Archives

Year end work

11x11 Storage Building

11x11 Storage Building - Xmas Eve!

I’ll close out the year with a final storage building build in Arlington, Texas.

The build will be documented here. The first pic is of most of the materials loaded up and ready to take to the home office. As much as I hate handling all this lumber multiple times, it really makes the on-site portion of a build go much faster if as much as possible is cut to size before I arrive at the clients’ location.

Today is Xmas Eve – and there’s a light rain – so I’ll see if it’s better weather tomorrow for getting out to cut the wood.

Hoodlums

Wow.. All I can say… Well – I had MORE to say the other day.

I went to pick up one of my daughters from her Mother’s house. After pulling out of her driveway, and heading out, I heard a loud BANG as something hit the car. I really didn’t know what it was – and for an instant, thought maybe the trunk had been open, and had slammed shut. I said “What was that!?”.

Amber quickly says – “I don’t know, but someone in a blue jacket and brown hair just ran behind that house!”.

I made a quick u-turn, and pulled up in front of the house, got out of the car, and looked to see what had happened. Something had been thrown, and had hit the top of the trunk. It was dented & scratched. Pretty substantially.

I called 911, and let them know that someone was throwing something at cars along the road, and where I was at. They said that they would send an officer.

Meanwhile, I’m still standing in front of the yard, and see the person in the blue jacket trying to sneak around to the other side. I yell “HEY!!! STOP!”. Like a deer caught in headlights, he DID stop! “COME HERE!”… He starts walking to me… and Amber says “I know him! – that’s ______ ______ (name withheld to protect him, since he’s a minor). He goes to school with me and has a class with Robin!

The adrenalin was pumping through my veins, and I was seeing red. I didn’t touch him, though. I called 911 back, and let them know that I’d caught the kid, and that they’d better get an officer here pretty darned quick. The dispatcher was professional, and wanted to make sure that everyone was okay… “How old is the person?” she asked me. I asked him, and he says “14”. She then questioned as to whether I had hurt him. haha. I sure wanted to – but I had not touched him – and I made sure not to touch him through the entire episode. Amber as my witness.

The police finally showed up, and asked what happened. I smiled and looked at the kid, and said “Go ahead – tell them what you did.” I didn’t want the story to come from me – I wanted a confession from him in front of the officer – without my prompting towards any of the happenings.

He spilled the beans. His story was that he’d thrown a rock across the road to see if he could throw it across the road (2 lanes each way, plus a turn lane at that location – so 5 lanes…) Well, I hope he has no plans to be on a baseball team, because the rock didn’t make it over 1 of those 5 lanes.

Long story short… Now I need to get estimates to have the damage repaired. His parents have offered to pay for all the damages. So – as long as that goes smoothly, I’ll handle this in a civil manner, and not have the police pursue criminal charges.

Kids…

New Jackets

My new Beekeeping jackets from HTK Bee Supply arrived last week.  They were running a sale on them last month – and I took advantage of the sale, and ordered (2) jackets.  Saved MUCHO DINERO.  They appear to be of good quality.  The only thing I seem to not like, though, is that the zippers are made of plastic instead of metal zippers.  For the price, I cannot complain, though.

I still need to assemble my case of medium frames, and either make or buy a case of deep frames this winter.

Honeybee Swarm and Colony Removal

I have added a page specifically for honeybee removals – in preparation for the 2012 Spring Swarm season.

If you, or someone you know has a swarm of honeybees that have clustered in your yard, trees, on a fence, under the eve of your home, or on your playground equipment, then give me a call. (If you are local to my area – North Dallas, Richardson, Garland, Plano, Texas)

Here is the link to my swarm removal & Bee Rescue Hot Line page: http://rex.bohemianutopia.com/wordpress/?page_id=2

Outland Apiary

Good news!

It looks like I have a great location for a few hives for next year (2012)!

 

  • Spring-fed water source (to our knowledge it has not run dry in the last 12-13 years)
  • LOTS of wildflowers & nector/pollen forage

The down side…

The location is about 2.5 hours away from my home.  That’s really not so much of a downer, though – as the landowners are very close friends to Shannon and I, and are great people!

