A few weeks ago we brought home two packages of bees, each with approximately 10,000 bees. This was the first time we had to transport bees, purposely, inside a vehicle. I was nervous even though I knew the wooden boxes filled with bees were designed to keep them in and not let them out. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm Sunday when we picked them up. The drive home was uneventful, but it was almost 6:30 PM by the time we made it home. Too late to try and introduce bees to their new home. So, we placed each package in its hive box, put the lid on it, and called it a night. The plan was, the next morning we'd empty the packages into the hives and then follow the normal procedures thereafter.

Monday we woke up to rain. And the rain didn't stop. It.just.kept.raining. By noon it wasn't letting up, and we knew we had to get these ladies and gents out of those packages. So, this is where we changed plans and flew by the seat of our pants. This is the part of our adventure I'm most excited to share with you, because if you're experienced with beekeeping, read about installing bees, or watch YouTube videos, we didn't do it like most people. But, it worked for us and it might work for you!

With the unrelenting rain putting a damper on our plans we had no choice but to adapt. First, I set up my canopy over the two hives; then we gathered all the equipment we needed plus a few towels. We started each hive with one deep box over a queen excluder. We opened hive #1 and took out the package of bees and inserted 5 new frames with fresh foundation into the hive, three on on side and two on the other. After we adjusted the frames, we set the package in the middle of the hive. We pried the box open and removed the queen cage, and using the lip of one of the frames hung the queen cage next to the package. We hung the queen cage after we removed the cork on the one end with the candy in it. Since we don't have a top feeder, we set the entrance feeder out front and closed up the hive. I used the towel to dry everything off as we went so the bees weren't starting out too damp. We followed the same procedure for hive #2.

Then we waited.

Day 1, Tuesday, I could watch the bees from the kitchen window. At first I was alarmed at the massive amount of bees flying around the entrances. Eventually we determined the bees were just doing their initial orientation flight. They had a beautiful sunny day to settle in.

Day 3, Wednesday, I opened the hives and checked that the queen was released from the cage. Hive #1 the queen was out and the bees were happily working and building on the frames. I removed the empty package from the center of the hive and replaced it with five frames. Luckily we were able to save 10 frames from the hive we lost last year from the two week forest fire. I split those 10 frames between the two hives. Hive #2 wasn't happy about my intrusion so I decided to check the queen cage the following day. I take a very cautious approach to beekeeping and if they don't want me dropping in I don't wear out my welcome! But before I closed up hive #2 I removed the package and replaced the space with five frames.

Day 4: it rained. Again.

Day 5, Friday, I opened hive #2 and found the queen was released from her cage. I replaced the package with the five frames, and closed up shop.

A week and a day later we opened the hive and found both hives happy and working like mad. Both were filling the new frames and had cleaned up the five frames from the abandoned hive. I also removed the entrance feeders. There are so many trees and flowers budding, I want my bees to work and not get spoiled with sugar water.

The frames from last year we kept in a freezer through the winter. I pulled them out too soon, about a week before we got the bees. They started to grow a white mold/mildew on the outer edges of the comb. At first I wasn't going to put the frames into the hive, but decided to give it a try. My decision was based on two reasons: my mentor thought they'd clean them up and that I didn't have any other frames available. We're new to beekeeping and we don't have a lot of extra equipment. Below you'll see some pictures of the frames the day before we got bees and discovered the mold.

Maybe it's pure luck that bees stick around, but in comparison to last year, this year the bees are doing much better. They are eager to work and both hives are doing a tremendous job.

Some of the differences between this year and last year:
1. We started the hives a full month before last year's hive.
2. We had frames full of honey and pollen from last year that we were able to use to jump start this year's hives.
3. We moved these hives to a new location.
4. These are a different type of bee.
5. We didn't keep feeding the bees after week one.

Even with those differences, I feel much more confident this year.

So why do I like the way we installed our bees so much? No dumping. "Dumping bees?" you might ask. Yes, dumping bees. The most common way to introduce bees to a hive is by literally dumping the box of bees into the hive. Some people shake the box, others bang it down once or twice so the bees dump out. Either way, we didn't have to shake or bang or dump anyone. We let them come out at their own pace. We moved the queen outside the box so they had to come out and follow her to the frame she was hanging on. I'll definitely try this method again, and if you're able I'd recommend trying it, too.

I did find quite a few videos on YouTube of fellow beekeepers using a no shake method. So, if you're curious go check them out! Here's a link to a few of the videos on YouTube.

