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21.01.2022 It’s official, we’re not just biased. Eddies honey is truely award winning with him taking home first place in the Junior honey competition at the Toowoomba Royal Agricultural Show. He’s pleased as punch. #toowoombaroyalshow2019 #moxyurbanhives #nextgenbeekeepers #backyardbeekeeping

21.01.2022 Hello bee lovers! I apologise for the lack of posts lately. It’s been a bit of a rough run for the bees and we lost one of our hives recently. Poor Queen Victoria just couldn’t hang on. We aren’t completely sure why her colony died as there was no sign of disease. As far as we can gather it was from a continual cluster #$%@ of hurdles: first crippling drought weakened them, then the fires caused smoke in the air which confused them and burnt down their food, then when we requ...eened the new queen wasn’t strong or up for such challenging times. We tried all manner of solutions to bring them back from the brink but sadly they didn’t pull through. Meanwhile our other hives seem happy as clams as the gardens around us are now thriving! My remaining bees are happy ladies, finally free to buzz about in the outdoors and get back to work. Meanwhile humans are now faced with the opposite by socially distancing. I will be spending the day preparing a stand for my new native beehive (amazing birthday present from my husband) and generally trying to be like the bee by making sure my actions support the whole colony rather than the individual. Bees colonies act as one. Their strength comes from care, hard work, support and everyone working towards the greater good of the hive. Be like the bee! #moxyurbanhives #belikethebee #urbanbeekeeping #firsthivesclub

21.01.2022 So this just happened. Kids helping spread the word about the plight of the bees and the environment in these horrendous fires we are seeing Australia wide. The effects of these fires will be felt by the pollinators for years to come I’m afraid. #moxyurbanhives #bushfirebees #plantmoretreesfeedmorebees #everylittlebithelps #toowoomba #urbanbeekeeping

20.01.2022 It’s been a busy month for Moxy Urban Hives. We were asked to contribute a massive order of DIY Beeswax wraps kits for our wonderful collaborators, Settler Hives. We needed almost 30kgs of blend and almost 2000 hand cut and pinked fabric squares. Due to the order size and the timing of it landing whilst we were all home schooling it took a mini village of helpers to get it ready. I didn't have enough wax of my own, so I made a beekeeper friend very happy by purchasing their w...ax to help give them a boost after an awful season of drought. I made my elderly ex-neighbour happy by outsourcing some fabric cutting so she could afford to save up for a computer whilst she was isolating at home. @settlerhives added their gorgeous flare to the packs and it was a great boost for them as they have just welcomed their second child into the world. Then off they will go to South Australia to support an amazing family owned small business that was badly affected in the fires last year. From there they are included as hampers given out to delegates whose conference was cancelled due to the lockdown. So many people involved, all affected in the last few months by fires, droughts or the pandemic. And all the while our little bees are happily buzzing away and I am doing a little happy dance that it may inspire the recipients to use a little less plastic going forward. #Handmade #SupportSmallBusiness #DIYwaxwraps #RippleEffect #MoxyUrbanHives #SettlerHives #UrbanBeekeeping See more

19.01.2022 Well the time had come to see if Queen Mary’s daughters had accepted their new leader Queen Anne into the hive. (Note if you haven't read my earlier post this will make no sense whatsoever). I have been waiting for two months to find out. First you have to give them so time to settle, then it was far too hot, then too wet, but a few days ago we finally got the opportunity to take a look inside. We checked nearby Queen Elizabeth first, to get a bit of a benchmark on how hives ...Continue reading

19.01.2022 For some reason at the moment my messages are all coming through very delayed. Huge apologies to anyone I have missed- please resend any if I do not respond as it’s driving me crackers!For some reason at the moment my messages are all coming through very delayed. Huge apologies to anyone I have missed- please resend any if I do not respond as it’s driving me crackers!

18.01.2022 Sometimes the planets align. This swarm was caught yesterday when a lovely family contacted me worried about the bees flying like nutbags around their garden. They settled on a lovely low branch, very calm and next door to some friends of mine. They are now happily buzzing in mums orchard and far away from this families driveway. Everybody wins. I will let you know more about swarms in the coming weeks, but if you see one don’t panic, they are not interested in you they are in the hunt for a new home. #swarmcatching #swarmseason #moxyurbanhives #urbanbeekeeping

18.01.2022 Sorry for being MIA for far too long. There’s been a bit going on on the home front and it’s been so incredibly dry that I haven’t wanted to disturb the bees much as they’ve only just managed to hang on over winter and the drought. Some friends hives have not been so lucky, so although one is struggling, I’m counting my lucky stars that all have survived thus far. The picture is what I was up to this weekend. Requeening. In those little cages are her royal highnesses along wi...th a few escorts to tend to her on her journey. Those that have read earlier posts will know that I haven’t had a huge amount of luck last time I tried to roll Queen Scary Mary, the colony overruled my decision. So this time we requeened three different hives instead (read: too chicken to attempt Mary in a drought when they are already f&$@# pissy). It’ll be three weeks before I can check to see if it worked, but I’m hoping for some new royals in town...... and rain..... above all I am always hoping for rain + = = See more

18.01.2022 I was asked to speak at Eddies old kindergarten today about bees. I was a little nervous. What questions would they ask? What should I tell them? Would their attention span be as short as a bees you-know-what? Turns out I needn’t have worried as the kids where superstars and I had forgotten the simple fact that bees are really really cool. Name any topic you are in to and I can happily wax lyrical about how it relates to bees. Drama, battles, family, science, war, community, ...group sex (unsurprisingly not mentioned today), engineering, gardening even the weather. These little guys have something to teach you about it all. Also in the end the kindergarten questions revolved around if bees wee and did the queen wear a crown - so suffice to say it wasn’t too technical. Beekeeping is wonderfully fascinating at any age and something I would highly recommend!! #nextgenbeekeepers # teachingpupae #moxyurbanhives #firsthivesclub

