Things are slowing down for the winter. The feeders are off now and there's not much to do. Hopefully there's enough food in the hives for the bees to survive until Spring.
Kelley and Brushy Mountain had free shipping after Thanksgiving so I ordered enough woodenware to make two more hives (two deeps and two mediums for each hive, all 8-frame). When I get some time off, Dad and I will put that stuff together and paint it so that it'll be ready.
Since I started with a spit, and captured a swarm, I thought I'd try package bees. I ordered two packages from Kelley to be delivered in April. So, depending if one or two of the hives make it through the Winter, I'll have two, three or four hives going next year. Hopefully, the honey production will match!
So for the next few months, it will just be a monitoring routine to ensure the bees make it. I do have 30 frames of uncapped honey in the freezer I can thaw and add if they use up their stores.
But, if I have to start over with the two packages, I've learned a lot this year and hopefully I can add to that knowledge base with more experience in the years to come!
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