Happy Bees

Yesterday was a nice, mild, sunny day. Perfect weather for the girls to get acquainted with their new location. The hive was buzzing with activity. This video was taken during the height of that action. Again, I apologize for the sideways video. One of these days it will sink in that I can't shoot video when my camera is rotated.

If you tilt your head to the left it makes viewing easier. And tell your chiropractor I said "Hi". At times my entire backyard was filled with bees happily coming and going from their hive. I brought a couple of my friends over (the non-bee-skittish ones) and we stood about 6 feet from the hive and watched the action. I could stay out there for hours. And this summer I will.

For those who worry that the bees will attack my neighbors, look closely at this photo. This was taken at the height of the bees activity.

Look to the far right. See that young man mowing? At one point he was weed whacking and mowing directly behind the hive. Separated only by the fence and screen. That would place him less than 3 feet from the hive, but with a 10 foot screen between the bees and himself. Unfortunately, by the time I'd grabbed my camera, he had already moved to another area. Did he get stung? No. Was he even aware there was a hive close-by? Probably not. He didn't bother them and they didn't bother him. Bees are around us everyday. Most of the time we don't even notice. Honey bees are docile. They only sting when they feel threatened. Now if you step on one, or sit on it, can you really blame the poor creature for trying to defend itself?

Update at 8:30am 4-30-11 - I just checked on the status of their sugar water supply. They aren't going through it as fast as I'd hoped. They maybe drank a cup of the water from the front feeder. And there were no bees under that feeder this morning. I removed the outer cover from the top of the hive and lifted the can of sugar water. The can still has plenty in it and there were many bees crowded underneath it. Tomorrow I will replace both feeders with fresh syrup.

The Bees Have Arrived!

I got the long awaited phone call this morning. The bees were in Quilcene and ready to be picked up. This was a day ahead of schedule which meant I had to stay behind and get the hive assembled while the husbeast made the long trek to Quilcene and back. He didn't really mind since we both love the Olympic Peninsula. It was an enjoyable drive. Meanwhile I was back home making sure things were ready. This is a picture of the bee screen that we installed in order to keep the bees' flight path high above the neighbor's head.

The bees arrived at the house around 3pm.

Here they are in their travel trailer.

They make a lovely humming sound.

My friend and bee mentor,  Kristine, arrived around 3:30 and I began the installation. Things moved rather quickly. This video was taken after I'd hung the queen from the center frame in the bottom hive box, added the second box, and poured most of the bees from the box into the hive.

I've got bees all over me.

The bees are slowly making their way into the hive, following the scent of the queen.

And a bit later, I've filled the bird/bee bath so they have a water source and you can see the majority of the bees have entered the hive.

A close-up of bees on the threshold. Go in. Don't be shy.

Preparing For the Bee's Arrival

My bees should be arriving within the next couple of days. Perhaps even tomorrow night. They will probably arrive in the wee morning hours as my distributor is making the 12 hour drive from California back up to WA. If that happens I will tuck them away in my garage until the morning. I'm not going to wrangle bees in the dark. In the meantime I am readying my hive. I am painting more of the bottom board. I took the part about "no paint where the bees will be" too much to heart. I had only painted the outer edges of the bottom board. But it will be exposed to the elements so I am painting the entire piece. What? Don't other wives paint their hives in the bathtub? Really? Well don't tell my husband that. I need to put on one more coat of paint, in the morning, and I'm done.

Here is my hubby putting up the bee screen. This will keep their flight path up above my neighbor's head, in case he wants to enjoy his backyard.

It's too dark now. I'll take a picture of the finished screen tomorrow. I just have to pick up a couple more supplies. I need some Playtex gloves and a spray bottle. I want to spray their frames with sugar water, so they'll like them better. Bees don't like "new" things and their entire home is going to be new. Tomorrow I'll do my shopping and mix up their sugar syrup. I am excited and have been watching videos on hiving bees for 2 days. I think I'll be fine.

More Shelves = More Progress

Today I lugged 2 more of the short Billy Bookcase shelves across the alley and up the stairs, to the craft room. This has allowed me to get even more of my reading material organized. (Double click on the picture to read the titles).

