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Leather Crafting

A North Texas leathercrafter contacted me for beeswax earlier in the year. His intention was to use it in a recipe as a leather conditioner and waterproofing (or water-resistant) agent. He used beeswax, and softened the wax with Neatsfoot oil. You can find recipes to fit your needs in many publications or online. Here’s his […]

January 18 2015 – Bee Yard Inspection

Not a full hive inspection – but a beautiful 60 degree (F) day – and a chance to check the pollen substitute feeders to see if they are in need of being refilled. Indeed – they were low – so after filming this short 1-minute video clip, I refilled the pollen substitute feeders.

 

Mountain Dulcimer – Love Song – by Rex Smith

Rex Smith plays a personally written song on Mountain Dulcimer. Dulcimer has a more rich and full sound than indicated in the video. Dulcimer built by Terry Cannon. Inspiration to play – by Bing Futch (look up his Dulcimerica videos!).

This was take 1 – and has plenty of mistakes in it – but it’s […]

Certified Naturally Grown

This week I have received word that my Apiary has been approved for “Certified Naturally Grown” in 2014. For those unfamiliar with what that means – it’s an alternative certification – very similar to “Organic” certification.

CNG Standards are very similar to those required for the national “Organic” standards – with the main difference being […]

Disturbing Genetic Modification Technology – Honeybees

This month I attended a beekeeping conference in which disturbing advancements in technology have been announced.

An employee of Monsanto, who works for acquired company BeeLogics indicated their intent and research into modifying the genetic makeup of honeybees by means of RNAi protein control.

RNAi – when performed naturally by the body happens from the […]

False Swarm… and Bees Coming Home

We’re in the first week of February – and today was in the low 70’s (F). One of my nuc hives that I overwintered had an unusually high amount of activity around it today.

I noticed a LOT of bees circulating around a spot that where the nuc had originally placed at about 3-4 weeks […]

Leave them bee!

As we approach December of 2012, I wanted to remind folks that if temperatures are lower than about 75 degrees outside, then try not to open up your hives at ALL.

The only exception that I can think of at the moment would be to add fondant for feeding – and then it needs to […]

Winding down the season

It’s starting to cool off – and the beekeeping season is starting to wind down.

That does NOT imply, though, that we are done with the hive or honeybee work for the year. What’s there still to do, you may be asking yourself?

There’s lots! How about:

Feeding for strong brood through the winter Manage […]

A few leftover bees…

Hah! I received a call today from a gentleman that was referred to me by another beekeeper. He said that he had a lot of bees on the outside eve of his house – and that he’d had bees removed from a wall of his home about 3 weeks ago. I thought to myself – […]

West Nile Virus – Aerial Spraying

As if insult was not bad enough when they started spraying for West Nile Virus infected mosquitoes. Now Dallas County plans to move forward with aerial spraying of Dallas. That’s definitely adding injury to insult! (Yes – I know it’s backwards – but it’s how it is)

WNV is reported to give the same symptoms […]