This year we added two bee hives to Coal Creek Farm. Six years ago when we started getting serious about moving to the country I was talking about cows and chickens and Clay chimed in with Bee keeping. What the? Bees? Really? They sting!! For some reason I wanted the bigger animals that took up space and required daily maintenance and fences and structures and hay and 50 pound bags of feed and a trailer to haul them to the butcher. But, Clay? He wanted a little wooden box that can sit in the sun and be watched and messed with occasionally. Who’s the smart farmer here? Huh? Who?
So, we did what any good married couple would do. We got what the wife wanted.
Or, I could tell you we got chickens first because Clay, being the architect, had too much fun designing our first chicken coop. But, that would make it sound like I didn’t win, so never mind.
We did well with the chickens and we enjoyed the pigs more than we ever thought we would. The opportunity came to buy the hives and we dived into a new world of farming.
How are the bees?
How much honey have we harvested?
The big question, why am I saying we? Because this little project has pretty much been Clay’s and I’m happy to see him have a little hobby.
Let’s ask the man who wanted to get those bugs in the first place.
How’s it going with the bees Clay?
Dur, not so good.
No honey for my honey this year.
Need a Chicken Doctor?
Contact 
That’s it? No explanation? No humorous antidote as to why your poor honey gets no honey?
Rest of the story, please…we’ve been thinking about getting bees, too! (After the ever-practical goats and chickens that we started with).
Well, the bees are alive but they didn’t make enough honey for us to harvest. It’s hard to tell what the problem is. The hives look healthy, just not busy enough I guess.
Love the pic! Needed a chuckle. He’s so cooperative.
It’s all a big learning adventure! Honey is just a bonus, right?
No honey? Sob. It’s ok, I’ll just have to wait (more sobbing) till next year.
But seriously, what happened? I know the one hive died, did the second one die as well? And Clay is just so darn photogenic!!
OMG, that is just about the funniest picture I’ve ever seen!! Your honey is a keeper even if not a bee keeper.
I didn’t think it took talent to have a bee hive. Just guts.
Clay is like me with plants, I kill them.
UhOh! Too cute! How come there was no honey?
Maybe the bee hive was just an excuse for him to wear that adorabe outfit!!! How are you not totally turned on by him wearing that outfit April? (Note to self: buy beekeepers outfit for my hubby today.)
My question is did Clay finally get a bee keeper’s outfit that fits him?
Well anytime you want to trade, we just harvest for the second time. But we have a few more than 2 hives. Well more than a few. Make sure he keeps with it. You will get a harvest sooner or later. Clint called yesterday and made me jump into a bee suit and go out to fix the honey supers he left outside for the bees to rob. Those suckers were filled with bees (they were just the boxes we extracted from). They had so many bees in them it looked like a functioning hive. I really don’t like working with the bees. I’ll leave it to Clint. Bring on the chickens.
Maybe they couldn’t round up enough pollen? You might have to move nearer a source of flowers or plant a few more flowers yourselves?? I vote for planting. Moving is such a bother.
Clay is too cute in his beekeeper suit…
My uncle had bees for years…they were fickle critters..some years tons of honey…some years none…oh well at least he looks like he’s having fun…
Saw on twitter you got your coffemaker….Yeah !!! Gotta love Goodwill
We got — ta ta ta DUM! — 2 lbs.
But — It rained the entire month of June, when they should have been as busy as…
The whole state went kaplooey, agriculture-wise.
Next year…
He should sing to them.
Clay running from the bees is one of my favorite videos ever. Don’t ask me why, but my husband and I watched a whole series on beekeeping on RFD-TV. It looks like a difficult and incredibly time-intensive hobby.
So, we did what any good married couple would do. We got what the wife wanted.
That is so US April, lol!!
I love living vicariously through other people I don’t even know. Can’t wait to see how much honey we, uh, I mean y’all get down the road.
The bees have disappeared from my area. I haven’t seen even one in the last few years and I used to have a yard full of them……and wasps. The wasps have disappeared also. They were never aggressive so I just let them bee
Honey, the world’s only perfect food! I just had some on my oatmeal this morning.
My father was a beekeeper from before I was born. He sold the last of his bees/supplies just a week before he died. About 40 years later. There is no way to tell you how many quarts of honey we extracted and bottled. At one time, we had close to 300 hives out on a desert ranch. You can read much, much more about growing up with bees in my fancy new book, “Just Seven Blocks from the Mexican Border.” (Amazon.com) Once you extract your first crop, you can only look to the future.
My hubby and I have had bees for just a few years. The first year you don’t get much of a harvest if any. The bees have to build up their wax cone before they can fill it with honey. Hubby said it takes something like 5 times the pollen to make wax as it does to make honey. So, once the hives are established and the bees don’t swarm or die, you should have a harvest. Best of luck with them! I try to tell hubby that the bees are his thing…. But I keep getting drug into it! The honey is soo yummy though!
can you send a copy of your chicken coop plans? i want to build a well-designed hen house/coop for my hens. I have about 30 hens.