Friday, May 31, 2013

Catching a Swarm of Bees

Today I got a phone call from my Ag teacher saying that while his wife was mowing she came across a swarm of bees. So I told him I'd be right over and I ran and gathered the necessary equipment (cardboard box, duct tape, my suit, and a brush). I was so excited because for the short time that I've been involved in beekeeping I've been learning about ways to catch swarms and hearing other beekeepers talking about getting them and have always wanted to get one and now I had my chance!

First I want to tell you all what exactly a swarm of bees is and why it happens. If a group of wild bees or a captive hive of bees in someone's bee yard gets too full and they don't have enough room to expand they either leave completely or split in half to go find a new bigger home. When they leave they are virtually harmless. I know this may sound weird but their goal in life now until they find a new home is to protect their queen. So that's why when they swarm you see them in a ball or a cluster. The queen is in the center of that cluster. They have scout bees going and finding new homes but until then they end up in trees, fences, your yard, and virtually anywhere they can form their cluster until they get a home.

I want you all to know that if you find a swarm please don't be afraid. They most likely won't sting you if you go around them. I have seen guys with their bare hands reach in and grab a handful of bees and not get stung once. But If you do find a swarm and know of a beekeeper in your area PLEASE CALL THEM!!!! Beekeepers live to catch swarms. They catching them because it's fun, they get a new hive of bees which can cost up to $100, and the bees may be wild bees which are hardier and are better honey producers. But I guarantee you that they will be right over. Plus if anyone in your family is allergic to bees they would be happy to help you out!

A Beekeeper (me) ready to help!! ;)

So after I got over to his house I was expecting a little cluster maybe a softball or melon sized but when I arrived it was a cluster about as big or bigger than a basketball!! That is about 30,000-40,000 bees!


 
Since there were more bees than I expected instead of using my box to put majority of the bees in I borrowed their trash can with a snap on lid to catch the majority of the bees.



After I shook them into the trash can there were hundreds of bees flying all around our heads! I did use the cardboard box to get a few of the stragglers so that I got as many bees as I could to make a decent sized hive.



Me taping up the box with some duct tape. I poked a bunch of air holes so that they had some circulation. I then put both the trash can and box in the backseat and passenger seat of my car. My Ag teacher was a little skeptical of this but I hoped knew they were sealed up tight enough they wouldn't get out. That would have made one interesting trip home if they all escaped. You would have gotten a nice show of some crazy person running around with bees trying to sting her alongside the road.

The whole trash can was lined with thousands of bees!
 
So after I got home I set up a new hive next to my other hives with 2 deep brood (where they make babies and honey for themselves for winter). One of the brood boxes had frames and the other one was empty so I could funnel them down into the hive. I hit the side of the trash can so they all gathered on the bottom and then just dumped them in and knocked them all out of the trash can.


Then I did the same with the little box. But I guessed that the queen was in the trash can by the way the bees were acting. Then I quickly shut the lid and hoped the queen was in there so they start making babies!



You can see them flying around in the air.



I hope this was a learning opportunity. I have really enjoyed beekeeping over the past 3 years and really try to encourage others to get involved with it because it is such a great hobby that the whole family can get involved with. If you have any questions about what was going on in the pictures or something I said that you didn't quite understand please feel free to ask I love answering questions about beekeeping. No question is a stupid question!
 
Have a Great weekend. I will post later on to let you know if they stayed  or not and their progress over the summer if they stay!!

Five Minute Friday- Imagine

This week I'm going to switch it up. I came across this from the Midwest Farm Girl and thought it would be a fun idea. It is a link up with Lisa-Jo Baker's blog. Don't worry I'll probably switch back and forth between my Friday topics.


Here is the prompt:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back to her website and invite others to join in.
3. Be generous and leave an encouraging comment for the person who linked up before you. That’s the best part about this community.

This weeks topic is : Imagine

GO

It's 1:00 in the morning thunder rolling in the distance and a gentle shower hitting the roof above your head. It is the quiet lullaby that would normally sooth me to sleep. But instead tonight I lay awake snuggled in my warm bed with a new book. I'm ready to delve in and just get lost in the story. This one like many others takes place in the 1800's. It is about a young woman who tries to become the town matchmaker and sends off for mail order brides for all of the bachelors in the town of Poetry, Texas. The rain quits and it is now just pure uninterrupted silence. This takes me back to many nights in the past. Lying awake for hours upon end just reading when I should be sleeping knowing that I would have to get up early for school. But I don't care because this is my happy place.

