Jake & Riley's Honeypot

03/26/2019

Good stuff.

Actor and director Morgan Freeman has converted his 124-acre ranch in Mississippi into a bee sanctuary, Forbes reported last week.

01/29/2019

In West Virginia, mining jobs have been declining for years, and there have been few other options to make a living. The Appalachian Beekeeping Collective is hoping to help turn that around.

12/24/2018

Seems our area is having a plethora of bees dying early this year of starvation. Usually that becomes a concern in late winter when their honey stores are empty. Running out this early in the winter is odd. So tonight Jake and I built some spacers so that we can feed our bees and the Wild Turnpike hives some winter patties which were delivered Friday. Crossing our fingers that they survive the winter.

11/01/2018

Not a great year again this season due to losing one hive and a very late start this spring. But we were able to pull several good racks from the Wild Turnpike hives at Uncle Kevins house. Hope to have them spun and jarred next weekend. Still learning!!

07/25/2018

This is pretty cool stuff.

Erratic weather and a rainy spring led to a loss of 60 percent of bee colonies in the commonwealth

06/10/2018

Today was 2 weeks after first transferring the nucs into the hives. One hive (r) was a bit slow going as the queen was didn't completely come out of her cage for a few days after initial transfer. The other hive (l) appears strong with a good amount of brood. A second medium box was added to each hive so the bees can start expanding and not be overheated. Plenty of honey in the feeding frames still left so the bees are well nourished.

05/26/2018

We're back for 2018!! Our first attempt last year didn't work out quite how we had hoped. Things were going pretty well, we were able to pull some honey out but had one weak hive. Unfortunately, the second hive swarmed late in the season and was really never able to fully recover. Ultimately we lost both hives over the cold, long winter. But, it was fun, some valuable lessons were learned and we are back at it.

With the weather being so awful this spring, bees were delayed a few weeks. So, just today we were able to pick up 2 nucs out in Jeffersonville (after a needed stop at Mullally) and attached are some photos of them being transferred to their new home. Fortunately we kept the little bit of honey that we did pull out last year and fed it back to the new bees this year. Praying for a successful season and a big harvest!!

08/13/2017

Our extractor, bottling bucket and jars are in. Hoping for our first batch of fresh, local honey next weekend.

06/20/2017

A tale of removing a bee infestation.

06/05/2017

It’s not “Hug A Honey Bee” month, but maybe it should be.“I have an infinite respect for nature that I developed by watching

05/22/2017

The bee industry is buzzing over the arrest of a man accused of stealing thousands of hives worth nearly $1 million from California's almond orchards in one of the biggest such thefts on record.

05/16/2017

Transferring the bees into their hives last week with Uncle Kevin.