If you keep bees, what are your thoughts? Have you tried this method before? What other ways have you broken away from the traditional methods? I'd love to hear all your thoughts! So please comment and tell me what you think.

Come back soon and see what other news and updates we will have. This coming weekend we'll check the bees again and if I can I'll update this post with some pictures. I'm also gearing up for the debut of Niffer's All Natural Soaps! I've got two scents so far, and will be working on a third. Maybe a fourth! So, stop in and say hello. Tell me about some things you'd like to read about, or just what you thought about what I have written. Thanks for reading!

Thanks to Poor Valley Bee Farm for great equipment and bees. Thank you to Heritage Beekeepers of Hawkins County for being awesome and for our bees! And of course, thanks to our local bee club, Clinch Valley Beekeepers Association for helping us along our journey!

Hello friends! It's been a while since I've had much to post about and I'm so excited to finally have some news. Last year we began our journey in beekeeping in May 2016, and by the end of the year after weeks of heavy smoke from a forest fire we lost our bees. It was really devastating, but we pushed on and prepared for the next season.

I'll get back to the beekeeping here in a moment, but first I really want to talk about some of the exciting news with Niffer's! First, who likes soap? Everyone, right? Well, almost everyone. I know some kids who would rather have mud baths. Well, if you like soap then you'll be pleased to hear that very soon Niffer's All Natural Products will have a line of soaps! You've heard this rumor before? Yeah, you have... but now it's happening sooner than later. At this very moment, I have soap curing and hopefully by the first week of May you'll have a few scents to choose from. The first of two scents I have curing is a peppermint and rosemary blend. Perky yet soothing at the same time, it's the perfect scent to freshen up on a hot summer day. It's topped with dried sage to add an extra little herbal hint. Second in line is probably my favorite so far, a lime and basil blend. The fresh lime comes through so clean and the basil follows up giving it a spicy note. Both soaps are made with pure and natural ingredients, of course. I blended coconut, olive, and castor oils to give you great scrubbing power and combined those with shea butter for the wonderful smooth and moisturizing benefits. I'm working on a few more scent blends but I'm hoping to have at least three to choose from.

Next on the exciting news list is the announcement that the Mazama Store in Mazama, Washington is now carrying Niffer's All Natural Laundry Powder and Niffer's All Natural Dishwasher Powder. The Mazama Store offers many general items, including groceries, cleaning products, t-shirts, and more. But, what makes Mazama really unique is that they offer natural cleaning products in bulk where you can fill up containers, and reduce the need for excess packaging. I am so excited and honored to work with the great people at Mazama to offer great natural cleaners and reduce packaging waste. If you get a chance to visit, or live in the area, please be sure to stop in and get a bite to eat and some coffee, and of course fill up your jar of Niffer's cleaning powders. Check out their website to learn more, and then stop by their Facebook page where they've got great pictures of the AHH-mazing views from the trails nearby. Plus, I love their goat logo! Who doesn't like goats?

In other farm news, we've started the garden and already have some happy sprouts. We scaled it back this year to a 50'x50' space from the 28'x128' space last year. I'm also planning on limiting the varieties of produce. So far we've planted collards, red beans, mustard spinach, peas, green beans, beets, and inside we've started 12 total tomatoes (6 different varieties) and 19 total peppers (6 varieties). In the coming weeks I'm going to plant 12 more tomato plants to have a total of 24. We also started some cabbage and cucumbers indoors. One of our awesome neighbors (because we have a lot of amazing neighbors) let us borrow his seed planter. What a great help that was! We were able to get about 20 rows into the garden in about an hour and a half. Last year it took me days and days to get all the seeds in. Thanks Robert!

Back to the bees...

This year we did a lot of things differently, which I'm going to cover in a separate blog post. Today, I'll just give the quick version. It rained the day we had to install the bees into the hive which created a lot of stress on our end. Everything we read talked about waiting another day before installing them, but my husband had to go to work and we couldn't wait. We made it happen, and three days later when I checked to make sure the queen was released from the queen cage I was happy to find she was. The second hive, however wasn't happy about my intrusion so I had to come back the next day. But it rained again. So, five days after installation I verified the second box's queen was released. Then we waited. This past Saturday, one week and 5 days after installation we opened the hives again to see if the queen was laying eggs. The hives were beautiful, full of new comb and honey and pollen. The bees were busy, and tucked perfectly inside the cells were perfect little bee larva. We found the queens in both hives, wandering through doing her queenly business. We removed the queen excluders from under the hives, and closed everyone up. So far, both hives are far happier than last year's was at this stage. I'm hoping we have a successful first year! I'm going to try to get a full post about how we installed the bees in a day or two. We did it in a more nontraditional way, and I'd like to share what we did and then continue to update as the year goes on.

