Honey Beekeeper part 3

First there was Honey Beekeeper part 1, which should have sparked your interest.  Then there was Honey Beekeeper part 2, which for sure had you hooked.  Now - for part 3.

In all my planning as the Mini Preparedness grandma, I am still not sure that I am ready to take on the honey bee project.  Now, if I were about 20 years younger, I would be all over this.  I would love to know, that no matter how difficult the world gets, I would have a great supply of honey for quite some time.  And what a great negotiating item!  For now I will stick to sugar, flour and coffee for trade and hope that someone close to me is building their honey supply.

Check out this article - part 3 - by Petticoat Prepper

Your bees have been coming and going now for a week and if you’re like me you’re dying to take a look inside. Before you do however, I want to explain what’s going on inside so you’ll know what to look for and what to expect. I’m listing the bee’s jobs in the order assigned as the bee gets older.

Housekeeping – is the first job a new bee has from the moment it crawls from the cell. They clean the cell they emerge from as well as any others that need tidying up for more babies, pollen or honey.

Undertaking – the hive is a very clean environment and the most sterile in nature. During the first couple of weeks of life one of the tasks is to remove as far as possible from the hive any bee that’s died. If you sit and watch the comings and goings you’ll see a dead bee being dragged off. Sometimes the best the little bee can do is move to the entrance and push off to the ground.

Nurse bee – the young worker bee tends to her baby sisters by feeding and caring for the developing larva. On average up to 1,300 times a day for each developing bee.

Royal duty bees – because the queen isn’t able to tend to her most basic needs, she has attendants. They not only groom, feed and ‘pooper scooper’ for her; they also coax her to keep laying eggs. While she maybe queen she is a slave to her job.

Stock pile bees – these are bees inside the hive that greet the forager bees and take the nectar and pollen from them. They deposit the nectar or pollen in the designated comb cell. If nectar they add an enzyme and fan to evaporate moisture to turn it into honey. Both honey and pollen are food for the colony.

Fanner bees – workers take turns cooling the hive and reducing the humidity. You may see during honey flow or high heat days a line of bees at the entrance facing the hive. They will be fanning their wings drawing cooler air into the hive and others inside will fan to move it through the hive. They also have a gland that releases a pleasant sweet odor into the air. You may be able to smell it as you approach. This signals the bees an orientation scent to help them find their home.

Builder bees – these are the bees that make the wax and draw comb.

Guard bees – these are the bees at the entrance to the hive. You’ll know who they are if you sit and watch for a bit. Every returning bee will check in with the guards before entering. If a bee from another hive were to try to gain entrance the guard would fight and kill them.

Forager bee – these are middle aged bees. You’ll see them hovering up and down and side to side in front of the hive to orient before taking off to find food. This is the most dangerous job in the colony. Aside from maybe being eaten by a bird, they must visit about 5 million flowers to produce one pint of honey. And they will forage a two to three mile radius from the hive in search of provisions. They literally work themselves to death, you see them returning with torn wings and battered bodies but they keep at it until the very end of life.

The Drone – the only males in the colony! There are only about 100 in the entire colony of probably 60,000 bees. His only purpose is to mate with the queen. Now before you guys cheer him on, come fall when the weather cools and mating season is over…the girls toss them out to die :-( .

The Queen – She controls the hive. She lays eggs to keep the colony alive and if needed signals half the colony to swarm away with her.

So now you know who’s who on the playing field. Let’s go over what you’ll be looking for on each inspection.

Repeating the prep on shower, outfit, smoker and tools grab your one frame you took out when you hived your bees and head to the girls. Let them know you’ve arrived by giving a few puffs of smoke at the entrance. Then after a minute, pry the telescoping lid up and give a couple of puffs of smoke there and close the lid. Wait a minute before removing the lid. Carefully, lay it on the ground inside up. Now a puff or two of smoke through the hole of the inside cover. Gently pry the cover up and lay it across the up turned lid.

If the girls are still topside drift a bit more smoke over the frames and into the hive. This will make them think there’s a fire and they will busy themselves by gobbling provisions in case they need to bug out. Position the frame holder on one side of the hive and place the frame you brought back there. Take hold of the queen’s cage and gently slide the frames so you can remove the queen cage. Have they eaten the marshmallows and is she out? If she’s out ….yippee! If not go ahead and release her. If you have to release the queen then slide all the frames to one side and add the frame you brought back. Position the frames together and evenly space from the super on the end frames. Replace the two lids and wait a week to check for the information below. Your queen needs time to work.

