Training Flight Video
August 24th, 2008
On most sunny days the young bees exit the hive and hover outside the entrance on what are known as training flights. Here’s a video of my bees doing just that on Saturday, August 23rd 2008:
Untitled from Matthew Reed on Vimeo.
Tags: honey bee, OR, portland, training flight, Video
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Bee Yard and More!
August 21st, 2008
This past weekend we had a family gathering at Sokol Blosser Winery (The family winery). I spent some time surveying the yard of my aunt, Susan Sokol Blosser, deciding where to put three top bar hives during Spring 2009. We decided on the location in the pictures below that will offer some wind protection, ample sun and quick access to a multitude of flowers in her gorgeous yard.
Also, I have been spending a great deal of time working on a business plan, locating grants and gleaning information from my incredibly knowledgable family. In the coming months I should have a lot of the details ironed out and hopefully some grant money in the works!
In October I intend to take a beginning woodworking class at Northwest Woodworking Studio in southeast Portland. This should give me the basic knowledge necessary to make the creation of 20 top bar hives go a little more smoothly…
The Sokol Blosser Bee Yard:
Flowers in the Sokol Blosser Bee Yard:
The Sokol Blosser Winery Vineyard:
My typical ankle protection method:
Bees protecting their precious honey:
The queen’s brood pattern looks solid to me:
Saturday evening bearding:
Bearding close-up:
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August 16th, 2008
A note from Jill:
The bees have been so great. We could not have asked for a better first hive. They are healthy, happy and thriving and remarkably tolerant. Matt gets in the hive about once a week and they are patient with him and us.
He has learned a lot regarding bio-beekeeping and lots of changes will be coming up for us, from top-bar hives to dismissing the use of a smoker, I’m really excited to treat the bees with the kindness and respect they deserve - - they really are lovely. I have a feeling this Winter will largely be spent at his parent’s in the garage, building hives.
As he said, he sprinkled the bees with powdered sugar (organic) last week and what a sight! Honeybees covered in powdered sugar flying around is about the most amusing thing you can imagine - like a mass of little Al Pacino’s in ’Scarface.’ And watching them clean each other is fascinating. We still haven’t seen the Queen, but we know she is there because there were eggs less than two days old (uncapped) inside.
Thanfully we had almost no mites on our bottom board. We will sprinkle again this week, but they really are a thriving colony. Matt and I sometimes press our ears to the wall of the hive. It’s an amazing sound to hear the colony inside; the mass of living bodies, their hum and heat.
It has been so hot here, we need to go out and see them. I wonder if they will start bearding because of it?
Increasingly I think about them each day while I’m at work. It’s amazing how little they need from us and how hard they work. My only regret is that I can’t put them on a leash and walk them.
Tags: mites, Powdered sugar
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Picture Update
August 13th, 2008
Here are some pictures from the latest hive inspection (Thanks to my dear wife for her photography skills):
Burr Comb:
Pulling a frame:
Powdered Bees:
Mass of Bee Bodies:
Kissing Bees! (Likely transferring nectar from forager to house bee):
Fresh Capped and Uncapped Honey:
Tags: Bees, dusting, Powdered sugar
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Reed’s Bees Update!
August 11th, 2008
What a month! Last week my dear sister-in-law, brother-in-law and two nephews were in town from San Antonio, Texas and we had a splendid time. The first couple days we relaxed at a cabin in Welches, OR on Mount Hood. The boys played in the creek, we hiked, fished, imbibed and took part in numerous card and board games. It was a much needed get away from work and school and I feel somewhat refreshed and ready to get to work preparing for the arrival of the bees, Spring 2009.
Speaking of bees…my hive seems to be doing well. Since acquiring them I have given them a screened bottom board to combat Varroa Mites and ensure proper ventilation, a telescoping cover and inner cover, also for proper ventilation. This past weekend I gave them a powdered sugar dusting which is one of the best mechanical methods of removing Varroa Mites. By coating the bees in powdered sugar the mites are unable to hold on and plummet through the screen and into the dungeon below. If administered once a week for a month, this can significantly reduce the mite population in the hive, giving the bees an advantage as they go into the most difficult time of the year: winter.
