The other two books I’d highly recommend are first, Keeping Bees With A Smile. Second, read Keeping Bees In Horizontal Hives. Both available on horizontalhive.com

So are free plans for hives and swarm traps!…

OK, some tips for you… First, I recommend reading the book Honeybee democracy by Thomas Seeley. It has tons of info on what honeybee swarms look for in a new home. Very well researched, and it gives all of the ideal criteria. There are six or seven things that bees specifically look for in a new home.

I’m not sure what size wine cask you have. The ideal volume of a storm trap is between 10 to 15 gallons.

Other things that can make it more attractive are: 10 to 15 feet off the ground, rub some propolis inside to make it smell more like home, use lemongrass essential oil which mimics a queen‘s pheromones. Also, the ideal entrance size should be around 15 cm² karma, and also adding at least one frame with old honeycomb will be helpful.

I don’t know if the wine smell would bother them, but I suspect that they would not be thrilled… Good luck and let me know if you catch anything please.

#permies #rocketmassheater Maybe not the neatest pics, but one shows the brick bell and wood feed. The other shows a rack I threw together to hold maybe 7-10 days worth of wood if burning 1-2x daily, and the brick bench.

If/when I redo it, will rebuild it as an 8” system instead of 6”, and make the bench a little longer but a fair amount wider, to capture and hold more heat. So efficient though! 😍 My wife even says it is really easy to light and after not being too sure about it in the beginning, now she just loves it!

On the road until Saturday night as a trucker, but will look for a pic or two on my phone. I built it about two years ago and is our primary heat source in winter.

We do have a propane wall heater that we supplement with a bit when really cold for long periods of time… and I got 2 Antminer S9’s and configured them as space heaters this winter… but, even buying hardwood sawmill trimmings from a local Amish sawmill, the RMH costs about $8-10/ year to run all winter! 😍🥰

They are my husband's pets😊. They have their own little shed where they sleep at night.

20 little pigeons sittin on the roof. #grownostr #pigeons

Good morning nostr, it got a little chilly last night, its about 44F now, but should warm up nicely to 75 later. Wish we had temps like this year round. Today we have a couple errands to run, and we might take Lucy to Tractor Supply for her socialization outing. She loves it when the lady at the register gives her a treat. Anyway, the rooster's crowing and its time to get busy. Yall have a great thursday, enjoy your coffee, and do your work with a happy heart. #coffeechain #grownostr #homesteading

GM! Photo taken in Rabat #morocco #streetphoto #blackandwhite #photography

GM! Photo taken in Rabat #morocco #streetphoto #photography

Good morning!

What's stopping you from buying a Bitaxe?

#asknostr #poll

Ah, yes need to take pictures. It's not a skep. Literally a wine cask conversion. cut the top off to give a roof, cut an opening in the bottom as their entrance.

The idea is to catch a swarm and have plenty of room for them, also, not harvest honey but just let them #bee 🐝🐝 ☺

I built it last year but there wheren't many bees️. This year looks more promising but I may have to move the cask to a better place. Need to learn heaps, but starting w something is better than to keep dreaming 😉

I’ll concede the first two points, but playing around to learn a bit and teach my kids about mining… and we used the heat this winter to supplement the rocket mass heater!

I am interested in getting a Bitaxe though, and printing out a cool 3d stand for it. :)

Still in the process of getting an EU Passport, got Irish family. On my to do list!

GM 🌞 ☕️

We got some rain a few days ago. Grass and plants look so refreshing 🌱

Good morning!

The wild plum trees on our property are blooming, always the first to bloom. I can always smell the sweet scent before i see them. #spring #nature