I've located paint and paint brush to paint the hive and I've contacted my friend Patty who is a naturalist and a good bee keeper about buying a "package" of bees. The bees will come from Georgia and the queen will be Italian. I'll order the bees before April from a local man who will drive to Georgia to collect them and immediately drive back home. I'll meet him in Blue Ash to take delivery of my package of bees. Patty said one time he didn't get in until 3:00 in the morning. Presumably he will fill many local orders with this one trip. Now all I have to do is "pull the trigger" and actually order the bees - and pay for them. A two or three pound package of bees costs about $85.00. I wouldn't spend $85.00 on honey for my own consumption in 5 years worth of buying honey, so my economic gain will come, I hope, from better pollination of my garden.
If all goes well I'll also have two apple, two pear and a plum tree blooming this spring, plus all the wild cherries and plum trees. I just need to research a few more good honey flowers and I think I'll have plenty of food for the bees.
There is a pretty good video on how to set up a hive at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVaYD3e9KOA&feature=player_embedded
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