First Snow - Georgetown, December 16; 12:25pm

 One of the best reasons to live in Georgetown and forgo the seduction of the suburbs is the snowy day.  It is really beautiful and a great reason to get out of the house.

Today has been a great day to get ready for the coming spring with the bees.  I am putting together new frames for honey supers that I hope will be full of sweetness this summer, all while sitting in front of a roaring fire.  And thanks to several adventurous new urban beekeepers I am assembling hives for them for Christmas delivery.

It is probably too early for a glass of wine, but I can think of no better setting or weather system to pour one....

Jeff.

Bee Feeding Part 2 - Table Sugar

Part 2 of my winter bee-feeding experiment, today with simple table sugar enhanced with lemon zest.  If this wind clams down I will add this to my last two hives, placing a sheet of newspaper on the uppermost top bars, pouring the sugar on that, and then placing a shim above that so that the sugar has some space.  The hope is that the scent of the lemon will alert the bees to the presence of the food and they will eat through the newspaper to access if needed.  This is similar to other posts I have read that suggest using vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in pollen patties to improve the acceptance of that food to the bees.  I will let you know how it all turns out!!

Making Bee Fondant To Winter Bees

I tried my hand making fondant today...I think candy makers would be proud but worried how the bees feel.
Still feeling sticky!!!

QR Codes

A buddy of mine turned me on to these newfangled bar codes that can, among other things, link people to websites via a scan with a phone app.  so here is the DCHoneybees.com QR Code....

I feel like I'm reading the Matrix

The New York Times Thinks We Are On To Something

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/garden/09Bees.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

Rooftop and backyard beekeeping in NYC.  Are we next?

Two New Honeybee Colonies Planned for Spring in DC

Exciting news...two new clients are putting our bees on their property.  One will be a backyard installation and the other will be on the roof of the house.  I was able to accommodate each with improved pricing thanks to free shipping deals being offered by my supplier.

For $200 you can get from DC Honeybees an assembled 10-frame basic hive, full of bees, for a spring installation.  And remember, DC Honeybees is mission-driven to propagate the honeybee.  All surplus proceeds from our sales activities go to purchase more bees, equipment, and supplies to further this mission.

The gentlemen both shared that selling the idea to their wives was not an easy task.  Cheers for new mid-life hobbies, and more bees in DC.

A Nice Piece On Varroa and CCD

Community Gardens and Local Food Initiatives

I've reached out to this community as well as local universities to discuss our bee propagation and rooftop initiative and have been frustrated with the silence.  If  you know of possible DC-area benefactors of honeybees, please introduce them to us!

There is some urgency as spring will be too late for us to act.....

Deals of Hives and Hive Bodies

BIG SAVINGS.  Some of the suppliers of the basics are currently running specials and free shipping for large orders, meaning there are deals to be had prior to the end of the year.  Please email me at:
 Jeff@DCHoneybees.com
if you are interested in ordering hives, frames, foundation, and hive bodies now for a spring installation.  Those saving also translate into saving for established hives (both garden and 10-frame), with bees, ordered now and installed in spring.  I know it's hard to think so far in advance, but don't forget that you will be germinating your vegetable seeds indoors in 45 days and hardening them off in 90.  Spring will be here before we know it!

Pray for the wintering bees.....

Jeff

Local (Sort of) Source for Package Bees in DC

Miller Bee Supplies up in north Baltimore is selling packages for pick-up in mid-April.

http://www.millerbeesupplies.com/

He is bringing up both Russians and Italians, and even better, in 3 or 4 lbs packages.  I'm putting together an order if anyone wants to join me and I am looking forward to trying out the Russian bees after hearing about their productivity, mite resistance, and wintering ability.  Two of these packages are headed to the Mount Vernon Triangle for the CID's hives.

Where is the DC Bee Community?

Here is a copy of an entry I made to a DC beekeepers blog where I vented a bit on the weak activity in this critical policy-making city:

I'm feeling very alone in this market given the relative quiet on the local blogs regarding beekeeping, including this one.  The local beekeeping associations, to which I belong, are also short on outreach or even modest organization.  For instance, I wrote to one association asking about whether they are planning a bulk package buy for this spring, and I have received no response for 30 days.
I am please to offer the link to my blog which is updated regularly and which describes our initiatives and their modest success.
http://dchoneybees.blogspot.com/
Come on, people.  The bee is dying and the beekeeper is aging.  We need new, young blood and outreach is the key, coupled with partnerships with like-minded organizations.
Jeff.

