Construction Begins

Following the site inspection by Margaret, I had my work cut out for me to prepare a strong, stable base on which to place the hive (when it arrives). The key points I considered during the construction were:

The (soon to be) hive site

Location & Flight-path: The bees need to have a clear path in and out of the hive, yet this flight path should take advantage of natural or erected barriers to help the bees to stay away from places where people or animals are likely to be. Avoiding objects that may get pooped also earns the urban beekeeper additional neighborly credits.

The spot we identified in the garden sits next to our driveway in a raised bed. Note there is a plant smack bang in the middle of what will be the flight path, so that's got to go (never liked the damn ugly plant anyway). We will also be raising the hive up on a platform to ensure it stays level, out of the wet (if it ever rains), and to give us somewhere to work during inspections.

Hive Site Sighted!

Today I had the pleasure of the company of Margaret Groot who made the long trek over from Kiwimana country to the North Shore to see our property, talk bees, talk gear and point in a knowledgeable manner to the corner of the garden in which we will be siting our hive - yippee!!

After looking at the sites I thought may be suitable, we decided that the most appropriate position was site #2 (as indicated below). 

• Position #1 was good, but rejected due to the proximity of the lawn that the kids play on. 
• Position #3 was rejected due to poor access, being right up in the corner of the property
• Position #4 initially looked like a winner, but points against were proximity to the washing line and the amount of shade the hive would get during winter which may have resulted in mould and damp building up within the colony.

Back to School

Article from NSTA 11 Feb 2014

Today saw me rifling through the newspaper recycling pile looking for an article in the local paper that I had been told about.
The target of my search was details on a local beekeeping course which this person thought I would be interested in. I was.

It's only a 3x 2 hour course, but rather reasonably priced and, with the rugby season looming and a new crew of juniors to coach, my Saturdays are soon going to be filling up - so I jumped (or, more accurately, I clicked..) at the chance.

If this sounds like you, you can find the details here. I know the Auckland Beekeepers Club also runs a beginners course, and I expect that course may go into more detail as it is a 7 week, evening course. 
If March doesn't suit you, the course runs again in May - and from what I can see, this course has been run in previous years so the odds are good it will continue to be repeated in the future.

So all the pieces seem to be coming together, I've read a bunch of books, I've obsessed over where to site the hive (then asked an experienced beekeeper to come and tell me where the actual best location will be, I've got a hive and colony on order - and now, I'm signed up to an introductory course in beekeeping!

Good times.

Site Check

"Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play." - Immanuel Kant

I've been intellectually playing for far too long on this whole bee thing. I've read a bunch of books, conversed with a colleague who himself is a beekeeper, but not yet done anything practical. So now I'm calling in the experience of the folk at Kiwimana and asking them to come and perform a site inspection. Not sure when they can fit us in, but hopefully it's soon - though they are very busy this season with their hives jumping from 12 to 30 colonies as this post by Gary explains.

Anyway - once we can lock down a visit time I'll post on how things went.

Welcome to the club

It's a rare occurrence for me to get any postal mail these days (aside from bills of course), but today I received a "Welcome to the club" letter, complete with my Auckland Beekeepers Club (Inc) membership card!

A few days before this, the first newsletter from the club arrived so now, despite the utter lack of bees or equipment, I'm a paid up, official new member of the local beekeeping club. 
I've already read the newsletter from cover to cover a couple of times, but missed my first club meeting due to galactic bad planning so will have to wait until next year for an extraction day. On the upside, I fully expect to have both bees and gear by then so I may have some practical experience and be a slightly lighter shade of green.. that's the plan at least.

Book Review: From A to Bee: My First Year as a Beginner Beekeeper

Title: From A to Bee: My First Year as a Beginner Beekeeper

Author: James Dearsley

Year: 2013

ISBN: 0857657216 (ISBN13: 9780857657213)

GoodReads Reviews

My Score: 2/5

This may seem like a bit of a harsh score, so let me add some context. 

This is the fifth book I have read on the subject of beekeeping, so I guess I came to the book already equipped with a fair amount of the knowledge that the author discovers during his journey. Because of this I found it hard to read the impending doom into which the author seemed to leap into on almost every conceivable occasion.

If you intend to read this book, go into it looking to be entertained rather than educated. With the background that the book is created from a series of stream-of-consciousness blog postings, the diversions into the authors private (non-bee) life become understandable. When viewed through the lens of James Herriot type escapades, the book becomes an entertaining read.

Wot Spot?

So far, the books I have read are recommending siting ones hive in:

• "dappled shade"
• facing the rising sun
• with an adequate flight path for the bees to fly in and out without disturbing folks
• away from washing lines (as bees poop and drop pollen and generally make a mess of your (and your neighbors sheets)
• away from areas where people play/walk
• away from boundaries where your bees may be affected by spray drift from your neighbors

..and a bunch of other, sometimes contradictory recommendations. 

In an effort to make a best guess as to the most appropriate location for my hive on our property, I've gone completely overboard in trying to figure out, or at least provide others with, the best/most information about where to put things.