I am now a true beekeeper — I received my first sting on Saturday afternoon. My parents and wife were watching me inspect the hive and I told them that I felt what seemed to be a bee in my jacket. They thought I was imagining things, but a few minutes later as I moved I felt a sharp pain on the right side of my abdomen! I danced around the yard, uttering the worst of vulgarities and went inside where my mother placed some strange vinegar concoction on the wound. After a minute or two all was well and I ran back outside to finish harassing my bees.
Lastly, I added a frame feeder full of drivert baking sugar which should give the bees a few more pounds of food to get them through the winter and hopefully they will be healthy come spring, a time during which Carniolans (the breed of bee) are notorious for explosive population increases.
In addition to maintenance of my current Langstroth hive, I have been thoroughly researching other, possibly more sustainable and less expensive options. It is through this research that I have decided to move away from the standard Langstroth hive to a more natural approach to beekeeping using what is called a Top Bar Hive. They have been used in one form or another for thousands of years, largely due to their ease of management, low cost and simple construction. Rather than numerous boxes housing dozens of frames stacked upon each other, the top bar hive is simply a rectangular box with bars laid across it. The bees enter the hive and continue building horizontally rather than vertically.
Here is an example:
I’ve determined that if I use top bar hives rather than vertical hives, I will likely save approximately $5,000-$6,000 on hives and related accessories in 2009. This is a substantial savings with other benefits, such as:
- Maintenance free
- Non-invasive design
- Bees create natural comb according to their own needs
- Pest resistance
- No back strain moving heavy boxes
- Recycled wood can be used
This method, I think, will be the most sustainable, cost effective, eco-friendly option that is beneficial both to the bees and beekeeper. More to come.
Tags: Bees, sting, sustainable, Top bar hives
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First Interaction
July 24th, 2008
Today I opened and manipulated my first hive! It was most exciting, though a tad hot and nerve wracking. I arrived at my parents at approximately 5:30PM to be greeted by very active bees, busily coming and going as if they’d never been moved. I suited up, lit my smoker and set out to move the hive to a screened bottom board for better ventilation, ease of cleaning, and to help combat Varroa mites. After nimbly separating the propolis-glued boxes I lifted them off one by one until I was left with only the bottom board. Then I quickly swapped boards and put the hives back together. I couldn’t resist pulling out a frame to show my mother honey, as can be seen in the picture.
Tags: Bees, First inspection, screened bottom board, smoker
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The Bees Are Home
July 23rd, 2008
We picked them up in SE Portland and relocated them in Beaverton. Their new home is quite splendid!
My father toiled for two days building the gate, leveling the ground and setting up the concrete blocks:
My dear friends, Brandon, Amelia and Sawyer stopped by to help:
Admiring the hive:
The hive as it rests tonight:
Simba, my parent’s dog, is inquisitive:
Jill and I wonder if there are really bees in there:
Drinking accompanies all hive celebrations:
Tomorrow I will move them to a screened bottom board and give them their new telescoping cover!
Tags: Beaverton, hive arrives, Moving hive, portland
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Bee-Day
July 23rd, 2008
“Bee-day,” Jill calls it. And I like it. Tonight at dusk we head to SE Portland where I will pick up the hive on the right:
I will cover the entrance with size 8 screen, staple the hive bodies together and then strap them down so that my bees are snug as a bug! At that point we’ll heave the monstrous contraption into the back of my parent’s truck and take it to their house. My parents have cleared out a nice, flat area and arranged a number of concrete blocks to give the hive stability and some height from the ground. This protects from nuisances such as skunks and dogs.
Once it’s home I’ll remove the screen, staples and straps and place some leaves in front of the entrance to ensure that the bees take notice of a change in their location. This keeps them from rushing out of the hive and realizing later that they don’t know where they are.
More pictures will follow!
Matt
Tags: Beaverton, Bees, First hive, New Hive
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The impending bees.
July 22nd, 2008
I have never seen Matt as excited as he has been today upon purchasing our first hive from a man with a dog named ‘Buddha.’ Tomorrow we go pick it up and place it in his parent’s yard. Here he is with his bee suit and smoker. You can’t tell, but he is beaming under his mask. He has been walking all over the house puffing at things with his smoker.
I’m really excited for the bees tomorrow!!
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It’s Beginning
July 22nd, 2008
Today I pay for my first hive and tomorrow evening I pick it up! This afternoon I’ll be purchasing my equipment in preparation for the inaugural Reed’s Bees hive at the Reed compound in Beaverton.
I’ll keep you posted!
Matt
Tags: Beehive, First hive, portland
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