Category Archives: 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards

A new barrel hoist (photos from last summer)

Posted on January 1, 2018 by brookfieldfarmhoney

Well, here it is new years day, too cold for both the bees and me. So it’s “catch up” time from last summer’s events. A friend rigged a new barrel hoist for me that hooks to the front of my … Continue reading →

Posted in 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards, 92 Honey, Uncategorized | Tagged barrels, Brookfield Farm, hoist, honey, Maple Falls, moving, Washington | Leave a comment

The Longest Winter

Posted on February 13, 2017 by brookfieldfarmhoney

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 bee, Brookfield Farm, hives, Maple Falls, snow, Washington, Winter | 11 Comments

Spring Beehive Tidy And Preparation 2016

Posted on April 2, 2016 by brookfieldfarmhoney

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 beekeeping, bees, Brookfield Farm, hive, honeybees, how to, manipulation, Maple Falls, spring, Washington | 3 Comments

Post-Winter Hive Check 2016

Posted on March 12, 2016 by brookfieldfarmhoney

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 bee yard, beekeeping, bees, Brookfield Farm, check, hive, honeybees, late winter, Maple Falls, Washington | 13 Comments

Walk-Away Beehive Splits

Posted on June 13, 2015 by brookfieldfarmhoney

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 away, beehive, beekeeping, bees, Brookfield Farm, how to, Maple Falls, split, walk, Washington | 8 Comments

Checking and Manipulating Hives in late winter

Posted on February 20, 2015 by brookfieldfarmhoney

The sun finally broke out, temperatures went into the low 50F’s so I finally got out to the hives to check them for honey stores, a bit of hive manipulation, and to put in their essential oil patties. The sun … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 4 Hive Components, 8 Brookfield Farm & Bees, 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards | Tagged bee, bees, Brookfield Farm, cleaning, hive, honey bound, honeybees, how to, manipulation, Maple Falls, Washington | 8 Comments

Barn Cats / Hive Cats : Indispensable

Posted on January 14, 2015 by brookfieldfarmhoney

Barn Cats – I could not run the farm or the bees without them. They keep the mice out of the barn with its myriad of places for mice to live and thrive. They patrol the bee yard, to help … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards | Tagged barn, beekeepers cats, bees, Brookfield Farm, cats, hive, Maple Falls, protection, Washington | 6 Comments

Harvesting Honey, Treating Hives

Posted on September 13, 2014 by brookfieldfarmhoney

I have been pulling honey and putting thymol on the hives this last week. This blog’s been silent for quite a few weeks. July and August simply got out of control. Busy Times: July to August In general I was: … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 2 Diseases/Pests/Treatments, 8 Brookfield Farm & Bees, 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards | Tagged 8 Brookfield Farm & Bees, bee, beekeeping, Brookfield Farm, harvest, hive, honey, how to, Maple Falls, Mount Baker, natural, pack goats, treatments, Washington | 4 Comments

Cutting Grass in Bee Yards

Posted on June 18, 2014 by brookfieldfarmhoney

As spring moves into summer here in northwest Washington, the grass grows – with authority. What looked like a tidy-ish bee yard one week can be a jungle two weeks later. So armed with my trusty power scythe, I headed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Beekeeping, 9 Brookfield Farm Bee Yards | Tagged bee, beekeeper, beekeeping, Brookfield Farm, clearing, cutting, grass, Karen Bean, Maple Falls, Washington, yards | 3 Comments

Spring Hive Check List

Posted on March 29, 2014 by brookfieldfarmhoney

It is spring here: periods of sun between bouts of rain. I’ve taken the sunny days to do the spring hive assessment, which requires opening all of my hives (about 80) to check them and give them their spring essential … Continue reading →