Ramp Up

It's been a while! There is usually a lull in activity over the winter, but there has been an extra large lull for me since there were no bees. However, now I am starting to ramp back up for spring, starting with some brand new beequipment! This year I decided to go with Brushy Mountain Bee Farm for my hive equipment. A friend of mine in Seattle used their hive equipment, and I really liked how cute the hive tops were.

Brushy Mountain Bee Farm is actually based in North Carolina (I know, I know, I'm nuts. There are plenty of local suppliers). To to cut down shipping costs I bought most of my supplies un-assembled. Here are all of the parts that I need to assemble and paint in the next few weeks (this is 7 medium hive bodies and the 70 frames to go in them):

I got these items fully assembled:

• Copper Hive Top (much cuter than my previous telescoping top)
• Top Board with another entrance (not sure if I'll use the other entrance because I use hive top feeders - the bees wouldn't be able to enter from the top entrance if the feeder is on).
• Screened Bottom Board (this will help me monitor the mite population)
• Hive Top Feeder (I needed another one for my second hive. This is the Brushy Mountain version of my Mann Lake feeder - you need to place a hive body over it. At first glance I like my Mann Lake feeder better, but we'll see how well it works before I make a final judgment).