I felt the one on my leg but it turns out that I have three on my right leg. And one on my left arm. I had on blue jeans but they were threatened enough to get me right through my legs. I'm not sure why they were so agitated but I think I should figure out another method for checking the bees. I'm taking too long.
I'm supposed to be there 10-15 minutes maximum. I'm there for 30-45 minutes to check every frame. I am thinking that I should not pull out every single frame anymore. It's the only way to limit my time in the hive. And I've been in the hive once a week. Perhaps I could give a bit more time in between and go in every 10 days. I think I may try that, except for replenishing their water. And perhaps adding a super.
I realized I hadn't counted out how many frames were filled in the top deep hive...but many were filled or almost filled with honey! I realized that I should be adding a super soon and I think that by next weekend, they will need one.
And that makes me think that the reason the bees are so feisty right now is that they are protecting their honey. And I did see eggs this week in the lower deep hive box so that's where all the babies are being produced. It looks like we have many new baby bees and they are now filling up the brood chamber again, down below in the lower box. The upper box appeared to be just comb and honey...a wonderful sight, actually! If things keep up like this, I should get some honey for myself this year and it's exciting to watch this...even with the stings.
As I hefted off the upper box...that's when the bees got the most upset...I realized that my next box should be all the smaller medium hive boxes because the deep hives are very heavy when they are laden with honey! I was able to lift it now, but will I be able to do that in 10 years? Or on a bad day when I'm not feeling very strong? My next kit will be all smaller boxes to make it easier on my back. I will use the deep hive box at the bottom since it doesn't need to be lifted. But all other boxes, in the future, will be the shallow ones. Especially since I do this with no helper.
After my work with the bees, instead of mowing the lawn, I went hiking with my mushroom basket and walked a trail at the Piscah State Forest in West Chesterfield, NH. This is apparently the largest state forest in NH and it's 7 miles from my house to my favorite trail head. I saw nothing on the way, except for a few Platterful mushrooms which I picked One was especially fresh. But on the way back, I saw this beautiful yellow color off to my right and it was this Chicken of the Woods mushrooms which, when cooked, has a texture very much like chicken. This isn't my image because I didn't take one. Mine were actually growing on a small tree root right on the ground...and another one was nearby but that one had already passed it's fresh state.
My Chicken mushrooms were thicker then these above being over an inch thick. So I sliced them, rather than chopping them, and sauteed them until browned on either side. Then froze them. What I will do is have them in a wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, sliced avocado, cheese, and these mushrooms that taste like chicken. I want my vegetarian daughter to taste these! She liked Hen of the Woods mushrooms when I found them last year and made tacos from them.
Now, back to the bees. They built a lot of comb right under the top hive feeder that I scraped off and saved. I will use this comb later on to make candles. I'm so excited to do that.
I realized I had old beeswax that I bought for a soap-making project several years ago so I am going to use that to practice making hand-dipped candles. Hopefully the wick will arrive this week so I can get started on this project.
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