Preparing for the Arrival of Our Bee Colony

For those of you who don’t already know–I’m an avid gardener.  I garden using the biointensive method, companion planting, and other organic methods.  This year I am excited to be adding my first backyard beehive to my organic garden methods.
  I’ve been reading: The Hive and the Honey Bee; and I’m working on a new  a unit study at Squidoo, which, of coarse, means I’m getting my research and homework done before my bees arrive.  I’ll post a blog-entry announcing the lens’ completion and the appropriate link as soon as it’s published.

During my bee-investigations I came across this clip at YouTube (among others of more educational value–which will be displayed on said Squid-Lens).

I’m thankful to have my sister in-law (who is also my good friend) to help me prepare and tend my first colony.  She had her own colony as a youth, and is bubbling with excitement at the prospect of caring for bees again.  Today she and I, and Winter and Summer, ventured to Brewer, to Swan’s Bee Supply, to purchase several more frames, and the wax inserts, which goes into the frames for the bees to build their combs on.

We’ve been busily scraping and sanding, preparing to paint the bee-boxes; our goal being to have the hive ready to go this weekend, as our bees may come any time between May fifteenth through the twentieth.  The children all seem curious and intrigued by the idea of having a beehive in our own backyard.  They’ve even volunteered on occasion to help us work on the beehive and the frames.  I think the enthusiasm of my sister in-law and I is somewhat infectious–don’t worry, though; I don’t believe it’s fatal.