If your queen was released you want to slide the frames to one side and start checking each frame; both sides of foundation. You’re looking for drawn comb and eggs and larva. The eggs will look rather like a very small piece of rice in the middle of each honeycomb cell. You only want to find one per cell. If you’ve two then the queen may have left/died and you’ve a laying worker and will need to re-queen right away. It’s the same procedure as installing the first queen; other than the bees are already in the hive.

While you work your inspection listen to the girls. There should be a gentle hum from them, happy busy bees. If you hear them start to rev up, stop and look at them. Are they lining up and looking at you? If they are then they’re becoming upset with you. Give them a bit more smoke to calm them down. I always carry my lighter and additional smoker fuel just in case. Sometimes it seems I can’t keep the smoker going and have to relight it or I take too long and need to refuel.

They will start working on drawing comb and laying eggs in the middle frames and work their way out. You want to check the egg pattern of your queen. There should be few cells she’s missed and there should be pollen and honey/nectar around the perimeter although not so much the first week.

Remove each frame, shift the lower edge slightly towards you so you can see the surface of the foundation but not so much that the nectar drips out. Then to view the other side, raise your left arm straight up so the top of the frame is straight up and down, then turn the frame to show the other side (rather like turning a book page)and lower your arm again. You have to keep the foundations fairly straight or any nectar will fall out. The dummies book has a good picture in it. When you pull the frame out of the hive the wood top will be on top of the foundation and when you flip it to view the other side it will be on the bottom. Reverse the procedure to right the frame and replace in the super. Each frame goes back in the same spot you took from. Work over the hive in case the queen is on the frame you pulled to check, she may jump off to hide and you don’t want to drop her in the grass as she may not be able to find her way home.

Later in the season you can move the far outside frames one or two spaces towards the middle to encourage them to draw comb but never move to the center of the hive.

Try to find the queen as you work through the hive. If you can’t find her but see eggs then you know she was there at least two days ago. She’s hard to find especially if you’re looking through a full colony of 60,000 bees. If you have a queen that has a bad laying pattern, lots of skipped cells then you might want to dispose of her after acquiring a new queen.

Once you’ve checked all the frames gently slide them as a single unit back across the super and re-add the one frame you removed last week. Every week check your bees for eggs, larva and brood. Here’s a photo I found on one website http://www.arkive.org/honey-bee/apis-mellifera/image-A22601.html of eggs, larva, and capped brood. As the season progresses you also want to check for pollen and honey stores. Smoke them once more and replace the inner and telescoping cover. Check the food jar and top up as needed.

Part four will cover adding supers for the colony, propolis and how to off-set swarming.

Mini Preparedness #6

Did I ask before, in a past post, if you are bored of the list for Mini Preparedness?  I don’t remember for sure.  There you go - one of the reasons that I make lists.  I do forget at times.  There are times that I think that with age, I forget things and I use the list for security.  But, I have been making list since I was in my teens.  I do know that I feel a little pleasure in checking items off my lists.  I review them on a regular basis to see what I need and what coupons I have.  And I regularly come across new items that I want to have in storage, so it needs to go on a ‘list’.  With that said -  let’s look at some of the odds and ends that you would find in your kitchen that would be nice, if not essential to have in your emergency list. 

This list is not one with recommended amounts.  Depending on your personal situation, you will make that determination.   I will tell you that some are multi – purpose and will never go bad.  Some will last a very long time with proper storage, I use a Food Saver, so why not have plenty.  Most are not expensive items. 

Salt – this is a good thing to have, not just for seasoning but because if you get into a situation where people are becoming dehydrated because of a lack of water, it could be a life saver.  I have numerous containers of salt in my house because I use it to set color in many bright fabrics.  Another use, for when camping of just setting food up in an outdoor area, is to repel some of those pesky insect that are crawlers, such as ants, centipedes and scorpions.  It is not like they will not crawl across the salt but they usually will not.   If you save some cans the size of a small tuna can or a cat food can, you can place these under the legs of tables and even play pens or cribs.  Then add about a half inch of salt and know that your food is a little safer and maybe your babies tool   AND – salt never goes bad as long as it is kept dry.

