Well folks, the day finally arrived yesterday. My honeybees had arrived, so me and my Dad made the short drive up to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. I have been up there several times now but my Dad had not. It is a beautiful place for a business and the drive is a very scenic one. The bee packages were loaded up the previous evening in Georgia and then hauled up to N.C overnight in a specially modified trailer that Brushy Mountain made.
Saturday, May 1st, dawned bright and sunny and looked to be a great day. Then, heavy clouds moved in but fortunately, it broke up a little and then remained partly cloudy but no rain, thank you Lord!! We timed our arrival so we could watch the demo of an installation of a package of bees. For those that have never seen or done this, it can be very intimidating!!! You are holding approximately 12,000 bees in your hands as you dump them from the shipping box to the beehive!!!! The fellow doing the demo is the general manager of the place and has a very nice and easy demeanor and is an excellent teacher. The following pictures are of Shane installing the package of bees in one of the many hives there at Brushy Mountain.
After watching the package installation we went over to the warehouse and shipping dock to pick up the bees and another order I had placed for products. Then, it was off to the vehicle for the ride home. Now, if you have never rode with 12,000 bees IN your vehicle before, it is quite the experience!!! Actually, all the buzzing coming from the box was quite relaxing, right up until I turned the package over and my heart stopped!! Fortunately, the piece of wood is stapled well over the hole that is the exit from the box!!! Below is a picture of how they haul all of the bees up from Georgia.
After arriving back home, I put the bees in the basement to keep them cool and in the dark while I mowed the yard. The ideal time to “install” the bees into your hive is just before dark and since it was only 2 pm, I had time to mow. After mowing, I rounded up the hive, the bucket of corn syrup that you must feed new bees and all the other various equipment. The following pics show me suited up and my hive, along with the bee package. As you will see in later pics, you don’t use all the supers at once, so the hive will be quite a bit shorter in the later pictures. Remember, the picture of the package of bees is 3 pounds worth or, roughly 12,000 honeybees!!
After loading up the Ranger, I made the trip across the road to my Dad’s garden space. This location was ideal as it is sheltered on 3 sides and plenty of woods, plants and bushes to feed from. There also is a stream not far into the woods from where the hive is. The next few pictures show the preparation for “installing” the bees.
Now, once you start putting the bees in, all talk and picture taking stops and you just get ‘er done!!! I must admit, sticking my hand down into 12,000 bees to move them out of the way for the frames to go back in was a bit, no, a LOT intimidating!!! The rest of the pictures are the finished hive. Now, time to sit back and wait until next Friday or Saturday. At that time, I will go back into the hive to check to make sure the Queen has been released and she is laying eggs properly. The way they were flying today though, it looks to be a healthy bunch of bees. This is already fun and I anticipate even more of it in the future. Here is the finished hive, with only the brood super and a hive top feeder. Follow along as I update this weekly to see how the honeybees are doing. It should be an interesting journey. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Saturday, May 1st, dawned bright and sunny and looked to be a great day. Then, heavy clouds moved in but fortunately, it broke up a little and then remained partly cloudy but no rain, thank you Lord!! We timed our arrival so we could watch the demo of an installation of a package of bees. For those that have never seen or done this, it can be very intimidating!!! You are holding approximately 12,000 bees in your hands as you dump them from the shipping box to the beehive!!!! The fellow doing the demo is the general manager of the place and has a very nice and easy demeanor and is an excellent teacher. The following pictures are of Shane installing the package of bees in one of the many hives there at Brushy Mountain.





After watching the package installation we went over to the warehouse and shipping dock to pick up the bees and another order I had placed for products. Then, it was off to the vehicle for the ride home. Now, if you have never rode with 12,000 bees IN your vehicle before, it is quite the experience!!! Actually, all the buzzing coming from the box was quite relaxing, right up until I turned the package over and my heart stopped!! Fortunately, the piece of wood is stapled well over the hole that is the exit from the box!!! Below is a picture of how they haul all of the bees up from Georgia.

After arriving back home, I put the bees in the basement to keep them cool and in the dark while I mowed the yard. The ideal time to “install” the bees into your hive is just before dark and since it was only 2 pm, I had time to mow. After mowing, I rounded up the hive, the bucket of corn syrup that you must feed new bees and all the other various equipment. The following pics show me suited up and my hive, along with the bee package. As you will see in later pics, you don’t use all the supers at once, so the hive will be quite a bit shorter in the later pictures. Remember, the picture of the package of bees is 3 pounds worth or, roughly 12,000 honeybees!!




After loading up the Ranger, I made the trip across the road to my Dad’s garden space. This location was ideal as it is sheltered on 3 sides and plenty of woods, plants and bushes to feed from. There also is a stream not far into the woods from where the hive is. The next few pictures show the preparation for “installing” the bees.



Now, once you start putting the bees in, all talk and picture taking stops and you just get ‘er done!!! I must admit, sticking my hand down into 12,000 bees to move them out of the way for the frames to go back in was a bit, no, a LOT intimidating!!! The rest of the pictures are the finished hive. Now, time to sit back and wait until next Friday or Saturday. At that time, I will go back into the hive to check to make sure the Queen has been released and she is laying eggs properly. The way they were flying today though, it looks to be a healthy bunch of bees. This is already fun and I anticipate even more of it in the future. Here is the finished hive, with only the brood super and a hive top feeder. Follow along as I update this weekly to see how the honeybees are doing. It should be an interesting journey. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

