By Chandra L. Mattingly After weeks and weeks and weeks of snow, ice, and frigid temperatures, spring seems to finally have arrived. There is a flurry of activity in the beeyard as workers from my four hives buzz in and out, searching for, finding and carrying home nectar and pollen from early bloomers: willow and…
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Update from Indiana Bee School XII 2014 in Indianapolis, Indiana
I attended the Indiana Bee School XII in Indianapolis, Indiana on Saturday, February 22, 2014 with many of my fellow beekeepers. As usual, it was a great time... a full day of bee discussions and soaking up thousands of viewpoints. The attendance was a record. About 900 beekeepers were in attendance along with all our familiar…
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Of Bugs, Blooms & Vittles: ‘Yellow rain’ is a good thing
by Chandra Mattingly Around Dusseldorf, Germany, pussy willows and forsythia bushes are starting to bloom – so says my daughter, anyway. Not here! Just a month into winter, this year's coldest in decades continues its icy grip. But – and this is important to beekeepers – not, so far, without breaks of 40-plus to 50-degree…
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Bugs, Blooms and Vittles, What the bees are up to
Bugs, Blooms and Vittles By Chandra Mattingly After a week of rain, we had some sunshine Sunday, July 7, and I was able to check my beehives for the first time since taking honey off June 21. I was glad I did so: while the three hives I checked closely had honey stores, two of…
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