# Takin' It On The Road.



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Heading to SC now. Wish me well.


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## Kingfisher Apiaries (Jan 16, 2010)

Hope you have a flat, no just kidding. Hope all goes well. Will be praying for you. 
I have a busy next week. Making up a ton of nucs (almost in the literal sense), feeding, making queens, etc. 

mike


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

My birthplace! Tell everyone I say hello! Bees going with you?


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

His bees are already here. We will take him out to eat one night. He has a real desire for southern BBQ... so your "Moderator" will be well fed.


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## jdpro5010 (Mar 22, 2007)

Have a safe trip!


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## RiodeLobo (Oct 11, 2010)

Safe Travels.


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

Wish I was goin' somewhere warmer. Have a safe and enjoyable trip. John


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## BeehindtheHive (Apr 29, 2010)

A hearty welcome to you in advance. The weather is supposed be gorgeous this weekend.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Well Mike. I guess your prayeres worked so far. I haven't had a flat yet. But the turbo may have blown out. I hope that's all it is. I got just 20 miles North of Harrisburg when BAMM!!, smoke out the tail pipe and loss of power. Pulled over to the side of Rt 81 and called for help.

The truck is in a Heavy Truck Garage in Bethel, PA. If I am lucky they'll find a Ford Dealer w/ parts available. Otherwise it'll be Monday before I can get back on the road. If what is wrong is simple and repairable.

Should of gotten rid of that truck the first time it blew the oil cooler and EGR valve.


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

You are to far North and East of me for me to know any reliable parts sources nearby. 

Ich mitfühlen Sie und Gott gehen mit du.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Watch yer language Scrapfe, children may be reading here.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Good news may be following bad news. The guy who gave me a ride from the garage last night has a turbo that fits my truck. It has 80,000 miles on it, costs $400.00 and is available right now. Compared to a new one at $1,000.00 and not available until Monday at the earliest. The Tow Truck Driver/Owner and Mechanic think the way I do, which is to go w/ the used one. Which will get me on the road quicker.

I'm going to get to work replacing this truck asap.


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## Kingfisher Apiaries (Jan 16, 2010)

You need a chevy. 

mike


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Heh,heh. Good one. What do you recommend and why? There aren't alot of truck dealers in trhe North Country to begin w/, let alone Chevy Truck Dealers. But I'm listening.

I'm also wondering why I should have a deisel w/ all of the problems I've had and the price of fuel. Gas enginers, these days, are built to last a cpl 100,000 miles, aren't they? Seems like they aught to last until the thing is paid for. I'd love a truck that would last that long. Actually one that would last twice that long would be nice. But the manufacturers probably don't see it that way.

Maybe I need a bigger truck? Or would that just mean bigger repair bills?


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Bummer Mark..... but glad it was fairly small $$.

I agree to the bigger truck. I am shopping for one
next fall. (new to me is 200k miles.).

Personally I'd stick with a diesel commercial truck.
With bigger trucks the fuel efficiency helps close
the per gallon gap it seems to me.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

If we can do anything for you... just let me know... you got my number.

I guess a YATT is coming (Yet Another Truck Thread). Few things seem to inspire more opinionation (sp), unless its bobcats...swingers..etc.

Bee Careful.


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

mark
we got back from sc two days ago. bees are working and looking good. lot better than last year. hope you got back on the road ok. remember to let truck idle five minutes before shutting off. good luck


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Sundance said:


> With bigger trucks the fuel efficiency helps close
> the per gallon gap it seems to me.


That's one reason I got into this truck. Friends were getting 16 plus mpg w/ theirs. But I have never gotten better than 10 and mostly 8 or 9. Which sucks. Wrong gear ratio, supposedly.

I have a friend who has a Cabover Freightliner 10 wheeler and he gets the same fuel economy. But he can haul more at once. I just figure if it's a bigger truck everything will be bigger, economically.

I'll let you know Herb. Thanks. You know what, that Southern Hospitality can be found righht next to the Canadian Border too. If ya know what I mean.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

beeware10 said:


> mark, remember to let truck idle five minutes before shutting off. good luck


Thanks beeware10. Mine looked good 3 wks ago too. Looking forward to too much work.

I never heard that before. What's the thinking behind that? Especially after long trips? Or everty time I drive?


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

I am thinking Freightliner (or the like).

