wood duck box relocate

Big Island Bee's

Just got back from a vacation in Hawaii ( the big island ) and while we were there, stopped by Big Island Bees. They have a great little shop, very friendly staff and great honey. Thought I'd add some pictures of their store and a cool old truck they have parked outside. They have 3 honey flows there, that must be nice. They also told me they have problems with some diseases because it's always warm there, doesn't get cold enough to kill things off.

honey bee picture gallery

Farm critters

Thought I'd take some pictures today of the animals out enjoying the warmer weather.
This is Wrangler, our 14 year old border collie. He has been a great dog and he loves it when we're outside with him.
These are some of our chickens. We got them as baby chicks last year in March.
Our outside cat Tootsie, named because of her extra toes on front and back feet.
Lucy, our inside miniature schnauzer x west highland terrier. She's a wonderful part of the family, everyone loves Lucy.
Tomorrow it is suppose to be 68. I hope so, looking forward to checking the hives.

Bee Tree

December 8, 2013

     Received a phone call from my daughter, her husband had fallen a oak tree for firewood, soon to discover,  that it was once home to a happy hive of bee's. My daughter wondered if I wanted to come down and try to collect the now unhappy swarm. So I got on the phone and called a friend who at that time had a similiar amount of beekeeping experience, which back in December was 7 months. I explained the situation to her and asked if she wanted to be involved in the experience. My son-in-law was nice enough to cut the tree in half for us and only encountered one sting to the back of his neck. Then we spent the next 2 hours trying to collect as many combs of honey as possible. We collected about 6 total combs of honey and were not sure if we were able to get the queen or not. Had a great time and was a wonderful experience for a couple of newbies. Thank you to my daughter and son-in-law.

Check on bee's

February 6, 2013
    A warm but not so sunny day. Went to check on the girls, and found a few out and about. They weren't wandering too far from the hive,as it was not warm enough to be out for too long. Knocked on the side of one hive and heard the familiar buzzing sound. Took a quick peek under the lid of the other have and saw a relatively large cluster on the top of the frames and connected to the lid. All appeared to be doing well. Need a little warmer day to be able to open them up and see what kind of stores they have left.Will. update more on a warmer day

    

Putting some of the bee's honey to use

February 1, 2013

     At some point I had come across some recipes for lip balm and deodorant. So, on a vacation to Netart's Oregon with family including my sister and niece, we tried our hand at production.

Lip Balm

 

1/2 C.+ 4 T sweet almond oil

1 t honey

1 t cocoa butter

1 t vitamin E oil

9 T bee's wax, melted

 Deodorant

 

6 T. coconut oil

1/4  C. baking soda

1/4  C. arrowroot powder

     The lip balm sets up quickly and feels great on the lips. The deodorant takes a while to set-up and a little runs out the bottom of the tubes while it's solidifying. Upon contact with skin it turns to liquid. After I had made the deodorant, I read you can add sage oil to help control odor. Guess I'll try that next time.