Ending Up with Hives

A well experienced beekeeper knows that the end of the summer is not the time to be catching swarms or cutting out hives from buildings/trees/etc. At this point in the year, the resources available to newly captured groups of bees is minimal and the chances of them surviving are next to none.

Being that I am not well experienced, nor one to not try something that is seemingly impossible, I didn’t heed that lesson a week or so ago when I agreed to tackle a beehive that was located in an old shed that was due to be demolished soon. 

There’s an observation I’ve noticed over the past few years of capturing bees. People love to watch. I often wonder if they have a sense of morbid curiosity - wondering if the bees are suddenly going to go awol and attack the person in the big white suit. 

Most of the time, it takes a simple shake into a bucket to remove a group of bees that have gathered, or use a cardboard box, and gently scoop them up to place into a beehive box. 

This hive removal that I was going to tackle was going to be one that I wouldn’t soon forget. 

I was able to gain access to the inside of the shed and started to pry a section of the wall where I thought they might be hiding behind.

The walls weren’t the usual drywall but rather thick sheetrock that was set to stand the test of time. It was soon evident that I would need to take a hammer to it and sunk my first hit about halfway up the 8 foot wall. 

One or two little bees came curiously out of the hole so I thought - well, maybe I’ll hit just a bit higher. 

I can honestly say I’ve never been so happy for a full coverage bee suit as suddenly thousands of angry worker bees came pouring out of the 2nd hole that the hammer had made. 

Not to be daunted, I hit the wall again and again further up until I reached the point where the wall met the ceiling. Thankfully the hive went no further than the section of wall which was approximately 3 feet by 2 feet wide. 

Bees were angrily swarming about me at this point as I went to start removing the sections of comb. Honey was pouring from it - coating my beekeeping gloves, the hammer, into the wall, just about everywhere. The deafening sound of honey bees and the intoxicating smell of warm honey created an almost surreal experience.

I placed the comb and the bees into several 5 gallon buckets outside when on a trip back into the shed to gather more, I heard  “hey there! I’m glad you’re back to get the bees!”

It was a neighbor who lived about 50 feet or so from the shed. I nodded and told her to get back into her home- that the bees would be very defensive from my work. She continued to hang out at the fence line until I suddenly saw her start swatting away at bees and finally retreated back into the safety of her house. 

Honey bees, for the most part, are fairly docile until they are riled up and once they get riled up - they’ll stop at nothing to be sure that whatever the threat was to them has been chased far away. Typically, I can work in a hive and then step about 25 to 30 feet away with no concern for being stung. Not this time, when I went to unzip my veil to take a break, two of the bees instantly gravitated towards my face with one of them zinging me right on the underside of my nose. 

To me, honeybee stings don’t feel like the fiery burn of a wasp or hornet but rather an irritating pin prick that swells over time. 

It took two days total for me to finally decide I’d gathered as many as I could and it was time to stop. Bless that neighbor’s heart, she came out again the 2nd time I was there and once again got chased back inside. It’s always best to watch a beekeeper do his/her work from behind closed doors and windows. 

I ended up with 4 stings total which I don’t think is too bad considering the size of hive that I was dealing with. Word is still out on whether the amount of bees I caught will make it, but I’ve given them every chance I can. One thing for certain, this will be one capture that will be talked about for a very long time. 

Until next time…

Farmer's Eye of an Apple

 In the aftermath of losing the farm’s flock matriarch, Gertie, of which I was so humbled by the messages, greetings, etc. on her passing, I’ve discovered something during the 7 years I’ve had the farm, some things I can do amazingly well and others, not so much. 

Take for example the fruit trees which I planted during that first year. I enthusiastically planted 4 persimmon trees (2 of which were grown from seeds), 2 apple trees (a red apple, and a Granny Smith variety) and 2 pear trees. I had planted apple trees at my former home in Columbus, IN, and had amazing success in getting beautiful fruit without doing much maintenance at all. This would be a no-brainer in getting fruit in about 5 years, right?

Well, not so much. As year 4 rolled around, I saw a few tiny buds start on the apple branches that spring, develop and wither away. The same thing happened with the pear trees. No matter, I thought, it was the first year for any fruit and perhaps the trees just needed time to get further established. 

Year five saw a repeat of lack of usable fruit and by year six I was looking up natural remedies for getting fruit to grow without being misshapen. The apple trees were growing baseball sized fruit that resembled some sort of comical monster instead of the beautiful apples which are found in the stores and the pear trees were creating fruit that was the size of peas.

The only trees that were even remotely doing well were the persimmons which started to produce the sticky orange fruit which I turned into pulp that year and made some amazing baked goods for friends and family. 

Now, in year 7, I’m realizing that the pears I planted will never produce usable fruit and are not the Bradford variety but most likely a Callery pear which is also highly invasive and will need to be cut down this year to stop its migration into the field behind the house which it has already done. Chalk it up to learning the hard way. Thankfully the invasive plants should be eradicated by the end of the year through diligence and some serious cutting tools. 

As for the apples, I have a few tricks up my sleeve for those too. I’ve been extremely blessed that the neighbor just across the road has allowed me to harvest from their gala apple trees and these apples will soon make new dog treats.Thanks to a lot of research and talking to experts - I’ll be ready next year with a farmer’s eye when the ground begins to awaken..

It won’t be overnight, but I won’t give up on creating beautiful fruit. Once again, I am taught patience in waiting. Nothing moves fast on the farm and if you try to make it go faster, you’ll find things move even slower. The apples will thrive and there will be new pear trees planted. It is frustrating, however, that the past 6 years I found myself trying to nurture a tree that would try to take over the land. I guess it will now make amazing kindling. 

Until next time…