My Chevy 1 ton gets 12 mpg and really can't
haul what I'd like. I can't even consider pulling
the bobcat with a load on any distance anyway.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

The letting it idle is great advise. Especially when
the turbos been working hard. The idling will cool
it down a lot and cut down on coking. I let mine
idle before kicking it too.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

"coking"? Man, what I don't know. Maybe that's what is killing my truck.

I don't recall reading anything in the owners manual about a cool down period. Why didn't anyone tell me. None of the number of mechanics I have seen mentioned anything like that. Did they just assume I knew? Or are there too many things I'm supposed to know for them to tell me about?


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

mark
the reson for idle time is to let the turbo cool down. all the exhaust goes thru one side of it and it spins thousands of rpm's. if it is shut off too quick the oil for bearings is evaperated(wrong term) and will cause premature turbo failure. this is the biggest cause of turbo problems. the bearings end up running dry. ask the mechanic about it. again good luck


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Thanks, I will. Since this isn't a new turbo by any means, 80k, I don't need to drive any differently, do I.

Was running 75mph at 3,000 rpms what caused the turbo to go? Or the previous 125,000 plus miles use? Time for a new turbo anyway?


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

sqkcrk said:


> That's one reason I got into this truck. Friends were getting 16 plus mpg w/ theirs. But I have never gotten better than 10 and mostly 8 or 9. Which sucks.


Yes that does. My gas V10 gets 12 mpg loaded up with a 4:10.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

I am guessing you haul a pretty good load?? Commercial
truck are just better at hauling. More torque, etc. And
are designed to run 500K easily. As important are the
trany's.

Turbo bearings are the failure point usually. Super
high RPM and high heat are hard on bearings.

Here's a good tidbit on coking and the idle issue. Even
30 seconds of idling will reduce coking big time.

I do the "no turbo" slow down for several miles after
a long cruise in addition to idle. Not a big hassle for
a lot of peace of mind.

Excerpt:

*Best practice* to ensure that your turbo lasts is to cruise at low RPM where no boost pressure is created for the last *15 minutes* of your journey to let the turbo cool down properly. Some people suggest that you let the engine *idle for 30 seconds* before turning off the engine, or install a turbo timer to automate the task, but the oil pressure at idle speeds is too low to provide sufficient lubrication. You need at least 1,500 RPM for enough oil pressure to ensure that the bearings and shaft receives sufficient lubrication while the turbo cools down. It is for this reason that we do not recommend installing a turbo timer. You should also change the engine oil every *2,000 miles*, and use a *high-quality, synthetic, straight viscosity* oil. These three simple things will ensure that you prolong the life of your turbo and that you never need worry about coked up turbo bearing failure again. 

http://www.custom-car.us/turbo/lubrication.aspx


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Kinda on your way..... (beds a bit small though)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FREI...5426?pt=Commercial_Trucks&hash=item3f07eeba52


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

That 3126 Engine has proved to be a tough one for us. But it is kinda hard to believe a 2000 Freightliner could only have 15K miles on it....


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## Bsweet (Apr 9, 2010)

Alot of folks get a truck that "should be plenty for what I need" and then wonder why it wears out so quick.The problem is they buy a pick up and not a truck. I like to buy more TRUCK than I need, if you buy a 10,000 lb payload trk. and haul 10,000 lbs that truck is GOING TO WORK at it but if you buy a 15,000 payload trk and haul 10,000 lbs its alot easer on the truck and should meen less wear and tear and even better MPG. When you have more truck than you need the brakes wont overheat as quickly,more HP to spare and and less effort at highway speeds.I ran a GMC TOPKICK tank truck GVW 25.9K tare wt. 11.6K which left me 14.3K possible for payload but due to the tank size(1300 gal)the best I could do was 10.4 K, the truck ran 6 days a week and around 7000 miles a month and cost me less in maint than a 1 ton ran right at max GXW 5 days a weekand around 2000 miles a month. Jim


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

Sorry to hear about your problem.....but diesels breaking is what has fed my family for nearly 30 years  Just to clarify, turbos do not have bearings, none made that can withstand the speed at which they spin, they run on bushings with an oil slinger (no seal can stand up to it either) Actually they run on a thin layer of oil. Your turbo will have a waste gate if you can turn 3000 RPM, if the waste gate failed (it bypasses exhaust gases so the turbo doesn't over speed) it would quickly cause total turbo failure. The idle period on the engine is to let the turbo slow down as much as it is to cool it down, when you kill the engine right away it stops the flow of oil to the turbo which is still spinning fast......and that = much wear to the bushings. Wish I was there to hook you up and hope you get going soon. 

