Blizzard of 2009 - Dec 19 2009

Two feet of snow. Drifts up to the entrance. Will need to clear the entrances for ventilation.

Is it a plane? Is it a bird? No...it's a...BEAR!!

An hour after I fed the bees my mom caught this dare devil bear in the tree.

Feeding Bees - Dec 4, 2009

Temps approximately low 60s, sunny, and breezy.

I made a sugar pie for the bees. My intentions were to make sugar candy but the sugar syrup never reached hard ball candy stage and I ended with ewwwy goooey sugar syrup. So I mixed in some comb honey I had from my bees, confectionary sugar, and the sugar syrup. It turned out to be a pie. I put the yummy pies into the hives and girls loved it. Only four hive beetles were located and killed.

The bees appeared to be healthy so it was a good day. Reduced the entrance to prevent mice and other critters from entering the hives.

My Father's Garden

My dad loves to garden and I suppose it's his Scottish roots and his love for the outdoors. I hope you enjoy the slideshow I've put together. The pictures were taken by my mother and the plants lovingly placed in the soil, nurtured, and tended by my father's hands.

Cordovan Bees Appear to Be Very Robust & Healthy

I am very impressed with the Cordovan Italian bees purchased from (C.F.) Koehnen
http://www.koehnen.com/history.html
The honey product was outstanding and the bees appears to be very healthy and robust. If they over-winter well, I will definitely purchase additional Cordovan Italian bees from them.

Also, am impressed with the equipment from Brushy Mountain and Mann Lake.
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/default.asp
http://www.mannlakeltd.com/

I prefer Brushy Mountain's woodenware design, however, I know that each beekeeper has their own personal tastes. Raising bees is a little like raising children and we have our own style of the care, love, and feeding that we give to each one.