Our Lola beehive died over the winter. On first glance, it looks like they made honey too far away from the center of the hive and they never ventured up to the higher boxes to eat. Not good for them, but we took apart the top deep box and found a few frames full of clean, capped honey for us.

We haven't harvested enough honey (and probably won't until next year) to make the purchase of an extractor worthwhile, but using cheesecloth and a lot of patience, we extracted eight jars of raw honey (no heat applied) for the family. Trevor especially enjoyed chewing on spoonfuls of honey and beeswax like bubblegum.

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We have the most well-behaved hive of bees, ever. We suited up today and I lighted the smoker for the first time. The sisal rope smolders with lots of white plumes of smoke. It was easy to light and just a few feet of coiled rope was enough for today's tasks.

We drove the cart out to the hive and puffed the entrance a few times with the smoker. A bunch of beed hovered noisily by the entrance in a holding pattern, but they didn't seem to notice us. We smoked the top and opened it to find everyone busy on the frames. Again, none of the bees even looked up from their work.



We refilled the sugar-water feeder, removed the empty queen cage and scraped away some extra burr comb. I eventually gave up on the smoker since everyone was so calm without it. We lifted a few frames to see the progress. There wasn't a whole lot of comb being built, but they've only been in the hive for a week. Considering what a wet, cold week we've had, the ladies were all in a good mood. We didn't find the queen, but our eyes aren't trained to pick her out yet.

All in all, we were finished in about ten minutes. It takes longer to suit up than to work with the bees. I learned last time that my sunscreen agitates them, so I made sure to do the bee tasks before the garden tasks. Now we won't need to bother them again for another 3-4 weeks.

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I am head over heels for bees today. We humans are enjoying the brief bit of sunshine in an otherwise rainy and cold week, but there are 14,000 girls who are absolutely thrilled with the good weather. I understood that they'd be foraging in our fields, but I didn't quite grasp it until today. I stood on the deck and the backyard was vibrating with bee activity. You can hear the hum stretch into the distance. Now I can't say for sure that they're all from our hive, but I've never seen this many bees in our fields before today.

I got a little intoxicated with all of the buzzing and took about 500 bee photos. Just be glad I'm only showing you three here.












"Look at us, we're simply covered with pollen!"

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I thought the box o' 13,000 bees would be scary. I brought bee suits, helmets, gloves and veils for the car ride home from the bee place, but it was quiet and compact enough to sit in the hatchback with a barely audible buzz.



Dave and Trevor (all suited up) set up the sugar water feeder. Turns out, with all that protective equipment, only one bee landed on my shoulder and she promptly noticed I wasn't a flower and took off. None of the little ladies were hostile and few even noticed us at all. When we wandered back out to the hive area later that night and the next day, no one suited up. We just gave the ladies their space and watched from a few feet away.



This is the little queen box that was suspended in the larger container. There's a queen in there somewhere. We saw her, but she wouldn't stand still for a picture.



So now the bees are all settled into the hive, just in time for a 50-degree rainstorm with gusty Adirondack Mountain winds. Those bees are saying, "We came all the way from Claxton, Georgia for this?!"

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This was a week of bee-related activities. Dave called Betterbee and moved up our bee pickup date, and they expedited our hive and tools to arrive sooner. Trevor was very excited about his very own bee suit and proceeded to tear it out of the package and put it on while I was checking through the invoice list. They don't technically sell child-sized suits, so I got the smallest adult size available. It's not too bad to have a bee suit with extra arm and leg coverage. And I can hem up those pants in ten minutes.



The hive usually comes as unassembled as bare pine sides; however, my DIY starter kit has been backordered since February. I substitued the assembled hive in order to have it before the bee pickup date. Because the frames I bought were plastic, they were reused from some other hive and were fragrant with the smell of beeswax and honey. All in all, the scent of fresh pine and honey is enough to make anyone swoon.

The hive needed two coats of paint. The nice thing about having renovated in the last year is that we started out in our first home with plenty of tools and hardware doodads around. I already had paint trays, unused 6" rollers, brushes, plastic tarps and stirrers. Unfortunately, the can I had stored away in the garage had hardened over the winter. I made a quick trip to Alburgh for some barn & fence paint -- surely hardy enough for beehive use. (I opted for it because it was $10 less per gallon than exterior paint.)



With two light coats, the wood was covered and the hive was ready for the field. Clearly, it was bee-approved because a friendly little ground bee from the herb garden came over to take a look. He walked around on the freshly-painted hive and asked if there were any apartments for rent. Alas, we are booked through 2009, but next spring there may be some new construction when a second hive arrives.

Trevor helped me load up the truck, sweep off the concrete footer, and place the boxes. And by "helped" I mean lashed the tops off dandelions with a garden stake sword and begged to drive the lawn tractor back to the house. But it's there, and it's ready for the bees to arrive tomorrow. The question is... am I ready for the bees to arrive tomorrow?

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A Book of Bees is a lovely little book about bees and beekeeping. It's a quick read -- over in just a couple of sittings -- and there isn't a single thing wrong with it. Sue Hubbell speaks frankly about her experience raising 300 hives in Ozarks Mountain Country. She focuses on the welfare of the bees, not profit. Indeed, she makes it seem like a well-loved hive will overflow with honey.

Be warned though, after you read A Book of Bees you will want a hive of your own.

Our bees arrive next month.

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