BEE-ING PRODUCTIVE.
I am so happy! My day was full of BEES! (If you didn't already know this about me, I love bees. Like, really love them. Beekeeping is the reason I first became interested in farming.) Today started with me mailing off my deposit to ShadeTree Honey Farm for my nuc! ShadeTree is a wonderful, all-natural apiary in Mount Sterling, and a "nuc" is basically a few frames of bees and a queen. I will be picking up my bees in the spring and transplanting the frames into my own hive. I am so excited about this for many reasons....mainly because these bees will be relatively LOCAL, meaning they are already well acclimated to our farm. The fact that they are being transported in their own frames also means they will be somewhat established. This ensures for a relatively smooth transition to their new hive! Wooo!
And speaking of the hive, I started building mine! I worked today on the hive body, which is what I will transfer the nuc into. Once the bees fill up all the frames within the body, you add a "super" onto the top of the hive body. Jesse and I hope to drive sometime this week to Dadant in Frankfort to get the rest of the supplies I need, but I am pretty proud of my progress! It might be a little premature, but I am so anxious for my little bees to get here!
It was a lot of fun putting together the hive. One day I hope to LITERALLY build my own...cutting the wood myself, cutting down the trees to make the wood, growing the trees...you get the idea. But still, I am glad to have used the "some-assembly-required" rather than "pre-assembled" version. Even if it's only hammering a few nails, there is a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day in being able to say that I (sort of) built it myself. And while I was busy constructing, Jesse was being a Super Husband and cooking lunch. Bugtussle sausage burgers and sweet potato fries!
Now all I need is the super, the bees, and a nice coat of paint! It should preferably be a light color (to reflect light/heat), which is why most beehives are white. That's pretty boring if you ask me...any color suggestions? - Hannah.