The Hillwood Honey Project has Begun!

It's official ladies and gents, Tyler, Strongbow and I are beekeepers! Our bees were delivered on Friday and all 30,000 of them seem to like their happy new home.

The yellow thing on the front is a feeder which is filled with a 50/50 mixture of sugar and water and all I have to do for the next few weeks is refill it every other day or whenever they drink it up. They need to be fed for a while until they can get used to their new surroundings and repair any damage that may have happened in transit.

In case you are wondering, my bees were started from a nuc (nucleus colony) in early March by a guy in Alex City, AL so it's bigger and stronger than the average nuc or package. He sold me one of his own nucs because he wanted to make sure that I started my newest hobby with bees that he knew were docile and healthy so I was very grateful that he went over and above to make sure I got the "right" bees! I also purchased all of my equipment from him so he knows me well by now!

In about 2 or 3 weeks they will have filled up both of the boxes with babies (brood) and will need to be split into 2 separate hives so they don't get too crowded and swarm. When that time comes I'll take the top box off and put it on another base with a purchased queen and I'll go from 1 hive to 2 hives. I'll also add a smaller box to the top of each hive for them to grown into and store our their honey.

Here I am on my maiden voyage to the hive. I am well protected if you can't tell!

 Doesn't Strongbow look excited to introduce himself to the bees?! He decided to follow me out to the hive and "help" me change the feeder by sticking his nose in the opening. Brilliant idea bud! After being stung by about 5 bees that all seemed to get stuck in his fur he decided to back off. 

Check out that swollen eye that he is sporting! Maybe he has learned his lesson?!