# My silly photo test



## nursebee (Sep 29, 2003)

1. What kind of critters are in the fence?
2. If you go to the photobucket site you can click and copy on the "IMG" link and get the photo to show here.


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*Critters???*

Why thats me...(LOL) That is a bear fence, behind is a tipi pole set, to the left is a deer fence using natural materials. I live in a forest so i used what was on hand. 

I want to thank Island Mountain Farms owner for taking the photos.

Now i will try this other way, thank you Nurse Bee.

Chrissy


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*test using IMG code*


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*PF-100 frame cut with hive tool for queen cage*


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*Frames in place w/queen..add bees and feeder with screen*


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*Chrissy Shaw...fixing smoker in Shaw bee yard...end of test*


----------



## IslandMountainFarm (Feb 13, 2007)

*Island Mountain Farm Bees*



CSShaw said:


> Why thats me...(LOL) That is a bear fence, behind is a tipi pole set, to the left is a deer fence using natural materials. I live in a forest so i used what was on hand.
> 
> I want to thank Island Mountain Farms owner for taking the photos.
> 
> ...


Why thankee ma'am, it was a pleasure to visit your apiary and great fun to watch you work. Sure were gentle bees and good energy in the yard. Just for fun I'll try out this thing out and show everyone what hiving bees in the Okanogan Highlands was like 2 weeks ago. The breeze was up so I put a second hive body on as a wind break. Didn't want to start up the process with half the bees being blown into Canada. In this shot I'm making sure her nibs was well and healthy before going in to rejoin her court.


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*You and your wife handle that camera*

very well... 

Thank you again for your kind help and you, Nurse bee for telling how to get the posts up.

Chrissy Shaw


----------



## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

Thanks for sharing Chrissy.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I see tipi poles in the background...


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*Thank you George*

Yes Michael, those be tipi poles. I used dead found wood poles the first year and four feet of heavy snow sagged them, so i cut a few replacements to slow-dry in winter and i will peel them before the bark ceases. My one and only lodgepole (beetle killed most up here) is a sapling two feet tall. Like my colonies i dream of days ahead when taller will be the rule.

Notice the soalr panel as well.

Chrissy


----------



## Jesus_the_only_way (Mar 17, 2006)

Crissy,
Love those hive colors, very bright and fun. I gotta try that on some of mine.
Tom


----------



## Hobie (Jun 1, 2006)

Island Mountain... do you leave your woodenware uncoated? How does that work for you?
Beautiful country you've got up there!


----------



## IslandMountainFarm (Feb 13, 2007)

*It's even prettier today, IT'S RAINING!!!*



Hobie said:


> Island Mountain... do you leave your woodenware uncoated? How does that work for you?
> Beautiful country you've got up there!


That's an experiment, I soaked the outsides of the boxes with linseed oil. We'll see how they stand up. Actually we were so inspired by Chrissy's cavalcade of colors that my sweetie is pushing to repaint those boxes in a rainbow of colors. Chrissy's bee yard felt so good to hang out in, of course she is in forest while we are on pasture land.

I began my beekeeping days back in northeastern Ohio and I knew Erie back in the 60s. Very different country and climate from where I'm setting up shop now. You are right about the beauty, we feel very blessed to be here.

Bill


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*Your welcome Tom*

and Thank You again to Island Mountain. The colors are for aid agaisnt drifting. I am a schooled fine-artist and so i use a color theory to alter the tones and blend, allowing my sloppy nature to splatter here or there, in hopes that the Italian bees and all the queens can get an idea which one of those boxes belong to them. Thus far no real drifting problems and the queens should have a bit of brood beginning by the time the sun comes out strong this weekend. 

Packages really have a hard time of it due to the age of bee, wind, all boxes same sized, first time seeing the surroundings. There is also another factor i am looking at in package drifting and that is the quality of the units queen. Not all queens are equal, that we know, but in queen banks and packages i have noticed that given a choice, sometimes the yard will drift to one or two colonies. My thought is bees, especially the young workers, may know much better than i which queen is worthy of effort. If i become convinced that these nurse age bees can judge a queen better than i, i will figure out how to use this in selection. Would it not be amazing iif winter losses could be reduced in th mating yard rather than in your production yard in winter?

It took me years upon years to know what i knew as a hobbiest and young child, bees can tell you a wealth of information if you pay close attention to the hives and what they do.

Chrissy Shaw


----------



## dcross (Jan 20, 2003)

Now we all know your phone number


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*That would be Doug Mason's phone*

I surely would not post my phone number online, on hive etc...Doug sold me a couple of overwintered hives. 

Chrissy


----------



## beemaster (Apr 18, 2004)

*Alternative method to installing package*

I see you trying to get those bees out of the package - here is my method of installing bees, no shaking the hive, beating the box or anything that anger or damages the workers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a4a-Tw-qFI

this film is at youtube - I hope it helps the next time you deal with packages, I'm a firm believer that the least disrutption to a package the better the install goes. This works well for me and I think it may help others.


NOT SURE WHAT HAPPEN TO THE SHAKING THE PACKAGE PIC? Maybe I goofed and posted to the wrong topi - either way, this remove a screen method may be of great help to many members. Best wishes.


----------



## Chrissy Shaw (Nov 21, 2006)

*Well, i have an old computer*

But what i heard from a friend, that is a real nice way. When you do things one way for a few decades you tend to settle in to habits. When we started it was in the sixties and sunny at the end of a day at the end of an eleven hour drive and seventeen hour day, with the temp dropping and the darkness heading in i dupmed them as soon as i could. I reuse the packages to shake bees for cell building, so even though i ding a few i do nothing on purpose to damage the staples if i can avoid it. 

I have to say, those packages look just right and even before i threw the gloves on i did not get stung, nor did anyone else. I am of the opinion that there is time for yin and a time for yang and the point is balance, always balance. The most grevious error one might make is to apply human understandings to the way animals react. While if one has the time, opening a cage would be just fine and if the weather is nice and i have time i like to just pour a few bees in over the queen and set the package inside, but it would cost a queen up here. The air is thin, the temp drops like a rock and those bees were headed into a frosty night. Chi Sao...

Chrissy Shaw
Traditional Wing Chun


----------

