In a message dated 2/23/2006 6:33:59 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
>Another very useful tool is a wife willing to work with the bees.
I don't have one of those. My most useful tool is a four year old daughter.
Now before you all call DCF and report me, let me explain. I couldn't keep
her in the house or far enough away when I went out to play with the bees.
So I bought her the smallest and tightest Jr. bee suit I could find. She is
still swimming in it, but at least she will get a few years wear out of it.
By the way, her suit cost a few times more than my suit, which I don't wear
anyway.
I thought she would lose interest the first day out. She says "Daddy? Do
you think a bee will land on me?"
I look down and she already has a cluster the size of a large soup bowl on
her shoulder. I figured this would be it. She would scream and run for the
house.
"I think some already have." I said. And pointed to the bees. She turns to
look, nose to nose with hundereds of bees, turns to me with a big smile and
says "Cool!"
She's just like her Papa.
When she is not poking at bees, she is the best tool fetcher I have. She
keeps the tool box orgainised and knows where everything is in the barn. She
mixes up a mean batch of syrup. Though she thinks the pollen subsitute smells
bad, she likes to mush it between the frames. She is better at spotting
queens than I am. When I tell her it is time to go check the bees. She can get
her suit on, drag out the tool box and load the smoker in less time than it
takes me to put my boots on.
Some other useful tools. I make jigs for everything. Box joints, frame
assembly, foundation installs. There is a pile of plans on Beesource.com.
Petroleum Jelly, it keeps propolis from sticking to your hands and tools.
It cleans hands and tools. A thin layer will stop hive bodies from sticking
together, and frames from getting stuck. The bees don't seem to mind it and I
think it give parasites less areas of refuge. I cut a hole in the lid of an
old baby food jar, filled the jar with petroleum jelly and apply it with an
acid brush. A little bit goes a long way.
Wood stove pellets. Once lit, the smoker burns a long time. I light mine
with a Mapp gas torch. The torch is real good for cleaning excluders, etc.
Queen catcher. I know, real men don't use them. I hold her in it until I'm
done doing what ever I'm doing.
My tool box is made out of a nuc hive. If I need to, I can dump the tools
out and use it to carry brood back and forth. I saw a simular tool box for
sale in one of the catalogs.
Jim Hock
Wethersfield, CT
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