6-12-21 Yesterday late afternoon a huge bull swarm of honeybees lit way down deep inside a bush next to my driveway. To make sure I got all the bees and the single queen I had to use the vacuum box I built just for this type of thing, it sucks them right into a brood…
Current Projects
April and May are honey bee swarming months
The months of late April and May are honey bee swarming months. There’s a saying; if you catch a swarm in the month of May it’s worth a truck load of hay, if you catch one in June it’s worth a silver spoon and if you catch one in July there’s a good chance it…
A Triple Split
A few days ago I took a video of one of my wild hives that I split three ways. This last August I added a third brood chamber for the hive to pack away Fall honey to feed themselves over the winter. This spring there were maybe 75,000 bees filling all three big brood boxes….
Long hive build
This last Friday I finished my first of many builds of a long hive! This build took two days. My hope is the next dozen or so will take me maybe one day rather than two. Like I wrote in the last post these long hives will save my back plus houses wild bees will…
April and May is swarming season for honeybees
Hi All, It has been a while since my last post. Over the last month and a half my wife Jody and I have contracted COVID-19. We have obviously serviced. It is 7-10 days of a serious bad nasty head/chest cold with fever and fatigue! Anyway, we now have the antibodies in our system. And…
Snow Storm Week
The last three weeks have been interesting to say the least. Three weeks ago the Pacific Northwest was hit with a major cold front. Lots of snow and ice. About a quarter million folks were without power in the Portland metro area. This is not counting areas further north and south. I’ve attached a short…
Anti-foul Bottom Paint Complete
This last weekend I finished all the winter maintenance on our Cape Henry 21. The masking and bottom painting is now finished. That’s it for her yearly maintenance. She’s now ready for summer sailing!
Topside Maintenance is Now Complete!
This last weekend I finished the brightwork, varnished the bowsprit and companionway. Then painted the topside Jade Green on her transom and rudder. Next weekend I fire up the wood stove and tackle the red bottom anti-foul paint.
Brightwork!
This last weekend I fired up the old Jotel wood stove. I hand sanded all the brightwork with 220 grit then cut in a single coat of TotalBoat “Wood Finish” varnish. There are just a few more details before she’s ready for her Spring launch.
Beginning Her Yearly Maintenance
This last weekend I started “Slough Coots” (our Dudley Dix designed Cape Henry 21) yearly maintenance. I prepped her hull by giving it a light sanding with 220 grit and an orbit sander. Then washed and dried it. The fallowing day I rolled and tipped a coat of Pettit EZPoxy Jade Green topcoat paint. Also…