No you do not need to drive differently, without seeing it I can not say what caused it to fail but would lean toward a waste gate problem, I have trucks at work with the original turbo's in them with over 600,000 miles on them.


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

Sundance: that excerpt must be talking about a turbo on a car because none of that applies to a diesel. For instance at 1500 rpm you WILL have boost, there is more than enough oil pressure at idle for a turbo on a diesel in fact pressure is not the main concern when it comes to a turbo, volume is (an ISM Cummins runs 35-40 psi @ idle) just consider how many hours semi's sit and idle @ truck stops. and I would never change oil in a diesel that often, in the afore mentioned engine we change oil every 20,000. I would go with the manufactures recommended interval on a pick-up.


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

sqkcrk said:


> ... engin...s, these days, are built to last a cpl 100,000 miles, aren't they?


They always did last for a couple 100,000 miles, but in the past when the used car dealers got through shaving the mileage off the trade-ins they had knocked 140,000 miles off the clock. It only looked like car and truck engines lasted for only 60,000 miles then. About the late 80s or early 90s, (I think it was), the feds put everyone in Albertville, and Boaz, Alabama not in the grave yards in jail for odometer fraud. That is when vehicles started lasting longer. 

When I retired, owners of new trucks still wanted to buy used odometers and ECMs (computers) from me so they could run their trucks on my hardware and keep their original parts in storage in case they needed or wanted a repair under warranty.

BTW, Be sure your wrench makes sure the oil delivery line and the oil return line to and from you turbo is clean as a whistle, and change the oil and filter before you get on the road again. Anytime after extended or heavy use let a Diesel engine idle 5 minutes to cool down the oil and the turbo bearings before you kill the engine. This is very important. Anyway, at an idle a Diesel uses so little fuel you will swear it is making fuel.

I don't think you will like the fuel consumption rate on a gas burner.


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## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

Does dbest still have his nice lookin honey sled avail.....???


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

As of 2/23 he still had it forsale... cummins engine too.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

NasalSponge said:


> Sundance: that excerpt must be talking about a turbo on a car because none of that applies to a diesel. For instance at 1500 rpm you WILL have boost, there is more than enough oil pressure at idle for a turbo on a diesel in fact pressure is not the main concern when it comes to a turbo, volume is (an ISM Cummins runs 35-40 psi @ idle) just consider how many hours semi's sit and idle @ truck stops. and I would never change oil in a diesel that often, in the afore mentioned engine we change oil every 20,000. I would go with the manufactures recommended interval on a pick-up.


I get it..... I was just using it to explain coking. I should have
done more of a cut and paste. I still do the no spool up cool 
down and idle with all 3 of my diesels. And yes, I never would
change oil that often.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

240 miles farther down the road. No problems so far. But every little sound, even from the radio, worried me.

Thanks for all of the support and advice.


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

Sundance, Sorry if that came off snotty or something, didn't mean to at all!!


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Not at all NS, not taken that way at all.


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

If your puffer (turbo) bearings goes south, there will be millions of tiny steel specks circulating in your engine oil. It is imo better to remove these particles than to allow them to file away at your internal engine parts.

My Super Duty will get about the same fuel mileage either loaded or unloaded, does your’s?

Sundance, check on a F450 or F550.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Right you are Scrapfe. The Repairman told me that they flushed the cooling system and changed the oil too. Road test showed engine smoking and low power. Found dirt in EGR valve. Removed it. Reinstalled the EGR valve.

Should I get a new one when I have my 127,500 mile service done in a cpl weeks?

Yes, pretty much the same fuel economy loaded and pulling a loaded trailer as it does empty. Not much dif, if any. It's been a long time since I have done the math.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Arrived alive. Truck running well. I never noticed that whurring sound before. When I stopped at three yards to drop off equipment I left the truck running at idle while I unstrapped the equipment and the loader. Then, standing outside the door, I shut the engine off and heard a fan like sound for a quarter of a minute or so. Was that the turbo? Is it supposed to sound like that?

Didn't open any hives, but flight looked good. Bringing in pollen. Will get into some hives tomorrow and start raising up brood for nucs.