Sugar – again this is one of those items that is more for pleasure than a need.  Think of the item you could make with a little extra of this item.  Also is a good bartering item if we are looking at a long term emergency.    This item – kept dry, will also last forever. 

Flour – no brainer here.  Make some camp fire biscuits or coffee cake, with any leftover fruit if you desire.  And item that if sealed well, can last a very long time.  I get 5 pound bags, leaving the flour in the sealed bag, and use the Food Saver to take most of the air out.   More than anything, I am keeping bugs and water out.  Always great for the barter power also.

Artificial sweetener - totally random item that is purely unnecessary but could be a nice treat for some and it takes up so little space.

Baking soda – the obvious exist here.  If you are lucky enough to be able to do a little stove top or over baking, this will be needed.  But look at the other possibilities.  If someone get a rash or a bite and the itch just won’t go away, this makes a perfect paste to relieve the irritation.  Minor burns that do not blister but hurt, or sunburn, will benefit for a little dusting of baking soda.  Because I use it in my refrigerator to help eliminate odors, I always have an extra few boxes around.  Come to think of it, order eliminating may be a nice think to have around if you are having to use a make shift bathroom in your back yard. 

Basic spices – totally for personal enjoyment and to help you not feel like you are being totally deprived.  Taste is such a satisfying sense.  If you are having a really lousy day, a bowl of soup with some good spices may relax you a bit more that beans that are lonely fulfilling nutritional needs.   I went through my cabinet and checked for my most often used spices and came up with pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, season salt, Italian seasoning, bay leaves and vanilla.  I pick these up at a dollar store so it is not a big cost and takes up little room.

Baking powder – just if you think that you may be doing that baking on the stove top again, it is helpful.

Dehydrated shitake mushrooms – Costco carries a large container of these for a reasonable price that I am not sure of at this time. These are amazing for the flavor and the nutritional content. It only takes a short time of soaking in water and you have fresh mushrooms, right about the time you think that there is nothing fresh to be had.  When stored in a Food Savor bag, these will last for years.  I know this for a fact since that is the way I store them.  

Small packets of assorted sauce and mixes – I have salad dressings, sloppy joe, chili, teriyaki, taco, bbq, guacamole, herb, enchilada, Asia pork stew, gravies, Cajun, fish, sweet and sour, and a few more.  I don’t have a lot of these, but they take up so little space, why not indulge if you can. All of these only need water or oils are needed to reconstitute. 

If I am in a tight situation and life is more stressful than I could ever imagine (and people around me are feeling the same), I’ll be damned if I am going to deprive myself of some flavor, if I can help it. 

Seeds – and I am not talking the kind to grow in the garden.  I am talking the kind that will give you fresh greens, quickly and easily.  This subject deserved its own post a few days ago.  Link here.  

Olive oil – like most items that do not have a huge shelf life and you cannot extend it by sealing, I just keep an extra bottle in the back of the cabinet and rotate.  

Coconut oil – as mentioned in an earlier post, this is an amazing item.  Fantastic for your health, to cook with (at low temps) and if you have a skin condition (or just want to stay moist) this will do the trick.  Like all oils, it is on the shelf with one extra. 

HONEY – this is so important.  I know that many people use this to add a little sweet to their oatmeal, tea or coffee, but it is so good for you.  We will all need to concentrate on consumption of antioxidants when times are tough.  Best of all, it will NEVER go bad.  So have plenty.  

Peanut butter – it’s energizing, and can be easily eaten straight or with that honey.  It has a good shelf life but I still keep it on the shelf with a couple extras for back up.

Popping corn – not that fancy microwave stuff but a bag or two of good ole’ popping corn.  You can pop it in a fry pan in just a matter of minutes.  Stir it around in a bowl with a little peanut butter and honey and you pretty much have a meal.  Popping corn is easiest sealed if you leave it in the original bag.

Vinegar – other than Easter eggs dye, there are so many uses for vinegar.  You can sooth the sting of a sunburn, cut and scrape.  You can also use for disinfecting items like toothbrushes and table tops.  There are many more and you can find some of them by clicking here. 

There you go with yet another list.  I know that there are items that I have missed and items on this list that are completely unnecessary.  But, these are only suggestions and items that I have decided to have in my personal stash.  

