My backyard honey bees - 2010.

So heading into the winter of 2009, I fully expected that my first year struggling hive would not make it to spring.  (I know, I'm talking about 2009 - but it's to catch you up since my last post about my backyard hive - I promise to keep you better posted in 2011!).

I didn't think it would make it because they didn't finish making any honey to get them through the winter.  There were lots of honeycomb cells with what looked more like raw nectar than finished honey.  Still, I had given them a healthy mixture of biodynamic tea during the fall - and had a healthy hive from Richard Hosey to provide a good start.

Internal feeder - feeding honey to ensure the bees get through the winter. 

Well, I ended up feeding them honey during the winter (I actually went to ValuMarket and bought jars of local honey - thanks Joe Williard! 

I fed them this honey which miraculously got them through the winter.  This is usually a no-no, as feeding the bees honey from another hive has the risk of introducing diseases or bacterias.  At that point though, I felt that I had to do something, and the hive had nothing to lose. 

By April/May, I was in the hive doing the post-winter inspection - and they looked great! 

The queen looked wonderful and healthy...



find the queen....

The hive continued to grow in population during the spring and early summer - and made a good amount of honey. 



The hives grows with lots of frames of honey! 

The bottom two boxes are where the queen, brood (larvae), and lots of workers reside.  They also had some frames of honey and pollen in this section.  I pulled some of the honey out of this area to help ensure they didn't become 'honey bound'.  If they have too much honey in the brood areas, they feel cramped and run out of room for more brood.  This brings on plans to split the hive population by swarming.  Giving them plenty of space for brood helps prevent them from swarming, if that's what you're after. 

You can also see in the pic above the lovely thyme that I've planted around the hive.  It's too close to the hive for them to really forage in the thyme blossoms, but I like to think that it makes them happy anyway.  I've also got some great lemon balm in this part of the 'bee yard' - which is another healthy plant that honey bees love.  Thanks to my friend Heather and her mom for the lemon balm. 

Another thing to notice in the above pic - you might remember me writing about the hive in summer - they like to hang out on the 'front porch' of the hive on the hot days/evenings of summer. 

With such a healthy hive and so much honey, I knew it would soon be time for my first honey harvest....