Newcomers: You need to read back TWO or THREE MONTHS to catch up with everything. At least read June Log before you start below. This is an on-going adventure and you need to be familiar where we are before you know where we are going. Thanks. 

Happy August Everyone!! July is finally over and it was a memorable one for me. The only good memories was spending lots of time with Fred, who stayed here nearly 3 weeks last month and the purchase of my new Grand Marquis LS. 

I promised some neat changes for August, and hopefully by the weekend I'll let you all know what they are - but expect some neat stuff coming to the beekeeping logbooks. One addition is the addition of a guest column by Beekeepers with vast experience in the field. I'm adding this to help you see beekeeping from other views beyond Backyard Beekeeping. Experts in the field can vary, but I have several people in mind. One fellow has nearly 4000 colonies and nearly 50 years in the business, I can't imagine anyone who has more practical experience in the field.

Also, I'm searching for a scientific expert that can lend a hand. I hate handing out clinical info, I have told you all many times that I am a hobbyist and my opinions are based on my own successes and failures - but that does not mean you will have the same results if you apply my techniques. This site hopefully teaches some common sense and lots of entertainment value - beyond that, you'll need to search elsewhere for the really important answers. As for the other stuff coming.... hang out and see :)

August 2, 2001

Still getting Rocephan shots daily, but finally going back to work on Monday - the 12th anniversary of my working for the Navy by the way. Sunday is my birthday ( 43 this year ) and no plans to speak of, but Fred will still be here, so we'll do something :)

Saturday will be a family day at the ball game. My wife Tracey, her dad Pete, his girlfriend Marie, Fred and I will be going to the Lakewood BlueClaws ( Philadelphia's Minor League Team ) for a 7pm ball game against Virginia. I ordered seats yesterday and should be picking up the tickets today, so I don't have to stand in line the night of the game.

Fred is busy out back raking the yard and doing some stuff that needs doing. It's only 10am and I'm off to the shower, then the Doctor for my shot. I'll be back later to fill you in on the days activities. But today is the day that Fred will be adding a second super to C2. I'll also have a pic of C2 to show you - the bees are in great abundance now and we desperately need to get that super on top to get honey storage going. 

We stopped to fill the Grand Marquis tank up, it took $17 worth and is ready for another 380 miles of driving. It's not an economical car - only getting 16 to 25 miles per gallon. It weights over 4000 pound and has over 200 horse-power, so don't expect much more than 16 city. I've driven enough already, all local driving to prove out the mileage and 17 is about it local. I'll let you know when we go highway what it does later.

Just back from Crabbing and dinner at my Father in-law Pete's Girlfriend Marie's home in Point Pleasant on the inlet. A wonderful little home with a spectacular waterway view with dock, boat and lots of crabbing. We have Blue Claw Crabs here, thus the name of our minor league baseball team, and Fred and I caught over 3 dozen crabs - keeping 22 to take home with us.

Dinner was great with hamburgers and huge Thuman hot dogs. Then back to crabbing :) Here are a few photos from this crabbing trip on the Inlet. First is fred AFTER two hours of crabbing, enjoying the leisure of waterside living. 

Then there is Beemaster with all the tools of the trade in hand. You don't need much to catch crabs; some string, chicken parts and a net will do just fine. My Father in-law Pete bought two crab traps for us to use and they really did catch some big crabs this night.

August 3, 2001

Today we vacuumed the new car and cleaned the aluminum tires which were black with dirt already. Pete game me a bottle of tire cleaner for a good luck gift when I got the car, it came in handy today.

Also, Fred did some grass cutting and when it cools down he will finally be getting C2 a second super. All the bees in both hives are flying like crazy. It's been dry though, so I can't imagine them bring much nectar back - I think these might be water trips. They are packing some pollen too because I'm sure the larva are in great number and need feeding.

With my Birthday coming Sunday, here is something for those of you who have wondered what Beemaster looks like in his Birthday Suit, click here - Be warned though, it's not a pretty site :)

Now that you've experienced that.... and I hope you enjoyed it - lol, let's get back to business. 

August 5, 2001

Happy Birthday Beemaster :) I'm updating this actually on the 8th, been back to work for the Navy and it's tiring me out quickly. All week it is in the 100+ degree temperatures and doing pipe fitting and boiler cleaning is terribly exhausting in this heat.

