We have bears in our area and had to build a bear fence around the bee-hives. The electric fence should keep all bears away; maybe the dog and cats, too! Once the bee fence was installed, we picked up our new packages of bees. 
Duane and I each have a package of bees in hand. The spray bottle has sugar water in it to spray on the bees to calm them down.
Despite going to a 8-week class and reading several books, I felt it was important to "read-along" as we went through the steps. Bee-keeping for Dummies seemed appropriate!
We dumped the box of bees into the hive. As you can see, there are bees flying everywhere. It is a little nerve-wracking the first time! The bees generally stayed inside the hive so we could just close the lid.
This is fantastic, Ginger. I love reading about your bees. Try my baklava with your honey!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cookthepart.com/2010/10/29/homemade-baklava-not-as-complicated-as-you-thought/