Cross posting this on a couple forums...
Picked 'em up late Thursday and took me forever to get back to the farm.
(http://gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4467/web.jpg)
Installed between 12 AM and 1:30AM...
(http://gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4471/web.jpg)
Worked by headlight...got stung a couple times
(http://gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4470/web.jpg)
All in all I think it went quite well...
(http://gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4469/web.jpg)
Later that same day they were hammering away.
(http://gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4484/web.jpg)
(http://gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4495/web.jpg)
We are in full flow right now. I love the sound while I eat lunch under my apple trees.
Some 10 minute videos of the bees simply doing what bees do...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEE4c5QSZ74 (http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEE4c5QSZ74")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfdE2Fmfrfk (http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfdE2Fmfrfk")
I began trimming and pruning back our older apple trees earlier this year and we have 6 more young ones we recently planted and I am curious to see how they do with the increase in pollinators and care.
The quilting patterns on the landing boards are interesting. Does it help them find their way home?
I used to live on a cul-de-sac and all the houses were beige. I sometimes wished I could add a pattern like that to my driveway, but the HOA wouldn't hear of it!
Oh I love the designs and colors of the boxes!!!!!!
Richard, very nice photos, you have your colonies set up very nicely, looking good!! Have the best of this day, Cindi
We don't have landing boards, so maybe I could do designs on the fronts of the supers :-D Ones that haven't been put on the hives yet, of course!
They are still humming right along hauling in pollen. I opened on up for the first time yesterday and I'll super it today, adding another brood box. They have drawn all but the last two frames and part of a 3rd. LOTS of capped brood ready to bust out. I can only hope the other three are matching it.
Some more video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP5ZaKx-di0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP5ZaKx-di0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP5ZaKx-di0)
Looking good Richard, I love the area that you built for the hives to sit on. Very inspiring. I will do something like that for mine this year.
Frantz