Farm Hill Apiary - Cushing's Island, Maine

Not What I Was Expecting

2011-05-01T19:13:00.003-04:00

I finally got up to the Island for the day today to inspect and feed the hives. I dug into them and unfortunately only three made it through the winter - none of the swarms from last summer survived. It looks like the cold got to them - some honey stores remaining, no signs of disease, and the bees were head-in to the comb.

But the remaining hives look healthy and in good shape! Planning to split the most robust hive (the one on the right in this picture) - need to order a queen for the split.

First Check of Spring

2011-04-30T08:08:00.002-04:00

I received a phone call last week from Sam Meacham, who was out on the Island and passing through the bee yard. According to Sam, five hives have signs of bee activity - the remaining two hives did not have any activity, but it was a bit chilly that day.

I am heading out Sunday to feed them, remove the mouse guards and start spring clean-up. Still a bit early to reverse the hives or put on supers I think. Depends on whether the temperature is warm enough tomorrow for me to do a detailed inspection, or just put on top feeders.

Late Winter Check

2011-03-13T12:41:00.002-04:00

I went out to the Island yesterday to check the hives - four had a few bees out for cleansing runs, so I assume these have made it so far. Temperature was in the low 40s so the other three hives may also be still going. Too cold to feed but will put on pollen patties in a few weeks. Still about a foot of snow on the ground - it is really still winter...

Summer 2010 Recap

2011-02-21T14:00:00.002-05:00

I have again been negligent about keeping up with this blog, so will summarize the remainder of 2010 in this post and try to be more diligent in 2011.

We had two good honey harvests in our kitchen in July and August - mostly from two hives but extracted about 100 pounds in the two rounds of harvesting. Did both extractions in the kitchen with only a little mess.

Lost one of the eight hives to either CCD or a bum queen - have was completely empty, which is not the typical symptom of CCD. But went into the fall with seven hives. Medicated, put on mouse guards (after shooing a mouse and nest out of one hive) and tucked in for the winter. I have painted the deeps dark green this year so did not wrap them.

It has been very cold and snowy this winter and I have not been out to inspect them. But our caretaker has been by on occasion to make sure that snow drifts are not blocking the hive entrances.

Next planned trip out will be mid to late March to feed pollen patties, and then mid April to start spring sugar-water feeding.

Summer Beeyard Update

2010-07-05T06:37:00.002-04:00

It has been some time since I have updated this blog with News from the Bee Yard, so I will do one big update.

Six hives successfully overwintered and are coming along with various results. Two are going very well, or were until both hives swarmed. I have I think two or three full supers from each. The other four are doing okay - one, a swarm from last summer, is only now building up. I have supers on all six hives.

Regarding swarms, this has been a good year. I have had good success with swarm traps - five out in various spots with lemongrass oil. Captured three swarms - gave one away hived one about a month ago, and the third I am in the process of removing from the trap (looks like a large flower pot and a bit complicated to cut out the comb and put into empty frames). Just moved this swarm into a hive a few days ago and into the bee yard early this morning before they started their daily foraging. Will go back to check and feed them later today.

The bee yard is now mowed - uncovered an early-1800s stone wall at the lower end - likely build by the Skillins family before they outgrew the island and moved to Peaks Island.

Mayday Inspection

2010-05-01T17:57:00.006-04:00

The hives are going gangbusters. Four of them are doing very well and will probably need to the split soon to keep them from swarming. Will try this in a few weeks. One of the other hives was quite ornery when I opened it - many guard bees were after me from 30 yards out and during my inspections of other hives. Tested my faith in my bee suit.

Spring is early this year so I have put supers on the four established hives. If this keeps up I should have an extraction party Fourth of July weekend. Also planning to process beeswax using my new turkey fryer.

I have put out swarm traps early this year - they were effective last summer keeping swarms out of houses. I also kept a log of where I put them so I do not forget one or two like last year.

Did some brush clearing in the bee yard to make it a bit larger and expose the old stone wall at the lower end. I do not think this helps the bees at all, but it looks tidy.

