HIVES ALIVE!

My third spring without treating my bees for ANYTHING and they are still going strong. I've read where other beekeepers have gone 7-10 years without mite treatment and their bees did just fine so I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and hope for the best. Since both hives survived the winter I have to decide what I'm going to do about the splits. I cannot have four hives. 

My neighbors were really patient with me when the hives swarmed last year but I fear that patience runs thin. I know that if a swarm of bees attached itself to our home back when I knew nothing about bees I wouldn't have been a very nice neighbor so... I have to "do unto others...." Since splitting hives in two is a swarm management system and I don't want four hives I decided to split both hives and give the bees away. The good thing is, there is no shortage of those who want bees. After posting that I wanted to give the bees away on beesource I received a bunch of private messages from people who wanted them. Problem is, most of the requests came from people who do not have an established presence on the forum, therefore it made me a little nervous. My nervousness comes from my wanting the one retrieving the bees to do the split for me. I figure if I'm giving them away and not selling them, the least they can do is the split. But... I'm nervous about letting someone dig into my hives when I have no idea how much they know about beekeeping. Luckily, one of the very experienced beekeepers on the beesource contacted me. He happens to live one state over and is willing to take the bees if no one else will. He suggested I look locally first so I contacted Natures Nectar (my bee supplier), and Jim (the owner) said he'd take them if they are still going strong at the end of April. I haven't heard back yet on whether he'll do the split though. I've been told I should do the split, create nucs and just sell the bees myself but honestly, I have no idea how much to sell them for or how I even go about marketing that. I've never even seen a nuc before other than in a supply catalog. How do they work exactly? Can they be transported once the bees are inside? Well... I have at least a month to sort it all out. Right now the bees are doing great! These warm days should make them happy.

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ALL I NEED NOW IS AN ALPACA

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to learn how to spin. When I was about 7 my school took a class trip to this pioneer camp, possibly Murphy's Landing, and it was the first time I experienced the world of spinners. I knew instantly that I wanted to be one of those ladies dressed in period garb completely engrossed in their fiber. It looked relaxing and fun at the same time. It wasn't until years later that I learned what those women were actually doing. 

So as the story goes, I had big dreams of spinning but no dream of learning to knit or crochet. Mom taught me the basics of crochet when I was around 8 more as a way to keep me from bugging her while she was knitting or crocheting and not because of my desire to learn. As for knitting, that came much later. I broke down and took a class last year; still haven't finished a complete project. Knitting is NOT for perfectionists. It is quite painful to find flaws that can't be corrected without a complete tear out :(

Anyhow, now that I've learned the basics of knitting I decided it was time to spin. I chose the drop spindle as my introduction into the world of fiber and spinning. I wanted to jump right into the wheel but they are expensive and I needed to be sure I enjoyed spinning first. Well, it turns out that I love love love it! It wasn't easy and I'm still fine tuning my skills but I enjoy how relaxing it is. I'm also finding I have a new appreciation for all the fibers I can work with. The only negative is and always will be is the product I waste learning. I've not been happy with my first bunches of yarn and therefore tore it all apart. I keep hoping the perfectionist side of me creates something fantastic and hopefully I'll even knit it into something awesome :) for now it is all practice, practice, practice.

For anyone contemplating learning to spin I say go for it. The spindle is great cuz it can be taken anywhere and I only paid $19 for mine. I like spinning when I go to my sisters house or when I'm waiting in the car to pick up my kids at school; couldn't do any of that with a wheel.

All I need to learn now is how to set the yarn and how in heck I go about incorporating my rabbits fur. Who knows, maybe I'll buy a herd of alpaca some day. So much to experience and so little time. *sigh NOTE: Teresa, we're still going to have that alpaca farm ;)

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THE ARTISTS WAY

I'm not ready to give a full review on this yet. I've read it cover to cover but it really isn't that type of book. Inside are all these little tasks that I have yet to do. Each chapter has a set of random questions pertaining to a particular topic that I've not answered yet. Let's just say, it is a process. 

THE ARTIST'S WAY by JULIA CAMERON

I'm trying to regain my creative spark and I thought/think this book might help. Oddly, it does seem to be good for me. Just going over what might have caused some of my "blocks" and being forced to think about it has made a difference.

