My first video blog- The Day I got my Bees…which are STILL in my bathroom

Please submit logo ideas, sketches, artwork, etc… for The Stinger’s Club

I still haven’t thought of one…

The grand prize is nothing so far except the logo put up on the blog and painted onto the side of my hive…

So i was supposed to take the journey up to Gladstone, NJ yesterday to retrieve my bee package.  Yesterday afternoon though I recieved an email from the farm saying they were not ready yet, but would be tomorrow… however another email came this morning saying this isn’t the case.

Yesterday I found myself to be slightly short of fully prepared for the bees anyway.  I had let time get away from me and procrastinated a few things i should have done.  I dropped the hive off at DeHart’s Farm last night, and then went out and bought the final supplies I need (sugar, plastic baggies and a spray bottle)… I also re-read parts of “BEE KEEPING FOR DUMMIES” to remind myself of a few things I may have forgotten during my epically long wait.  But today is just a pain in my bee-hind… they could not have come on a better day because of the long holiday weekend that starts this afternoon.

I guess I will continue to wait for my new due date.

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Read emails below:

On Wed, Apr 20, 2011 at 2:10 PM, Brian Rowe wrote:

Hello,

I wanted to update you that our post office did not yet get the queenless packages. We confirmed yesterday that they had shipped, so we expect them in tomorrow morning before 10am. The queens are ready, and will be put into the packages as soon as they are here. If you have paid for them to be shipped, they should go out tomorrow, hours after they arrive.

If you had indicated today as your prefered pickup time, we need to select another time. As long as they are in by 10am, I will be around from 10am to 1pm for an additional pickup time. I will send out an email to notify you when the packages arrive.

On Thurs, Apr 21, 2011 at 9:22AM,Brian Rowe wrote:

Hello,

 I am sad to announce there has been an issue. I contacted our post office today and was told the packages did not arrive. So I just contacted Spell Bee, our supplier for packages, and spoke with the manager. She informed me that we were miss informed when we previously called to check on our shipment. She also stated that they were short on bees and had not shipped the packages as of today. I am working the issue, and will be in contact again later today.

Until this issue is resolved, all scheduled package pickups and deliveries are on hold. We will reschedule when we confirm the packages have shipped. From the time they are shipped they take 2 to 3 days to arrive, and normally arrive here by 10am.  You will be updated as soon as we have more information.

I have decided to go about getting my bees in a different way.  Originally I had them ordered from an apiary in Georgia and they were to be mailed via USPS to me by the end of March.

I started to feel bad and anxious for my little guys; nothing about USPS seems  pleasant.  The bees would be hot and hungery in their tiny package, getting knocked and bumped all over the place.  I wouldn’t be in a good mood, or alive, after that, so how can I expect them too be? 

Plus I would have to rely on my local post office to call as soon as the bees arrive so I can pick them up, which would be about 4AM some random day.

So I canceled that order and found an apiary in NJ.  This makes more sense on a couple of levels.  For one, the bees have already been wintered in NJ, making them much more acclimated to the weather here than a bee from hot-lanta. 

I will now be picking my bees up on a scheduled day.  This means a 3 hour road trip, but I can assure my bees safety (my driving record is not that bad). 

Part of this is disappointing.  Its like scheduling a C-section or being induced instead of waiting up nights anxiously pacing and wondering if your package will arrive that day. Also, since I have now ordered (reordered) so late in the game, I can not pick up my bees until sometime mid April.  This is still plenty of time to grow a strong colony, however will effect the amount of honey I collect for personal use, but I am okay with that. 

The Carpenter Bee- large, plump and hairy… aptly named; but also makes nests in solid wood, tunneling through the eaves of a barn or shed, or my back deck.  Carpenter Bees  live alone, aren’t very aggressive towards humans, and like a Honey Bee forage for pollen- but they are not a Honey Bee.  Most of the bees you have probably seen (as a non bee keeper living in NJ), or have been stung by are not the Honey Bees kept by bee keepers.

(My hive thus far)

I found some time today after work, while the toddler was still napping, to throw a few frames together.  Above is a picture of how things are coming together so far.  I am actually almost done.  I am bringing a couple frames to work with me in the morning so Chef Tom can make sure I am assembling things to the bees liking.

