JAmuses: Of things winter.

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Sooo, as the days shorten and we get our minds around hunkering down with a shed full of firewood and a freezer full of wild pig and venison ..... we are wintering our bees.

All our hives are now sitting on Honey dew sites. The main crop is in the drum and we are thankfull for a good crop.
Funnily enough , now is the time to prepare for next year..... I guess we'll do it againn next year... we listed the bees for sale on trade me a few months ago after I had a melt down when the Missus complained that there was more going out than coming in, if you get my drift .... for we all know that apparantly a Happy wife gives rise to a Happy life ..... Hmmmm.
We had a couple of bites, most wanted to buy the trucks .... but without the trucks I'd be hamstrung .... so I guess we are still in business.
Secretly I'm happy about that !

But anyway, wintering.

Apivar strips have been in for five weeks or so. Honey dew has been rolling in as the full moon rises and a Nor'Werst wind blows ..... we've had a good flow and hives have a box an a half of dew, so being the greedy buggers that we are we've been taking that off.
Interesting observation .... the best looking hives were ones we had put O/A staples into in early January as we took the Main Crop off, and then aplied Apivar three weeks later.
While extracting main crop we sorted frames on the sorting table ..... into boxes of honey combs and boxes of brood combs.

So, as we crack the hives we pull the excluders and then pull a couple of combs out to check for disease, and then plonk on an empty second brood and place the full honey boxes above the feeder.
And then we wait and hope like heck that the bees will put more honey into the second brood and we can steal whats above the feeder.
This year many of the bottom broods are jammed with honey, so by putting on a second brood we give the queen room to lay ..... other wise we end up in the spring with a hive full of honey and no bees as the queen had nowhere to lay.

For as Shakespeare once wrote .... " He who doth ambition shun, and loves to live in the sun, shall know no enemy save winter and rough weather".

But with a bit of diligent planning, I enjoy the winter hunkered down by the fire on a frosty morning with not a lot to do .
 
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Semi Commercial
Apivar strips have been in for five weeks or so. Honey dew has been rolling in as the full moon rises and a Nor'Werst wind blows ..... we've had a good flow and hives have a box an a half of dew, so being the greedy buggers that we are we've been taking that off.
Interesting observation .... the best looking hives were ones we had put O/A staples into in early January as we took the Main Crop off, and then aplied Apivar three weeks later.
While extracting main crop we sorted frames on the sorting table ..... into boxes of honey combs and boxes of brood combs.
All Fab - What it takes to keep yer head above water for the next season (along with selling monoflorals right here and now!)
 


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