Was that like going postal, or what?  Tomorrow, I jaywalk.

Winter is Finally Upon Us

We had our first near freeze last evening and the girls are not flying today.  The mild weather from which the bees have benefited looks to be behind us and now the long wait-and-see begins.  Have I fed aggressively enough for energy stores?  Should I have fed more pollen patties (they were bringing in pollen as late as two days ago)?  Do I have the right breeds to overwinter?  Should I insulate?

Of course I’ve been doing all the wrong things to ease my mind.  The information on the net is all over the board on feeding and wintering with some saying they never feed and the other extreme describing copious pollen supplementation and sugar feeding.  So I am considering strategies to implement mid-winter to feed with sugar candy.  I will be anxious to see what’s under the cover, and moving, after Christmas.

One bit of good news is that I found a local supplier of package bees and he indicates he will have some in March.  That will let me get a head start on a few new hives I am installing for clients, and give me an early package in case I lose a colony. He still has packages for April and May and is located in Stafford, Va:  Rocky Hill Bee Farm.  Nice people and am looking forward to getting my kids down to see how the pro’s do it.
 http://www.rockhillhoneybeefarms-inc.com/index.html

I’ve been getting confused about which hive has what bees in it when I describe them.  I have generally been unsupportive of “named” hives, thinking it a bit silly, but I have now caved to the idea.  In honor of my wife’s Rhode Island heritage I’m going to name them after Rhode Island towns, with Narragansett being Hive Number 1. I hope to make a couple of nucs up this spring and drive them to our home in RI where we can establish some colonies in that state.

Mount Vernon Triangle CID Strikes AGAIN!

The Mount Vernon Triangle CID has partnered with DC Honeybees for an installation at the Farm at Walker-Jones (http://wjfarm.wordpress.com/).  This grass-roots agricultural effort is adjacent to the new and awesome Walker-Jones school at New Jersey Avenue and K Street NW.  The school serves children from nursery through eighth grade in modern facilities and lots of green-space.  The farm grew its first crops this past season and plantings will increase markedly next year.

The CID and DC Honeybees approached the farm volunteers this fall to see of they would like to improve their pollination and include beekeeping practices in their agricultural curriculum.  I am pleased to hear that they have accepted our offer of a donation of a hive which we will populate with bees in early spring.  DC Honeybees will provide support and management of the hive and teach the children of this urban campus the benefits and basics of beekeeping in the city.  The prize of course will follow in the fall when the honey harvest begins and the children can taste items made with their honey in the school's kitchen.

Late Fall Inspection

Probably our last view of flying bees until Spring.....

2011 Bee Packages are EXPENSIVE!!!

Pricing and reservations for April delivery are being established by most of the major suppliers I track.  When one factors in shipping of 3 lbs packages they are running about $90 on the low end to to $140+ on the high!  Screw honey, we should all be getting into the live bee business.  It is a shame that we don't have a more active commercial apiary environment in the Metro DC area that would allow us to buy local bees bred for this climate and flow, and from whom we could pick up packages rather than dealing with the post office.  I am hoping our local beekeeping associations are planning a bulk buy from Georgia so I can grab a few packages there.

That said, I just put a UPS-shipped order in at Rossman Apiaries for a package of Italians, a breed with which I have yet to work and I hear good things about that supplier.  I think the total cost was around $90 and was among the most cost effective I found.  Gardner's Apiaries, which is a little less internet-savvy, is still showing 2010 pricing that is very competitive but unclear what the total with shipping will be.  I'd love to buy a package from Long Lane Honeybee Farms as their bees seem gentle, accustom to cold winters, and David has been very responsive to my prior inquiries.  His packages are running $106 (shipped USPS - ugh!) which isn't too bad but hard to rationalize at this moment.

In the meantime, this weather has been a boon for our colonies, with continued and aggressive pollen collection and consumption of 2/1 syrup.  Five hives today, five in March?