Well, I visited the future site of my bee yard. It is located in the back corner of the yard. It is sunny in the morning, and partly shaded throughout the afternoon. Around the yard are hundreds of different flowering plants, so I have a feeling the bees will be very happy there (lots of Goldenrod this time of year too). Not to mention I was also given a full box of vegetables from the vegetable garden. Tomatoes, beets, eggplant, summer squash, peppers, corn, and a variety of herbs. Mmm... 

I plan to return during the Autumn to clear out the spot, and put down mulch to keep weeds away. I forgot to bring my camera, but I'll take pictures the next time I'm down there. 

I can't wait!!!

Hive Decision

Well, I've decided to go the route of the Cypress hives. I'm going to buy one beginner's starter kit hive, and one standalone hive. Both are kits, and being that I am one of those hands-on types, I am eagerly anticipating the purchase of both :-)

I'm hoping to get over to the farm sometime during the long weekend. I'll see if I can snap a few pictures. I left my camera in Florida at my mom's house during a vacation last week, so I'll have to borrow a camera. I also left the charger for my Macbook, which now has a dead battery, meaning I'll have to use my old desktop to upload any pictures I take. We shall see how well that works.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a splendid Labor Day weekend. Be sure to stay tuned for updates!

Also, as a sidenote: If anyone reading this has any suggestions for reading materials regarding beekeeping, I'd appreciate it greatly. As of now, I have "Beekeeping for Dummies" and of course all the wealth of information on the web, but I'd like to "expand my library" so-to-say.

Welcome to my 2009 Beekeeping Season Logbook. It may seem early to start, as the bees won't be arriving until next spring, but there's plenty to be done in the meantime.

As of yesterday, I've decided on a place to keep my bees. As I live in an apartment complex, there's nowhere there to keep them. I was hoping to keep them at my aunt's house in the City, but one of her neighbors is weary of it, and also, there's not much to pollinate out there. So, my aunt suggested that I contact her friend, who has a small farm in the suburbs, about 10 minutes from my apartment. I did, and got her overwhelming approval yesterday. I hope to get down there this weekend to have a look at the land, and get a general idea as to where I'll place the hives.

I will be purchasing two hives, and two packages of bees. The sources for both have not been concretely decided yet, but I'm leaning toward Rossman Apiaries for the bees, and possibly the hives too (nice cypress hives, good prices).

I'll decide on the hives within the next week or so, and I hope to place my order before the end of September. I will update as soon as I have seen the land, and decided on my hives. Ta-ta for now!