Getting ready to winterize the hives

I've gone two months without posting anything!  It's been an interesting summer trying to be a beekeeper when I wasn't living where the bees are. It made me nervous and then there were two bear incidents and a new fence and new electric solution which I'll try next year.  This year, I used the same battery pack controller as in the past few.  Next year, I'll use a car battery to operate the fence since it'll last longer without losing its charge.

However, even with the trouble, in late August, I extracted about 5 gallons of honey.  I was surprised I got that much after the bear visits.  But getting Jeff over to install a new fence quickly and getting it electrified with a strong current really helped save the hive.  It's expensive honey though when you add up all the costs.

Mouse guard on hive that is wrapped for the winter.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the  mouse guard for one of the hives was laying on the ground about 3 feet away from the hive.  I opened the hive, and looked at some frames and didn't see any mouse signs.  I thought for sure that was what knocked the guard off the hive entrance.  I hope it's in place when I go back next week.

Mouse guards typically go on the hive in the fall when mice are looking for a warm place to live. Later on, say November in the Northeast, it will be replaced by the entrance reducer using its smallest opening.  This helps block out cold air.

It's getting near the time to winterize the hive.  This year, I will use cedar shavings in pillowcases that I've made.  These will catch any moisture that drips from condensation.  I will have 4 so that I always have two dry to replace the two in the hives.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to wrap in roofing paper.  I was told by a Maine beekeeper that the paper needs to lay out in the sun for some number of hours prior to using it.  That gets rid of toxins in the paper.  It also might be what killed my bees last winter.  I've read that many beekeepers don't wrap their hives and the bees survive.  I think I might be able to do that if I pile bales of hay around them as insulation.  Of course, that attracts mice too so some people don't use hay for that reason.  But I have not noticed mice around but I've seen a few snakes around the hay.

I believe I can keep this fence in place all year without needing to remove it.  The old sheep fence had to be brought in.  I was always nervous about when to  bring it in...I needed to be sure the bears were in hibernation first.  But this year, I will check, but think it stays in place. I may not have to electrify it in the winter though so I'll move that unit in or cover it.

So I'm feeling it's time to go to Vt. and spend the winter as I have a lot to do there.  Speaking of the Vermont house, if you remember, I built a $40 patio a year or two ago and I wanted to report on it, after some time has gone by.

Here are some thoughts:

1.   Weeds just love wood chips. They will creep in quickly.  Notice the mint growing to the right in image above. I'm I'm struggling to keep it in check.  I'm pulling out the most vigorous roots I've ever seen for mint and I know they have strong roots already. These roots are huge and far-reaching!

Bugleweed

Also, I love bugle weed but not on my patio.  Bugleweed is great for places that are eroding because it grows fast, and spreads fast.  It also flowers a beautiful deep blue in the spring. But I'm needing to pull it out of my patio by the handful.  I am reusing some of it in a hilly area where I've had trouble growing anything else and hope it fills it in.

2.  You'll need to keep replacing the chips as they decompose.  My patio needs another layer of wood chips that I hope to get to before the snow flies. Fortunately, I have a pile left that needs to be used.

3.  I've used wood chips on my pathway to the side of the house as well as the patio.  What I found on the pathway is that it's sloped, and the wood chips are light so they wash down to the bottom of the slope in heavy rain.  And we've had a lot of heavy rain.  So I'm needing to rake it back in place quite a lot.  And because some washes right onto the lawn, I seem to lose more of the chips so they'll need replacing too.

4. Use wood chips on flat areas.  I think the pathway would be better with pea stone or maybe even slightly larger stone so it doesn't wash away.