Good luck with your gathering and please don't put off starting and building your secure future.   

Mini Preparedness # 4

In Mini Preparedness #3, I made a list of the main meal type items that I keep in stock for my plan;  that would be  10 people for 30 days.  As mentioned in the past, that is all I can handle planning for at this time.  Tho it may not be perfect, it is better than doing nothing because I can't afford to stock up, or because I just can't fathom a larger degree of preparation.

I only made a list of main proteins, and now it is time to add in all the sides that will keep us fed, content and easy to save and store.  One of the most important things to remember when you are stocking up on these items is expiration dates.  Items that have moisture in them will be the first to go bad.  Think about that when making your own list.  Also, dried items are easily sucked into a plastic bag, with a Food Saver, that will help and greatly expand they longevity.  More about the Food Saver later.

Here's a bit of the list that I have for my 'side dishes', for 10 people x 30 days.

4 pounds of instant mashed potatoes - this makes about 35 cups of
     potatoes.  This is one of those items that take very little cook
     time, saving fuel.  I may consider obtaining another 4 pounds.
     You can make potato pancakes from these for a nice change.
     In their dry form, you can  preserve them with you Food Saver
     and they will last for years and take up very little space.
4 pounds of minute (or quick) rice.  I have this in a variety of white,
     brown and speciality rices.  Quick cooking makes it easy and
     saves your fuel supply.  Rice will  be great alone and with many
     additives.  I will, eventually, add some great recipes that you can
     make from the items on my list.  Once again, perfect for the
     Food Saver and will last for years.
40 packages of ramen noodles.  If it didn't take up so much space, I
     would have 4 times this amount.  Great in so many ways and can be
     saved for years.
10 boxes of stove top type stuffing mix.  This takes up a lot of space
     if left in the box.  I remove the contents, cut the instructions off
     the boxes, and put the contents of many boxes in a bag for saving.
     What a great and filling little side dish.
6 pounds of pasta.  I buy the smaller sizes of noodles since they are
     the quickest to cook.  Suck these into the bags for preservation
     that will last years.
8 cans or jars of pasta sauce.  For obvious uses.
50 cans or jars of vegetables.  I get a variety to satisfy everyone.
     these are on my shelves and use and replenished on a regular
     basis.
50 cans or jars of fruit.  The lack of fresh fruits will be pretty
     depressing so this is really important.  The kids will especially
     appreciate these items.

15 packets of powdered sauces.  With just a little water and heat,
     you can have sauces to add to your pasta for a more complete
     meal.
15 packets of powdered gravys.  Again, just a little water and heat
     and you can transform something boring to something delicious.
15 packets of powdered cheese sauce.  You can imagine how many
     uses you have for this.  Pasta to eggs to meats - and more.

Well, there you have it.  That is just the basics.  I have a number of other items that are tucked away just for the variety. When I find bargains on other side items, I pick them up, so long as the expiration is reasonable*.  Another important fact to remember here is to only get items that you can use within the expiration time, even if there is not an emergency reason to use them.  I share my items with my kids and rotate items out every summer to keep things fresh.

I feel a bit over whelmed with the lists that I share.  And there are many more to do.  I have drinks, snacks, spices, tools, medications - you know what I mean.  But, these are all items that will never be a waste if you rotate them in your daily supply properly.  Check back soon for more info.

* I can not stress enough how important it is to be totally aware of expiration dates.  Many dates are pretty bogus but some really mean what they say.  No one wants to waste their money on items that will end up in the garbage.  Spend the time, while in the store, to read the dates.  Reach to the back of the shelves to find the freshest items.  Check a variety of brands; some have a longer shelf life than others.  Also, consider ordering on line for larger packages that are reasonably priced and, since they are sold nation wide, they may be fresher from the start.

Mini Preparedness # 3

You can certainly tell by now that this is going to be an on going series.  As over whelmed as I am with my planning for mini preparedness, you could also be.  So, I will continue with small post and small list of items that I have found to great for proper preparedness.

As I have posted before, I am only planning on a basis of 30 days for 10 people and a few dogs.  There's not 10 people living at my home but I have a daughter who lives fairly close by, with a house full of kids and a few dogs.  I am planning, loosely, for *10.

