Got Bees?

Zach's dad started beekeeping 2 years ago and this will be his 3rd year doing it. In the process we've learned lots about the benefits of having bees and also the nutritional value of eating fresh honey in your diet. Well a few weekends ago Zach went with him to get his bees for the season and when he got home said, "oh ya...I bought some bees". Oh thanks for talking to me about that one, hun! haha.

Luckily my father-in-law is a nice and sharing man :) All Zach had to do was order his bees, build the boxes for the hive, and the rest of the needed supplies he can share with his dad. The bees are even going to live in their yard (we don't have a yard).

This weekend we went and picked up Zach's bees. They come in a box. Thousands of bees just stuffed together and the queen tucked away in her own special contraption. I hated hearing the buzzing sound in the back of our car as we drove them home. Scares me!

Zach set up the first box of his hive where the frames go. These frames are where the bees will begin making the comb and cells to fill with nectar, pollen, and baby bees. 

Then he had to mark the queen with some paint to easily locate her and set her in the middle of the frames.

Then he sprayed the box of bees with loads of sugar water. It clumps them together so they don't fly away as you transfer them to the hive. Then he shook the bees out of the box onto the frames over where he set the queen.

Then he put the next box on top, which is a feeding contraption he made to put the sugar water in that they can feed on. 

My little bee keeper looking proud in front of his hive! He did a great job building the box and of course made it deluxe with a roof and all. Totally Zach to go all out :)

We'll let ya know how much honey we end up getting this season! Typically it should be around 50 pounds. We'll be set for years with our food storage :) I love how Zach is so fearless in learning new things. This guy is always full of ideas and willing to teach himself or learn from others to do just about anything. What a stud.