Until next time, I'd love to hear from you. Do you keep bees? Have you ever ignored the traditional methods? What is your favorite scent of soap? Do you prefer soap with color or just naturally colored with the oils and butters used? If you had three hands, what would you use the third for? Comment below, email, or find me on Facebook! 

Happy Spring!

Hello, hello my friends. It's been a long time! Just about four months since the last time I wrote a blog. There isn't much I can say to defend my absence; honestly, I've just been lazy. The cold weather, holidays, and stress around the farm have made me a bit reclusive. Simply, I've been trying to avoid the computer. I glance at my emails a few times a day, I still check Facebook, but I've been purposely trying to be distant.

One of the biggest disappointments during my absence has been our loss of bees in November. We had a single hive that left during a two week long, 200-300 acre, forest fire, less than a 1/4 mile away. I was devastated, and I am hoping they found a new home before the temperatures dropped. The smoke was so heavy for so long, we think it drove them out. Once the fire was out, the temperatures dropped in the teens. The cold temperatures kept us from being able to open the hive and check on the bees. We didn't realize they were gone for almost a month. But, live and learn. Next year we're going to try a new location on the farm, a different kind of bee, and hopefully start out with two hives rather than one. 

When life gets too stressful, what do you do to help yourself relax? I enjoy watching movies with my daughter. Her insight is usually surprising and funny. I also enjoy crafts, and I've been working on a few different needlework projects, a couple cross stitch and now embroidery. This summer I decided I wanted to use the winter months to learn embroidery. It's not nearly as confusing as I expected.

So, what's new with Niffer's you might ask? One thing is our new packaging. You might have already ordered some, but if you aren't aware, we have new eco-friendly packaging for laundry powder. The paper bags with Kraft paper labels, are more environmentally friendly, and easier to recycle. I had some nudging from a wonderful patron, and I am so glad he brought the subject up.  I strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible, and the goal is to reduce as much as possible the plastic products used in product packaging, labels, and shipping. You can find Eco-Bags in the Laundry Powder section of the Niffer's Store. Currently available in two sizes, Eco-Bag 128 oz. & Eco-Bag 48 oz. What's the best part of Eco-Bags? The price! The savings to us by using cheaper packaging and labels is passed on to you! You get more for your money!

Also, laundry powder is now made with pure coconut oil bar soap made IN-HOUSE! That's right! Niffer's All Natural Products is starting to make soap! For now, anyway, the soap is purely for laundry powder purposes only. Soon, we'll be able to introduce body soap. I'm still working on formulas for body soap, but hopefully before we're all getting too dirty in the garden I'll have a good formula worked out. Hopefully, just in time to wash away winter and welcome spring!

Until then, my friends, I hope you stay warm through the last months of winter. I hope you forgive my absence, and I hope to hear from you! I'd love to hear what your favorite soap scents are, and if there are any other products you'd like to see me try to make.

I learned a lot about others in the area and I really enjoyed seeing the crafts and things others were selling. We made friends and I really look forward to doing more events in the area.

The evening after the event at Tractor Supply we walked over to the neighbor's who had a litter of puppies ready for new homes and brought home an incredibly adorable new member of the family. Meet Daisy, everyone!

It's been so hot the last few days I haven't really done much during the day, and have been saving outside work for the evening when it's a little cooler. We have some tomatoes starting to form, and beans growing too fast to trellis. The garden is starting to look like we'll have some food to eat soon!
Today I checked on the bees and saw some really awesome sights. First, I noticed different stages of eggs/larvae but then on the third frame I pulled I witnessed a new bee emerging from a cell. Then on the same frame the queen waddled by and laid eggs in some of the cells. This time I remembered to bring the camera along so I'll share the pictures I took today.

It's wonderful seeing how all the different aspects of my business life, farm life, and "regular" life can blend together. I look forward to another week (maybe a little cooler, please!) and seeing what new things come about, what things we get better at, what things we may fail at... Because without failure there isn't any possibility for knowledge and humility.

Have a good rest of your week folks. I look forward to comments and discussions! 
 Until next week....