While I'm Waiting...

Yesterday, I sat through a Varroa mite class -- the facts about them, their prevalence in New Mexico, and how to test and treat for them -- and it got me a little scared. I don't want my bees to die! So this morning I ordered some Mite-Away, just to hit them with a hopefully less-impactful mite reduction program for when they first arrive. That said, I'm very interested in more organic cures. Les Crowder (top-bar master who lives here in New Mexico) apparently uses creosote in his smoke. Next time I'm on a road trip, I'll gather some and try it. Also, there's a recipe for rhubarb strips that the bees chew up to get out of their way, and that also are poisonous to mites. (Blog post on that here.) So I'll be trying these later, but I'm scared enough to jump to chemicals since I wasn't nearly as ready as I thought for the thought of my bees having bugs of their own!

In any event, I'm feeling a little underprepared. I'm probably not. Hell, the bees are going to do the work of surviving, and all I am is an occasional disruption in their lives. But still, I'm getting as prepared as possible. To that end, while I'm waiting for my bees to arrive (April 14!) I have been working on getting hives ready.

I lost a picture of the bottom-board that Rev created for the hive at Sunflower River, but I do have the boxes with frames that Kat, Tristan and I put together for their Langstroth.

I also went out to inspect the top-bar hive here at the Source, with my trusty assistant Orlando scoping things out for me. He says it needs more rope, but he says that about everything. I have started preparing these frames with cleats, so that the bees have a good start on building comb.

We're also in the process of getting my yard's garden ready. I'm going to have an herb garden, some rows of veggies and some fruit trees, but the most exciting thing is my pollinator garden! To that end, Kat has been helping me figure out a drip system, which will also fill a couple of bowls of water for the bees throughout the day. I'll post more pics of that when it doesn't look like someone took shovels to my yard. Because we have.

I know it's not much, but that's all I have for now. I guess, like me, you'll just have to wait. And wait. Patiently, of course.