Beekeeping has ended temporarily...

 With both hives dying out and myself having become seriously allergic to bee stings, I've decided to stop having active hives for awhile. Now I've moved on with a new project of rehabilitating an old farm, 5 acres half wooded, in the hills above Dallas Oregon, a part of the mid-Willamette Valley here in Oregon, USA.

I'll post a few pictures and some videos to show you the beginning, summer 2021. I envision a lovely farm cottage with surrounding gardens, although not too extensive, and the forest with walking trails and a few tent sites for adventuresome nights. Stay tuned!

 All was not well--both hives died out. No bees flying on 50+ degree days so I looked more closely than in February. Very few dead bees found, some with heads in comb as if eating honey. Not sure of the cause although I wonder if there were just not enough at the end of the season for provide the warmth needed. Plenty of food stores for them which I harvested during March.

Since I appear to be highly allergic to bee stings, I'm storing the three hives for now and will resume beekeeping sometime in the future...

 February 10, 2021 Hive Check

Hmmm, bright sunny day, 49 degrees, no breeze...so I opened the long hive and see no activity and top of frames feels cool, not cold though. I looked at three end frames and found the one closest in to be full of honey on both sides, the second out was 2/3 full and the third or last had about 5" of semi-circular empty comb. I didn't want to go into the core of the hive so put attic wool cover back and closed it up. I am hopeful all is well--we shall see come spring. No mold, no unusual activity by other insects.

The entrance of the Langstroth hive is sealed by the bees themselves, except for two small holes which were there last fall.  I'm attaching a photo. No activity and it's quite complicated to open the hive with the winter insulation and covering.

Fall 2020 attic insulation installed

 Freezing temperatures tonight so time to install the wool rug on the long hive and the wool packing and foam insulation on the Langstroth hive. Done! When daytime temps drop significantly here in Bend Oregon I will wrap the sides of the hives with foam insulation and cover them with plastic, leaving air vents for a little circulation.

Bees in Langstroth hive has filled the 2nd deep with comb and honey so there should be enough for winter. I will remove that box during late spring, May here, and add a deep to the bottom so the bees can draw new comb for the brood area, which they keep in the lowest box.

The bees in the long hive had comb in 14 frames with the last two being partially completed. The second to the last frame had one side capped honey and the other side with nectar and the last one had about 1/4 filled with empty comb. I may remove those two when temps drop so there's not so much space to heat. To be decided later.

Bees seem healthy although the number flying during these 50-60 degree days seem low. We will see how they winter; hope there are enough to keep the cluster warm enough this winter.

May 21, 2020 New spring, new hive, new bees!

May 21, 2020 New spring, new hive, new bees!

New hive painted green with blue roof, new design developed by members of the Central Oregon beekeeping club. Package of bees from Apricot Apiaries in Kimberly, Oregon installed on May 14, 2020 and queen cage removed on May 20, a lovely spring day with bees flying. Although it was difficult to see much comb, there is some and bees were returning with pollen which indicates there is brood to be fed! So, queen laying and all is well--which I'll verify on the next very warm day by pulling frames and checking for egg pattern, etc.

Now, the pictures!

2020 Spring Hive Check April 10, 2020

Spring in Bend Oregon has arrived! So, today I look inside the hive and see that there is still food available. The bees have been flying several times during warm days since February, returning with pollen and I assume nectar. There were several orientation flights during that time as well.

The second box has honey in the combs and bees seem to be placing pollen at the top of the comb on the right side (facing the hive at the front). I'm happy they've made it through winter and are now finding pollen and presumably safe with food stores.

Because the second box was looking full--I peered down between the combs, did not remove any because the outside one I tried first broke apart...and bees were quite unhappy--I decided to add a medium box with frames only, no foundation, which is the way I feel is best for bees to draw their own desired size comb. I will check in two weeks to see if they are drawing comb in the third box. I left the attic with insulation in place above the third box as there will still be cold nights here through May.

Look at the beautiful blue sky, 70 degrees!

Hive Winterized October 26, 2019

After a few iterations, the 2019 Langstroth hive is ready for winter. Learned much helpful information at the September COBKA meeting here in Bend, Oregon and put them into practice. Here's what the hive looks like now:
-Two deeps in place, lower is brood box and upper is honey storage which appeared full. I did not open the hive to look at the brood box frames; assume from the bee traffic that it is as it should be--bees still bringing in nectar and pollen on warmer days.
-Over the two deeps, I placed duck cloth on top of the honey frames, then a medium that has a screen barrier about an inch from the bottom upon which I placed 100% wool fabric wrapped around a 100% wool rug. Those filled the box entirely. On top of that is an upside down feeder box, about 3" in depth filled with 2 layers of 1" hard foam insulation. Then I placed the inner cover on top of that to finish the vertical winterization.
-Around the outside of the hive is 1" hard foam insulation, taped and strapped into place. It covers all four sides leaving space at the front for an exit. The exit is about 3/4" square.
-The entire hive is now wrapped in thick plastic, taped down to handle wind and weather.
-When temperatures drop way low consistently, I will reduce the entrance further to 3/8".
-Since I had put the wool filled box on several weeks ago, I was able to check the dampness. Because there was one wet spot at the left front corner I redid the original plan. Previously I had the inner cover over the wool box without a foam insulation barrier and the telecoping hive top which has a metal covering and then a piece of foam insulation. That allowed cold to seep in through transmission by the metal I believe which caused condensation to gather on the wool. The 2" of hard foam insulation should prevent that occuring. I will check in a few weeks.

So, I am comfortable that the bees are comfortable!!