New Packages
Three new hives from packages- for a total of 12 hives on a pretty dang small property. Some probably need to be moved, I'm thinking to ask my mom if I could put them at her place, though she has bears. Or so I hear. . In any case, its a fairly dramatic part of the season, and I am so hyper-conscious/fearful of swarms like I had that one year, that about 2 in the afternoon, when the bees are pretty thick in the sky outside my window, I can feel some anxiety. Plus, an unsurety about whether or not this is manageable- something seems different, more hyped up then past years. I already have 4 supers stacked up on each hive, and some are dang heavy. My new weighing machine says they are about 120 pounds each, up to 140 pounds- and that's pretty heavy for this early. That weight includes top and bottom boards, and an inner cover- but still- its more than I thought it would be at this point.
The swarm anxiety isn't an anxiety about catching them, I've caught lots, its 1.) an anxiety about them swarming like they did one year from two hives- over 20 times, all viable swarms...and I'd have 6x that happening if it ever happened again- and it was EXHAUSTING. And some were way high, and a bit dangerous. Plus, I really don't want any neighbors to freak out, and although bees have good press these days, they STING. And mine are everywhere. So I just need to be mindful and on top of it- but this takes lots of time.
Plus, I do have more anxiety now walking about in the backyard with bees everywhere above me. Its sometimes a very dramatic cloud (and when they swarm, it blackens the sky (or so it seems)). I have them on my roof, so looking up, there are lots of bees. And- I do get stung, every once in awhile, one of the girls just decides I smell wrong, or walk funny, and gets mad. It just adds about 10% background anxiety- maybe its 5%. Depending.
Best would be to move some- but that's such a hassle- to have to go elsewhere to check on them.
The three pounds we received from Rusty weighed in at four pounds- I weighed them as they felt lots heavier than normal. And they seem to be doing great, pulling in lots of pollen immediately.
I am seeing mites in other hives now- and just scraped, scrubbed, soaped and even bleached my bottom boards to do a 24 hour count. They get moldy- and its hard to see mites unless they are bright white. I use sign board, and build a pull bar on the end which is stapled. They are way better than plywood i think, which seems to delaminate in the winter, and was too dark to read easily.
The swarm anxiety isn't an anxiety about catching them, I've caught lots, its 1.) an anxiety about them swarming like they did one year from two hives- over 20 times, all viable swarms...and I'd have 6x that happening if it ever happened again- and it was EXHAUSTING. And some were way high, and a bit dangerous. Plus, I really don't want any neighbors to freak out, and although bees have good press these days, they STING. And mine are everywhere. So I just need to be mindful and on top of it- but this takes lots of time.
Plus, I do have more anxiety now walking about in the backyard with bees everywhere above me. Its sometimes a very dramatic cloud (and when they swarm, it blackens the sky (or so it seems)). I have them on my roof, so looking up, there are lots of bees. And- I do get stung, every once in awhile, one of the girls just decides I smell wrong, or walk funny, and gets mad. It just adds about 10% background anxiety- maybe its 5%. Depending.
Best would be to move some- but that's such a hassle- to have to go elsewhere to check on them.
The three pounds we received from Rusty weighed in at four pounds- I weighed them as they felt lots heavier than normal. And they seem to be doing great, pulling in lots of pollen immediately.
I am seeing mites in other hives now- and just scraped, scrubbed, soaped and even bleached my bottom boards to do a 24 hour count. They get moldy- and its hard to see mites unless they are bright white. I use sign board, and build a pull bar on the end which is stapled. They are way better than plywood i think, which seems to delaminate in the winter, and was too dark to read easily.
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