BB's my other half. I'm HB. We don't appear in any photos, and I don't mention our names here because neighbors are neighbors. Mention a honeybee to anyone, and they'll probably say they're allergic. If you're one of the 1-2 in 1,000 people who are, welcome to our virtual apiary, where you won't need your Epi-pen.
The Backyard is in the suburbs of Denver, CO. We live in small house with a small yard. The apiary consists of one bee hive "hidden" inside a mini greenhouse set in the back corner of the yard, and a nuc in plain sight, set in a border garden. The house to the south of us has a clear view of our xeriscape (low-water use) garden and the greenhouse. They'd have to be high to not know about the bees. Medical marijuana is legal here, so my fingers are crossed.
We started beekeeping in the Spring of 2008 with a swarm of bees from the High Land Beekeeping Club. Those bees died in the Winter of 08/09. They left a small legacy behind, in lessons learned and a some honey for their sisters on the way. The Spring of 2009, we re-stocked (bees are considered "livestock" and we are farmers!) with a purchased package of bees from the Growing Gardens. With these bees, the real adventure began. Alas, RIP 09/10 bees. During their year-and-a-half in the Backyard, they inspired a myriad of creations both at the computer and in the kitchen. Culinary school was amazing (as a student and more so as a teacher), but being able to make honeybee lotions, lip balms and soaps has been even more fantastic than mastering brioche and roast beast. The fact that the honey and beeswax comes from our own Backyard makes all the difference.
I originally chose a Top Bar Hive as I simply wanted to keep bees, was not interested in honey, and didn't want my neighbors to know what the hive was on first sight. 99% of the time I stay on topic, but on occasion I may put something up about MdDS since my inability to travel was a catalyst to keeping honeybees. Keeping honeybees alive, however, is not an easy thing these days. Pre-varroa, Winter losses of 20% was normal and, today, to lose 2- or 3-in-5 hives is normal. If you only have 1 hive, it's easy to have 100% loss. At any rate, in 2011 the hives were empty but we continued our adventure with diversification and focused on native bees: leafcutter, mason and bumble bees. We have two hives for the 2012 season, stocked with survivor bees. The greenhouse hive was stocked with a nuc, and the garden hive was stocked with a swarm from the greenhouse hive.
We never use pesticides and prefer to provide the bees with only that which Nature would, particularly in Europe, the honeybees' native continent. As the European Honeybee is an immigrant here, and an invasive species at that, there are stresses here that they are not genetically prepared for, so treatments against pests and disease are not out of the question. Our first consideration, though, will be Integrated Pest Management (IPM). For example, our newer hive has a screened bottom board (SBB); the older hive will be modified to have upper entrances. Cheap, lasting actions, IMO, are better than costly, need-to-be-repeated actions (i.e.: treatment, whether powdered sugar or MAQS).
The city allows 2 hives on a lot like ours, but we'd like to find a small piece of land to work for more. Just imagine the recipes I'd put up if we were producing our own eggs and milk! If you know of a nice 5± acre piece of land for sale, please let us know: backyardbee@comcast.net
The Backyard is in the suburbs of Denver, CO. We live in small house with a small yard. The apiary consists of one bee hive "hidden" inside a mini greenhouse set in the back corner of the yard, and a nuc in plain sight, set in a border garden. The house to the south of us has a clear view of our xeriscape (low-water use) garden and the greenhouse. They'd have to be high to not know about the bees. Medical marijuana is legal here, so my fingers are crossed.
We started beekeeping in the Spring of 2008 with a swarm of bees from the High Land Beekeeping Club. Those bees died in the Winter of 08/09. They left a small legacy behind, in lessons learned and a some honey for their sisters on the way. The Spring of 2009, we re-stocked (bees are considered "livestock" and we are farmers!) with a purchased package of bees from the Growing Gardens. With these bees, the real adventure began. Alas, RIP 09/10 bees. During their year-and-a-half in the Backyard, they inspired a myriad of creations both at the computer and in the kitchen. Culinary school was amazing (as a student and more so as a teacher), but being able to make honeybee lotions, lip balms and soaps has been even more fantastic than mastering brioche and roast beast. The fact that the honey and beeswax comes from our own Backyard makes all the difference.
I originally chose a Top Bar Hive as I simply wanted to keep bees, was not interested in honey, and didn't want my neighbors to know what the hive was on first sight. 99% of the time I stay on topic, but on occasion I may put something up about MdDS since my inability to travel was a catalyst to keeping honeybees. Keeping honeybees alive, however, is not an easy thing these days. Pre-varroa, Winter losses of 20% was normal and, today, to lose 2- or 3-in-5 hives is normal. If you only have 1 hive, it's easy to have 100% loss. At any rate, in 2011 the hives were empty but we continued our adventure with diversification and focused on native bees: leafcutter, mason and bumble bees. We have two hives for the 2012 season, stocked with survivor bees. The greenhouse hive was stocked with a nuc, and the garden hive was stocked with a swarm from the greenhouse hive.
We never use pesticides and prefer to provide the bees with only that which Nature would, particularly in Europe, the honeybees' native continent. As the European Honeybee is an immigrant here, and an invasive species at that, there are stresses here that they are not genetically prepared for, so treatments against pests and disease are not out of the question. Our first consideration, though, will be Integrated Pest Management (IPM). For example, our newer hive has a screened bottom board (SBB); the older hive will be modified to have upper entrances. Cheap, lasting actions, IMO, are better than costly, need-to-be-repeated actions (i.e.: treatment, whether powdered sugar or MAQS).
The city allows 2 hives on a lot like ours, but we'd like to find a small piece of land to work for more. Just imagine the recipes I'd put up if we were producing our own eggs and milk! If you know of a nice 5± acre piece of land for sale, please let us know: backyardbee@comcast.net
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