High Winds

Last night we had a major storm with tornado like winds of 90 - 100 mile per hour winds (National Weather Service confirmed).  Our block will lose 4 -6 trees since the storm tore them apart.


The only damage to the bee hives was that the lids were blown off.  I am sure there was some rain got in to the hives. I do not know how much damage that caused for the hive, but there was some activity today.  Once we have had a could days of nice weather, I might go in to check them out.


What I find amazing is that a 6 foot tall hive did not get blown over by 80 mph winds.  It was all the propolis and weight of the honey that held it together.

Pollination

The bees do a great deal of pollination in the plants around our neighborhood. This results in better production of berries, fruits and vegetables and more flowers.

This year our strawberry crop is out of control. We usually pick a small bowl of strawberries a day, now we are picking a strainer full every day. That results in a lot of strawberries smothies just to keep up. We also had neighbors notice the improvement in the flowers in thier yards.

We we feel that we are reaping the benefits of the bees prior to getting the honey.

First Honey

I was able to take 4 frames of capped honey out of the super. I am just guessing but I expect each frame to hold 2-3 pounds of honey.

I am doing this for a couple reasons.

• To give the bees more space and make them happier
• To give have them start on new frames of honey and increase production.