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THE BEEYARD REPORT

I can’t remember such a bad winter followed by such a rotten spring. You could count the flying days in April on the fingers of one hand. Many of our “good” colonies went down hill. Strangely, some of the poor ones seen to be reviving. We had a yard last fall that was loaded with mites. I considered it as good as dead. They were still alive in the spring but the clusters were small and over in the corners of the boxes. That’s where they go to die. Somehow, they have revived and now have about 4 frames of bees.

Last fall we thought we had a chance at 800 colonies. After we looked in the spring, I thought 700. The reality will be a little over 500--about where we were last year. We have only made about 100 splits. May 4 was the first day we saw any dandelions in quantity. It was also the first day that the sun felt like it had any heat in it.

Adam Ebert with a load of 20 hives bound for the
Hinegardner Orchard north of Hwy 30 & Montour, IA.

Adam and Alex took the first bees into the apples on the 8th. That proved to be a bit of an adventure. Our flatbed broke down on the 7th. The engine has a real nasty knock. They loaded 20 colonies on a pickup--something I would never have done. It was well after dark when they arrived at the orchard. A downpour was in progress. It was fortunate they had 4-wheel drive or they would never have gotten out of there. Everything was soaked. It took the cab of the pickup two days to dry out.

The hygenic queens haven’t worked out too well. We sold off about half of them since our bees were so poor. Of the ones we have used ourselves, 20% of them only laid a few eggs or else didn’t lay any at all. I hope the people who bought them fared better than we did.

I’ve commented before about the age of some of our equipment. Some of the lids have newspaper under the metal for insulation. A couple of years ago Adam came across a 1953 newspaper in one of the lids. This spring he found one that had a 1941 newspaper. There were only pieces of the paper left but you could still read the articles. We still have some boxes that say Old Taylor Bee Co. They have been gone a long, long time. Francis Henkleman got his start with them back in the 30’s.

Anthony, the youngest son, graduated from Northwestern on the 10th. He is moving to Colorado Springs and then getting married in June. It feels strange to have the youngest son passing these milestones. Eric is still in school at Iowa City but he spent nine years in the Marine Corps. It’s not the same feeling.

Alex still fools around with the discus and shot put. He was working out on the same field as the Grinnell College track team. They asked him if he would like to be a coach. I hope there is some compensation that goes with this.

I’ve been experimenting with Apiguard on a few colonies I have near the house. Last fall I noticed the bees cleared it out in two or three days. This spring I put some on at 60 degree temps. The result was the same. It was gone in a few days. It needs to be in there longer to get the mites that are coming out with the emerging bees. They recommend two applications but I still thought it would be in the hive longer. I’m hoping that the late start to brood rearing will mean fewer mites in the fall.

Our neighbors on both sides have done a lot to help us out. We have used their buildings and pretty much have had the run of the neighborhood. It has made some things possible that would have been really difficult to accomplish otherwise. There is a shed across the road where we have stored our supers the last few years. The tornado took most of the tin and the south wall. It was still useable--sort of. I came home one evening a couple of weeks ago and discovered the wall had been fixed and there was new tin on the building. There were even new sliding doors. I know insurance money fixed that building but they didn’t have to do it. Ernie will never use it for anything.

Let’s hope for some improved weather and a productive season. It’s going to be different. That’s for sure.

Submitted by Phil Ebert

Pink Rhubarb Punch

8 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
8 cups water
2 ½ cups honey
2 Tbs. strawberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
2 cups pineapple juice
¼ cup lemon juice
6 cups ginger ale, chilled

In a large saucepan, bring rhubarb and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid (save rhubarb for another use).

In a large bowl, combine honey, gelatin and boiling water until dissolved. Add pineapple and lemon juices; Mix well. Stir in rhubarb liquid; refrigerate.

Just before serving, pour into a punch bowl and add Ginger ale. Yields: about 5 quarts.

Submitted by Donna Brahms