for a two session workshop on Biodynamic Beekeeping with Gunther Hauk of Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary on Friday, January 19th, 6:30pm-9pm, and Saturday, January 20th from 9:30am -12:30pm. The workshops are free, and more information can be found below. RSVP’s are required and can be made here. The Facebook event can be found here.
New Videos
I started playing around with a new program Adobe Spark and it is a great tool! The program creates online slideshow videos, social media posts, and other great marketing items. Over the next few weeks, I will be developing new videos and presentations for BeeMore.
Check out our About BeeMore video and pass it on to your friends so that they can learn more about BeeMore.
Thanks!
Michelle
Happy New Year from BeeMore
Happy New Year! I did a quick check on the bees 🐝 after a few weeks away from the garden and we have had extremely cold temperatures in Baltimore. Temperatures have fallen into the teens this past week, so I did not expect the hive to be very active.
But, I opened up the lid to find that the candy bar had not been touched yet this was not a surprise since they should have some honey.
Otherwise, it was pretty cold and I found that my some of my hoop house plants froze as well. 😔
Below is some quick video from my visit. Enjoy 😉
Stay warm! And, I will post some more updates soon.
Michelle😊
Feeding at Dusk
Aftermath of Candy bar – December 2017
Portions in Hive 1 – December 2017
Adding Candy to Hive 2
Selfie at dusk – December 2017
This is an update on the feeding process and my latest visit at dusk on December 13, 2017. After working on a few projects this week, I finally got a chance to check on the bees, on Wednesday evening at dusk. The forecast for that evening was for light snows and sleet and the weather was in low 30’s to high – 20’s. The wind was biting cold and my fingers despite having on gloves froze quickly so I tried to be as efficient as possible while still trying to document the visit with my SLR.
Due to the temperatures, bees tend to cluster. Definition of Clustering: The worker bees huddle around the queen bee at the center of the cluster, shivering to keep the center between 27 °C (81 °F) at the start of winter and 34 °C (93 °F) once the queen resumes laying. The worker bees rotate through the cluster from the outside to the inside so that no bee gets too cold.
Below are some key details from my visit:
- Bee Candy Results: The results of my no-cook bee candy (candy bar). It crumbled because I may have added too many drops of essential oil. It smelled great but it was sort of fail. I am going to have to reassemble new bars.
- Removing Frames: I took out empty frames and added honey from other hives that failed. I froze these other frames for at least 48 hours at home as per the advice of other beekeepers to remove issues of wax moths.
- Second Hive Issues: In the second hive (this is a stronger hive) the frames were glued together (propolitized – propolis) due to greater activity by the colony in the second box. Due to the cold temperature and impending nightfall, I did not spend a lot of time so I left the sugar on top and closed the hive quickly.
Lessons Learned:
- Bee Candy Redo: I will try a cooked version or use less essential oil in my no-cook recipe.
- Next year I will be better at: Working my frames more. Get into these hives more often to reduce the issue with propolis
- Time well spent: That the care and feeding of these bees has been worth it and I have learned a lot!
I will do another check soon. Over the last few weeks, I have been collecting equipment and beginning my winter rehab and preparations. This next few posts will be on these endeavors.
Michelle 🙂
Hive Help
Young Beekeeper
Here are some photos of my helpers. This was my first hive!
The good thing about family is that they work for free! Even my husband Warren got into the act. He has proven to be pretty brave and opened the hive to allow me to take the photo above.
Sophie is decked out in her boots and my garden gloves.
BeeMore 
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