Backyard Nature Lover's Experience
They Survived After a week of Arctic blast temperature here, we have a balmy 60°F temperature this morning though raining. The rain will continue for the rest of the day and is expected to stop by Saturday morning. But 60 degrees Fahrenheit is high enough for the honeybees to come out of their hives and... Continue Reading →
Never Been So Happy To See Dead Bees We have over a foot of snow on the ground and it is threatening to drop another 8 to 10 inches this weekend. The snow itself is not bad for the honey bees but the frigid cold that follows may wipe out our hives. We have seen a... Continue Reading →
The Third Swarm The first hive swarmed again on the morning of June 7. This is the third time within a month for this hive. I think I should start naming the hives since I’m going to have five of them, and maybe more if they keep on swarming. I didn’t expect to have this... Continue Reading →
Start A 'Beezy' Season We came out of winter with two out of three hives having survived. One hive was wiped out by starvation. Then one of the surviving hives was attack by skunks. It was the smallest hive that I didn’t think would pull through the harsh winter. I was really discouraged and guilty... Continue Reading →
Signs Of Life This winter is erratic and harsher than usual. The temperature swings this season have been like a trampoline. From below zero to 5oº F. in just two days recently. We have had plenty of snow this year; around two feet in the last two weeks alone. My friends and colleagues have been... Continue Reading →
My Way of Wintering the Bees This is my first winter as a beekeeper. I'm trying my best to help my bees survive through the winter. There is a lot of conflicting information out there about wintering the hive, especially, when it comes to insulating the hive. One apiarist suggested that it's not necessary to... Continue Reading →
After being Beat Up By Two Storms A little over a week after Hurricane Sandy rolled over our area, a Nor'easter rolled right in and brought us 6" of snow over night. After the storm cleared, the temperature slowly creeped up to mid 60° F, and then the rain hit today. Not much left of... Continue Reading →
After 'Sandy' Left Hurricane 'Sandy' hit the northeast coast of the US last Monday, October 29. The eye of the storm made land fall on the New Jersey shore to be exact, but the effect of it is wide spread. In Lower Manhattan, from 34th street down, lost power that Monday night and most of... Continue Reading →
The Bees Have Arrived The post office called at 7:00 am today to notify me that my shipment of bees is at their station. I'm required to pick it up. The bee company won't ship bees to the house since the shipment cannot be unattended. They were shipped in a screen cage, approximately three pounds of... Continue Reading →
