Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Beekeeping Workshop

First I just want to say, Hi Everyone!! Sorry to be absent for so long. Life sure happens, doesn’t it? We just have to do the best we can, and run with it. I’m so thankful for Leap Day because that allows me to at least get one blog post in for February. Yay!

Recently, the Blacksmith and I attended a wonderful beginning beekeeping workshop sponsored by the EPA and University of Missouri Extension. Our main speakers for the day were Jim and Valerie Duever of Jim 'n' I Farms. We both learned so much that our heads were spinning. Thank goodness for some fabulous learning materials, camera, and lots of notepads. It was an entire day of beekeeping information – loved it!!

book1

displays1

Feral comb, inserted into a frame.

frame_study1

frame2

Did you know that rubberbands work great for holding in comb, should you capture a wild swarm? Me neither.

rubberbanding_frame_feral_hive 

We also learned about some different feeding strategies (including pollen patties), and when to feed them.

A fabulous demo was given on how to set your new package bees up in their new home. It’s really not as scary as it sounds (I hope, because we’ll be doing this soon).

Darn, I wanted a more close-up picture of Valerie. She had on the cutest honeybee cardigan ever!  Here she is demonstrating some beekeepers’ protective clothing options.

Val_1

Everyone had hands on experience building a complete bee hive set.

Here, part of our group learns to put the frames together. We had all ages actively participating in this workshop.. which I thought was extremely cool.
learning_2_build_frames

We also learned how to insert the Duragilt foundation into the frames we had built. (All was easy peasy, once we got the hang of it).
foundation_insertion

At the end of the day, our completed projected was given away as a door prize. How cool is that? (sorry, best picture I could get of it.. everyone was in for a close-up of our wonderful creation!)

door_prize 

Hopefully, all of this new information from the workshop will help us have healthier and happier bees,

and more of this.

Duever_honey

In addition to this workshop and reading some great beekeeping books, over the past couple of months we’ve been watching some great ‘bee’ flicks from Netflix. I would highly recommend any of these for your continued bee education:

Queen of the Sun (update: you can preview, rent or buy this beautiful documentary via the player at the bottom of this page!)
Bees: Tales from the Hive: Nova
Vanishing of the Bees
Colony

Off to put some frames together! Happy Leap Day!!

sig3

25 comments:

Debbie said...

I think bees are extremely interesting and I've always wished I had room for a hive or two. You country people have lots of fun!
Debbie

TexWisGirl said...

well, good luck with that! :) not sure i could do it.

Lois Christensen said...

Really wish this is something hubby and I could do, but don't have the room! Looks great!

Blondee said...

Totally fascinating! I would be all about getting our own hives if the Mr. and the boy weren't both very allergic to stings. :/

Good luck on your adventure! Can't wait to hear more about it.

Janet @ My Miniature Donkeys said...

OK, what are the great bee flicks???

Unknown said...

Wow, Tammy! That sounded like an outstanding workshop! I love that it had lots of hands on stuff. Keep us posted on your bee adventures and thanks for the list of movies to watch. I've seen Vanishing Bees but I need to watch the rest.

Dawn said...

How exciting, I would love to learn how to bee keep:)

Unknown said...

Wish you success, I am allergic to them! However, I have always be fascinated by the process! Hugs

Dog Trot Farm said...

I find bees and beekeeping so fascinating. I look forward to reading more about your "bee" adventures.Greetings from Maine, Julie.

Anonymous said...

Good for you two Tammy! How interesting :) Ima going to keep up with your bees. The Bees of Flat Creek Farm! Happy March 1st!

Down On The Farm said...

That sounds really cool. My husband used to raise bees years ago. Love that honey!!!!! Will you be selling honey? Enjoy our beautiful weather!!!

V.L. Locey said...

Very cool! My hubby would have loved to been there. He always says he wants to try his hand at bee keeping but Mama here is terrified of bees so....

Deanna said...

Welcome back!

That looks like an amazing workshop. We had bees for years but never did anything more than harvest the honey. Maybe if we had attended a workshop like this, we'd still have bees! Sadly, Jim called it quits and sold everything two weeks ago.

Best of luck with your bees and if you experience a swarm, I hope it is a wild hive swarming your way!

Cheryl said...

Glad you had a great time at your workshop! Yummy honey! Mom's neighbor in town has hives and she just loves the bees visiting her gardens!

Mary, Windy Meadows Farm said...

So much to learn and it's just so interesting! Thanks for sharing your bee adventures. While waiting for my daughter to come out of an after-school activity, I had my trusty bee books at hand, marking them up and taking notes. I'm taking a workshop on Saturday...hoping to learn lots. Keep us posted on what you're doing!

Jackie said...

Looks like fun and you get honey too!! I've missed you on here!
Have a great weekend!
Jackie

McVal said...

So cool! My grandpa kept bees and I just LOVED gnawing on the honeycombs...

Thistle Cove Farm said...

I had hoped for bees this spring but life has gotten in the way. Perhaps next spring and I wish you the best of success with your hives.

Melinda said...

Ummmmm... I think that I will leave this up to you guys.
Have fun and good luck.

melinda

Debbie Evans said...

We have several in our family that keep bees. My husband has always enjoyed it & use to rescue hives in attics and such. He could go in unprotected and never get stung. He says it's because he eats so much garlic...Who knows?

Unknown said...

Interesting and I know exactly what you mean about finishing the day with your head spinning!

By the way, how did you make out with your wax? I never did get mine, which was a bit of a bummer but I'll be on the ball this year!

Happy Beekeeping!
~Andrea

FHCS said...

Hello Tammy,
I took a bee class a few years ago and plan on having a few bee boxes one of these days...thanks for sharing your workshop, it looked very interesting! I want to let you know that you were the winner of the Shabby Apple Dress giveaway on my blog....Congrats! Stop on by so I can put you in touch with the company to receive your dress! Thanks for participating!
Take care,
Dee

Patty Sumner said...

One of my hearts desires is to keep or have bees. Our close friends have them. This past year was the first year for honey...it was delicious(as they generously shared). Also, local honey is good for your allergies. Blessings and I hope yours do well.

Carol............. said...

We've been thinking of starting a hive but there is so much to learn before we can venture into that..hopefully this will be the year.......

Missouri Gal said...

Oh, how cool is that!!! I'd like to have my own honey too.

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