2014
Well unfortunately our winter was long, cold, snowy and hard. I was unable to get to the hive to add feedstuffs for them. With temperatures consistantly in the double digit negatives I fear it was just too much for my young hive. I was finally able to reach the hive the first week of April 2014 and found the entire hive dead. We will get the hive cleaned up and try again this year!! Hopefully we will get another wild swarm (not sure how the feral bees survived this harsh year though).
It was a sad quiet spring and summer without the bees.
But we were blessed to have the oppurtunity to buy a strong and full hive in the fall of 2014 so our journey resumes.
Okay here is where we began.
2013
We purchased some used hives in the spring of 2013.
We we able to attract a feral swarm into the hive in the first week of July 2013. We used lemongrass essential oil on a cotton ball placed inside the hive.
The hive did really well most of the summer and I supplementally fed sugar syrup towards the end of the summer and early fall.