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

I thought you must be having better luck, as there were no posts today. maybe your bad luck is over. we have lots of supers on and will not go down until mid apr to split. plan on making about 130 nucs. looks like you have good weather for working. good luck


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## Spark (Feb 24, 2011)

If you have heavy duty cooling on the truck it could be the fan ( or secondary) continuing to run to help cool down the radiator


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

Spark said:


> If you have heavy duty cooling on the truck it could be the fan ( or secondary) continuing to run to help cool down the radiator


Remember a turbo under load may run at tens of thousands of RPMs. Could be a little turbo run on. I would think that your truck had a HD fan clutch, the kind you can hear or even feel kick in or out depending on engine temperture, speed, and road speed. When this type of fan clutch engages it sounds like a banshee moaning. 

I don't see a Super Duty having an electric cooling fan. I could be wrong, stuff happens and things change. 

The engine or heater/AC fan may be running on after shut down, and you're noticing it now, or you could have a fan belt idler or tension pulley not quite snug enough. 

The engine smoke is worrisome. If the turbo seals are leaking, you will pump engine oil past the bearings and directly into the intake or exaust manifolds, creating smoke. Watch the engine oil level closely for a while. If you kept your old turbo look into rebuilding it and keeping it as a back up or re-installing it on your truck. I can guarantee you (almost) that the price the Ford dealer quoted your wrench is for a rebuilt unit. 

There is a cooling system additive used to prevent water pump cavitations in selected Henry Diesels, find out if this additive is recomemded for your model.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

If you are stranded, send up smoke signals and help will come a running. TK


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Thanks TK. If I ever get to 'bama, you bet.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Got into some hives today. Went thru the twenty palllets that I hadn't the last time I was here. Reversed them. In those who I pulled frames from to check, I saw a good amount of food in the cells which contained larvae. Which is what Roland had asked me to check. Brood patterns look good so far, for the most part.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Mark, you seeing any swarm cells yet?? We are here in Bama. TK


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Not yet. But I have only been thru about 100 colonies.


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## Ted (Feb 20, 2000)

Mark how are the bees looking , almost loaded will finish on thir should I hurry or can I take my time...


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

If your bees are like mine, no ral need to hurry. Not considering how fast you work when you get here.

Worked one yard today. 20 pallets. No swarm cells seen today. Plenty of brood in the strong cols that I threw another deep up on three weeks ago. Some of them, the queen must have jumped right up there and got to work, cause there is sealed brood in that third deep too. Which was empty three weeks ago. Sealed brood.

Nectar was shaking out. Bees were really working. No AFB seen. No mites seen in broken brood from between supers. No Small Hive Beetles seen. Leaving drone brood untouched for now. I want there to be plenty drones around when I install the queen cells. Which I hope to get Thursday or Friday.

BBQ friday evening at 6:00? Next week I want to go over to NC to dine w/ Herb Macintyre and family. I hear they know a place that serves the best chitlin's anywhere. Which, to me, is an oxymoron. The words "best" and "chitlin's" in the same sentence.  
I hope they are Kosher. heh,heh.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

"Kosher Chitlins"... now that is truly an oxymoron! Have no fear but we will not subject you guys to an "All U can eat Chitlin? establishment. Bring TED with you... we might as well meet all the upstaters.

Are you getting your queens from the same place we are getting ours... Manning? Is your HFCS pumping down there yet... not here. We have used sucrose for the first round out in the BB fields. 

Now that we have been through them all it does appear that it was not a bad winter on the bees. Lots of brooding up so guess they are getting some protein off the early blue berries. Those late paddies did not hurt either.

You know... I could bring you a small sample of Chitlins to taste... if you like?


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

sqkcrk said:


> ... they know a place that serves the best chitlin's anywhere....


What type of chitlins? The stomp whooped and creek washed ones are the best. Yum!


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

My nephew tells me that since they are from SC that they must be "Stump Beat" and "Violated"! Not sure what he meant by the last part


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Yes Herb. Getting QCs from Chuck. Syrup pump is in NY. No need for it now, for sure. I do have some syrup you can have, if you want it. I'll give it to ya. It's looking kinda white right now, but still liquid.

No thanks. had a chitlin' in my mouth one time. tasted it for two days afterwords. Maybe some white woulda cleaned that stuff away. But I couldn't find the local Sheriff to get any from.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Moved cols, from under previously raised brood above excluders, to vacant places on other pallets, leaving the box of brood where the col had been. The idea being that the flying bees will return to where they are oriented, even the ones that leave the hive which is now in another place. Plus, I don't have to move the box of brood or the original col to another yard.

