A Whole Season of Beekeeping

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It has been since spring that I made an entry here. We have enjoyed another full season of beekeeping, which we are close to wrapping up. Here are some summarized notes about this season:

We started with two hives and a destructive visit from a bear (see previous post).

The bees weathered the bear's disturbance really well. For the hive that was spilled all over, the queen was not injured, so the bees went on building the colony and I think that the reduction in numbers may have helped them not need to swarm. Both hives spent the summer on the farm.

The hive that was left untouched was pretty feisty to start the year but became one of the most pleasant hives to work that we have ever had. I am really hoping we can get these bees through winter so that we can have more time with them.

The farm continues to be a beautiful refuge for the bees, and we enjoy our moments there, too. The kids get to play and learn, and us adults get to stop and visit a while. This year has had some especially beautiful moments out there.





After a pretty normal summer beekeeping season, we had a good harvest from the two hives. Last year, we had 5 hives, and we tried to take every bit of honey that we could, so harvesting was a much bigger project. This year, we took honey but didn't worry about getting every drop. The bees need food stores for the winter, and while we feed them to try and make sure they have enough, what better for them than their own honey?


One of the largest challenges of this year, which we did anticipate, was varroa mite management. Taking care of the bees so they can overcome this commonly-occurring honey bee parasite requires purposeful planning. We started testing after our honey harvest (which was too late - we will need to make plans for this in the spring). Our numbers were very high. After getting advice from a very experienced beekeeper, my husband made a plan to treat the bees. He has done tons of work this fall, including testing, several treatments, separating the brood from the rest of the hive for one of the colonies, moving a hive, more testing, searching for queens and eggs, feeding, checking, inspecting, more testing... 

We owe the chance that the bees have at surviving this winter to him.

As I look back on the beekeeping season, I can't help but reflect on all of the many other goings on we had over the last months...

We added a rabbit and a hamster to our household in June and October, respectively.


We enjoyed a family trip to Lake Michigan.

Our raised bed garden had another successful year thanks to all of us contributing. We tried some new plants, but our staples were the ones that shined - tomatoes, cucumbers, and greens. 

Early this month, our oldest was married. It was a well-anticipated and beautiful day and we are sincerely happy for them to have each other.

Photo: tannamariephotography

We also really enjoyed our other daughter's first school swim season and now we are getting in as much time outside as we can this fall between practices for other activities. There are leaves to play in and rake, sunsets to watch, and s'mores to enjoy around the bonfire. Then we will wrap up the beekeeping season (and ourselves) to get ready for winter.


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