Today wasn’t the first time I’ve been into the hive since we installed the bees, but it was the first true hive check. I successfully made a fire in the smoker and opened the hive to check for eggs and brood. There are a lot of schools of thought on when you should do the first check, and likely ours should have been done Friday or Saturday, but sometimes life gets in the way.
Anyway, all was well with the bees. They’ve already built out 5 frames of comb and the queen (who I did manage to find) is busy filling it with eggs. The brood above looked healthy and happy and the pattern was as it should be.
Jessi and Jerry were out of town this week and so missed the check, but they’ll be here later this week for the second one. We’ll need to do a good frame count as I think we’ll need to add a second box sooner than later. The advantage of starting with a 4 pound package is that the bees are off to a fast start, the disadvantage I’m finding is also that they’re off to a fast start. They’re not necessarily following the timeline in the books as those are all written for 3 pound packages.
Oh well, our bees are overachievers, just like us!
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Wow! I always love your photos, Laura. But, this one is fabulous. When I was a math teacher, I was always on the lookout for photographs like this to show my students real world examples of the beauty of mathematics!
Overachievers, indeed! I am so impressed with your bee project. I’ve been thinking about doing the same, but I hadn’t gotten much past the thinking stage. You amaze me.
Gorgeous shot as well.
“Overachievers” is an understatement it seems, your industrious bees are really going at it. I am really impressed, as well as how you are plunging in, even when it doesn’t follow the book.
Really neat. Nature is more perfect than what is manmade. Such symmetry and balance!
great photo! how did you take it? We too opened our hives for the first time yesterday – had to get the queen out of one cage still and didn’t have the wherewithal to look for brood – - next week.
Joan :: Thanks! Mike was saying how amazed he was that they had built all the come they had – it’s so perfect.
Tea :: You should get bees. With everything else you’re doing right now – the P Patch, the permaculture classes, it would be the next logical step. I’m finding that they’re really not that much work.
Mangochild :: Mike and I say all the time “it is what it is” and you can either make an issue out of it or just go with it…
Monica :: I know! It’s really so much more amazing in person, too!
Wendy :: I just held the frame with one hand and took the photo with the other. I can’t really use the viewfinder on my SLR when wearing my hood so I really just kind of pointed the lens at it, let it focus and took about 4 shots. This was the best of the lot. Good luck with your hive check!
beautiful photo — wow. I am totally fascinated, too.
Oh, wow, they look like they’re doing so great! And what a fabulous picture.
Fantastic! Is that honey in there already? Maybe that is what “brood” means, in this context? This is great. I’m so excited for your happy bees!
Laura, what’s new with the bees? I’m totally living vicariously through you on this one, watching and waiting to see what happens, what you learn, etc. I _think I might like to have a hive someday, too!