Another DOGGONE Art Contest!

Draw a picture of your favorite dog....a real dog, a dog you wish
you had or hope to have someday, a made-up dog...

 

WHO

Any child up to age 18/grade 12 residing in the FNSB.

WHAT

Art submissions will be reviewed by the Northern Lights Academy Board of Directors and their
representatives. The top 5 in each age category will be displayed at Barnes and Noble on October 12. The Grand Champion for each category will be announced at 2 p.m., October 12, at Barnes and Noble.

WHEN

All entries must be received by Northern Lights Academy no later than October 2, 2013. You can mail your entries to 181 Carlyle Way, Fairbanks, AK, 99709.

WHERE

Barnes and Noble Booksellers, 421 Mehar Ave, Fairbanks, AK 99709

HOW

All artwork must be on plain white 8.5 x 11 paper. Any medium may be used, but artwork must be at and not 3-D. No framed or matted work will be considered. There are 4 categories: Preschool,
Kindergarten-3rd grade, 4th grade-8th grade, and 9th-12th grade.

The following information must be on the back of the artwork:
Name of artist
Mailing address of student
Grade School name or home school

If you are not trying to winter-over your honeybees. . .

So now comes the dreadful deed of shop-vacuuming your bees if you don't plan to winter-over.  I put a couple to a few gallons of water in my shop vacuum and take it out next to my hives early in the morning or later evening bec. that's the time when all the bees are at home.  I suck as many bees into the shop vacuum as possible and remove all the hive pieces from the location.  They will be stored for winter.  See the next post for winter storage strategy!  I estimate it takes about 45 min. to shop vacuum one colony.  When I'm finished, I take the lid off the vacuum and stir the honeybee smoothie with a stick to ensure all the bees are dead.  Then I dump them into my compost as they make excellent vermiculite!  WHY DO I KILL MY BEES?  Because I have seen many colonies suffer through 5-6 months of winter without being able to go to the bathroom (Rememer, they need +50* or warmer to fly in order to go poop)  They tend to be weak and sick and even dead anyway by spring.  The Interior of Alaska is a harsh place for honeybees in the winter months.  Some have had success, however. If you have questions about wintering over your bees, you can contact Steve Victors of Wildflower Honey or Steve Petersen of Toklat Apiaries.

Storing Your Equipment for Winter

So, the very best way to store your equipment for winter that I know of is by placing a queen excluder right on top of your bottom board and stacking all your boxes (broods & supers) on top of each other.  Either take the inner cover off or staple screen over the entrance.  Staple screen over the bottom entrance as well.  This set-up will prevent rodents and other insects from entering the hive and destroying all the wax honeycomb that you will need for next season.  To secure the hive you could ratchet strap all the boxes together.  Store this stack outside as the frames could develop mold and/or mildew if you don't.  You can recycle the screen from the box your bees traveled to Alaska in. 

If You Had a Tough or Unsuccessful Season

If you didn't have a good season with your honeybees below are some suggestions.

-Order your bees to arrive later in April
-Be sure your hives are well insulated before hiving your bees
-Order and maintain two or more colonies as your chances of having one of them produce are better
-Be sure your sugar to water ratio is at least 1:1 in the spring
-Don't let your bees go without a water source nearby
-Don't spray chemicals or insecticides near your colonies
- Make sure your queen(s) are strong and their patterns are full (not "spotty") early in the season so if you need to re-queen your hive can still succeed.

It's Time to Get Your Honey!

Don't leave your honey in your hives any longer unless you want your bees to eat it all! 
We had a hard frost last night so at dusk, I was harvesting everything I could out of my garden.  I harvested all my sweet corn, too!  The lettuce and spinach got covered up with blankets. 
Fall is officially here and Jack Frost is back in town :(.

Amazing Year for Some First-Time Beekeepers!!

Some first-time as well as experienced beekeepers had trouble keeping their bees from freezing to death in April and May.  Others had trouble keeping their bees from swarming in June and July.  Many of my first year students have done exceptional.  Ann Johnson, Pam Nelson, Melissa Shippey, and Will and Jeremy were some of the students who had great queens, fantastic locations, and what I call a "Bee Thumb". . . Ann showed up to my queen caging demo and I found out that she was put on Earth to cage queens!!  She spotted an unmarked Italian queen in my Carniolan hive.  Then she went on to help another new beekeeper cage her queen.  Jeremy and Will have a great location along the Noyes Slough which I was impressed with.  Their bees are on top of a south-facing dirt mound where they come and go with out disturbing anyone in their yard.  Pam Nelson's queen is one I would winter over if I had the proper facilities.  She is checking into sending her bees south to have them wintered. 
Melissa Shippey's bees are near the Botanical Gardens.  They were simply, OVER THE TOP with honey.  Congratulations to all of you who've had such a successful year!!!!! 

Fall Beekeeping Tips

Wintering Bees: If you want to winter over your bees, you can contact either Steve Victors (907)892-6175 or Steve Petersen (907)457-2440.

Robbing Honey: To rob your honey, get a large Rubbermaid tote with a lid (no holes).  Set the tote several to many yards away from your hive(s).  Take one frame at a time and tap it to knock off the majority of the bees.  Then brush the remaining bees off the frame as you are walking away from the hive.  Try to get all the honey frames into the tote with very little to no bees.  Store the tote in cool, dry place.  If you can't extract right away, crack the lid on the tote to keep the honey from fermenting.  Only do this if the bees can't get to the honey.  (i.e. a basement or a garage)

Reduce Your Entrance:  If your hive is nearby, you can put your entrance reducer in at night and take it back out in the AM if it's warm enough.

Extracting Honey: I do have a manual, two-frame extractor I'm renting out for $25 per day.  It comes with a strainer, hot knife, and several scrapers.  To reserve it, just email me at sciencebasedart@yahoo.com. 

TIME MAGAZINE: THE PLIGHT OF THE HONEYBEE

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2149141,00.html