beekeeping
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Bee-ing hopeful in the dead of winter
The bees are still alive! I saw them yesterday. Today a boatload of snow is falling… to be followed by frigid temperatures and a sub-zero wind chill. Already, with hours of snow yet to fall, gusts of wind whip clouds of snow off the roof and swirl it around the yard. The bees and sensible Continue reading
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In the bee’s midwinter
In the bee’s midwinter frosty winds made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. Snow was falling, snow on snow, snow on snow In the bee’s midwinter not so long ago. Ok, so I changed a couple of words. Winter has hit hard with the New Year. Six inches of fresh snow blanket Continue reading
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First frost and fingers crossed: winterizing the hive
The temperature has dipped low enough to zap the basil, which I did not snatch in time. So much for making pesto. A more pressing issue is getting the bees ready for winter. Saturday was a delightful day with crisp sunny weather and crunchy leaves underfoot, but it was still warm enough for the bees to Continue reading
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Busy as…
With the school year heading into its final stretch, I’m feeling as busy as a bee. And I’m feeling about as productive as the honeybees in our yard. Oh wait, we don’t have any honeybees in our yard. The 44,000 bees we ordered from Georgia haven’t arrived yet. We have carpenter bees in droves, doing their destructive thing and Continue reading
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Up to our ears in wax
Beeswax. We’re up to our ears in beeswax. (I’m so tempted to recount an earwax story my sister told me about a certain niece’s boyfriend, but I’ll behave myself. Family members have here enough data to figure out the source and ask her–if they dare.) Actually, it’s not the beeswax but old honeycomb that we have in Continue reading
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BSI: Bee Scene Investigator
(Note and disclaimer: The following post might actually contain factual information relevant to beekeepers.) All the bees are dead and I want to know why. I want to autopsy the bees. Technically, since they are not human beings, I want to dissect the bees. But Mr. Beekeeper husband is feeling really sad about these bees. He feels Continue reading
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The busy beekeeper tries to tuck the bees in for winter
A twenty-five pound bag of sugar is empty in the kitchen. Dinner was delayed because the stock pot of bubbling sugar water was taking up most of the stove space. All of my pyrex casseroles are filled with sweets that we won’t be eating. A five gallon bucket and a paint stirrer are coated with sugar Continue reading
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A perfect Maywood day
On a clear crisp October day, where better to be than at Maywood, with a kaleidoscope of leaves floating earthward? And what better things to do than sawmill and introduce a new family to the wonders of beekeeping? Top it off with a dinner of grilled bluefish caught last weekend in Cape May, N.J. and Continue reading
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Not a bee, not a yellow jacket, and why is it out at night?
Enormous “bees” bounce off the glass of our front door. Dozens of them. Unlike moths, which flit annoying around light, or June bugs, which bump clumsily against the glass, these look threatening, like mutant yellow-jackets. They are so big they make a wasp look like a mosquito. They scare me. Yes. They scare me. Me, beekeeper wife, who takes a cocktail down to the bee-yard Continue reading
Slightly Off the Grid 