Spring is a busy time on any farm and our farm is no exception. Our first batch of broilers (meat chickens) are well on their way to completion, baby goats abound, pig farrowing is just around the corner and the garden is being tilled (I'm not sure winter is completely gone just yet). All of that is exciting, but we're so relieved that our first hive of bees made it through the winter.
We opened the hive a little over a week ago and discovered they had honey to spare. Of course, that led to lots of people dipping their fingers in for a taste. And boy, was it good! I don't think the kids are going to want to market much of it. They envision a future where never ending raw honey is available on tap with no limits from mom.
We've had lots of rain lately and that has stopped us from doing a full inspection. I'm anxious to get in there and find the queen and make sure the hive is set up for a productive spring and summer of making honey. For now, knowing they are alive will have to be enough.
In an effort to "bee" the best beekeepers we can, five of us attended a beekeeping short course put on by the University of Arkansas Extension service. The 9 hour class was conducted by Jon Zawislak (better known as Jon Z), an EAS-certified Master Beekeeper and state bee expert . If a class is available near you, I highly encourage you to attend. This makes the 3rd class on beekeeping that several of us have attended, and we always learn something new. The refresher on moving bees and treating parasites was especially useful this time. We've located a colony of bees that have moved into the eave of our home. They can't get in the structure, so they aren't a danger to us. A local beekeeper is going to help us remove them and place them in a proper hive. We're hopeful that we'll have two hives very soon.
At the conclusion of the class, a door prize was drawn. Griffin happened to be the guy holding all of our tickets so he got the credit. We were super excited to win a hive and stand. Richard Vardaman from RV Bees donated the hive.
In addition to attending classes, inspecting his hive and finishing up the 7th grade, Griffin has been trying to teach others about bees. He recently delivered a speech as part of our county's 4-H O'Rama and earned first place illustrated talk among the juniors. Because he placed so well on the county level, he'll get to attend Delta District O'Rama and tell even more youth and adults about his fascinating hobby. As he says, "What other hobby requires I handle fire, wear protective gear from head to toe, and subdue thousands of angry beasts that will die trying to fight me off?" I think he's handling his job of resident "bee guy" very well.
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