Getting queen cells tomorrow morning to install tomorrow afternoon. Once I have something on each corner of all of the pallets I'll start making nucs. Using an idea I stole from a friend of mine who makes 1500 or so.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

sqkcrk said:


> Using an idea I stole from a friend of mine who makes 1500 or so.


well share the idea so we don't have to steal it from you


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Gotta go eat some BBQ and meet some fellow beekeepers from NY. I'll get back to ya later.

Mmm, that was nice. Good eats and good company.

Well, what Chuck does to make up nucs is he has a nuc box w/ a detachable bottom. Build a bottom board that will fit under a nuc super. The BB has two wood clips on one side and a screw on the front end and a screw on the back end. Same on the nuc super, a screw front and back. And then, of course, a cover.

What ya do when you want to make up nucs is you have a queen excluder for each nuc you are going to make. Take the excluder, nuc bottom board, nuc cover and nuc super, w/ frames (foundation preferably this time of year. Go to the hive you want to pull brood from and take the frames you want in your nuc, shaking the bees off of them. Then shove everything away from yourself and replace the frames taken w/ the foundation or comb.

Put the frames of brood, frame of pollen and frame of honey in the nuc box w/ the last two frames of foundation. Put the queen excluder on the hive. Put the nuc box on half of the excluder, w/ the cover on it. Put the Bottom Board on the other half. Leave it over night.

Come back the next day. Set the nuc on the bottom board and wire the bottom board to the nuc super. Oh, yeah. Concrete form wires are necassary. The loop on one end will fit over the screw head of the bottom board and then wrap the wire around the screws on the ends of the nuc box. Stuff the entrance and put the nuc on the trruck or on the pallet. Take them to another yard.

Come back the next day and put a queen cell in each one.

I went and got queens cells today, about 75 of them. Got a variety. That being some VSH, some Carnis and some Italians. I was able to use 70 of them. The other 5 I'll use tomorrow. Then I'll go through the colonies and work towards making more nucs and splits for the cells coming in a week.

Weather has been nice, 82 today. Nectar and pollen coming in. Saw some dandelion today. Yellow jasmin, which we don't want the bees visiting, has been in bloom for a while. I'm not sure what else is out there in the swamps along the Pee Dee. I'm better at bees than flowers. I leave it to the bees to know which ones to work.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

sqkcrk said:


> Put the frames of brood, frame of pollen and frame of honey in the nuc box w/ the last two frames of foundation. Put the queen excluder on the hive. Put the nuc box on half of the excluder, w/ the cover on it. Put the Bottom Board on the other half. Leave it over night.
> 
> Weather has been nice, 82 today. Nectar and pollen coming in. /QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

wildbranch2007 said:


> thats pretty much how I do it without the nuc box, I put them in deeps and transfer.
> 
> I wouldn't stay down there to long, your blood will thin out and you will freeze when you get back.


Me too.

Naw, that doesn't really happen. Not in my experience. I take it you're joking.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

In 2009 I bought some queens from Mike Palmer, of St Albans,VT. They had/have a green dot on their back. I saw one today in one of my hives. Even though the colony is on the weak side, what brood there is looks good. There were three frames w/ capped brood, probably really two frames of brood on three frames. I boosted it w/ a frame of capped brood and a frame of honey from another hive.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Mark, how close are you to the Congaree basin??? TK


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Not sure. My colonies are just outside of Conway, SC, which is 15 miles inland from Myrtle Beach.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

That is some prime beekeeping area for build up. Tempature wise, it should be similar to the area I keep bees along the Lower Tallapoosa Valley in Central Alabama. Has redbud started blooming and is Willow starting to bud and open up? Here in Alabama, we are on the very edge of the "swarm wave". This always seems to be triggered the start of the Redbud bloom. It sounds like from your post that your bees are in excellent shape and you are enjoying your time managing them. TK PS post some pictures of your bees and trip later when you have time.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I believe that red bud has been in bloom for some time now, but I am not sure. I am not really very good at knowing the flora, especially by name. Maple bloomed. Have seen forsithia, dandelion, yellow jasmine, yellow rocket or mustard, some purple flowered vine and other things too.

Yes, bees are in good shape, for the most part. But I don't anticipate a shortage of equipment, as has been a problem in the past.

Pictures? I left my darned camera at home. I don't know how to get them into the computer andf post them anyway. Besides, working alone, who is going to atke the pix of me working?  I have enuf distractions. As you can see. heh,heh

What's happening in AL?


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

I believe the Congaree basin is a bit west of Mark. I may well be wrong (NC is not SC), but Columbia, SC is in that basin. I would think that Mark would be warmer than the congaree, given that he is not far from the Pee Dee river.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

It doesn't really matter where I am, I am naturally warmer, contrary to what some might think of me. 