C1 and C2 have had long beards of bees clinging from the hive entrance from mid afternoon to very early the following morning. C2 has NOT made use of the extra box added to the hive yet and activity is at a minimal. C1 has drawn comb into the third box and has begun to fill cells with freshly gathered nectar, although dry days have decreased the return of everything except for water.

Cooling the hives is so important when temps reach the 100+ point. Evaporation is crucial to cooling and the hanging bees are doing all they can to help too. I find it strange that the bees do not Beard out during the hottest parts of the day, although I'm sure that it is a matter of self survival - an instinct that is relatively foreign to the honeybee in general.

I watched the flying patterns and I was amazed that nearly all the bees were heading due south toward the water source, with only a handful in the morning flying toward the lily pads. Remember, lily pads dry up early in the sun and trips after 9am are usually a waste of good flight time.

Fred went to his Aunt Mary's house late in the afternoon for about a week. It's hard to say when he will return with me working again. I hate to have him sit around all day with nothing to do but talk on the computer and surf - although I'm sure HE wouldn't mind it one bit!

August 8, 2001

A record 108 degrees today. I'm out of work early and home where it is cool. The bees are active but they seem in NO MOOD to be messed with. It's important though to give your bees time to do bee stuff. I did a visual check for varroa and looked for signs of robber bees, but nothing appeared out of the norm.

I'm working on the guest writers and I hope to have the first article on the 15th. It will be about Natural Treatment and preparation of the hive for Winter. The guest writer has a very simple approach to caring for his colonies and very impressive winter survival figures, so it should be a nice way to enter the topic of Wintering WITHOUT tossing names of chemicals at you. 

If you think a holistic or natural approach to treating your hives ( or some of your hives for experimental purposes ) is the way to go, then I know you will enjoy Roan's theory. But please remember, opinions are like belly buttons and I NEVER suggest that you follow anyone's Belly Buttons :) Please use such content as a way to expand your knowledge and THEN decide using your own experiences. More tonight - I hope it cools down.

11pm Update - Finally after weeks of complaining to Olympus, I got the macro lens I've been waiting for. Nearly 8 weeks since I first placed the order for the B-Macro Lens, adapter tube and conversion ring. To make it short, the lens was back ordered, then when it came I found the adapter tube to be stripped and then almost 2.5 weeks to get the new tube. Now it's all together and I'm VERY PLEASED at what I've been doing with it.

Here is a photo sent to me by Wanabee, a Newsletter member and frequent chatter and friend from Corning, New York using AIM of a swarm that he is handling that found it's way into a barrel. This Saturday he plans to open it up and see what it's made of. Notice though that the bees are also bearding the barrel to help regulate the temperature and also protect the colony. No matter what type of container the bees come to live in, their behavior is consistent and easy to interpret.

You all know by now that I am being honored with a chance to work with the Author of Beekeeping for Dummies, a wonderful writer and well traveled man who is a real pleasure to know and work with. Between being sick all last month and the crap I went through with Olympus, I'm way behind on this project but FINALLY I am armed with the tools necessary to get these photos going and I will not disappoint Howland with the quality of the shots.

I took a few photos by Flash tonight when I got home from work. In total darkness using the flash filtering screen ( a translucent plastic shield that snaps on the macro lens ) I used the auto focus and took a few bee photos from the many workers clinging on the outside of C1. I can clearly see two of the 3 small eyes on the bees forehead and razor sharp detailing in the wings and fur. I will have time tomorrow to get a series of photos and some samples for you guys too on this page. 

I'm hoping the weather breaks, these 108 degree days got to end soon or my bees will burst into flames while taking off - lol. I'll be grabbing a frame tomorrow with eggs, larva and pupa and do some macro stuff that should really give you an idea of what the new lens can do - see you then.

August 10, 2001

The weather broke last night with a nasty storm front that killed electrical power in most of my county for as much as 10 hours. Here in Lakehurst, we lost electricity for about 6 hours from 9pm on. I was sitting on the bed, playing with some images on the notebook when the juice went out. It's funny how I sat in a darkroom, still connected to the Internet using battery power on the laptop - meanwhile, everything in 60 miles was dark as dark gets :)

Today it's stormy but 30 degrees cooler than it has been in more than a week. I spend most of the morning scrubbing bird poop from my new car - ugh. Bigger car, more surface area to target I guess. 

I'm setting up a photo shoot booth, a small area with good reflective lighting, ample space for maneuvering and good access for tripod mounted camera. I think that my site has offered you some good tips on all aspects of beekeeping and now I want to walk you through photography, especially digital because most of you now use digital cameras. I get lots of photos from you guys and the only thing that I know you really need help with is image size and file size - mainly compression techniques.

