Category Archives: 1 Beekeeping

Beekeeping

Hiving a Swarm post Hip Replacement Surgery

Posted on July 15, 2017 by

Five weeks out of hip replacement surgery and the bees swarmed.  A potential disaster that is shaping up to be just fine.                                   I … Continue reading →

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The Longest Winter

Posted on February 13, 2017 by

It’s been a long winter here in the mountains in the northwest corner of the lower 48 states. It started snowing the first week of December and has just recently stopped. We did have a 1 ½ week break where … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Spring Beehive Tidy And Preparation 2016

Posted on April 2, 2016 by

Spring has arrived in Whatcom County Washington (the northwest corner of Washington state). It has arrived two weeks earlier than last year, which was early as well. The sun and flowers emerge fast on the heels of a very web … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 4 Hive Components, 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Post-Winter Hive Check 2016

Posted on March 12, 2016 by

We had some clear weather at the end of February, and I took advantage of it to check the hives. For the record, Brookfield Farm Bees And Honey had a 13% loss of beehives from September to March. I’m often … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 4 Feeding Bees, 5 Queens and Queen Rearing, 8 Brookfield Farm & Bees, 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Storing Bee Hive Frames in Winter

Posted on November 21, 2015 by

I search continuously for easy, efficient, nontoxic ways to deal with bee equipment. Storing frames for winter has been an evolving technique. I am pretty happy with my new set up: stacking frames in boxes set on their sides.   … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 4 Hive Components, 8 Brookfield Farm & Bees | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

New Honey Pump at Brookfield Farm

Posted on November 13, 2015 by

I love my new honey pump from Kelley Beekeeping. But like all love affairs, there are ups and downs, issues to deal with, questions to ask before everything works smoothly. She (all wondrous machines are she, yes?) is a straightforward … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, Honey Extraction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bee Year 2015 Overview – Brookfield Farm

Posted on November 7, 2015 by

The Brookfield Farm Bees And Honey blog went quiet for a while – ok, for quite a while. But it’s back.   Bee work, honey work, festivals, Farmers Markets, a bit of fun in the backcountry and some rather massive family … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 8 Brookfield Farm & Bees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Making Bottom Screens 2015

Posted on June 21, 2015 by

I keep mentioning that I’m “making equipment like crazy” this year, due to good weather and bee hive expansion.  One of the things that we make here at Brookfield Farm are our own bottom screens.  I don’t use bottom boards … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 4 Hive Components, 8 Brookfield Farm & Bees | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Walk-Away Beehive Splits

Posted on June 13, 2015 by

It has been an absolutely busy time in the bee yards. The weather has been lovely, the bees have been out, and it did not pour rain in the middle of the Maple and Cascara flows. Looks like good weather … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 4 Hive Components, 8 Brookfield Farm & Bees, 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Splitting And Supering Hives

Posted on May 15, 2015 by

I’m a bit behind in my posts. About 3 weeks ago I went through all my hives, again. The intention was to either split or super the ones that were getting crowded to keep them from swarming. It quickly became … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 5 Queens and Queen Rearing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments