The person who sold me the two NUCS of bees called today asking how the bees were doing . I told him we could not find the queen and some of the bees looked a little lite. He said he will be sending 3 to 5 pounds for me to install. One more thing to learn how to do the news paper install, should be fun. I made this watering hole out of a large plastic bucket, some rocks to fill the bottom, laid pine straw on it . The filled it with water. used some sticks to help keep the pine straw so what out of the water. The bees love it and they stay away from my built in pool.
I have to be one of the luckiest first time beekeepers these two NUCS are so gentle that the neighbors, my family all just walk up to the hives and watch the bees, they should not stand in the flight path and don't go closer then the white fence and so far everyone has been fine , even my two boxers the older one cleio lays under the plum tree and they do not bother her.
we don't even mind that the blue birds fly and catch some of the bees for there young
I do a hive inspection every Friday afternoon We do no treatment any synthetic chemicals. I will do a bee drench, powder sugar, etc.... The bees I am using are Russian/ VSh . I would love to get some bees from the Purvis brothers in late summer ( The Golden Bee Line ) after reading about the success with this bee I want to try two.If I start two Nucs late summer.