Jesse Glessner

Jenny Nazak wrote:Love this thread and thank you for starting it!
Back in 2010 I moved to super humid Florida. Love the beach and all that. However, the coastal climate seems to be very rough on the zippers.

And why do far too many clothing manufacturers use zippers that you can hardly see, they are so small.

I have exercise pants that had no zippers. I bought good solid sturdy zippers and took everything to a lady to sew in the zippers. She used these tiny little zippers that are hard to see, let alone use. I never did get my good zippers back either.

The best zipper in my house is on my Carhart Winter Coat. Great zipper, good size, tough, and workable even with gloves on!
Levis, or other brands of work pants.  Ehhh! They are sometimes too short, to hard to work, and just not "human friendly" but they are MUCH better than those tiny little zippers!

Casey Halone wrote:I have seen mini blinds cut up to give you lots of tags that stick right in the ground. i have some broken sets i am planing on using for this.

Yup, been there, done that! In fact I just cut a 32" wide Venetian blind into 3 sections, pulled the string out, trashed the hardware, and "presto" I have Garden Markers!!
To make the Sharpie info on those last longer, I type out those names in large bold text then using the 2" packing tape I tape the names lengthwise onto the vinyl strips. IF you allow enough tape at the top and fold it over that helps with the moisture problem too!

Of course, if you want permanent markers, you could always buy a CNC System and CARVE the info onto wooden stakes. That would only last a couple of years unless you heavily spray a clear coat over the stake. Any thing you put into the ground will eventually (meaning soon) rot. This stakes really do stand out though. I spray paint around the text and then sand the flat surface bare again and then clear coat them.

Pam Kennedy wrote:I so appreciate these suggestions for using those wonderful but ubiquitous  (in my house!) jars. But it feels at times like a huge promotion for Amazon, which I do not use.

Well, it is hard to find some things out on the Internet - unless you use exact wording for what you're looking for.

I found PLASTIC Pint Jars from an ad below my purchases some time back. I've purchased those twice now to hold dry goods from my prepper projects. They really are handy and are quite a bit cheaper than glass jars.

Dale Bunger wrote:the right way to enjoy the beverage of your choice ;)

 

That looks way cool! I might just have found the perfect "gift" for a couple of little ole ladies!   :-)
When I'm down to only 5 or 6 projects I'll have to scrounge for the candle holders under the jar.

S Windlass wrote:Calendula tincture, diluted with clean water, 1:20 (one drop of tincture to 20 drops of water)
Store it in a jar with a lid and dip in a cotton ball to apply it to any skin wound - abrasion, cut, etc.
This stuff is simple and amazing.

I tried growing Calendula last year with not much luck. I did get flowers but not like all of the catalogs show.
I did buy more seed and will try again this year and grow in different spots in the garden to see what happens.
IF I can get some nice healthy flowering I will try the tincture.

All of you seem to go to an extraordinary effort to get the job done. I just pull out a bandaid, slather some honey on it, and stick it on the wound. It is amazing how quickly a wound will heal with that.

And, YES, I also use other things besides honey. It depends on how big and bad the wound is.

John C Daley wrote:I use cloth hankies all the time.
I am annoyed when I see people using the others because I just see trees being cut down for single use items.

I always carry a cloth handkerchief in a back pocket, however, I use the half-sheet paper kitchen towels. I usually wind up using at least three of those almost every morning when my sinuses drain. And I fold several of those up and stick in a jacket pocket or pants pocket when I go shopping where one gets a LOT of different smells going through different stores.

What would we ever do without the trees to make those?!

Mike Barkley wrote:

On top of the frames themselves there will be another layer of tight fitting boards.

I advise caution with that. The moisture from winter condensation needs to be able to escape or it can will kill bees.

Yes, do watch that! On the Layens hives the frames fit together without boards being on top. But we also use a "pillow" of a blanket of some sort on top of the frames. However, there is also a 3/4" plywood panel that has pushpins in one side. That side is at the bottom next to the last frame of honey left for the bees when preparing for winter. SO, there is a huge hollow space where the bees can still get into but I've never seen that. And there is still good air-flow inside the hive with the "pillow" catching any condensation plus covering any cracks between the frames.

Ahmet Oguz Akyuz wrote:Hi there! I have two Layen's style beehives, which I built mostly by following the instructions at https://horizontalhive.com/. This was the second winter for one of the hives, and it was the first one for the other. At the end of October, I thought I was winterizing my hives by putting several layers of fabric on top of the frames including clean undershirts and towels. In one of the hives, I even put a small cushion. All of these materials were placed above the frames and underneath the lid. The lid has two side ventilations and the hive has a screened hole at the bottom to allow airflow. After collecting the honey and making sure to leave the bees a generous amount, I removed the empty frames and put an insulation board to tuck the bees in to one side of the hive (to the side where the entrance is). Finally, I reduced the size of the size of the entrance slit to prevent unnecessary heat loss.
Oguz

Did you insulate the hive with wool or 2" thick poly foam insulation board during the build? With wool is how the purchased hives come. Even with that, with my Layens hive, I put 3/4" thick foam board up around the sides and on top. What caused the wetness is the heat rising, concensing on the metal top, and then dropping back down on the frames area. I had an old fuzzy light weight blanket that I folded into 4 layers and laid that on the top of the frames. I always leave 10 frames of honey for the bees and install the divider board, leaving the empty frames out of the hive. This allows the bees to produce the heat needed to keep them through the winter, yet allows the larger hollow to be colder. That has kept my bees through 3 winters!

Do you know that towards the end of Fall that the Queen produces some larger, stronger bees to last through the 3 months or so of winter? Then in early Spring their eggs produce normal sized bees again? ALSO, people say NOT to feed the bees sugar water in Spring, however, I see bees flying around looking for food before trees and other growths have food available for the bees. I give the bees a boost by feeding through 2 or 3 sacks of sugar water. I use a 4 lb sack of sugar, 9 cups of water, and heated only to 120 degrees F, let cool down and then pour that into a 5 gallon bucket tilted to a 45 degree angle with winter dried stems of lilies as floats for the bees to land on and consume the sugar water. It works great! But, as I say, it only goes through 2 or 3 fills of the mixture and then it is done for the Spring.

I did lose an entire Langstroth hive this past Fall through much of my own fault. I couldn't get out enough to see what was happening due to a hip replacement. The bees left and others raided the hive - completely! SO, I'm finished with the Langstroths hives any way and will have a second Layens hive this year.

Sorry about your loss! I too lost all of my first years' bees in the Langstroth as I did not have a blanket inserted at the top to catch the moisture and my bees froze. Later years I had a blanket and no problems with that. This past year I think the whole hive just disappeared.

Good Luck this year! Happy BeeKeeping!

Carla Burke wrote:Great video!! I subscribed to her channel, after watching it, and perusing her other videos. Just wow!

And YES, thanks for whomever shared this video.  This is a hoot!!! :-) I also subscribed to watch another of her videos when I need a good chuckle!
I could ALMOST live with some wacky person like her - and maybe even give the person a key to my Man Cave Shop to play with my mechanical toys.