Bee Keeping

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

WOOO HOOO for you!!!!! COngratulations to you...You will be so amazed next year, they have been so fascinating for me. They truly are amazing little creatures.
I wanted to peak into the hives today, but it's so windy out that I didn't dare to. I wanted to take the inner cover off and put in some crisco/sugar mixture to help with some mite control for over the winter..I don't want to use chemicals or antibiotics like a lot of people do. I want to keep it more natural.
Oh, and in November, somewheres around the 13th, there is a meeting in Syracuse for the Eastern honey bee keepers association. I heard about it last night by another bee keeper. He said he goes as there are lots of speakers and things. It's like 45.00 a day maybe and it's a 2 day event. I didn't get all the facts yet, I was half asleep when he called to tell me...

Thanks Shelly...ooops I mean Sally!
Here are more details and pictures of my new/old hive, now in place in back of my garden!: HERE.

Yes, it is nasty bee weather here too today. I wanted to give them some syrup but it's windy and cloudy and chilly. Will maybe try tomorrow if no wind.
'The girls' are not venturing out much today anyway...too cold and windy and of course they are completely disoriented at this point too. Still, there are a few dozen brave souls going in and out, yet a dozen or so have died this morning on the ground around the hive- too chilled and couldn't find their way back in again I suppose. Good thing there are several thousand to spare.

I am still amazed at how gentle they all were when we were pulling the whole hive apart frame by frame yesterday. Very impressive and endearing.

Have you looked into the Honey-B-Healthy supplement to add to sugar syrup feedings? It contains natural stuff like lemongrass oil and spearmint oil, no nasty chemicals, and I've heard bees seem to thrive on it and the varroa mites detest it and their numbers tend to decline when bees are fed with it.
I've read that the grease/crisco cakes are good for tracheal mites but do little to combat varroa mites.