Went to Church at All Souls Waccamaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Myrtle Beach, the small congregation w/ the big name. The Waccamaw River runs thru Conway, SC, down from NC.

Went to the movies and saw "Lincoln Lawyer". Liked it. Picked up a Brad Paisley CD at Barnes and Knoble. I'm not much of a consumer of Country, but i heard him on Prairie Home Companion and liked the two tunes he preformed there. "Waitin' On A Woman" and "I'm Still A Guy". Poinient and funny, at times.

More splitting tomorrow.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

We are splitting bees like crazy. Trying to get the numbers up. Tulip Poplar is three weeks out from bloom. When it leafs, it is three weeks till bloom. I should be finished by the end of this week on the first round of splits. The second round we start to super what has either raised queens or already had queens. Anything not strong enough to split on the first round will be split on the second round. The honey that I try to harvest off the early supering is my white honeys, Black berry and Black Raspberry, clover and privet. The brambles are the nicest honey produced. It is mild in flavor and water white. I bet you are surprised we have Black Raspberry this far south into Alabama.---Appalachain mountains...TK


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Saw an apple tree in full bloom today. Out near the beach.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Mark, you are dead even with were I am at. I am surprised that you have not found more swarm cells. TK


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Maybe your cols started out stronger and w/ more honey in them. I don't know. There is still one yard yet to go through.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

I dont think so. I have been through 1500 colonies and have only found 17 that had swarm cells. I have seen only two swarms. They were pitiful swarms at best-2-3 lbs. From what You have posted, it sounds like you are in a very warm micro climate that is very good for bee build up. Our apples have just started blooming, so I think you are dead even with this area over here. TK


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Spent the last three days making up splits to replace tyhe deadouts and about 90 nucs. I was going to get queen cells tomorrow, but I'm getting them friday, but only fifty. I hope to get more on saturday. More splitting tomorrow for queen cells on monday or tuesday.

Nectar and pollen coming in. Nectar shaking out at mid-day and in the afternoon. 60s at night, 70s and 80s for the high of the day. Maybe some rain saturday. A little rain wouldn't hurt.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Ran over to Manning, SC and picked up 100 queen cells for Rich W. and 100 for myself. Installed 80 cells and set 20 boxes of brood off of their parent colonies to install the last of the cells into tomorrow afternoon. Cells arew due to emerge tomorrow or sunday. Hopefully sunday.

Heading up to E'town,NC for supper w/ hpm and some other NC Comm. Bkprs.

Nectar is still coming in at a steady trickle. Saturday's rain might shut that off for a cpl days.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Mark sounds like you are have one good time and good beekeeping. TK


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Yeah, pretty good so far. May have to run home for a week or two to get honey out to the stores. Gotta keep that cash flow thing going. We'll see, maybe I'll stay south, if my wife can handle the honey sales.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Glad to see you got back home safe. Hope you did not eat too much... I did! It was nice to have you up here in Bladen County. My wife certainly enjoyed talking to you... she is one of those people that has to find out all about someones family before she can feel she knows you.... but she means well. Have fun... I am sure you will.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Thanks for the invite. Maybe we could meet closer to half way next time and more would come.

Web searched tsunami/Berninghausen and found what you said I would. Pretty neat.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Got two semis loaded for NY yesterday. Found that a bear had been snacking on some of my Nucs so we moved the hives and nucs to my loading yard. Hopefully the bear won't find that yard too. Will be moving the rest in next week to be ready to load thursday or friday and then head back to NY. Time to get out of here.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

I hate that... when bears eat bees... but guess the bear has got to eat too. Hope they did not get too many. How were they doing?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

The nucs, or the bear? I guess the bear thought they were just about right for the picking.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Probably loaded with brood... nice laying queen... that would be about what the bear would like.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Imagine so. Do you think they can tell before they open them? The full size hive it knocked over wasn't much to brag about. Better than 5 frame nuc, but not twice the size.

