The post office called just as I was walking into school. Luckily, my dad was able to pick them up for me. There were very few dead bees, but the syrup can leaked EVERYWHERE! Needless to say, the bees loved my hands while I was hiving them! The whole thing went smoothly as my mom read the directions and my dad took the pictures. It was a great family adventure and one of the funnest things I've ever done.
(http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/5537/p1010014pm1.jpg)
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Tigerlily:
What a happy smile - GREAT for you that everything went well. I imagine the feeder can went all over because at some point in shipping the post office stood the shipping cage vertically because of some label attached to the cage, it loses its vacuum and the syrup can run out easily, emptying the can literally.
I think it shameful that shippers don't MANDATORILLY write on cages "This END UP" for the post office to follow. I had a package just a few weeks ago that was waiting for me all day in a plastic mail box and the cage was vertical to expose the shipping info glue on the side of the cage - ugh.
I'm really happy you are in this as a family, no matter who handles the bees and who shoots the photos, it is a family thing and PLEASE continue to share the photos with us here - your smile truly made my day :) thanks.
P.S. Couldn't help note you Mom is holding Beekeeping For Dummies - thought I'd let you know the cover photo is mine (it's part of my 15 minutes of fame) I remember vividly the day I took that image, I placed a frame on the open door of my mailbox so I could get good sun and followed the worker around until I noticed her on all those different colored pollens. The whole job was part of a 6 month project with the author Howland Blackiston who also used about 2 dozen other images of mine in the book - just some personal history from the lucky guy who has the GREATEST family friendly Beekeeping Forum on Earth :-D
It must have been an exciting day. I started with my brother when I was about your age or a little younger. Did it for about 4 years. Now 30 years later I'm doing it again with my son who is 15. Congrats and good luck.
Dave
I started when I was 11. I was a geek before the word was invented--a bee geek. I was lucky I had a 86 year old mentor when I started and my father had helped his grandfather with his bees when my father was a kid. Beekeeping has been 1 of the most rewarding things in my life. With the death of my father, and reflecting on what he had taught me over the years, I decided to start sharing what I had learned--I found this forum and signed up.
As you learn more about beekeeping you'll never tire of learning. If you can mentor somebody do so, that to is a real rewarding thing. I mentored several beekeepers when I was still a teenager--remember my mentor was 86 when I ment him and he tried to teach me everything he knew over the next 6 years.
Good luck on your endeavor and I admire the fact that this is a family activity.
Wow, TigerLily,
Fantastic and how awesome that your Mom is helping you! I wish I had someone to help me out like that!
Congrats on your hive...it'll be fun to watch the progress..
Sharon in California
I was 13 or 14 when I had my first two hives. I didn't know anything about their maintenance (pre-internet), and they died in their 3rd winter. 18 years later, the positive impression of that experience has stuck with me, and I hived my first two packages yesterday to start again as an adult. As long as you enjoy the experience, the results are not nearly as important. Good luck! :)