Did my first inspection today. Dad came over and helped out. He had nine hives years ago and is used to being around bees so that was nice. This was my first time ever opening a hive and I really enjoyed it. Decided to go without gloves as we fully expected the bees to be occupied with a nice flow and I want to get used to going without gloves. The bees were super gentle (thanks fatbeeman!) and there must be a good flow on as we had no stings and very little interest. I just got these bees on Wednesday, May 7th, so I decided not to pull all the frames and do a full inspection. My goal was to add some top bars and just get an overall feel for how the bees are doing.
The first hive we opened was doing well. When we smoked the entrance the bees started making a huge noise. No bees came out but they just got really loud. There were nurse bees covering the middle frames and some had their heads buried feeding larva. I didn’t pull the frames out to see larva but I strongly suspect this was what they were doing. They also had some honey capped in the outer frames. Not much, but there was a lot of nectar. Overall they looked good.
The second hive was doing great. When we smoked the entrance there was no noise. They made the first hive look bad. I would say hive 1 had 1/2 to 2/3 the bees of hive 2. There were plenty of bees covering the brood and they were capping honey as well.
I added four top bars to each hive and a frame feeder. Wanted the frame feeder to help the bees if they needed it. I spaced the bars between frames, the feeder, and the follower board so they would have some type of guide to go by. Hopefully anyway.
Posted on May 10th, 2008 by John
Filed under: Beekeeping | No Comments »
Finally found the time to get my hives done. I’ve had plenty of time to read, study, and ask questions on the forums so I feel really good about my setup.
I wanted the hives to be something besides white. I also want my girls to have ownership in the project so I let them loose with the brushes. The best helpers around!
I’m really excited about these hives. Counting paint I have about $40.00 each in them. If I hadn’t been so picky I could have built them out of scrap but I wanted my first hives to have that something extra.
You can see in the pictures below my basic setup. I have an electric fence to keep the bears out. I am also setup to have a top entrance or I can use a bottom entrance with the holes. I don’t have my bars in yet so the lid fits flush.
This is the view through my biggest blueberry bush. I know they are not the bees favorite but I have visions of thousands of bees pollinating my fruits and vegetables. I should have my bees by this weekend and bee a beekeeper for real!
Posted on April 28th, 2008 by John
Filed under: Beekeeping | 6 Comments »
We have started exploring power carving. Last time we discussed the basic things you would need to get started. Today we discuss what I think is the most important part of power carving, dust collection.
Dust collection is all about your safety. This is an important topic so please don’t mistake any humor as me taking the subject lightly. Read more…
Posted on March 30th, 2008 by John
Filed under: Woodcarving | 1 Comment »
I can’t remember the whole song or the name of the band but I do remember the catchy vocal hook “I’ve got the power!” We have discussed the manual side of carving. Today I would like to discuss some basics about power carving. Read more…
Posted on March 23rd, 2008 by John
Filed under: Woodcarving | 4 Comments »
Hold it!
Hold it right there! I bet the every time you hear this statement you think someone is in trouble. You might even be in trouble right now. I’m not there so I don’t know. I can tell you this: if you don’t have a safe way to hold your wood while you carve you will be in trouble very soon.
There are different types of woodcarving projects out there and they come in all different sizes. You need a holder to match what you are doing. I’ve included a few of the basic options.
Read more…
Posted on March 16th, 2008 by John
Filed under: Woodcarving | 2 Comments »
The American Woodcarving School was founded in 1974 by Sculptor Michael Denike. Mr. Denike’s dream…a school that’s sole purpose is instructing and promoting the art of Woodcarving. The school holds regular day and evening classes 52 weeks out of the year, and approximately 6 weekend workshops per year.
The regular classes allow the student to work on whatever area they wish while under direction of a professional woodcarver. Weekend Workshops hosted by renowned woodcarvers from the US, Canada, and Europe, allow the more advanced student the chance to train under an artist of the highest level in his or her area of interest.
Posted on March 11th, 2008 by John
Filed under: Art | No Comments »
Against the backdrop of the world’s most ancient mountains is a special kind of place . . . A place where history lives . . . where tradition lingers . . . where people come together to discover their creative spirit. Read more…
Posted on March 11th, 2008 by John
Filed under: Art | No Comments »
You ever have anybody tell you that you’re not to sharp? I know how you feel. Those days are over! It’s time to stop living the dull life and get on the razors edge.
I’m not a renowned expert on sharpening but I know it’s important, I know that it’s not as hard as people think, and I know that you don’t have to spend lots of money to buy the accessories you need to keep your tools sharp.
I’ve been carving for a few years now and one thing I’ve learned is that most beginning carvers do not take sharpening seriously. They try to get the same results they see better carvers getting but they can’t. One factor in this, besides experience, is that a lot of the beginners are carving with dull tools. You cannot get good results with dull tools. Read more…
Posted on March 10th, 2008 by John
Filed under: Woodcarving | No Comments »
This is my first year as a beekeeper. Actually, I don’t even have bees yet. However, I believe in ‘prior proper planning’ so I have undertaken a study of my area and have determined that I will need protection against the black bear. I’ve looked at several methods and have decided on an electric fence. I figure there are many others out there who will be interested in installing their own fence so I am going to document my adventure. Read more…
Posted on March 3rd, 2008 by John
Filed under: Beekeeping | No Comments »
Today we shall discuss gouges. We won’t actually discuss them since I can’t hear you talking but if you don’t mind looking strange you can talk really loudly and I’ll try and listen.
We’ve already talked about knives. They are the number one tool in your tool box. Today we shall discuss gouges. I believe gouges are the real work horses in any woodcarver’s arsenal. As you go deeper into this pursuit you will definitely want to add some gouges to your toolbox. Read more…
Posted on March 2nd, 2008 by John
Filed under: Woodcarving | 1 Comment »
Did my first inspection today. Dad came over and helped out. He had nine hives years ago and is used to being around bees so that was nice. This was my first time ever opening a hive and I really enjoyed it. Decided to go without gloves as we fully expected the bees to be occupied with a nice flow and I want to get used to going without gloves. The bees were super gentle (thanks fatbeeman!) and there must be a good flow on as we had no stings and very little interest. I just got these bees on Wednesday, May 7th, so I decided not to pull all the frames and do a full inspection. My goal was to add some top bars and just get an overall feel for how the bees are doing.
The first hive we opened was doing well. When we smoked the entrance the bees started making a huge noise. No bees came out but they just got really loud. There were nurse bees covering the middle frames and some had their heads buried feeding larva. I didn’t pull the frames out to see larva but I strongly suspect this was what they were doing. They also had some honey capped in the outer frames. Not much, but there was a lot of nectar. Overall they looked good.
The second hive was doing great. When we smoked the entrance there was no noise. They made the first hive look bad. I would say hive 1 had 1/2 to 2/3 the bees of hive 2. There were plenty of bees covering the brood and they were capping honey as well.
