January 30th 2013

I enjoyed a wonderful day off today working in my shop.  I was building some bee boxes, nucleus hive boxes and so forth when we got this beautiful sun break with a high temperature of 43 degrees.  The snow was melting back pretty good as well.  I came back to the house and noticed quite a bit of bee activity in their wrapped up hives!  They were coming out and flying in the warm air.  It was amazing!  Nothing like seeing this to lift my spirits and get me all excited for this coming spring.  Some robins were also singing too... I think they know something great is coming... right around the corner!

The Honey Bee die off is a global problem and there is some research that indicates that new pesticides are partly to blame for this.  Please take a some time and sign this electronic petition to urge lawmakers to ban these harmful substances in your environment.  Thank You!


http://www.avaaz.org/en/hours_to_save_the_bees/?bbQwIbb&v=21443

Winter View at the home  yard - Moose Meadow Apiary

Hello Everyone !

Are you starting to get a bit 'cabin fever' with winter dragging on and on?

Well, I made this video a few years ago and it lifted my spirits a bit.

Plus !  There is some wonderful music on this from my musically talented friend - Mr. Rob Sanville.

Enjoy



Early Spring Bee Package Demonstration

 

1-23-2013:  

This evening I watched a documentary on Sir David Attenborough and  his accomplishments over a 60 year career of natural history photography and journalism.  Many of us grew up on his prolific presentations and movies and thereby gained an appreciation for the natural world.  I've heard it said that we will only save that which we come to love.  The gentle and wise man helped build my love affair with outdoors and my love for beekeeping.   Thank you Mr. Attenborough for your wonderful work, wisdom and compassion for those creatures who inhabit this world along with us!

Tuesday, January 22 2013:

One of the biggest challenges to raising honey bees in northern climates is enormous problem of winter survival.  The cold stress can really harm a colony as it tries to overwinter and when it tries to rapidly build up in the early spring. 

One way to mitigate this problem is to make some drop-in insulated frames.  I learned about this from Mr. Anatololy Soladyankin, a recent Russian Immigrant.  By using some simple low cost items, you can make your own. 

The first step is to gather some clean and sanitary empty deep frames.   Using a heavy duty stapler gun, attach a piece of cardboard to one side of the frame and trim it.  Turn the frame over and attach one side of the frame with the other piece of cardboard - but not all the way.  Stuff newspaper, old magazines etc into the void then seal it.  Trim the excess and test fit it into a hive box.  Once you  have two - the hive body is ready to receive a Nuc in the spring.  

I am planning on doing a temperature and weight study this spring to prove this technique quantitatively.  At least for now, this works well but it would be important to have the actual data to prove it as well.

Welcome To Moose Meadow Bee Event Blog

Hi !

This is my first post and I am getting excited about getting some planning going for this year's upcoming beekeeping season.  My colonies are nice and snug in their insulation and winter wrap.  Hopefully, I will have good survival rates this  year!