This has proven quite a year thus far. Looking back on March 2020 and our uncertainty about getting bees out of almonds in California amid the arrival of covid regulations, it seems like one of those tip of the iceberg moments rather than an anxiety that merited distraction. The reality is that business is very […]
Fall feeding requirements have been inconsistent from yard to yard. We have a good number of hives down in Muscatine county and a similar number near Kalona. It’s a roughly forty minute drive between them. They were all two-deep doubles through the honey season. The inspection schedule between all of these locations for harvest, mite […]
We had another “first” during the honey harvest this year! We encountered several tree frogs hanging out with some hives on a timberline in Linn County. I found the one in the preceding picture crawling around inside the hive! I suspect they were snagging a few bees for food, but I couldn’t help but think […]
The main honey harvest month is upon us. Until several years ago, we waited until later in August to start stripping the hives of all their surplus boxes. We sometimes even got a strong late summer flow that filled 1-3 boxes after the first pull. Now we don’t even try for a late flow in […]