Good Friday Inspection

2010-04-02T17:49:00.003-04:00

Did a quick trip out to feed the hives including some spring medication. All six hives are still going - four of them doing very well and the two swarms from last summer doing okay. Trees and flowers not quite in bloom so glad I was able to feed them. The bee yard looks great this time of year - the ferns at the far end are not up so the old 19th century stone wall is visible.

Turkey Fryers

2010-03-28T18:22:00.002-04:00

I attended the Maine State Beekeepers Association annual meeting on Saturday, in Augusta. Great meeting, but I did not win any door prizes. One of the speakers, Cindy Bee, spoke about and had a demonstration of a set-up to process old wax comb scrap - put it in an old pillowcase, tie it up, and boil it in a turkey fryer with boiling water. Her observation was that the crud left behind in the pillowcase is truly disgusting and should be discarded at a distance, promptly.

So I set out to get a turkey fryer. Never heard of one, and tough to find in the northeast. I asked around. Frying turkeys is, I think, popular elsewhere, and fried turkey very tasty, and they (people elsewhere) fry lots of things, including I hear, butter. I heard that Martha Stewart described it on her show but I do not think I was among a Martha Stewart crowd at the annual bee meeting. I now recall a Mythbusters show about dropping a frozen turkey into the fryer (not recommended) and it exploding - do not know if the myth was busted or not.

I finally had success when I was told it was a lobster boiler. So I now have one and plan on harvesting beeswax this summer. My daughter Emma wants us to start Fred's Bees and do balms.

Hive Inspection - First Day of Spring!

2010-03-20T20:47:00.002-04:00

Took advantage of unseasonably warm weather today - 60s and sunny - no snow! - to check the winter survivers. Six of the seven hives have made it so far! All the clusters were at the top of the upper deeps so they are pretty much out of honey - fed MegaBee patties which is all I had available. Seventh hive was a September swarm that did not stand a chance and looks like it died out early on.
Will try to get out to the island in two weeks to start spring feeding.

Winter Inspection

2010-01-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

Checked in at the bee yard to see how the hives were holding up. Cold (20 F) but very little snow on the ground, although a large storm is on the way. The outer cover of one hive had blown off - fixed that. Hopefully all the hives are clustered and warm, but did not want to agitate the clusters by knocking on the hives.

Tucked in for Winter

2009-11-07T18:44:00.001-05:00

I did a quick trip out to the Island today to wrap the hives and install mouse guards at the entrances for the winter. Sunny with temperature about 45 F so a few bees came out to express their annoyance at my intrusion. This will be my last check until March or April when I do my first Spring check and start feeding if necessary.

Going into winter I have seven hives - two survivors from last year, two nucs from this spring (by far the strongest) and three of the many swarms that I captured and combined over the summer).

Fall Honey Extraction

2009-09-13T19:06:00.000-04:00

Even more honey from two of the hives. Got about 28 pounds from one of the older hives plus one of the new ones. Not quite as dark as the August honey but still quite dark. I had eight more supers that were not capped so left them for the hives to rob out for winter - if I had been able to wait a few weeks I would have gotten up to 50 pounds more.

Thanks to Lucy Weaver and her friend for helping uncap the frames and spin the extractor.

Summer Honey Extraction

2009-08-21T16:58:00.001-04:00

Finally getting some honey this summer. I pulled six frames from one hive (one of the two new ones from nucs this spring) and extracted in our kitchen - bottled about 18 pounds of very dark honey - I assume from goldenrod. Thanks to the Meacham twins for helping spin the extractor.

Swarm at Tysons

2009-08-15T19:14:00.001-04:00

I received a call from Anne Tyson about a swarm that was buzzing through the Tyson yard on its way somewhere. My brother and I searched the front side of the island down to the dock and finally found it - in a tree next to Tyson's of course. I put out a few swarm traps and they settled into one after a day or so.

Hived it in the bee yard and they seem to have settled in so far.

Third Swarm

2009-07-12T07:52:00.002-04:00

After two days of heavy rain, the third swarm totally ignored the nuc under which they were resting, and took off. After checking the likely spots (Murray shed, Meserves roof and Donnelly's shower) I checked my remaining swarm trap at the top of Farm Hill and sure enough they have moved in! I will give them a week or two to get going building comb and queen laying, and then will move back into the bee yard. So will be up to seven hives (two survivors from last year, two new from this spring's nucs, and three swarms).

