Spring is here and the Bees are Happy!

I took some photos of Lee Ann Hagler's bees last week. They are extremely strong hives. Lee Ann is planning to split them and add two more. She has a beautiful garden and a perfect location for her "girls". She is panting two more hives. She bought a queen at the meeting on Tuesday and wants to get the queen in the hive by Friday. I plan to help her and take photos.

I have been planting flowers and shrubs this week. Betty, one of my oldest friends gave me some Zinnias, Marigolds and Mums seeds in the fall. I shared some with my mom and started planting seed all over Sasserfrass Hill. Caren and John Bricker gave me several Devil Tongue plants, the hummingbirds love them I hope the bees will too.

Mr. Charlie said I could buy two packages of bees from him. He is picking them up this week and will deliver them on Sunday. I lost three hives this winter and it will be good to get some new girls and have bees ready for the nectar flow.

I have a lot more plants to get in the ground....I had better get a move on.

Bee Well,

Deborah

Sasserfrass Hill talks to Garden Clubs

I had one of the best days ever in the history of Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm.

I spoke to the Suburban Garden Club this afternoon. They were outside under a big tent, the weather was a perfect 72 degrees, sun peeking in and out of the clouds. The ladies were gracious, attentive and engaging, asking good questions and enjoying some laughs at the drones expense.

I had a delightful time telling everyone about my "girls". The ladies loved my photos... They told me "I was the best speaker they had ever had and my photographs were worth of National Geographic!!!" They were oh so good for the ego.!!!

I told of the benefits of eating local raw honey and of my experiences mixing up lotion bars with all natural oils, exotic butters and my wholesome beeswax. I gave out small samples lotion bars, once they felt the luscious, nourishing oils... they adored and bought them.

One of the ladies ask if I would come to Brandon Wilde to speak in May. I was excited to excepted her invitation. I look forward to spreading the word about my tiny pollinators.

I went to my Soil Sisters Garden club meeting this morning. I got a registration form for the Augusta Council of Garden Clubs Spring luncheon held at the Augusta Country Club on March 31st. Pam Beck, a freelance garden writer, lecturer and photographer from North Carolina will be the speaker. I am looking forward to meeting lots of new gardeners and making lots of valuable contacts.

A lady is coming to Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm on Thursday from Lexington, SC. She is writing a kids book on bees and beekeepers. She was given my contact information by one of the Midstate beekeepers I met last week. I am anxious to see all the possibilities this opportunity may bring.... I will let you know how that turns out.

I was on the phone with my sister and she said can you see the rainbow from your house? I grabbed my camera and ran outside... Suddenly the rain stopped and the sun broke through and out popped a beautiful rainbow...Wait ... a beautiful double rainbow. Thank you God!!!

I took all the plants out of my bee shed/greenhouse this afternoon before the rain started. They all were happy to get out and get some liquid sunshine. We are all ready to welcome the warm spring days.

I have had a long, busy as a bee, magical day.... Thank you God.!!! I am grateful. I am blessed.

Bee Bold... enough to trust your wings and fly.

Ms Deb

I got a call from Mary Louise Hagler (a master Gardener and speaker) Monday afternoon, she said she was over booked for Tuesday and ask if I would speak to a garden club in her place.

I jumped at the opportunity. I love talking to women and telling them about my tiny pollinators and all the problems they are facing. I encourage everyone to stop using so many chemicals and plant wildflowers to help feed the all the pollinators bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Carol Finch gave me several plants on Monday afternoon. We had tea and a nice visit. She is always very generous with her plants and information on how to care for them. She has a beautiful yard. She is helping me choose plants for Sasserfrass Hill the bees will love. I came home and planted them. I can only hope they will grow half as well for me as they did her.

I am updating and adding more information to http://www.sasserfrasshill.com/ website. We are busy with our spring chores, feeding the bees and working in our bee yard. I am going to have a small garden this spring and hope it will flourish and be pollinated by those cute Sasserfrass Hill "girls."

I put plastic around the bee shed and made it into a little greenhouse this winter. It did the job and most of my plants over wintered without much trouble.

I am off to put in some weed block underneath the hives and start fighting the weeds early this year.

I hope my garden grows half as well as my hardy robust weeds.

Bee Well,

Deborah

Hives Inspire Competiton, Color and Creativity!

Last Tuesday I had a great time talking and presenting my photos at Mid State Beekeepers meeting in Lexington, SC. They truly loved the photographs and made me feel great with applauds and lots of compliments. It was the largest crowd I had ever talked with as of yet. I was told it was all new beekeepers but after I arrived I found out most of the members had been beekeepers far longer than I. Great!! I was almost intimidated....but I just took a deep breath, relaxed and began showing one beautiful photos after another, along with some colorful commentary.

The next day I got an email saying Mid State was inspired by my colorful hives and was throwing down the gauntlet...They would not be out done by their Georgia neighbor. They were looking for the "World most Beautiful Hives". They encouraged members to send in photos of their beautiful hives and try to out do Sasserfrass Hill, which will be hard to do, but I welcome the competition.

I have always loved my colorful bee yard and it was great to have lots of positive feedback from other beekeepers. My colorful hives inspiring a contest and competition is pretty cool!!!

