Decaying Hive Bottom Boards

Decaying Hive Bottom Boards

Wooden products left out in elements can decay. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

Decaying Hive Bottom Boards

I’m starting to take inventory of what equipment I need to fix and/or replace next year. Top of the list are bottom boards, the foundation piece under a hive.

Even though my bottom boards are painted white, they seem to take the brunt of our four seasons and challenging elements. And not just the bottom board. Some of the hive bodies are also starting to show wear and tear.

One of the ways to help reduce damage to the woodenware is to rotate the parts to evenly distribute the wear.

Another suggestion is to make bottom boards out of composite wood, which is designed for outside exposure.

Since I don’t do woodwork, I will have to set up a rotation scheme next year.

Charlotte

Bucket Stool

Now I have a safe place to haul my smoker, this metal recycled pail. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Bucket Stool

I’m back from Missouri State Beekeepers Association fall conference in Moberly, a great opportunity to meet beekeepers from around the state, update my beekeeping knowledge and go shopping. Every beekeeping conference features a number of vendors who bring the latest beekeeping, and sometimes cooking, tools although I have yet to see something as cute as our Honeybees Dish Towel sets.

The reason I bring up cooking is that one of our beekeeping students was also shopping and a vendor mistook her for a spouse, trying to sell her a bundt pan instead of the multipurpose hive tool that had caught her eye. Yes, beekeeping may still be primarily a male hobby but there are a few of us ladies who enjoy it, too.

This year I was enticed to bring something not quite brand new home. It is a metal bucket the same size as my plastic 5 gallon paint buckets with a handy lid that turns into a stool. The metal bucket makes it safer for me to carry a hot smoker around the apiary without fear that it’s going to roll down my limestone hillside and the bucket stool doubles as a lid.

The metal bucket was repurposed, which to me was even better. Crooked Hills Beekeeping also added a tool skirt with pockets for beekeeping tools.

After a little remedial training, I learned how to edge the bucket stool upside down on top of the bucket to use it as a lid.

The bucket stool turns my bucket into a garden seat. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Beekeepers are engineers at heart, quite resourceful when it comes to making equipment they need. This is a perfect example of that ingenuity and one I plan to enjoy for many years to come!

Charlotte