Busy as a bee... well Kinda'

Today my father and I helped out Jim (the "Bee Man") with some minor upkeep on his hives. His hives sit in a local citrus grove, and a small three acre blueberry farm. Although it was still a little cool for the bees, it was the perfect temperature for me. With the sun's warmth and the natural beauty of a southern countryside, it made for a very pleasing work environment. It was the first day I had to actually put on a bee veil and some gloves. Although my hat was pink (it belonged to Jim's wife, Gladys) it still made me feel more official than usual. Today's missions were to simply look at the hives, see if they were active, and take their old feed off and put some new ones on. A task as simple as removing a mason jar and replacing it with a new one full of sugar water (or corn syrup). A quick pull of the old jar, then a even quicker slide of a new full jar to take its place. (As you can see in the picture posted, that is actually the hive we have on our property, its not the Bee Mans, but it's the exact same concept). I'm a little wary when working around the hives. Due to my allergy of bees I keep my range and work pretty slowly; often I'm mistaken for being a sissy, but I like to think of it as a cautious approach . I had only one minor incident where a few bees jumped on my head. This was partly my fault because I removed my hat/veil a little too early before getting back into the truck. My father on the other hand, they were in love with him! Small swarms were constantly surrounding him, but "better him than me" as they say :D. Overall I think we left with zero stings. I say think because I'm pretty convinced that Jim is immune to them. He may or may not of had a bee sting him, who knows, but he is very comfortable with the bees. In my head being comfortable comes with a hefty price, at least from the stories I've heard..One day my bravery may reach his level, but until then I'll choose the least vulnerable approach I can take!














As for my Nuc, there isn't too much going on. But this hot weather is getting me excited, and hopefully I can catch a swarm within a month or two. I have added some industrial size staples (I cannot think of their name right now) to my nuc making the entire thing one piece and portable. The pheromone still hangs and the nuc remains empty, but that's OK. It's still very early in the season, and I have pleny of patience. Until then I'm still reading my books/magazines, watching my DvD's, and paying close attention on the trips that I take like today! Thanks to Jim, My Dad and I have learned so much, and have had some great first hand experiences that would have taken me 100x longer to comprehend from a book.