So two kinda significant things have happened to me in the last day or so. The first one being that I actually entered the 21st century in the form of my personal mobile communication devices and actually bit the bullet, gave up my 10 year old flip phone and got a real honest to god smart phone. It's been interesting trying to figure the thing out let me tell you.
As a side note I got really excited when the guy at the phone store showed me the drones I could hook up and run with the thing. Man have I got some ideas :)
Anyway I did put the thing down long enough to pull my honey frames and since that job is done... Yes I still have to spin all the honey out which I am hoping to do tomorrow but more on that later. Now that it's mid-July it's time to bring the swarm traps in.
I rarely if ever get a swarm after mid-to-late June but I traditionally pull all the traps in on July 4th weekend. As you can see I was a bit late this year but since I am being a lazy bum hiding from this heat and humidity as much as possible I also haven't checked the traps in about 2 weeks or so.
My furthest trap is nestled in a little wooded area on the bluffs that overlook the Missouri River. I have thought many times about not placing a trap there every year because it is kinda a drive for me to get to but I get some amazing swarms from there every year. Or did until this year. So far this year I got zip from there. I keep that trap set more for sentimental reasons regarding the land it's on than anything else even with the amazing swarms because the cost in gas to go check it is rather prohibitive.
Well sometime in the last few weeks a swarm moved in. No telling just how long it's been living in there so the entire trap maybe just about full of loose hanging comb by now. I had the trap baited with one drawn out frame but a new swarm will begin building off the top across the entire box. Basically it's going to be like doing a mini-cut out when I get that trap in now. Not to mention I am goign to have to make the drive after dark here soon and get it.
It's not going to be tonight though because this evening I need to get the shop set up for honey extraction tomorrow. Suppose to be about 100 degrees tomorrow too. Oh joy.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!
Maybe you can download an ap to take care of the bees, I don't know what it means but that is how you smart phone guys start talking.
ReplyDeleteStill using a flip phone here and seldom use that.
Sf - I know lol. The main selling point for me getting this phone was the fact that I can't read the VIN numbers on the cars.Now I can take a picture of them and enlarge it. That and I wanted the GPS :)
DeleteThat's my story and never mind the Pokemon app I have on there.
Seriously though I have read about a bee keeping ap too.
I resisted a smart phone for a long time but now I love it. I've got the local emergency scanner, weather, list keepers, DNR, plant i.d., a flashlight, Blogger, and calendar apps. I'm always pulling up YouTube videos out in my yard(how to do this or that) instead of running back into the house to the PC.
ReplyDeleteStay safe in this heat! I hear it's going to get worse :(
You and my sister have entered the 21st century... My dad and my uncle still use their ole flip phones. I tease them all the time.
ReplyDeleteI did not think I would like it, but he got our oldest a drone for his birthday, well he wanted a helicopter but all the ones we have bought for him turned out crappy. So Senior said getting something better. It is not hooked up to my phone, but he does have a camera and can take video....pretty dang cool. He got up really high with it, and we could see the the tops of the trees and surrounding area.
I am not sure what century we are languishing in because we don't have any mobile phone at all, just ordinary PC's, no laptops, no tablets (whatever they are).... !
ReplyDeleteMr. H hates his 'smart' phone. He swears it is possessed and has a mind of its own. I think it is kind of a love-hate relationship. I've used it a couple of times to text home when we have to run errands. It always tries to out think what I'm trying to type. It has some cool features but I'll stick with my old flip phone. ;^)
ReplyDeleteAt least you check your bees - haven't looked at ours except for the day a swarm moved into one of the hives we lost early spring. We're bad beekeepers this year!
Well, I guess that's the end of you since you've gone to the dark side with smart phones and drones. Next you'll be writing about foo-foo coffees and pokemon you've caught in the barn ..... haha
Welcome to the other side!
ReplyDeletePlease do a write up once you deal with the swarm. This is my first year with a swarm trap and the first swarm never moved into the trap so I forced it into an empty hive body. Didn't have to do a transfer after they settled into the trap. I too was late removing the trap from the tree and a rather large swarm settled on it Sunday afternoon. Fearing it would not move into the trap like the first, I grabbed a five gallon bucket and "helped" most of it into the hive. 3 of the unhappy little buggers got me! They appear to be settling in and now I need to figure out how to transfer them into a more permanent home.
Glad to see you blogging away, PP. I hope all is well. I need to check in more.
ReplyDeleteGTJ
so how many pokemon have you caught on the farm so far? pahaha
ReplyDeleteso how many pokemon have you caught on the farm so far? pahaha
ReplyDelete