Rick and I went to the North/South Carolina State Spring Beekeepers meeting in North Carolina this weekend. I took a couple of workshops on candle and ornament making. It was so much fun and very informative. Virginia Web is an excellent speaker, she gave lots of tips on marketing your bee products outside the hive. I am energized and ready to market Sasserfrass Hill this year.

The old saying, things happen for a reason...is true. I am not sure why we had the big shake up on Sasserfrass Hill last month, but, I am anxious to see what will happen next.....

Bee Creative,

Deborah

February and temperature reach almost 80 degrees!

We have had some gorgeous weather the last few weeks in Augusta, Georgia. The sun is shinning and the bees are flying. Today is windy with gusts up to 25 mph. Bees antenna are very sensitive. They taste and smell, and the last segment on the antenna is like a wind sock and tells her wind speed and direction. Bee do not fly well in high winds. It can hurt their wings and blow her around and keep her from getting home safely.

I lost my pink hive a few weeks ago. It was doing very well going into the fall. It had about eight frames of honey. So, I think the girls froze during our last extended cold snap. It was sad to open the hive and see a entire (although small) hive dead. I took the frames and put in the freezer, in case, hive beetles or wax moths had lay ed eggs in any of the frames.

I have been working in my yards. I have been raking leaves out of my beds and into the garden. I run over them with the lawn mower so I can use them for mulch. Bulbs are springing up and crocus are in full bloom, daffodils and tulips are waking up.

I made a big batch of Lotion Bars on Wednesday and Thursday. I had several orders for Amaretto Coffee, Honey Almond, Sweet Vanilla Cream and Clean Cotton. The lotion bars smell wonderful and are made with all natural oils and exotic butters. They are nourishing, soothing and moisturizing to chapped dry skin.

I have talked to three local Garden clubs and have several more scheduled for March. I take my photos and encourage everyone to plant wildflowers and help save the bees.

Sasserfrass Hill has undergone some changes in the last month. I hope these changes will make us stronger and better beekeepers.

I will be taking the bees out of the small nucleus hive and put them into a regular hive next week. I am anxious to see all the colors back in the bee yard.

I am speaking to new beekeepers at Mid state in Lexington, SC on Tuesday. I am getting my Power Point presentation with lots of photos ready to go. This will be the first time I have spoken to new beekeepers and I am excited and a little anxious.

Rick and I are going to the North Carolina/South Carolina State Beekeepers meeting on March 4th and 5th. up in Dallas, NC I hope to get some queens from a different source. To help keep my bees as diverse as possible.

I am off to feed my "girls" and clean up the bee yard.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Snow, Ice, and Sleet hit Sasserfrass Hill

Last night about 11pm we got about two inches of snow. The winds blew up to 20pmh and it filled and closed all entrances to the bee hives. I went out early this afternoon and opened them up.

It was fun to be out in the snow but as the slush turns to ice...it will be a little tricky tonight. Schools and banks were closed today and have already been canceled for tomorrow also. It is big sheet of ice outside.

Bailey and I had lots of fun taking photos and walking through the snow. Rick and I rode around town checking out the icy situation. We must be patience until Wednesday when it warms up to 50 degrees... and the ice will be but a memory.

I went back out about 3pm and ice cycles were hanging off the hives... I hope my girls are strong enough to survive this frigid cold snap.

I am blessed...I have Stew Beef with lots of vegetables in the Crock Pot....it is smelling good....only four more hours to wait....

Bee Warm,

Ms Deb

Happy New Year !

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

201o was a very good year for Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm.

We had a year full of new adventures and we had lots of learning experiences. We extracted bees from steeples, ceilings, underneath porches, in trees and inside walls. We were successful in removing and rescuing most of the colonies and they are thriving.

We went into the fall and winter with strong well fed hives. We hope they can weather these cold nights, windy days and snow storms. If they survive we will have a great spring. We have already started to feed our girls, to make sure they don't starve.

This year we spoke to girl scout troops, home schooled kids, garden clubs, schools and church groups, about the plight of the bees and what we can all do to help. One of Sasserfrass Hills main goals is to help educated the public. We hope to raise awareness of the problems facing the all pollinators, such as pests, pesticides, loss of habitat, lack of food. We can all help by planting flowers, shrubs and trees rich in nectar and pollens.

One of my photographs was chosen for the Bee Culture magazine 2011 Beekeeping Calendar.

My photo was selected for the month of May.....the caption - "The Perfect Pastel Bee Yard."

This is my second year to make their calendar. I am honored. (I have always wanted to be a calendar girl!!!!)

Mr Charlie is continuing to perform Bee Venom Therapy with many new bee-livers. Our first patient, Erika, is continuing her weekly therapy and is doing well.

We plan to add twenty more hives this spring. So, while it is cold outside . . . we are assembling frames, painting hives and ordering more bee hardware.

We plan to sell nuc's and catch lots of swarms this spring. . . We already have several nuc's sold.

We are grateful for all our good fortune this year... 2010 blessed us with honey, health and blessings too numerous to mention. We expect 2011 will be even more eventful and exciting.

We hope you all have a wonderful, prosperous and healthy New Year!

Bee Well,

Ms. Deb

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