ok,, since IM home now,,, and the catnip REALLY sprung up. I thought with the weather I was having,, that it wouldne be real good, so I picked what I could for Kathy,, but,,,, as things happened, the weather turned around,, and I now have it going to seed EVERYWHERE,, so,, Kathy, Ill be sending it out this week,, and if ANYONE else wants some seed,, let me know,, either here or my "real" addy.

After I got settled in yesterday,, I went out back to check the hives,, and one was "knocked over" I knew it was only a matter of time, before a bear found them,,, BUT,,, only one super wasnt in place, and it was a middle one!!! I noticed my clothes line was torn down when I first came in,, but apon closer inspection,, it was the screws that held the bracket to the tree, was PULLED out. SO, by what is left,, I figure, a few days ago, "someone" decided to get themselves some honey, from my hive. Did it at night,,, pulled the first super off, which I use for feeding, so took the second, which was ALOT more weight. Got a few steps away, and must have got stung,,, adn dropped the super, knocking over the rest of the hive, and ran,, RAn right to my clothes line,,,, and got close to hanging themselves !! !! Of course,, the frames that got spilled was a meal for alot of critters,,,,, so that honey is lost. Somoe of the frames are broken, chewed on beyond repair. Not to mention the dead bees and brood from being tipped over.

My mother was coming by to check the chickens and cats, and to get my mail. She said she never noticed the clothes line down,, funny how some people notice the details, and others dont. That was the first thing that caught my eye after I shut the key off.

So,, I get to finish the honey shed,, Im geting the batteries the holiday weekend,, so I need to hurry ,,, get to pull the honey off the other hives,, and get some wood cut ofr a family that I became friends with this summer. They dont beleive in the "system" so choose not to participate in it,,, in any of it. So, while working odd jobs and such,, they havent had time to get the winter wood in yet,, and time isa runnin short.

SO, all in all,,,, ITS GOOD TO BE HOME

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), August 24, 2002

Answers

I didn't realize bears were up in your part of MI. I guess they are moving into most areas now. Good thing your MOM didn't encounter him/her while she was there looking after your critters. From what I've read it sounds like beekeeping is a very labor intensive job. I'm learning so much from reading your posts on it, maybe one day I'll give it a try. We have lots of honeybees at our place, I think they have a hive in the woods somewhere. Busy little things, they never bother me when I work around them unlike those darn wasps.:( I will send out your sage this week, I do have one question-is it OK to send it fresh picked or do I need to dry it first? I was going to pick it once the morning dew/moisture was off but before the day turned hot so it's still got the highest level of essential oils. I've never sent herbs before so I just want it to reach you in good,useable shape. Wood cutting is on my list of things to get done over the next month, I'm going to wait until it cools off just a little. I have a Fisher wood stove and since they raised the price of propane for the 2002/2003 season I'll be using the woodstove more this winter.

-- Kathy Aldridge (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), August 24, 2002.

Hi Stan, it's good to have you back here also. Sorry to hear about your hive and your clothesline too! Ya better watch out for those bears. There's been a few cases lately of some real agressive black bears. Maybe this dang heat is getting to them too. Is catnip easy to grow? I'm thinking of something I could swap ya for it. ?????? I finally got my e-mail working, so let me know. In fact I'm in the process of downloading all the messages that have been backed up since it went down. Whew...didn't even think of that or I would have fixed it sooner!

Glad your back!

-- Annie (mistletoe6@earthlink.net), August 24, 2002.

I wouldnt be so upset,, if it WAS a bear that got the honey,, but someone, trssapassing, then committing a felony , that just pisses me off., but I suppose its jsut part of the deal with the bees.

AS to the sage,, not sure,, jsut try to send some viable seed in with it,, sage does grow from seed doesnt it?? Annie,, it can be dificult to get catnip started, but once it does,, it will be ALL over. CAts will take a clump, and drag the seeds all over, as will birds. Though, in the early spring, it is easit to get rid off. I have started catnip twice now,,, first time,, it wouldnt take,, tried 4 times,, with seed,, and with plants pulled , roots and all. Then it took,, and it spread very well. Then I moved,, and had to staret over,, with a differant soil type. But its doing well,, ans the bumble bees love it. Annie,, sned me your address, and Ill send ya some, if you dont have anythign to trade right now,,,, no problem,, just send me something when you do have something

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), August 24, 2002.