I covered breakfast type foods in my last post, so I thought I would go to other meals.  I really want to call it lunch, just to keep my mind organized, but I realize that it would be just a joke to attempt to separate what people eat during a lunch or dinner type time.  So, this is going to be a some what longer list, that would cover both of these type meal situations.  I guess the list isn't going to be a lot longer, just more items required.  And in this post, I am only going to cover
protein. 

When watching shows like The Colony, which I found entertaining, interesting, and somewhat educational, it seemed that the groups were always in search of protein.  You will find a variety of proteins on my list that I would never eat on a daily basis.  I rarely eat meat and when I do, it will be fish or occasionally chicken.  We will all have a huge diet change when things get desperate.  Believe me, I will go as long as possible maintaining my regular diet.  A huge change would only case a person's health to be compromised.  Keep that in mind when you are making your own list.

Meats -

30 cans of tuna - since I eat a lot of tuna, I just
     keep this on my shelf and rotate with use.
 30 cans of chicken or turkey - again, I keep this
     on my shelf so that it is rotated and does not
     expire.  costco has a great deal on canned
     meats.  If you get close to your expiration
     date, you can always use these to make tacos
     or exchiladas.   
10 cans of sardines - assorted flavors. 
20 cans of beef - I also keep this on the shelf
     tho I only use it when I have company over.
     With the veggies I have in the freezer, I can
     always throw together a little beef stew in
     just minutes.  

10 jars of dried meat - I have very little use for this but I know that
     when push comes to shove, this will be nice for those who are in
     need of a protein kick.  I would go with jerky but the shelf life is
     longer.
10 packages of jerky - I know I just said that I use dried meat in
     place of the jerky but I have one grandson who loves jerky and
     keeps this rotating for me.  10 packages is safe for me.
10 packages of shelf bacon - this is not an inexpensive item. The only
     time I ever use this is when I vacation with my grand daughters
     (I do a lot of this and on a budget too!).  A couple of them love
     the bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches and  this travels well.
     Again, it is useful if you have people drop by unexpectedly. If you
     are a lover of bacon, you may check you local stores for canned
     bacon.  I believe it can be found and the drippings will be nice for
     a pot of beans.
5  packages of real bacon bits - Again, Costco has a great deal on
     these.  It is real bacon and you uses are endless; beans, salads,
     sandwiches, in eggs, etc.

Other proteins for meals -

30 pounds of beans - think I am crazy?  A pound a day is not too
     much for 10 people.  And - if things got too desperate, I would
     feed beans, with some rice, to any of the dogs.  Yeah - it may
     be a good idea to have the dogs sleeping outside, but it will fill
     their bellies.
     There are so many ways to fix your beans that you will feel like it
     is a different meal each day.  You can add in salsa, veggies, rice,
     potatoes, and the list goes on and on.  And, there are ways to fix
     your beans to make them a bit less 'gassy' for those who worry
     about that situation.   Click here to check out that little tip.
     Back to the beans - I have 20 pounds of pinto. They are available
     in bulk in many 'healthy eating' type stores and discount stores.
     Costco has large bags that will keep you at just pennies a pot.
     I also have a variety of other beans.  Great White Northerns are
     nice and also the packages of 'mixed beans' will make a well
     rounded assortment.
10 packages of instant beans - now you are thinking that this is 'bean
     over kill'.  Possibly so.  I have to take into account that  I may not
     have additional people show up.  If that were to happen, then
     having these small packages will be perfect.  I also use these when
     I go camping.  No refrigeration needed and simple and quick.
1  package of powdered soy milk - this is not the easiest thing to find
     but well worth the search.
5 cans of soy beans (edamame beans). This is not an item you will
    always find in you local grocery store.  But, it can be found in
    stores such as Sprouts and Trader Joe's.
1 pound of powdered yogurt - this is a great item for protein but
     the main reason I have this is for health reasons.  If, which is
     bound to happen, someone gets sick and just can't get their
     stomach back in shape, it could be that a little yogurt is going
     to be perfect to aid in that.  When finances allows, I may invest
     in a couple more packages of this.  It is always good to use when
     making  salad dressings and puddings.

I had already mentioned, in the earlier post called Mini Preparedness #2, that we should have a stock of powdered milk, powdered eggs and pancake mix.  All of these are also great for protein.