Right now I'm working on rule #1Artist's Pages and rule #2Artist's Dates. The book says I need to write three pages of free flowing thought every day. I'll be honest...I got a bit lazy on that one. I'm starting over again tomorrow. The Artist's Date is much more of a challenge. The book says I need to take one day a week, about one hour, and devote it to myself. No family, no friends, no anything social. A walk in the park, a bike ride, visit a museum, etc... but nothing that really involves interaction. Well, I like being with my kids and my husband so for me to go anywhere alone is an effort so we'll just call that one a work in progress.

I'm being optimistic though. I'm telling myself that I'll complete the book and magically turn into a fantastic writer with tons of words to fill all the empty pages on my desk.

That was rule #3: Positive Self-Talk :)

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SOAP SUDSATIONS

(Sorry about the picture quality. The iphone at night in a dim lit kitchen does NOT make for the best photos).

I'm so excited to share that my new soap from Soap Sudsations arrived today and included in the box was something extra. Thank you Monica for the wonderful soap and the extra special frog that made the trip alongside our little green buddy. 

I could barely get our frog out of the package before my 5 year old made off with it. She's running around the house with Mr. Frog right now calling "ribbit, ribbit, ribbit." I chose this particular soap because it goes so well with the kids bathroom. Not that the soap will last very long once little bodies hit the tub but I had great visions of it sitting on the counter for a while next to the frog toothbrush holder and in the midst of the frog shower curtain. Ah well :) The frog soap is being loved and shortly it will be rubbed down to tadpole size.

If you are in the market for some awesome handmade soaps please check out Soap Sudsations. Monica, the owner, is a fabulous soap artist selling numerous fun, creative soaps for children & adults. While you are checking out her soaps don't forget to visit her blog Bubbles in My Head where she talks about her business ventures and other interesting things.

Note: now my 5 year old has taken the soap and is using it to play dolls with her LaLa Loopsy. Who knew, right? lol!

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COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER: IT'S PESTICIDES, STUPID!

Thank you to Dave from Daves Bees for sharing the video above on twitter.

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BLOG GIVEAWAY: BEESWAX CANDLE

When I took my beekeeping course two years ago there were a few beekeepers on hand to show us treasures from the hive. One man and his young daughter had a tiny beehive candle that I fell in love with. I asked if they sold the mold, which they did not, but they said I could purchase one from a bee supply company and make my own once my bees started giving me some wax to use.
Well, I've waited ever so patiently for my honeybees to create a surplus of honey and beeswax for me to take but we've gone another year without any extras. Am I sad? Not really. Our bees know what they are doing and why they do it so I just have to make do with other people's extras :D

The other day I drove over to Natures Nectar, our honeybee supplier, and picked up 4.5 lbs of beeswax to make candles with. There is nothing better than beeswax straight from the hive, except, of course, HONEY! Beeswax from a local beekeeper is the best! I have to keep my kids from pawing all over it, wanting just one last sniff because it smells so amazing!

Here is our lovely slab of beeswax:



But... beeswax in slab form doesn't do me any good when I'm about to make candles so I had to break it into chunks.



Once the beeswax was cut up I had to get my mold ready. I purchased this cute little beehive mold from Mann Lake, the same company we buy most of our bee equipment from.



I heated up the wonderful beeswax in a double boiler.



Poured them into molds.



and what did I produce?



The cutest little beehive candle ever :D

Now for the giveaway. I've not been the best "blog giveaway" person but all of that is about to change. I'd like to start 2012 off right by sending one of these cute candles to someone in the blogosphere to say THANK YOU for reading my blog. The only thing you have to do to qualify is post in the comment section on why the survival of the honeybee is important to you.

The winner will be determined by random number generator (online) and announced on this blog February 10 :)

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HANDMADE SOAP GIVEAWAY!!!

My friend Teresa over at Raising Our Own...kids & food is having an awesome blog giveaway. Don't miss out! Teresa will be sharing some of her sisters amazing handmade soaps with fellow bloggers so make sure you follow the link above to get all the details and enter for a chance to win.

This giveaway is for residents of Canada & the U.S.

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