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**Iowanian** · 10-06-2021, 01:21 PM

2021 update

This was a rough year starting with the loss of all but 4 of my hives this spring.

I regrouped, hustled and worked to rebuild my yard. I set out swarm traps, I did 2 trap-outs of trees and did a couple of cut-outs from houses. I also had an opportunity to help out an esteemed planet member with a removal in a house.

At harvest time, I was back to 16 hives, i've lost a couple and added a couple back. Right now I've got 16 going into winter.

This year I started sending more stories of bee adventures with snap and made a business page where i"m doing live streams and sharing some stories.

A lot of hours. A lot of sweat. A lot of stings.....but I didn't end up with a lot of honey as a reward for the work that I did. The weather just wasn't good for honey production this year. All of the guys I used to do bees with are out or getting out, so I'm the last one standing.

I had 2 events where I took significant numbers of stings, the last being during a fall mite treatment a month or so ago. They were so damn angry that day, they were getting me through my pants, were getting up my jacket and into my veil. Probably 25 hits that day and I was pretty annoyed by the time I was done.

because of the losses, I've spent more time and effort on mite treatment. I did 2 oxalic acid vapor treatments, and then put apaviar strips in last week. I made new tops for inner feeders and all of my weaker hives(not having enough honey to get through winter) are getting 2:1 sugar water about once per week. I'll add some sugar to the top of all of the hives as we get close to winter.

In other developments, I purchased a 12x24' building that I"m using for a honey house/man cave. It's not done yet, but half is being used for processing honey...the other half will soon have internet, a tv, a desk, donkey kong and other essentials.

I was approached by a grocery store about selling my honey and I've had it in one store for a week and it's going very well.

This coming year I pretty much have to decide what I'm going to be. I'm either going to have to spend more money on equipment and grow some, because the people who have been helping me are selling their stuff.....or downsize a little ,and spend those hours of summer honey bee catching at the lake with my kids or something.

My other recent record is also in tact. For the 3rd year in a row, I mowed into ground bees within a couple hundred yards of my honey bees. This time with a brush chopper and I got beat up on the hands by yellow jackets. I hate those damn things. I'd like to kill all of them on the planet.

10-06-2021, 01:21 PM	#430
Iowanian Supporter Iowanian's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Utopia	2021 update This was a rough year starting with the loss of all but 4 of my hives this spring. I regrouped, hustled and worked to rebuild my yard. I set out swarm traps, I did 2 trap-outs of trees and did a couple of cut-outs from houses. I also had an opportunity to help out an esteemed planet member with a removal in a house. At harvest time, I was back to 16 hives, i've lost a couple and added a couple back. Right now I've got 16 going into winter. This year I started sending more stories of bee adventures with snap and made a business page where i"m doing live streams and sharing some stories. A lot of hours. A lot of sweat. A lot of stings.....but I didn't end up with a lot of honey as a reward for the work that I did. The weather just wasn't good for honey production this year. All of the guys I used to do bees with are out or getting out, so I'm the last one standing. I had 2 events where I took significant numbers of stings, the last being during a fall mite treatment a month or so ago. They were so damn angry that day, they were getting me through my pants, were getting up my jacket and into my veil. Probably 25 hits that day and I was pretty annoyed by the time I was done. because of the losses, I've spent more time and effort on mite treatment. I did 2 oxalic acid vapor treatments, and then put apaviar strips in last week. I made new tops for inner feeders and all of my weaker hives(not having enough honey to get through winter) are getting 2:1 sugar water about once per week. I'll add some sugar to the top of all of the hives as we get close to winter. In other developments, I purchased a 12x24' building that I"m using for a honey house/man cave. It's not done yet, but half is being used for processing honey...the other half will soon have internet, a tv, a desk, donkey kong and other essentials. I was approached by a grocery store about selling my honey and I've had it in one store for a week and it's going very well. This coming year I pretty much have to decide what I'm going to be. I'm either going to have to spend more money on equipment and grow some, because the people who have been helping me are selling their stuff.....or downsize a little ,and spend those hours of summer honey bee catching at the lake with my kids or something. My other recent record is also in tact. For the 3rd year in a row, I mowed into ground bees within a couple hundred yards of my honey bees. This time with a brush chopper and I got beat up on the hands by yellow jackets. I hate those damn things. I'd like to kill all of them on the planet.
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