I often get wallpaper sized image ( which I really love ) but they are coming in a 1.5 to 2.5 megs in size, which really isn't necessary and a real pain to your families when you email these photos to them. So I'm gonna spend some time explaining image types, file size and compression - but I won't do that here, I'll send you to the Design your own Web Site section instead, where I'll deal with most of the properties of digital imaging. 

When you are done, your wallpaper images will be JUST as nice looking and as much as 1/20th the file size. Imaging your 2.5 meg images being compressed down to 150k without noticeable loss of image quality. You could send your family 20 images as quickly as you send them one image now. Not to forget all the hard drive room you will save. 

So that is my goal: to make you all Internet Friendly Photographers. I really like the photos I'm getting too. This month I have had a major increase in the number of great images and I'll be making a page for all of you to see the great images of other bee yards around the world.

August 16, 2001

I thought Fred was coming today, his Aunt was going to drop him off when she passed near here on the Garden State Parkway, but he never showed up. I'm actually writing this in hindsight, so I really know what happened - he stayed an extra day up north and no one had thought of calling me - ugh.

I was saving tons of yard work for Fred as mentioned above, but it needs to be done and I know I'll end up doing it myself over the weekend. Again, I know he's not coming so Saturday I do all the work myself, saving the $8 an hour I pay Fred.

August 18, 2001

Well... I did the yard work, all of it. Took about 5 hours to cut the grass, trim the sidewalk edging, trim around the brickwork around lamp-post out front and all the minor stuff that totally got out of control. A few days of rain and BAM!!! next thing you know, a jungle is looking at you AND at the neighbors.

I sent some photos to Howland and he said they look really good. He and I just can't get together ever, either miscommunications or bad scheduling and time is coming quick for his dead line. I mention below that the lens is a tricky bugger to use and I need to create jigs of holding the frames in order to accurately take the images in total focus.

C1 and C2 are enjoying the warm weather and occasional rain. Both have a full beard of bees every night and they are all back in by sunrise. I have been waiting for the promised article on medication for the Fall, but it has not arrived yet via email. I will again contact my knowledged source and hopefully have it up for you in a few days. I'm hesitant to cover such issues myself, I never profess to be an expert at anything - except the gift of gab :) 

August 19, 2001

Sorry all for such a long period between updates, been working doubles testing our boilers for State Emission Testing and setting up for a AirCraft Carrier Launch Valve Testing and the 7 or so hours a day I've been home each day has been mostly for sleeping and then back to work again.

I've promised you and some macro images and finally got a bunch that are pretty good to share. There are lots of different issues that don't come up during regular digital photography when using a close-up lens. The most important items are massive light ( or long exposure ) and the need for a tripod because of the 3/8 range of focus.

The light issue is because of the high ( f11 exposure ) needed to give the full 3/8 inch range - any lower f-stop would decrease the range of focus to a 1/4 or even an 1/8 inch in depth - which would mean the bees tops and bees feet would either be sharp or blurry, but not both. Even the larva would be clear or the cappings would be sharp, but not both. So a f11 setting with a 3/8 inch focal length is vital - so lots of light is needed because the lens opening is extremely small.

The second issue was kinda explained above. 3/8 inch range has a center of 3/16 inches center, with a 3/16 clear focus above and below the center before you compromise sharpness. Breathing alone can easily knock you off center, as can the beat of your heart - ugh. Tripods and a jig for the frames is needed and I've been working on the jig. 

It's a simple tool: a quick release clamp mounted to another tripod using a counter-balance weight to prevent the tripod from becoming front heavy and toppling over. The two tripods allow me to work off of the ground or table top for many shots and puts the work up at a close and comfortable level without bending.

The remaining shots needed for the Dummies Book are horizontal work, cells cut out and placed flat on a table ( bee-less comb ) cut and configured and manipulated for the shots. These images need a different kind of jig, something to keep the comb slightly up from the table top. 

The camera will need to be extended away from the tripod to allow the comb to be maneuvered under the camera and a counter weight to prevent the camera from pulling the tripod over into the comb. Also, keeping the camera extremely level is important both vertically and horizontally for these shots or one part of the photo will not be as clear as the rest.

I'll have a bunch of images uploaded tonight, just click on the thumbnails to see the full wallpaper images. Look for the thumbnails very late tonight.

