September 18, 2005

• The culmination of the bee-keeping year (and one of the hardest jobs) is getting the honey supers off the hive.  These
  are the “boxes” that contain the honey the bees have made during the
  summer.  Since they are loaded with honey they are quite heavy -
  about 60 pounds each.  I only got honey from one hive this year
  but there were four supers on it.  Pete and I suited up in our bee
  suits this afternoon and tackled the job.  You know someone loves
  you when they are willing to put on a bee suit, brave thousands of bees
  who are not happy at being displaced, and lift those heavy boxes for
  you!  Pete lifted each super off and I blasted it with compressed
  air to blow the bees out the bottom.  It went pretty smoothly and
  we got the supers loaded, out of the pasture and into the shed in
  record time.  Of course there are quite a few bees left in there
  but that can’t be helped.  We’ll exercise caution when we go to
  the shed for the next few days, that’s for sure.  In time they’ll
  either escape or die.  We probably won’t get around to actually
  extracting the honey for a few weeks.  That is undoubtedly one of
  the messiest jobs in the world but SO worth it when you see all that
  golden honey. 

  I started my second beehive late in the spring by splitting the
  established hive.  They struggled to get going all summer and I
  had just about given up on them when suddenly they seemed to be doing
  quite well.  I’m currently feeding them sugar water to help them
  store up enough fuel to make it through the winter.  If they can
  make it through the winter with enough food they should become a
  productive hive next season (big “if”).  Of course it never pays
  to ask myself why I need two hives when one hive produces more honey
  than I can use up, share with friends or even sell.  It just seems
  to make more sense to have two hives – you can always use one to help
  the other. 

  Of course we had to tie the puppies up during this whole
  procedure.  It would have been rendered infinitely more
  “interesting” with them on the loose but what the effects of their
  foolishness would have been doesn’t even bear imagining.  We spent
  over an hour last night devising a puppy-proof refuge for our lone
  duck.  They seem to have developed an irresistable urge to chew on
  that poor duck and being quite defenseless against them he was at a
  distinct disadvantage.  He’s safe now.  Bored, but
  safe.  And I’m wondering what the pups will think of next for
  entertainment…
  

  • 4:55 pm
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