Backyard + beehive photoshoot with Local iQ

23 Apr

UPDATE: My girls were featured in an even more recent issue of Local iQ with photos by Joy Godfrey. Enjoy!

I’m still blushing, it was such a chic morning.

On location (that location being my backyard) for Local iQ magazine, Albuquerque photographer Wes Naman was tramping about the garden this morning shooting things like the mural by Quip, the beehive, and a crumbly-ass Fu Manchu statue I picked up one summer in the South Valley. Editor Kevin Hopper was on site too and was genteel enough not to notice all the weeds and wacky detritus emblematic of a lazy gardener like me.

Look for the girls and/or the garden in next week’s issue of Local IQ.

Honeybee covergirls Honeybee covergirls>
Local IQ in my garden Pipe down now

It’s a cowboy thing

21 Apr

“Beekeeping has sort of a cowboy thing to it.”

http://www.noevalleyvoice.com/2005/November/bee.html

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How to report a swarm in Albuquerque

20 Apr

This is what a honeybee swarm looks like

April and May are swarm season in Albuquerque, New Mexico. If you happen to encounter a swarm in your yard or neighborhood, please give a quick call to local beekeepers who can come pick up the wayward girls.

Help! I need to report a swarm in Albuquerque

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Spring Field Day with Albuquerque Beekeepers

18 Apr
TJ's truck Spring Field Day for Albuquerque Beekeepers
Spring Field Day for Albuquerque Beekeepers Spring Field Day for Albuquerque Beekeepers

[View the full slideshow]

Despite a 60% chance of thunderstorms threatening to ruin our day like a bad breakfast burrito, our hands-on spring demo was perfect — warm, friendly, and informative. Thanks to the 25+ local beekeepers who donned a veil and came out for the afternoon. And big ole thanks to Steve Cox for sharing his roomy backyard.

Visit our group at http://abqbeeks.ning.com.

Capturing the impossible swarm

16 Apr

Swarm of bees up in my neighbor's tree

Swarm season is coming on strong in Albuquerque. This week, like an instantaneous bloom, area bees have exploded and spilled into the sky.

For many beeks, this means a free batch of bees to start a new hive. For homeowners it can be frightening.

In my ‘hood, yesterday brought this high-flying swarm perched acrobatically 40 feet up in an old elm tree. Too precarious to snatch, the swarm colony will have to find a home on its own.

We’ve opened up all our empty hives, dabbed ’em with a bit of Honey-B-Healthy, and are waiting patiently in the hopes that the home of their choosing is ours.

UPDATE: It’s three days later and the girls have finally left their perch although we have no idea where they went or if any bees survived the rain and wind that must have made for a harrowing time on the lam.

Albuquerque honeybees living out of a semi

12 Apr

Honeybees swarming from a semi-truck

A truck driver turned on his air conditioner and it didn’t work. He opened the back of his trailer and a huge cloud of bees flew out!

Turns out there was a hive so massive living in the ductwork of an Albuquerque semi-truck, that local beekeepers were able to make 18 separate hives from the giant swarm.

Read the full story at: http://www.dukecityfix.com/profiles/blogs/talk-about-a-swarm-of-bees

Spring with the Albuquerque Open Space bees

8 Apr

Today we checked hives with Albuquerque beekeeper, Jerry Anderson. These bees are located on protected parts of City Open Space lands in the North Valley and West side of the city. The idea is that the girls dutifully gather nectar off these lush and well-watered spots and the good folks at Open Space can sell tasty honey at the visitor’s center.

Only one hive, already weak last fall, failed to make it through the winter. The others were building up well this spring and one — the colony sited under the ancient cottonwood tree — was flourishing like a well-fed princess.

Jerry with his hive, under the old cottonwood tree Checking the hives in spring
Home, sweet home Checking the hives in spring

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3 Great Reads for New Beekeepers

5 Apr

Get prepared mentally

Aiming for the roof? 6 Questions for Beginner Rooftop Beekeepers

10 Tips to Establish Your First Hive

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Thieves in the Night: Transporting a hive by flashlight

5 Apr

Moving the "Jerry hive" into her new home

While others spent their Friday night sipping “Cucumber Saintinis” at Nob Hill Bar & Grill, we were hustling hives.

Like stealthy thieves in the night, we picked up a hive from the North Valley where she’s spent the past couple of years productive beneath cottonwood trees not far from the Rio Grande. A friend needed to give the hive away, so we loaded her up in the back of the 4-Runner wedged so close to the back window, we couldn’t roll it up.

We avoided the frenzy of a Friday night on Route 66 (Just imagine: “Ma’am, I’m gonna need you to pull over. Now what’s that in the back of your car?“) but we couldn’t avoid rather insistent hunger pangs and pulled — hive and all — into the Golden Pride drive-through for a couple of Albuquerque’s best breakfast burritos (I swear by #9, but my man prefers #8).

In a few we were home and transporting the hive by head-strapped flashlight into her new home next to the graffiti mural by Quip. Welcome to the ‘hood, girls!

Take the Albuquerque beekeeping survey

28 Mar

A great idea came out of yesterday’s packed beekeeper’s meeting… a beekeeping survey.

Take the survey now

Only 16 questions, the survey is designed to gain some insight into the typical practices of beekeepers in Albuquerque. Please encourage all local beekeepers to participate!

Huge thanks to everyone for sharing your experience and insight.

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