Most supers are empty, but one hive has filled out one of its supers, which weighs about 30 pounds, so will be organizing an Island extraction party in a few weeks.

Fourth of July - Swarm Season

2009-07-05T07:44:00.002-04:00

After over two straight weeks of rain, on the first sunny day one hive cast of a number of swarms and bees disappeared like shrimp at the Fidelity Christmas party. One swarm conveniently settled into a nuc in the bee yard and I moved into a spare hive. Second swarm is in a swarm trap - I will let them settle in and then move to another (my last) spare deep. Third swarm has not decided where to go but now is under a third nuc across Farm Hill road with no intention of moving in. Heavy rain in the forecast so will wait until it clears up to figure out what to do next.

Pulled three frames from the super from one hive, and had an extraction party (first!) at our house. Got six pounds of honey, bottled and labelled with my brother's label design, primarily for adding to a special Cushings Island beer that my neice's fiance (professional brewer) is making for a fundraiser. This super has lots more so I will schedule and Island extraction party in a few weeks.

Bee Yard Update

2009-06-15T07:39:00.002-04:00

I have been checking the four hives in the bee yard and all four are thriving. The two new hives from this spring are growing quickly. Found some swarm cells in one, which I removed but will likely not be able to dissuade this hive from swarming. I have four swarm traps scattered around the edge of the yard, hopefully giving them a closer choice than the Murray shed.

Moved the hives onto platforms that with two per section - easier to work and finally level.

May finally get some surplus honey in one of the new hives, which has already filled out two deeps.

Two New Nucs

2009-05-08T20:16:00.000-04:00

Today I picked up two new nucs from Overland Apiaries to replace two colonies that were moused out over the winter. I had the timing perfect - pick-up, parking, water taxi, truck waiting at the dock on the Island. The one flaw in my plan - the water taxi captain was very allergic to bees and was pretty concerned. Managed to sort it out - he stayed closed up in the cabin and I kept watch on the nucs.

Got the two nucs in place just as the rain started, so will install them tomorrow.

March Inspection

2009-04-19T20:51:00.000-04:00

Another off-season visit to the Island to check on the candy board success and feeding. Relatively warm in the 50s, sunny and finally no snow on the ground!

It looks like two of the hives have made it so far - one fairly busy in the mid April warm-up and the other showing some signs of life. I had cleaned out both empty hives in preparation for new nucs to arrive in May, and mice moved into both and made nests. I shooed them away and put in entrance reducers to keep them from returning.

I put out one more empty hive in preparation for any spring swarms so all five hives are in place - two currently occupied and three empty.

Preparing for Spring

2009-02-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

Only one of the hives seems showing signs of life, so I ordered two nucs from Overland Apiaries - Russian/Carniolan with a bit of Italian in the mix. Also two replacement queens due in June to replace the Carniolans introduced two years ago. If I lose three hives I will make a split from the one hive still going.

Made up candy boards and will feed once the weather warms - currently only up to the mid thirties this time of year.

Winter Inspection

2009-01-19T11:50:00.001-05:00

I did a quick trip to the beeyard to check the hives, with mixed results. One hive had a number of dead bees in front in the fresh snow, up to about 15 feet out - a mix of mortuary duty and I think a number caught in the cold on cleansing flights - the good news is the hive is still going. The other established hive had a snowdrift covering the entrance, which I cleared, and the new hives from this past spring I do not think ever got strong enough to make it through. I will be feeding fondant as soon as the weather gets a bit warmer.

Columbus Day 2008

2008-10-14T12:00:00.001-04:00

Finished medicating the hives and wrapped them for the winter, with entrance reducers. I will not likely see them again until late winter or early spring, for early feeding. The two established hives have good stores but the two new ones from last spring are light and will definitely need feeding as soon as the weather starts to warm in March.

2008-08-01T08:52:00.003-04:00

I now have a label! Thank to John Spencer for the artwork and Lisa Spencer for the label design.

