Sunday, April 3, 2011

Building A Bee Foundation

Today is the only day this week that it isn't supposed to rain. And I happened to have the day off. It's time to get the foundation installed for the beehive. My bee's arrival has been pushed back until early May. Something about the weather being too wet and cold, in Northern California, for the queens to be mated. That gives me a little more time to prepare but I'd still like to have everything in place by mid-April, just in case. Today's major chores were to mow the lawn, clean the chicken pen and get the hive foundation installed. I have the perfect spot in mind. This corner of the yard gets plenty of sun. First I have to rake up the leaf mulch and level out the soil.

Next I dug the trenches for the base cinder blocks. These will keep the wood pallet from coming into direct contact with the soil and will also help to evenly distribute the hive's weight.


Once those 4 cinder blocks were in place it was time to add the pallet platform.



Now I just have to get the husbeast to trim my piece of plywood to fit the pallet, and those 4 cinder blocks, behind the pallet, will provide the foundation for the hive. I left enough room behind the pallet for me to get back there in order to tend the hive. I will leave that area, and the right side of the hive, free. I will move some weeds, that bees love, over to the left side of the pallet, between it and the fence. Not much left to do. I am almost ready for the bee's arrival. Here is a gratuitous picture of my hen's offerings for today.


3 eggs from my 3 lovely girls.


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