Bee-Ginning with Bees

On the second Saturday of every month, Motherhouse offers workshops focused on the mainstays of country living. a.k.a. Old Style Life Skills. Here's one participant's description of our February Bee Keeping workshop:

Phil and I helped our farmer friend, Deb Tyler, of Local Farm in Cornwall Bridge, CT with her Bee-ginning With Bees workshop this past Saturday, February 9, 2008.

Bee-ginning With Bees is one of Deb's Old Style Life Skills workshops that she does every second Saturday of the month.

This workshop was taught by Mark Moorman of Sprain Brook Apiary in Woodbury, CT and the workshop took place at the UCC Parish House in Cornwall Bridge. As you can see, I took some pictures of this workshop and even figured out how to display them here.

The first picture is of an actual hive that was overwintering. Mark took out one of the wood slots in the middle (don't know the proper term) and showed us that the bees had formed a ball in the middle of the hive to keep warm. Unfortunately, they didn't survive.

Deb hauled out two big boxes containing a hive kit and equipment for beekeeping. Mark and a young workshop participant are taking out all the various parts.










And here's the kit all put together including three smokers and a hat, the guy in the back, Norm, is looking at the gloves that also came with the kit.










Here Mark is showing how to get a smoker going. He used strips of cardboard rolled up and the end set alight then dropped in the smoker.















Phil's first puffs from the smoker.




















After we came back inside, Mark showed us how you start a hive. That box would contain the worker bees and the can at the top allows you to take out the little box with the queen and put her in the hive first while holding the other bees in the box. Then once the queen is settled, you can let the other bees in the hive.
















After lunch, Deb was ready to show folks how to make candles with bees wax. It took a lot of patience and dipping to create candles.









Stay tuned for our March 8 OSLSS workshop: a Wool Gathering where area "spin-sters" will demonstrate carding, spinning, knitting, crocheting, weaving, and felting with wool. Meet a sheep. Make your own knitting needles and try your hand at these soothing traditional arts. Join others in a pot-luck luck lunch. $35/family. For more information or to register contact debra@motherhouse.us.