STOP


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Notes on Nursing Guest Post

 


Hey everyone go and check out this guest post I did for Breanna at Sweet Silver Lining. Every week she does a Notes on Nursing and introduces you to nurses and nursing students. You should go check out her page and follow her because she has some great posts!!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Update

First off!! Thank you for all the congrats on getting into nursing school. I have been worried about that for the longest time and it is like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I know it's going to be hard but I am so excited to start this journey!!

So, I haven't really posted anything of much interest lately but I've been quite busy and lazy! As you saw in my brief post the other day I was road tripping to Illinois to attend my cousins wedding. My sister and I were guest book attendants. It was a beautiful wedding and such a great trip. I hadn't seen my cousins in 5+ years so it was so great to catch up with them and meet some of her friends and new family. Friday night we had the rehearsal dinner for the family and wedding party. Then after that us girls went out and got manicures and pedicures and went to steak and shake for shakes. We had a great time just visiting and catching up. Then Saturday morning we went and got  our hair done and then had the wedding and reception. Everything went great and no big problems. Except for when the minister started quizzing my cousin and her fiancĂ© during the wedding. They were caught completely off guard but they passed :)

Getting my hair done

The getaway cars aka my aunt and uncles other children :)

The wedding party

The guest book. It's an actual lid from a bourbon barrel. You could still smell the bourbon on it.

The cake and cup cakes

Our nails :) I had hot pink with sparkly accent fingers


Sunday on the way home from the wedding we made a detour through Springfield Illinois and went to the Lincoln museum and tomb. It was very interesting. Out of all the presidents Lincoln has been one of my favorites. I did a project about him way back in the second grade and since then have always been interested. I really encourage anyone to go because it was awesome. Sorry I don't have any very interesting pictures but they didn't allow cameras in most of the museum :( I have a new fancy camera but no I don't get to use it I WAS MAD!!!


This was supposed to be a replica of his boyhood home. You go in and you go through his life from boyhood to presidency.


Lincoln as a boy




Lincoln family


While we were in Springfield we also went to Lincolns tomb. We didn't go up close to it or in it because there were a lot of people but I took some pictures.

 
The tomb
 
This is the grounds keepers house or something like that. Don't remember
 
 
This was the mausoleum of a governor of Illinois. I thought it was cool looking.
 


Finally for the past few days we have been blessed with lots and lots of rain! In 2 days we had 5 inches. One night we got like 1 inch in like 15 min. It was crazy. The good thing is that our pastures are looking amazing and we have lots and lots of green green grass. My garden is doing really well with all the water and heat things popped up over night. Please disregard all the weeds and grass. I was gone 3 days and it is literally a mud pit and hard to get into but It will look better once it dries up and I can get in there :)
My Peas

An onion

Some lettuce

Green beans

Roma Tomato

Jalapeno Pepper
 
Look for tomorrow (Thursday) I will have a guest post on a blog about nursing. I will have links tomorrow!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Road Trip and a Bit of GREAT News

 First off I have some WONDERFUL/AMAZING/FABULOUS/GREAT/LIFE CHANGING news to share with you all!! You may have seen it on Facebook but I'm just to excited not to share it with everyone on here too! I GOT ACCEPTED INTO NURSING SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The past year I took college classes required to get into LPN school but still had to apply for it for this fall. I will start in August. I AM BEYOND EXCITED!!!!!! Hence all the capital letters :) :) :) But hey this is a big deal for me and a big piece of my future falling into place! Plus it is a little competitive to get in.

So I don't have a favorite finds Friday post ready. We left early this morning to go to Illinois to my cousins wedding. We are now at our hotel room and I thought I'd share some of my pictures from along the way. We stopped in St Louis and ate at Fritz's Restaurant. They bottle their own pop. You could get an endless mug and try all the flavors of pop they had on draft. I had the cream soda and black cherry. Then the burger I got had chili, cheese, and onion straws on it. It was amazing!!

Anyway here are some of my pictures from our 6 hour drive to Illinois.

 
Some giant grain bins

 
A cool church of Latter Day Saints. Ever since we went to where the LDS started I've taken an interest in the churches. Plus they are cool looking

A cool painting on the side of a building in St Louis

 
A Purina feeds office place in St Louis

Busch Stadium Home of the St Louis Cardinals

 
The Arch

A Wheat Field LOL We don't have many of these where I'm from

Some Yellow stuff not sure if its Weeds or a crop because they had fields of these.
 
HINT HINT (Midwest Farm Girl Do you know what these are????)

A sign

A giant I mean GIANT cross!!

The Restaurant we went to.