Jon, another bee buddy of mine, figures it was just getting started and probably a young one w/ not much bee eating experience. I hope it stays that way. I have had cols in that yard every year for 6 months a year for 10 or 12 years. The first bear I ever had in SC.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

I really do not know... but I suspect they can smell them. Bear hunters around here say the bears are beginning to move this time of year. We had a coupla bad bear hits last year.. pulled all the remaining collonies out and kept them out for about a month... put up a good e-fence and then put them back in. So gar no problem.... maybe that they had just migrated on through.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Oh... should have said this earlier... guess you have gotten all your hives and nucs out of there by now.... cause that bear will be back... tonight.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Yes, that's what I did right away as soon as I figured out it was a bear. No desire to feed it any more.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Good.... bear-deer population I have been told are really on the big time increase in this area (and you are in this area imo). I grew up rarely seeing a deer and never a bear... now it's not unusual at all. Also we see wild turkeys everyday of our lives... course we hang out in some pretty weird place... but thats the way I like it.

I thought there were a lot of hunters??


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I saw a bobcat this past week. Never saw one of those before outside of a Zoo.

Hunters? No bear season. And a local guy told me he would be in less trouble if he shot me.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

sorry I thought this was about a vehicle breakdown


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Not sure what you are refering to.


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## hotrod6779 (Jul 12, 2009)

You won't get no good bbq in SC. Hopefully you're close enough to Ga to come get him some.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

No, no where near close enuf to GA. But I do have fond memories of BBQ joints near Rt. 95 in south GA.

I have enjoyed BBQ in MD, VA, NC, GA and SC. I'm an equal opportunity BBQ consumer. I'd love to go on a Travel Channel BBQ Joint Hunt. Some of the best was at a roadside joint near Wmsbg, VA.


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## Kingfisher Apiaries (Jan 16, 2010)

Sqkcrk, tried to send you a PM but you box is full....
mike


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## hotrod6779 (Jul 12, 2009)

Nasty nasty nasty. Who puts danged ol vinegar in bbq sauce.
You know what the best thing to ever come outta SC is..... Interstate 85


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## TWall (May 19, 2010)

sqkcrk said:


> And a local guy told me he would be in less trouble if he shot me.


Bears are moving back into Ohio, mainly eastern Ohio so far. I know if you shoot one you will have some 'splaining to do! 

Tom


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

A few years ago I watched a small black bear eat a yellow jacket nest. It did not take him long to do it either. The yellow jacket stings only seemed to excite him and whet his appetite for more. I can "garontee" you that a bear can dig like an old John Deere and push hives over like a Caterpillar. Better safe than sorry.


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

hotrod6779 said:


> Nasty nasty nasty. Who puts danged ol vinegar in bbq sauce...


  Shoo, nasty, nasty, who puts danged ol "maters" in bbq sause as long as they got them some pepper and vinegar?


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## Rick 1456 (Jun 22, 2010)

Hey Mark,
If you come any where near me on the turn around, give a heads up. Be great to do a face to face. My treat if you want to do Chesapeake cuisine.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Would love to Rick. But when I get on the road w/ bees I only stop to fuel up, eat and then sleep. Maybe in the fall, when I am on my way home empty.

Thanks for the invite. Hvae a BBQ Sandwich at B&J and think of me. Southern Style w/ coleslaw.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Got the semi loaded and on the road by noon today. Getting up early tomorreow morning and loading my nucs and heading North myself. Things aren't so great, weatherwise and forage wise, in NY at this time, but I can't wait to get home.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

So how many nucs will you wind up taking back North? How many did the bear destroy? Will you drive straight through? Used to do that in my NE days.... Be careful - drive safe!


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## papar (Apr 10, 2007)

Had the pleasure of meeting Mark ( sqkcrk) and sharing a meal with him and some fo his friends in SC.
Well, it wasn't BBQ but it wasn't bad.

I like that BBQ place in Baxley, GA, I think it's called J&L it's right down the road from Gardners. I look forward to that meal every year.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Herb,
I'm taking home 106 5 frame nucs. The bear got 2 or 3. It's hard to tell.

Got up this morning at 4:30. Got out to the bee yard at about 5:30. Loaded the nucs on the truck and when I was climbing down off of the nucs, after pullling back the net, I slipped on the damp deck and went flat w/ my left knee hitting first. I was able to get the rest of the stuff and the Bobcat loaded. But boy, what a pain in the knee every time I had to use the clutch.

I'm up in Pine Grove, PA. Exit 100 on Rt. 81. I have never been able to drive 1,000 miles w/out sleeping, even when I was young. What's the hurry anyway. If I really try to push it, and sleep in the truck, I'm not worth much for a cpl of days. So I always catch a Motel half way up to home.

My trucker, Ken, called about a half hour ago. He left SC yesterday at noon and had just pulled in to his home in NY a half hour before he called me. Lucky guy carries his bed w/ him. He'll go over to my house and leaver his rig there tomorrow morning, after removing the nets. He's a keeper.

