Honeychick Homestead

Homestead, Health, and Happiness

Tag Archives: Bees

The Bees are here!

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Yesterday was a very exciting day, I introduced my bees to their new hive. I was a bit behind prepping, I thought they needed to hang out in their package for a week, before introducing them. When I picked them up I learned it should be done within 48 hours of picking them up. I was not ready for that! I spent most of Saturday working on another project, so Sunday was a mad dash to get everything ready. Thankfully, my very patient husband helped me put the comb into the frames, and we got it done within an hour. I was not able to paint the hive box, which helps it last longer. Oh well, the next box will get painted!

Overall, things went smooth. I didn’t get stung, and neither did my assistant and photographer (aka husband). I had lots of emotions while I got the queen out of the package, and shook the bees into the hive…nervousness, exhilaration, excitement, happiness, and scared, all at the same time!

While I was shaking them in, bees were flying all around me, and they were loud! After I got them in, I had to walk away for a minute, because I was starting to get nervous. I took a few deep breathes, and came back to finish up. Most of the night I had the buzzing sound in my head! View the pictures →

This gallery contains 19 photos


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I’m a Newbee!

That’s what the Santa Cruz Beekeepers Guild call first time beekeepers. I’m THRILLED that I’ll be getting my very own bees soon! Having a local beekeepers guild is proving to be a terrific resource for this beginner. I attended their monthly meeting a couple weeks ago, and it gave me the confidence I needed to take the plunge. During the meeting, they explained in detail how to get a package of bees into a new hive. In addition to monthly meetings, the guild has mentors who help those of us just getting started.

Several mentors recently held “bee show and tells” at their homes for the newbees. I was able to see all three types of bees: drones, workers and the queen. I never knew drones were bigger and couldn’t sting! I also got to see various stages of the hive, including one that was dripping honey….YUM! I learned some beekeeping terminology, like brood, and I saw the different stages of brood. I even got to see some new baby bees hatching! I held frames full of bees. I was shocked the mentors and some newbees didn’t wear gloves when working with the hives!  Hopefully, someday I’ll have that confidence too!  In the meantime, I’ll be wearing my jacket, hood, and gloves when I’m checking my hives.

Here’s a couple pictures I took during the show and tell. Continue reading →