August 21, 2001

Been busy at work almost every day. Doing doubles or 4 hour overtimes every day and hardly finding time to sleep, let know work on the website. I have though be answering most of your emails when I can and I have many of the images I promised uploaded - I just need to make thumbnails for this page and add the links.

Also, today at lunch, I added a quick link to AOL Instant Messenger for you folks to better contact me while I'm on-line. I hope you all get a chance to use it. I think you need to have AOL Instant Messenger installed to use it - but I'm not totally sure. I hope someone writes and lets me know.

Fred is coming up on Thursday to stay the weekend. I already have his week planned :) First, we clean out my dining room and rip up the old carpeting and ready the room for new padding and new carpet - both of which we will be doing ourselves.

Then some work on Shop-Lakehurst.com website and finally off to New Hope, Pennsylvania on Saturday or Sunday, maybe over night with Tracey and me. I think it may be New Hope and Lambertville - neighboring towns connected by a huge two lane and pedestrian bridge which crosses the Delaware River. Then off to Flemmington, NJ - home of the Flemmington Raceway, Railroad and Flea Market. Sounds like a fun packed two days that will keep us busy and give the new car a chance to do some highway driving!

Please check the Beekeeping Course Home Page and check out the AOL Instant Messenger control panel I added. It's a simple interface to help you AIM users to contact me on the fly when I'm around and also it will be the gateway to the CHATROOM for the Newsletter Gang. Many of you are having problems with Yahoo! Chat and I know it is NOT the way to go. AIM Chatroom is easy to use and easy to interact with. 

Simply click on the SEND ME AN INSTANT MESSAGE to chat one-on-one with me when you are visiting the homepage or during "CHATROOM NIGHTS" just click on the link that says JOIN MY CHATROOM and join the gang in our virtual chatroom.

You'll need to have a newer version of AIM to interact this way. It is easy to download, easy to configure and easy to use. Dozens of you use it already and you DO NOT need to be an AOL Customer to use it. I've said before, I'd eat a raw monkey before I used AOL as my Internet Provider, but AIM is a nice program that allows me to easily keep in touch with friends and family.

August 24, 2002

Fred came last night around 6pm and we had KFC Chicken and all the fixings. After wrestling we planned out today's adventures of tearing up the old carpeting in my dining room and readying it for the new carpet.

We moved the furniture, tore the old carpet out and got it out, cleaned the floor good and awaited the delivery of the new padding and carpet. Finally, it came mid afternoon and we spent about 5 hours cutting the padding for the odd "Z-shaped" room and even more torturously we struggled cutting the dozens and dozens of odd corners around 3 closets and 3 doorways into this central room in my 1860's style home.

It came out great and we had a fast dinner of samitches ( Central New Jersey's pronunciation of Sandwiches, and off to bed early - tomorrow will be a busy day.

August 25, 2002

Today is a mile stone, it is the LAST of the antibiotic shots that I will be getting, unless I start to show signs of illness again. I also had my blood tested and Fred the Ghoul sat there watching as every drop of blood was taken from my arm and spilled into tiny viles for testing. 

Also, this was the first year of a PSA test ( prostate specific antigen ) which will give me a heads up to possible problems as I enter my Mid-40s. I've had a pretty nasty few months as moany of you know and anything that I can say concerning health issues here far out weigh any embarrassment I could suffer :) Besides folks... It's only a blood test not "That other thing they do" so why on earth wouldn't man in my age group be sure to have it done!

So after the doctor visit, we left later than I had planned to drive to New Hope, PA.. As mentioned above, it's a neat little town of shops and artisans along the Delaware River, across from Lambertville, NJ. Fred sat in the huge back seat of my Grand Marquis with a New Jersey road atlas sprawled on the seat next to him - he was going to follow every inch of this 1.5 hour journey to Pennsylvania.

I reset the mileage accumulator to see what kind of gas mileage I was going to get. Locally, the Grand Marquis is NOT an economical vehicle, but on this trip across New Jersey I averaged over 26 miles per gallon and I was amazed that it could actually reach the numbers seen on the window placard.

We parked the car at the New Hope Train Station as I always do in that small village. Parking along the road is good if your car is small, but to find a place to park my yacht is nearly impossible, so I new exactly where to park.

We all decided to take a ride on the New Hope Steam Railroad - more of a touristy venture than a real rail adventure. It took us about 8 miles into the farm land west of New Hope and then the engine car unhooked, passed the parked train and reconnected at the rear to pull us back to the station along the same track. Forgive the silly look on my face in this first photo, actually Fred took the photo and I added him to the image later - but he photographs great, almost every photo shows Fred award winning smile - Me... no words can better explain than these photos.