Texas Honeybee Guild

Last spring, I met Susan Pollard at a show at White Rock Lake.  I was a new “keeper”, and being the Bohemian that I am  – gravitated right to Susan and we talked bees, hives, and more when we both had spare time from our booths.

Over the last year of research – I have come to the realization that there are several goals that I wish to achieve through my being a keeper of the bees.

  • To provide as “natural” of a setting as I can for the honeybees
  • To work my hives in a “chemical-free” method
  • To work with “survivor bees”
  • Allow the bees to produce naturally drawn comb & cell size

Natural

Yes – I realize that the words “natural” and “beekeeping” seem to be an oxymoron.  What really is “natural” about beekeeping?  I’m not hollowing out trees for them to live in… However – when bees do swarm – to multiply and find a new home – they often take up residence in man-made structures.  So… My real stated goal should be to work in an “Apicentric Beekeeping” manner.

Chemical Free

There are chemicals that are used by many beekeepers that – yes – may kill out an invasive mite (Varroa, etc.) – however, there are honeybees that have natural tendencies to live more hygienically than others… and more “chemical-free” methods for dealing with unwanted invaders of the hive.  Again – a more “Apicentric” method to beekeeping.

Survivors

Bees that display a higher propensity to be hygienic (groom more often, or in more detail) – tend also to have lower health problems.  A strong colony will survive adverse conditions – when a weak colony may not.  It is my goal to work with strong “survivor” strains (Darwinian?  Yes!) and allow the weaker colonies to pass on… instead of trying to manage them with chemicals and extreme invasion of their habitat to manage mechanically.

Natural Comb & Cell Size

There is much debate as to whether forced cell size has an impact on invasive parasites (i.e. Varroa).  Fact – Yes – the larger 5.2-5.7mm cell foundation allows a longer gestation time for the mites in the cell with the larval honeybees.  Fact – Honeybees that are smaller also have a shorter (by 2-3 days) period in the cell before emerging.

I’m not going to force the bees to create any particular size of cell.  Their own natural need to produce cells of appropriate size is a part of keeping the bees ass stress-free as possible, so that they can be strong in number, and support a prolific queen.  My intention is to provide a starter strip for the bees to start their comb – then allow the bees to determine what cell sizes they need & require.  After all… they have done this for a LONG time, when you consider the evolutionary age of honeybees in comparison to humans.

 

In conclusion – my personal goals align me with other beekeepers in the area – specifically Brandon & Susan Pollard (of Zip Code Honey – and founders of the Texas Honeybee Guild) as well as two other “Guild” members – Tim Hall and Robert “Bob” Richie.

I am now an honorary Guild member of the Texas Honeybee Guild – and our goal as a guild – is education of the public on the benefits of our buzzing pollinators, the benefits of the products of the hive, and the benefits – on a larger scale – of living “real”, local, and as self-sustaining as we can.

The Bee Yard – Equipment Growth

Deeps, Mediums, and more….

This fall, I made the investment in a few more hive bodies for the growth of the honeybees.

Added to the hardware:

(5) – 10-Frame “Deep” hive bodies
(15) – 10-Frame “Medium” hive bodies
(100) – “Medium” frames

and I still need to procure about (100) “Deep” frames, and another (50) Medium frames.

Also to build this winter – Swarm-Catching boxes as well as a few 5-frame “Nuc” (nucleus) boxes.  Screened bottom-boards, inner covers, and telescoping outer covers.  Oh – and I’m also doing house remodeling, and am a full-time college student, as well as the owner of a screenprinting business – Tees and Things.  I’m spread pretty thin these days.  There is light at the end of the tunnel, though.

 

Storage Building

Almost completed storage building.

Almost completed storage building – Garland, Tx.

In Garland. 10×16, with full 8′ side-walls. This building is almost complete in the photo. Still needs paint (homeowner doing that) as well as the door latch, and several odds & ends to finish up.