After three years of beekeeping I was able to harvest my first crop of honey in early June. Spring honey is typically much lighter in color and more delicate in taste.

There definitely was a sense of accomplishment while extracting the honey and then bottling it. But one cannot rest on their laurels. Apiary maintenance is goes on. This year has brought many challenges. Mega growth, shortage of woodenware, queen-less colonies, drone layers, multiple locations and the demand of more time and labor. It has been challenging figuring out the best solutions to these challenges now that the number of colonies has increased. So my main goal now is to condense the amount of hives in the yard to get the colonies in the best condition for Winter.

THEN . . . Mid June a flash flood ran through the main apiary. Nine colonies were upset and in 2.5 feet of running water. With some help I was able to get the hives out of the water until the morning when I began to put the pieces together. In the end there were six smaller colonies rescued. Thankfully no woodenware was lost only drawn comb frames with brood and honey were a total loss – the most value to a colony. My heart was broken as I had to pressure wash the brood off foundation along with mudded up honey.

This year has definitely been a challenge. The challenges have offered learning opportunities and a renewed determination to carry on.

Now here it is late September. Mite washes have been done. Thankfully the mites were very low with the exception of two which are being treated with Apivar. Then all the rest will get oxalic acid vapor treated the end of December.

The ‘blue dot’ queen, from one of the two original nucs I purchased in 2020, is still going strong. I was finally inspected by the State and approved for a Queen Certificate which will allow me to sell mated queens and nucleus colonies in the Spring. This should help with swarm prevention and hopefully maintain the genetics of the’ blue dot ‘ line.

I’m making my Spring 2023 plans now for queen grafting and making up mating nucs which are smaller starter colonies where a virgin queen will reside to get mated and then onto to egg laying to grow and establish the colony.

Well, I can do better with Spring hive management. It seems so much of beekeeping is developing a keen eye while inspecting and knowing how to read the comb on the frames and how to address varying situations within the hive.

As for swarms and their retrieval the less stressful and more practical way is get the queen in the box and the others will march right in. Takes patience and a keen eye. . . . Oh no, I found another queen in the swarm?? What?? How can that be? I have always heard the queen mother leaves the colony with roughly have the half population. Never heard about virgin queens in the swarm but I did a couple nights ago during a live chat on YouTube. Thankfully this new information was made known to me. Just when you think you have things somewhat figured out, lol.

So far I have learned a ton about Spring management first hand. The bees have taught me some tough yet amazing lessons. Not just about their behavior and biology but also about life. This is my third year of beekeeping and by far the toughest because my bees have done so well coming out of Winter. This Spring has seen an abundance of pollen and nectar along with favorable temperatures and sunshine. The past two years weren’t so. What a difference it has made. Its like bees gone wild here. This intense activity has run me ragged not to mention the fretful sleepless nights.

We plan and believe for the best in what we do. I was surprised and upset when I discovered the hive bench had broken from a weak leg. When I looked at the back bee yard this early evening all I saw was the familiar swirling of airborne honey bees! Yikes. Upon my arrival to inspect what was going on I found the three hives were upside down because the bench had fallen over.

All we can do in life is our best. Sometimes things don’t go the way we plan. When it goes south we have a decision to make. Be the victim or rise above and tack a different course. It hurts when all your energy fails to produce the desired results. But if you are willing to take a hard look there is always a lesson to be learned to make you strongly successful!

The apple blossoms have come and are almost gone. Often the apple blossoms get frost bit but not this year! The dogwoods are blooming along with some unidentified trees. This all signals the nectar flow is on and food is in abundance. The bees are building up furiously. The April rains have subsided and May has brought the arrival of the returning Baltimore Orioles!

Two colonies have been relocated to a location 7 miles away. Another colony will be moved there next week. There will be another out yard a couple of miles away as well.

My apiary has doubled in size with all the splitting and swarm catches. I’ve transformed from a backyard beekeeper to a hobbyist. I am developing my queen grafting and colony management all with a view to share the increase and recoup some of the investment I have made.

Sunflowers are among my favorite Summer flowers. Sunflowers start gracing our landscapes with their cheerful flower heads mid to late Summer. If you like to plant them here are the types that are the best for honey bees and other pollinators. The reason these are preferred is because they produce pollen the honey bees can use. Some varieties are pollen-less.

Lemon Queen, Mammoth Grey Stripe, Black Russian, Autumn Beauty to name a few. Look at the labeling on seed packets or description on line for “pollinator or bee friendly”.