The Primacy of Pollen
May
17
2016

The Primacy of Pollen

After inspecting a few colonies on May 7, I noticed a significant proportion of the foraging bees returning to the hives were loaded with pollen, so I snapped a few pictures shown here - just with my iPhone 6.   Honey...

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Projected honey availability for 2016
May
17
2016

Projected honey availability for 2016

Just a brief update as we look forward a few months to the honey harvest for the 2016 season. We do plan to harvest a little earlier this year. In 2015, we were spinning honey just after Labor Day....

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Wow, a dozen queenright hives!
May
02
2016

Wow, a dozen queenright hives!

A queenright hive is a hive with a queen, preferably one laying eggs. So, in the subject of this post, I may be using the term loosely, but I'm still a happy beekeeper for the moment. On Friday, I...

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New Packages and Splits
Apr
28
2016

New Packages and Splits

Our 2016 season colonies are off and running! They are not all queen-right yet, but it's something we'll be monitoring when possible as we go along. Here is Aidan helping me prep and level the hive stands near our...

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Over-winter Colony Report
Apr
02
2016

Over-winter Colony Report

It's been a long time since posting. When I'm at home, the kids manage to do a pretty good job of keeping me away from the computer. But it's time to take stock of where things are at with...

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2015 Pecinovsky Christmas Letter
Dec
17
2015

2015 Pecinovsky Christmas Letter

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and in whose wondrous coming (advent), we celebrate this joyous season! We have not done a Christmas letter for a number of years and it is by no means...

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Preparing the hives for winter
Nov
18
2015

Preparing the hives for winter

We have been taking steps on preparing the 5 hives in our NE Iowa bee yard for winter. The decisions on what exactly to do are not straightforward - I learn new things that some people do each year....

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Monster spuds and a mini-Library
Nov
16
2015

Monster spuds and a mini-Library

It has been a busy fall and have not sat down long enough at the computer to do much in the way of posting. But I found a few photos I'd like to share as we head into Thanksgiving....

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Saying goodbye to “Big Claws”
Sep
30
2015

Saying goodbye to “Big Claws”

Two years ago a salamander wandered into our garage. Little did he know, he would stay in our kitchen for these past two years. The kids were quite fascinated by this worm-gulping creature. Evan thought he had big "claws"...

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Fast-serve ice cream
Sep
25
2015

Fast-serve ice cream

What's not to like about a 'homesteading' ice cream post. We take our ice cream seriously here...sometimes churning it in secret, doling out the coffee-flavored tub after the kids go to bed, and of course, being pleasantly surprised to...

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