Today was the day I was supposed to pick up my bees. I've been needing to get a fence up around the bee yard. But I got wrapped up in a bunch of other projects and didn't do it. So I was up against the clock today. I managed to put up some t-posts before I had to go pick up the bees. I'll make sure to get the fence up this week. I think the best time to work would be in the late afternoon.
I found my bees on Craigslist. A local guy sells you the bottom box, a young queen, and 9 frames. It was $150.There were about 40-50 hives sitting here. I don't think this was his primary bee yard, just the delivery spot.
I was the third person there, so I just asked the bee keeper which hive he thought was the best one left.
There was a green box that had a lot of activity, so I went with it.The beekeeper said I didn't need to put the strap on, but I figured I'd err on the side of safety. Plus the shocks on the truck are pretty stiff. That was pretty much it for the load in. I shut them in, and headed home.
That's me in my bee suit carrying the hive. They were not very happy after the car trip. A lot of buzzing around. I wanted to get them on the stand as soon as possible without tripping over something. I tried to remain calm. Even though you know you have the veil and the gloves, it's still kind of strange to have all those bees on you. I'm sure I'll get used to it. The Cowgirl was about 200 yards away taking this picture. Funny.
So here's where it's at right now. You can see that I need to get the fence up. I also got some barbed wire to string up. I don't know if it'll keep out a bear, but we'll see how it goes. My neighbor said he saw a bear back there last year, but I haven't seen one. Again, better err on the safe side.
Tomorrow after work I'm going to stop by the bee store and pick up a top feeder to get them some sugar water. I need another brood box, and a new top lid. I also need to pick up a smoker and hive tool. I might go ahead and get a few honey supers depending on how expensive everything is. Oh, and I'm going to pick up a spare veil just in case there's a brave soul that wants to take a look up close with me.
Here's a quick video right after I got it settled.
See You Next Time~
