OK, extremely cool experience with the wonderful Tom DeNolf. Amateur beekeeper, lives in HP (says the neighbors love it), been doing this for 4 years. He dressed Lucas up in the veil and hat, explained the whole thing, did the poofs of smoke thing, showed us the combs left in the box. Whacked the hammock with a brush, they swarmed out and calmly went into the box. Lucas and I stood a few feet away and watched the whole thing (I so count this as my homeschooling for the week). Lucas can now tell you all about how smoke calms bees down. Charged us $20; said he started charging it because otherwise people blew him off and weren't home when he got there.
Very, very cool. He's even gonna send us a photo of the colony!
Tom and his nephew have a (now-dormant) bee blog, tracking the progress of their city hives. Come on guys, let's get cranking again! I'm all curious now about beekeeping in the city.
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I ordered my first package of bees earlier this week. At first I was going to keep them in the backyard of our suburban neighborhood home. Now I am thinking I will keep them on some property my mother-in-law has in the country. It would probably be safe to keep them at home, but I think I would be more comfortable getting a little experience before keeping them in such close proximity to other people. Besides I don't want to overwhelm the neighbors. I've just finished converting a small backyard shed into a chicken coop and will be getting some chicks in a day or two. I also plan on starting a garden. Maybe some eggs, produce, and honey will help remove any suspicion that the neighbors have of me having gone completely insane.
We had a big swarm in our backyard when I was home from college cutting the grass some 20 years ago. Every time I passed one section of yard, I noticed bees flying around. Finally, I looked up and saw a swarm the size of an elongated basketball hanging from a tree limb just above my head. Called the County Agricultural Extension line and they sent out a beekeeper and his pre-teen daughter. She couldn't reach the branch to bend it down for her dad, but was willing (none of us were wearing any protective gear--shorts and t-shirts), so I was shamed into doing it. Everything went smoothly. He got the queen and most of the swarm, leaving behind a softball sized bunch of bees. I guess they have no raison d'etre without a queen, so they stop eating and die off. We were left with a golf-ball sized beeswax honeycomb. Good times!
Rod, ask your rescuer to share some of the honey. You will beeeee so glad you got to try some!
My dad used to keep bees when I grew up in Dallas (in Oak Cliff.) I hated mowing that side of the yard because when you run over bees in the grass with a lawnmower, they get very angry.
There is a mentally challenged woman who rides at our barn who has learned how to keep bees from 4-H. Not only is her honey terrific (organic, too), but she does a brisk business in candles. It's one of those skills that we don't pay much attention to but is fascinating.
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