The frames are quite simple to put together, there are just a lot of them which makes it time consuming; and the wood is fairly thin, so some care has to be put in to not split it.

I need my frames doubled check by someone who knows what they are doing, because my frames don’t look as nice as the examples above.  My wax foundation (the center part) doesn’t reach the sides.  It looks like it is too small for the frame.

(Posing with the hammer: I need to put on some lipstick next time I work on the hive… that is Carleigh in the back guarding the garage…)

www.golden-bee.com called me back in regards to missing hive pieces.  All has been settled- turns out I was wrong (so I won’t write too much about the matter)… no pieces are missing… I just didn’t order what I remembered ordering… but it turns out what I ordered is actually what I want and need.

Bee Hive building apparently attracts a lot of attention from the neighbors.  When they saw me staring blankly at pieces of wood and I told them it was supposed to be a Bee Hive- they got right to work.

I want to thank my Dad and Wayne for putting together the two hive bodies and starting on the frames- I also want to thank Jerry and Jim for helping me watch my Dad and Wayne work.

When the two hive bodies were put together, I noticed that the 91 pieces of wood or so I had piled in the garage actually wasn’t enough.  I read through the list of what was included in the box and realized www.Golden-Bee.com has sent me the wrong kit.  I have called the company already and left them a message informing them of their error.

(My pile of wood)

(My Dad watching Wayne put together the hive)

(Wayne watching my Dad put together the hive)

(The wood glue my mom gave me to put the hive together.  I know where I get my carpentry skills now)

(My workers)

(I finally got to work, - I chose a lovely shade of “Flat White” for my bee’s home)

(My professional painting stance)

(The crew, hard at work)

Welcome to “The Stingers Club” blog, where you can follow me while I start my new bee keeping hobby.

This is what happened:

Back in December, Master Chef Thomas Griffiths gave a short presentation (at work) about his bee keeping hobby.  He showcased honey his bees created as well as a few boutique honeys from different areas highlighting a range of flavors (pure clover, blackberry, blueberry, wheat…). 

Before this, I can’t believe I thought honey was just “honey” flavored and all tasted the same no matter where the bee was from or what kind of plant it pollinated.  What was I thinking?!  I’ve spent years studying microclimates and their effects on grape varietals for wine making.  The slightest variation in elevation, the smallest difference in air salinity, a miniscule drop in temperature, sandy soils, clay soils, rocks (getting excited as I type this)…vineyards feet apart can produce wildly different tasting grapes… so if the plants produced in different climates taste so different (like Jersey corn, vs Florida corn) why wouldn’t the nectar from these plants produce completely different tasting food- flavors of honey!

So something in my head said, “so honey is like wine… let’s become a frikin’ bee keeper.”

I told Chef Tom about my interest, he pointed me toward the Philadelphia Bee Keeping Guild; which has been a great source of information- I am taking my first official bee keeping class through them on March 12^th.  But before even then there is a lot of work to be done. 

I received my “hive kit” in the mail last night.  I ordered an UNASSEMBLED Two Brood Chamber Two Honey Super Hive Kit  (www.golden-bee.com);I opened the box already, it just looks like a giant pile of wood…. I am going to assemble it this weekend… video to come.

                        (This is what my hive should eventually look like)

Where am I keeping these bees?  I wrote a letter (for some reason I chose old fashion mail) to about 20 farms in south Jersey explaining that I want to try my hand at being a bee keeper. Next thing I knew my voicemail box was full of farmers asking me to keep my bees on their land.  Mr. DeHart called first and DeHart’s happens to be the closest farm to where I live (1.26 miles), so that is where I will be.  I met Mr. DeHart this past weekend, really nice guy.  He drove me around the farm and showed me the options I have for hive placement.  He has another bee keeping hobbyist keeping there too, who Mr. DeHart described as a “real special guy, he eats the bees to impress girls… f___ing weirdo….” 

Can’t wait to meet him.

After I get the 2000 piece jig saw puzzle of a hive put together, I need to finalize my bee order and that is then the real fun begins.

At any point, if anyone wants to see part of this process in person (especially once I get the bees) please let me know.  I am super excited about this and want to share it with anyone who might be interested… if you show enough interest there might even be some honey, candles, lip balm, pollen, royal jelly or propolis (oooh, propolis!) in your Christmas stocking this year.