We walked through a few small shops including a place that had really near holographic photos, cast-iron puzzles and neat Spencer's like gadgets. A few of the holographs were not only 3D, but also had some simple animation as you moved your head from left to right.

We ate along the Delaware at a really nice outdoor cafe' that Tracey and I had eaten before. Fred enjoyed fine dining at this visually interesting eatery. We sat looking at the long 1/4 mile steel bridge that connected New Hope, PA to Lambertville, NJ. Also boats and water-fowl of all kinds passed us as we ate the tasty food they brought us.

Fred and I opted for the Seafood Chowder, a dark red broth filled with clams, scallops, shrimp and vegetables. Of course we had no idea that it was nearly $10 a bowl - lol. This "Special" wasn't listed on the menu. 

Tracey opted for a turkey breast rollup and I had a samitches of mixed meats, while fred went for a jumbo burger and fries. Both Fred and I ended up eating many of Tracey's fries, which were made from corn meal, unlike our typical tater kind.

After shopping some more, we decided it was too late to go to Flemmington to do any shopping and way too early to go there for the races - so we headed home and made it in time to make it to Wall Stadium for the stock cars. It was a long days, lots of driving and lots of watching other people drive, but it was fun as always cause Fred was there to pal around with.

August 26, 2002

We putzed around a good part of the day today, until around 4pm when Tracey and Fred went to Six-Flags Outlet to go school shopping for Fred. The Outlet is across the street from Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ ( about 20 miles from here ) and they came home several hours later with 5 pair of pants, 2 pair of sneakers ( Vans - Freds choice in footwear ), several shirts and a Tommy Hilfiger jacket.

Meanwhile... I stayed home cutting trim for the walls where the carpet was butted to, trimming 1/2" off of two closet doors and all kinds of work that need to be done to finish off the room.

August 27, 2002

The weather turned bad today, tonight was to be even worse, so our plans to go to Marie's marine inlet home ( My Father-Inlaws Lady Friend - see photos above ) to do some more crabbing were obviously NOT going to happen.

Instead, we spent the entire day typing, printing and folding Shop-Lakehurst brochures which Fred will deliver tomorrow. We counted the businesses in town today too, there are 73 businesses counting churches in Lakehurst - so we had a good idea of how many fliers to print.

August 28, 2002

I had expected to have THIS WHOLE WEEK OFF, but work needed me and I was called in to help prepare the power plant to test a launch valve off of one of the carriers which was flown in over the weekend. 

Fred delivered all the fliers as promised and I got a few calls the first day. I hated missing this day, which was Fred's last days with us BEFORE starting school - but life has a way of getting in the way of fun things all the time.

I met his Aunt at our designated spot and said our goodbyes. Fred will be back in October for a trip with me to Washington, DC for two nights and three days - more on THAT trip later.

August 29, 2001

I'm just not feeling well again today. Only 5 days since I stopped getting shots and I'm feeling flush again and achy. The doctor really thought I'd be doing okay this time around, I wonder though if I need to get back on shots. 

We were visited by the Chief of Police today who is our Acting Borough Administrator. He and a member of the road department came to tell us there was a delay because of funds in the repaving of our road, but they confirmed a rumor that we had heard a week ago that our property actually extended 5 feet further into the road then we had always believed and that I had been parking my car on MY property instead of "Street" as I had assumed.

August 30, 2001

I'm ending this month, not feeling well again but with a gift from Howland, the Dummies Author who has kindly sent this sampling from his writing concerning Fall preparation. My other promised features did not materialize and I can only say I'm sorry that I didn't cover all the issues I had hoped this month.
 
 

August 31, 2001

Here is a preview of September's logbook - it's a pupa pulled from the cell and covered with THREE Varroa Mites. This was taken from C2 and many cells were pulled and nearly all ad varroa in them. Quickly these must be treated if these bees are going to last the long Winter. Look for treatment ideas and theories and ways to test your own hives. 

Varroa can be a death sentence to your bees. They feast on larva and pupa and these effected bees emerge with incomplete bodies and little chance to survive to adulthood, thus decreasing the hives ability to thrive. Follow along next month for more.

I hope August was entertaining to you. Fall is almost here and I'm no more ready yet than I have ever been this time of season. It goes to show that all heck can rip your season apart and cut your clock and calendar into shreds. Thanks again to Howland and I hope you all follow along when September issue.