Murray Shed Cut Out

2008-07-20T22:27:00.003-04:00

A hive that swarmed last Labor Day had settled in to the Murray's shed and was growing quickly, so we had to cut it out. Erin Forbes from the the Maine Beekeepers Association came out to help; she opened up the shed wall and removed the comb and vacuumed the bees out. She had to take them off the Island; otherwise they would return to the shed. The cut out took about six hours, and I still have to replace the siding on the shed. Thanks to Dwight Brew for helping.

We got about 13 pounds of honey from the cut out. It has been strained and bottled and will be sold at the upcoming Island Arts & Crafts show in August.

The colony (including queen) was moved to a new home in Falmouth.

Hived Two Nucs

2008-05-31T21:19:00.000-04:00

Today I moved the frames from two new nucs into new hives and fed them. I also did a quick inspection of the two hives from last year and finally have some honey on one of the supers! So we will likely be doing an Island honey extraction possibly over Fourth of July weekend.

Received word from Sarah Meacham that one of the established hives swarmed and is presumably off somewhere hunting for a new home. I can only hope it is not the Meserves, who had a swarm about 15 years ago from one of Vivian Russe's hives and were not too happy about it.

The swarm from last Labor Day that is in the Murray shed is doing quite well - we hope to get experienced help and cut this hive out and get into a hive, the last weekend of June.

New Nucs - Memorial Day 2008

2008-05-26T21:08:00.000-04:00

Today I added two new nucs - Carniolans from Abenaki Apiary in Skowhegan. Spent the entire drive down to Portland looking in my rear view mirror expecting bees to pour out of the nucs, but made it safely down and out to Cushings in my boat rather than on the ferry. Placed the nucs on top of two new hives set up in the Farm Hill bee yard, smoked and opened them up. Bees came out somewhat tentatively at first but checking back later both nucs were active.

Moving Hives

2008-04-26T18:07:00.003-04:00

I learned two interesting things today.

1. You should not move hives in a garden cart - you have to lift the front and move it at an angle, and it bounces a lot.

2. Straps stretch.

With help from Sky and Cindy Thaxter, Chris Bond and Deborah (sorry I forgot your last name), I set out to move the two hives in front of Sarah Meacham's down Farm Hill a bit into the new bee yard. Earlier in the morning I closed up the hives and put a strap around each hive to keep them intact for the move.

Chris and I suited up and lifted the first hive onto a garden cart for the trip. We all then started off and before long the hive, bouncing around (see point 1) , came askew (see point 2) and just before reaching its new home, the hive opened up enough for them to pour out - the girls were quite mad about the undertaking (the bees, not Cindy and Deborah, although they were not too happy at this point either.)

Sky, Cindy and Deborah abandoned the project promptly, and Chris and I did get the hive in place, but were run off by them (the bees, not Sky, Cindy and Deborah.) I got stung around the ankles, and Deborah got one on her wrist.

We agreed that some additional planning was in order so we left the second hive in place for another day.

Late Winter Hive Inspection

2008-03-14T19:12:00.002-04:00

I have not visited the hives since Columbus Day, so with my brother took a water taxi out to the Island to see if they made it through the winter (John checked his gardens.) The temperature was in the mid 40s and sunny, with still about a foot of snow in many places on the ground.

I knocked on the first hive and heard a robust buzzing. I did a similar test on the second hive a few times, not hearing any response, but looked up to see a a number of bees pour out and chase me off - got stung on the ankle. The good news is that both hives made it through the winter so far, despite my lack of attention.

I placed two new empty hives in the bee yard on Farm Hill using the Turner's snow sled.

I checked the Murray shed wall for signs of the hive that swarmed last Labor Day and ended up there, but did not hear any buzzing. While I do not wish them ill will, if they survive the winter I will have to figure out how to get them out and into a hive. I think they reached the equivalent of Portugal in Casablanca, as Debbie Murray is a master beekeeper and rooting for them.

Emma Getting Closer to Hive Inspection

2007-07-03T20:51:00.000-04:00

Emma Helping with Hive Inspection

2007-07-03T20:48:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of Emma preparing to help with a hive inspection. Notice the smiling.