Beekeeping

We got warm weather, but there was no sun, just rain and more rain. As soon as it clears up and warms up, we're going to kill some varroa mites.

You could consider bees preppers. They stock up nectar (carbs) and pollen (protein) to help carry them through the long. cold winter.

We are working to make fall plantings, clean up the homestead, stock up, and generally make sure we are ready for winter.

We face our second hurricane in two weeks, prepare for cooler temperatures and ready our bees to get through the winter.

It's finally time to harvest some honey and see how our bees performed this year.

I didn't expect to harvest any honey this year, our first with the hives, but just 60 days later, we pulled our first frame of honey from one of the hives.

We opened up three hives and took a total of 62 photos to test in the BeeScanning app as a tool to measure a varroa mite infestation.

Only four weeks after we added bees to our hives, they have doubled in size, the bees are drawing comb, and the queen is laying lots of eggs.

We got off to a slow start back in mid-March and the weather wasn't the most cooperative, but we've finally finished building the chicken coop.

We may have small stock, but its keeping us busy! From feeding the bees to cleaning chicks with pasty butt, it's all part of a day in the life of a homseteader.