At this point, that kind of covers the proteins.  I will be back to fill in the gaps next week, if not sooner.  Even if you are a person who avoids carbs in your diet, you may need some of these if in an emergency situation.

* In the beginning of this post, I mentioned that I am planning for 10.  I feel I need to mention this one thing here.   Most serious preppers say that when an emergency hits, you should stay where you are, with the exception of an act of Mother Nature heading in your direction, that you could avoid by moving.  But, if there is ever another 911 or other such event, peoples reactions will be very unpredictable.  Many may panic and act irrationally.  The roads may not be a safe place to be.

Then there are people, like one of my daughters, who believes that there is safety in numbers.  She said she can be out of her house in less than 10 minutes and to my home in less than 30.  As long as she acts quick, she should be safe.  And I do live in a fairly safe area when it comes to almost every situation.

The moving thing is not what I would recommend for everyone.  Every situation will be different.  You, as a family, need to make a plan on what you would do for every possible situation.  That way, if something happens, you are not attempting to make these important decisions in a panic.

Make a plan - share with your family - write it down if it helps.

Mini Preparedness #2 - Breakfast

While making my list for food items to have tucked away, I start with breakfast items.  This may seem totally obscure to you since, at some point, all food matters.  Let me tell you my thoughts here.

When things get tough, and it will be tough if you are eating your emergency food source, it may help all in your group to keep life feeling about as normal as possible.  Thus, let's just keep our list in the order of our usual daily consumption.  Breakfast first.  Plus, we gotta start someplace and keep our list simple, so this is an easy way to accomplish this..

Breakfast - for myself and about 10 others - for about 30 days.

Box of Quaker Quick Oats - some may like regular oats for oatmeal
     but when you want to use minimal fuel, this may be better.
    
60 - 80 Packages of flavored oatmeal - again, this is quick and simple,
     using minimal fuel.
Powdered eggs - ideally, for a group of 10, you would want about 200
     eggs.  This will allow for quite a few meals and a few left over for
     use in other meals.
Powdered milk - depending on the number of children in your group,
     this amount will be different in each group.  I would want to make
     about 3 gallons a week.  Even a bit more.  With the dried type, you
     can make small amounts that will not be needing refrigerated.
Instant coffee
Regular coffee - nice to have; great if the weather is cold; and if this
     were to turn into a longer issue, coffee is a great barter item.
Tea bags
Hot cocoa - instant type.  This is especially great if you have kids
     involved.  A little soothing drink will be helpful.
Sugar substitute - those little packages take very little space when
     you use a food saver before storage.
Sugar - another great barter item.
Creamer - powder type - don't be shy about this one.  Even if you
     don't use it for coffee, it could turn a soup into a nice, creamy
     treat.
Pancake mix - the complete type - this simple mix has milk and egg in
     the mix.  All you add is water.  Great assortment all in one mix.
     When push comes to shove, you could be creative with this item
     and make it into small snacks, a substitute for bread to hold
     sandwich items.  And - add a little sugar topping for a pick me up.
     One more possibility - pack away a bit of flavored mix for a nice
     surprise.

Syrup - this is not an essential but it would be nice to have, plus
     you could use it as a sweetener in your coffee, tea and even
     oatmeal and cereal.  This is one of those items that I just keep
     the extra on the shelf so I rotate it on a regular basis.  
Tang - powder drink mix - this drink will store easily and contains
     a bit of extra vitamins.  Tang is now available in sugar free.
Oils - for cooking - A diet lacking in essential fats is very bad;  oil
      is necessary for health and cooking convenience.
     Coconut oil has a great shelf life ( 5-7 years) and contains
     fantastic anti-oxidants.  I would also consider good ole'
     fashion Crisco if you can find it in a metal canister.  This product
     has a shelf life of over ten years.  One more to think about would
     be olive oil.  Another item that has great health benefits but
     since the shelf life is much shorter, you would want to rotate this
     one a regular basis.     
Meat - this is an item that many will miss if not included on a regular
     basis.  I have seen jars of thin sliced meats that could be easily
     incorporated into your morning meal.  There are also small and
     large cans of ham or hash.  Consider these but keep track of the
     expiration dates.

I think that is a fairly complete list for the day's beginning.  I am sure everyone will come up with other items they desire.  I just hope this will give you some ideas that you may not have thought of.