Obamahive

[Barry]

Seeing that I'm traveling near D.C., I just had to check out the Obamahive for myself.

[Hambone]

Nice! I don't guess they let you in to do an inspection?

That is a good zooming lens you have too.

[KQ6AR]

Thanks for sharing

[FindlayBee]

Any bees in it?

Also, shouldn't that be a Kenya Top Bar Hive?

Anyway, nice to see bees getting some National Attention.

[Barry]

I did see bees flying around it. We were at the Washington Monument getting ready to walk over to the White House when 3 of the Marine helicopters flew overhead and the middle one landed on the lawn while the other two "decoys" flew away. I wish I had been there to see the effect on the bees flight!

[peacekeeperapiaries]

do those bees have health insurance??? If not they should be included in the National Plan.

[winevines]

There should be some photos of WH honey extraction in the NY Times at some point.

[peacekeeperapiaries]

Does Dadant sell a "beekeeping ladder" or is the WH beekeeper taller than Shaqile O'Neill.

[Rohe Bee Ranch]

I was wondering the same thing...mighty tall hive stand.

And I am glad that bees are getting national attention.

[NasalSponge]

Very nice!!

[winevines]

I was wondering the same thing...mighty tall hive stand.

This was requirement due to bee flight path out of the way of kids, dogs, and the stuff churned up when the helicopter lands. Search on this forum and Toni has explained all of this in detail

[adamf]

I, Kelly my wife, and Isabel, my daughter, had a great experience this Summer!
We helped Charlie Brandts pull some honey in June, from the First Hive.
We met Charlie in front of the White House on June 10th.
A brief trip through security, then off through the grounds to the First Hive.
We checked the hive's supers, pulled some nice honey (mostly basswood).
We were filmed pulling the honey--since the White House residents are busy,
they are able to view some grounds going-ons (our work) later--beekeeping TIVO!

After the hive work, Charlie took these nice photos of us, and we were treated to a White House tour,
the highpoint being our delicious experience in the pastry kitchen!

Photos:
www.ibiblio.org/bees/adamf/wh

[sqkcrk]

Also, shouldn't that be a Kenya Top Bar Hive?

Careful there Findlay. People might get the wrong impression about you.

[dragonfly]

Great pix!
I would have to use a ladder to work that hive.

[FindlayBee]

Careful there Findlay. People might get the wrong impression about you.

I had a short debate with myself over that. However, my first hive is a kenya top bar hive so...

Plus... they have an Organic Garden. Wouldn't they want to use a more natural way of keeping bees?

[Barry]

[QUOTE=FindlayBee;462214

Plus... they have an Organic Garden. Wouldn't they want to use a more natural way of keeping bees?[/QUOTE]

Organic? It was reported that the soil had levels of lead above the acceptable limits.

[Dave W]

The tall hive stand is to keep the dog safe.

Check out the "helicopter" straps!
I guess a big rock or a few broken bricks would be too tacky for the White House.

[deknow]

Organic? It was reported that the soil had levels of lead above the acceptable limits.

but they got the nice photo op of the first lady tilling the soil with school children...right before the raised beds went in!

deknow

[FindlayBee]

Did they put the hive in before or after the soil was tested?

It was suppose to be an organic garden. However, a prior resident allowed sewer slug to be used. I am not against sewer slug as fertilizer (I don't use it), but I do believe it should be tested first to make sure it isn't harmful.

[sqkcrk]

I had a short debate with myself over that. However, my first hive is a kenya top bar hive so...

Plus... they have an Organic Garden. Wouldn't they want to use a more natural way of keeping bees?

More natural? That's not why it was developed. And I don't know why it isn't called The Peacecorp Top Bar Hive. Since that is who developed the design, because of the scarcity of materials which made it hard for the production of Langstroth equipment. The hives indigenous to many parts of Africa were the inspiration. These hives are hollow logs hung in trees.

They are often just called long hives too.