I still have a load to go back for, but maybe not until after the bees go into the orchards. Gotta let my knee heal.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Mark
Really sorry to hear about your knee injury. Better be careful with those knee injuries can really be trouble some times. I had a similar incident the other night while loading bees out of the blue berries. I was up on the deck trying to adjust some hives and slipped big time... completely went up into the air and landed flat on my back in the soft sand. I was really lucky as it is a fair distance from that deck to the ground. I was really lucky to just have the wind knocked out of me big time.
Carlene says you ought to get some ice on that knee right now! She says after 24 hours the ice will do no good. Also she says get some aspirin in you... blood clots are what she worries about.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Holy Halleluia, Home at last. after a long time away from home I'm glad to be back where I belong, where all of the buttons on my truck radio are set for North Country Public Radio.

I got home today at 2:30 and my trucker, Ken, and I got the semi unloaded and my truck load of nucs too. We're getting a mild shower and we are suppose to have rain during the next two days.

Before I got here a Concerned Citizen called the State Troopers on Ken, because my road has a weight limit restriction. But the Trooper didn't give him a ticket. Even w/ the weight limit an truck of higher weight is allowed to deliver or pick up a load or be there if the gtrucker lives on the road. Which the Trooper didn't know. But he had to investigate since someone called in a complaint. We're pretty sure it wasn't anyone on my road.

It sure is nice to be home and to take a shower in my own bathroom, after two days on the road. My butt is sore. lol.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

As an occasional Quad axle Dump truck driver that grosses 73,000 lbs, it is VERY helpful if the driver has a piece of paper requesting he deliver the load to the address in question. The officer then has proof that the truck is making a delivery, not taking a short cut on load limited roads. On occasion they will make us drive out of the way on State roads, to minimize the mileage on "light" roads.

This does NOT allow you to deliver overweight on bridges that have a rating, just roads.

Crazy Roland


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

My trucker was parked where we unloaded the hives, w/ a loadc of beehives, right in front of my building which has the namew of my business on it. So, apparently, it was obvious to the Trooper that Ken was doing what he said he was doing. Delivering a load of bees.

Like Ken said, If the concerned citizen were that conserned he could have followed the truck another half mile and asked Ken if he were lost. I hope the Trooper or someone got back to the one reporting that they were over concerned.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Left home early monday morn, arrived in the bee yard in SC about 4:30 tuesday, cool and rainy cloudy day, no flight, loaded twenty pallets on the truck and beat it back to NC for the night. Had stopped at Fayetteville Exit to meet a new customer and drop off some honey. Seems to be scarce 'round here. Don't imagine getting home to day, but sometime tomorrow. Barring any mishapps. Truck seems to be running alright.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Made it up to PA on 81 @ Exit 119. Should be home tomorrow afternoon.Awful rain along 81 below Harrisburg. Had to slow down to 45.


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

mark, glad your bad luck is behind you. your lucky for the rain. there is nothing better than rain in hot weather when hauling bees. we have 100 more nucs to bring up from sc the first week in june. this is later than usual but they can't work in the rain anyway. hopefully the weather will straighten out soon. happy beekeeing


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I'd expect that they would have swarmed a cpl of times by the end of June. When did you make them? How strong?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Arrived home at 3:00 PM today. 81 hours round trip. Over 2,000 miles driven. Fastest round trip I've ever done. Not that I was racing anyone. Just wanted to get it over and done with.


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

nucs were made 1st week in may. they were walk away splits so the queen will be laying about a week when we pick them up. they were made with 3 frames brood 1 honey and 1 empty. half were 5 frame boxes and the other half were in 10 frame supers. we use 6 5/8 supers for everthing.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

No longer on the road. Got all of the hives out of the orchards. The last pallet out this morning. Set thwe load off in a yard so some yds can dry out before I put hives in them. High getting stuck probabilty w/ all the rain we have had. Moving a yd away from home tomorrow morning and then supering the rest of the day. Nectar shaking out today.

35th Anniversery today.

100 queens coming at the end of the week, I hope. Gotta get the rest of the pallets filled up.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Installed a yd this morning, then supered it. Supered two more yds too. Saw a snake in the stack of supers in the last yd. Must have been waiting for a snack to walk by.

Nectar shakimng out. Bees bringing in pale yellow pollen. Gotta get more supers on asap. Hope to have more queens soon.


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