For someone who doesn't read, I certainly have a lot of books. These are just a small part of my collection. The top 2 cubbies house my weaving books, as well as a few on felt making and natural dyeing. The bottom left cubbie holds books on hand spinning, and a few on soap and candle making. The bottom right cubbie holds my collection of books and magazines on traditional rug hooking. One more short bookshelf, and 2 of the taller ones, and I should be able to get all my books and magazines whipped into submission.

Now that I am getting ready to sell off my fixtures I have begun bringing my personal items home. Here is my beloved picture of the patron saint of knitting, Gromit, of 'Wallace & Gromit' fame.

Craftroom Makeover: Part One

I've made a bit of headway. I am replacing my old ugly shelves with the nice white Billy Bookcases from the yarn shop. These are much sturdier and are also nice looking. Here are my spinning, weaving and dyeing magazines, after being placed on the new shelves.

And a reminder of what that corner looked like, before.

And look what I found during my excavations. I was wondering where my natural dyestuffs and essential oils had gone.

Even I have no idea what all I have.

This is going to be like Christmas!

When Hobbies Attack...

...things can get ugly. The only reason I am revealing this deep dark shame is because I am on a mission to get this all organized. For the past 12 years I have had far more ambition than time. Much of this has never really been unpacked since our move, 5 years ago. No, the rest of my house does not look like this. But you often hear me joke that I need to get my craft room under control before they feature me on 'Hoarders'. Did you think I was joking?

What's in here? It might be easier to ask what isn't in here. Let's see, there are 3 spinning wheels, a table loom, a rigid heddle loom (with a floor stand), a wool picker, a drum carder, 2 knitting machines, a warping board, a couple of ball winders, at least on swift, a couple of yarn blockers, a wool winder with yardage meter, a sewing machine, 2 rug hooking frames, boxes of spinning fiber, boxes of fabric, boxes of wool for rug hooking, a stereo, many crates of albums, drop spindles, knitting needles, weaving supplies (boat shuttles, bobbin winder, etc...). Oh, and my indoor clothesline. All things that I could never part with. And now I want to jam a couple of looms into the mix. Something has to give. So I will attempt to sort this all out and get it organized. Stay tuned.

Don't Bite The Hand Holding The Tobacco

I've been working retail for 12 years. I can obviously take abuse. But even I have limits. This week has been extremely busy with the clearance sale as I prepare to close my yarn shop. I've been on my feet, non-stop. I'm incredibly tired. Yesterday I get a call from a guy wanting to know the hours for the tobacco shop. I inform him that I am in the process of retiring and closing my business. "But what about the tobacco guy? What's he going to do?". That would be me.....and the tobacco shop can not exist without the yarn shop. He saunters in about 5pm. I take him into the tobacco shop and his face lights up at the selection. He goes on and on about how the other tobacco shops are over priced and our tins are $5 cheaper. I try to explain how the other shops are just trying to stay in business and the only reason my prices are lower is I have no over head. He makes a huge production of piling up tins on the counter, changing his mind, referring to his notes, and finally has a nice selection and I ring him up. It is at this point he makes his first mistake. He tells me how he's sent me an email to straighten me out. Apparently I have misinterpreted the law and can, in fact, mail him tobacco. I explain that no, I can not. He raises his voice and rudely tries to convince me that I do not know what I'm talking about. At this point I am still calm and tell him that I can not mail tobacco to him, will not and I do not wish to argue about it. Here is where he makes his second and final mistake. By this time it is clear to me that he is behaving this way because of my gender. He is going to put this little woman in her place. He gets very red in the face, glares at me, and says, "Let's stop this transaction right now. I want you to clear out the register, and I will start over." I know what he's up to. He's going to teach me a lesson by making a much smaller purchase. Unfortunately, for him, he had already used up enough of my time and patience. I will spare you the details but suffice it to say I informed him that he would be leaving empty handed and was never to set foot in my shop again. He was last seen making a quick and quiet exit, with his tail between his legs. He can go pay $5 more per tin for his tobacco of limited selection, and I hope he had to drive a good distance in order to tick me off. He was an old fart, too. You'd think he'd have learned that valuable life lesson: Don't bite the hand that feeds you.