Well, first year in the books and it's about time I updated.
I suppose it can be summarized as the Tale of Two Hives. We ordered 2 hives, as per the advice I wisely chose to follow. It lets you learn what is normal, by the ability to compare. Both installed the same, and for a few weeks were on the same path. Now, as you get into your research with bees, you learn about mites. You can choose to ignore them, or you can choose to raise bees. You can't do both. There are many ways to go about it, but if you do nothing, your bees will die. That's it. Some people use natural methods of drone trapping, and screen boarding (ineffective, really), but most people settle on some sort of medication.
Most the time people monitor the mite levels and apply medication when needed. This can range from natural to chemical. Everyone has to choose their plan of attack, and I settled on mine. I chose to use natural and soft chemicals, avoiding harsh chemicals, but I chose to medicate at least twice a year, regardless of mite count (with an emergency application if needed in late fall). The first of these applications is a product completely derived from hops. Apparently the salt from the hops can be concentrated and kills mites, but is a more natural substance. I applied this for 2 weeks to each hive, after they were established in the spring. The idea being one in spring to stall the mite population, then one in late summer before the winter bees come around (a different product, of course to minimize resistance) to really kill them.
Well, hive 1 did great. The medication was applied, and the population exploded over the summer. The second hive, however, lost it's queen. It could have been alot of things, but I think I either unfortunately rolled her when applying the strips, or she got to irritated and left (or they capped her... she was weak from the start). In any case the hive went queenless. I did my weekly inspections and noticed, but by that time the bees built a few queen cells up around some larvae. So, being the experimental type that I am, I decided to let them raise their own queen instead of ordering a new one. Turns out, bees don't need us anymore than than enzymes do, haha
. They raised a big ol fat queen that put out well.
The requeening set back hive 30 -40 days. They never got to the population that hive 1 did, but they were able to fill the 2 bottom boxes with comb, honey and pollen for the winter. All in all, that's great news. I fed them a little, but they should be fine for the winter.
The second hive... holy Christmas. They had a kick ass queen and never looked back. They got so large, that by July I couldn't even open the lower boxes and find the queen. They had larvae, full chambers, and a commanding presence. I put a super on this hive late flow, and left it on through the fall flow.
The rule of thumb is you need 60lbs in the hive of honey to get through the winter. This is basically two deep brood chambers full. Now, the first year, they say you don't expect to get anything. I understand why. The package of bees start late, and they have to use nectar to build comb on the frame. Their population is small. They are fighting for survival for the winter. The first hive was successful. Thre second one, was remarkable. Turns out, I was one of the lucky ones to be able to have the bees produce their winter food, plus filled a super for us.
We found us a motorized 2 frame extractor for less than 200 bucks, and made the investment. We are so happy to have bees buzzing around the yard knowing that they are helping life around us. They are fun and fascinating. We are official bee keepers
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All in all, the super gave us 22lbs, which is just shy of 2 gallons of honey. We are super grateful for the bees. It is the thickest, darkest honey that has a little bit of the entire season. From clover, alot of sunflower, down to the buckwheat. We generally use 3 quarts, or 9-10 lbs a year, so it more than took care of us. And once in a while, on a warm winter day, the little fuzzy butts will pop out for some cleaning flights and shave just a little cabin fever off of us, telling us to hang in there, the spring will come again.
. That's another thing to learn. But a couple hundred pounds of honey a year... what's a guy to do 