17.01.2022 With everyone talking about the Melbourne Cup today, it reminded me that I promised to tell you about swarms and their own dalliance with backing a winner. Colonies swarm usually in Spring as conditions are good for splitting in two and effectively duplicating their genetics in a second hive. Once a colony decides it’s time to split, the workers begin by building new queen cells to start raising a few virgin queens. They also put the current Queen on a diet and she slows dow...n her egg production as the poor old dear has far too much junk in her trunk to fly. Before the queen cells hatch, the current Queen heads out to find a new place to set up with roughly half the bees surrounding her. The new virgin princesses then hatch in the now queen-less hive and fight to the death with the winner allowed out for her one big night on the town before coming home and starting her life as Queen with the remaining half of the colony. Both rulers are in a dangerous situation, the old Queen may never make it to a new safe hive and has no honey or pollen stores available. The new Queen may not mate with enough drones, be eaten on her maiden flight or just be a general dud. So the workers have a choice: Do they stay in their half empty castle hoping the young Princess will be grow into a strong and successful Queen, or do they follow their trusted older monarch out the gates and into the unknown. They need to choose wisely, as in these stakes, they are gambling with their lives. #swarmseason #moxyurbanhives #choosewisely #stakesarehigh #longlivethequeenbee See more

16.01.2022 Queen Anne has arrived. It’s very hard to see but she comes in a tiny little cage with 4 escorts. Queens always need to be surrounded by her escorts as they clean and feed her. So her ladies in waiting are in there keeping her safe. There is also a little plug at the end made of sugar. It’ll take the new hive a few days to eat through it and release her and hopefully by then the her pheromones will be dominant and they will accept her and not kill her. Righto, I best stop procrastinating and get on and do this!

16.01.2022 Ding dong the bee-itch is dead! True to Queen Mary's nature she made the process as difficult as possible. We searched through thousands of bees on every single frame and right at the end, just before we had to give up, we found her huddled at the bottom corner of the box under a bundle of her daughters. She was huge and even her daughters are bigger than the little young Queen Anne we've popped in. Her guards were also incredibly persistent after the dethroning occurred, wit...h Mum having to try the leaf blower and then the hose to make them leave me alone. Even these didn't work with a few hanging on at the end. After walking up the street we ended up having to just make a dash for it to the safety of the house. And now we wait. Hopefully over the next few days as the colony tries to nibble the sugar plug from Anne's cage, her pheromones will dominate and the mood will turn from seek and destroy to release and accept. There is still a chance however they they will not accept her and instead they have up to 3 days after an egg from Mary is laid to change it from a worker cell to an emergency queen cell in which case they will reject the new reform and instead raise a biological (and no doubt pissy) replacement. Mum and I are so thrilled we managed. I had a mild panic when I thought one was crawling up my back but it was just sweat dripping - beekeeping is so glamorous! We will check her in a few weeks to see how it all played out. Watch this space! #NewWorldOrder #LongLiveTheQueen #DingDongTheBeeitchIsDead #CoronationDay #MoxyUrbanHives #UrbanBeekeeping

13.01.2022 Happy World Bee Day! In honour of these amazing little creatures let me introduce to you one of my favourite Australian native bees - the Teddy Bear Bee. This little guy is tiny, stocky, fuzzy and ginger - basically my third child in bee form ;). They don’t live in large colonies and instead like to dig a little hole in the ground and hang solo. Despite their size, they are amazing little pollinators. So on this special day, when you reach for you cup of coffee, piece of fruit, almond croissant, basically every third bite of whatever crosses your lips..,give a little tip of the hat to our fuzzy pollinating friends who make it possible. #worldbeeday #JohnnyBeeGood #pollinatorpower #MoxyUrbanHives #teddybearbee

13.01.2022 School holidays means an impromptu maths lesson on weight and volume as my helper packs up some orders for @live_pure_simple #moxyurbanhives #helpersthatarenotsohelpful #moxyblocks #diybeeswaxwraps

12.01.2022 This weekend was spent organising our firewood and getting the garden ready for autumn. With the weather cooling off it was also the last chance for the boys to take a final look at one of my favourite hives and check they were all ship-shape and ready to make it through the cooler months. Queen Elizabeth is looking good, she has plenty of honey to help her through and the bees look happy. It’s been a very rough season for the colony but they seem to have made it through a-ok.... I know many others out of town who are on the back foot with weak hives and having to feed their bees sugar over winter which isn’t good for their digestion. I’ve been very careful not to take too much honey off my girls this year, and luckily they all have good stores. The boys popped the lid back on and that’s a wrap until spring. We won’t open them again now as the colder weather can stress them out. They will be spending it sealing up all the gaps and the Queen will slow down her egg production to condense the population. By the first frost they will have tossed out all their drones (see one of my earlier posts about how the #futureisfemale in hives over winter). They will sort out their thermodynamics and crack open some honey cells to keep them going. Where we live doesn’t snow though, so although there will be significantly less of them, my bees will continue to work a small amount over the colder months. First Hives Club Fact: Many beekeepers don’t take time off over winter either, they use this time to build and repair and generally get their operation sorted and ready for spring as once the girls decide it’s warm enough to kick back into gear, they usually do so at a pace! For now why not be like a bee, eat some honey and cuddle your family to keep nice and snug. Fingers crossed next spring is a little kinder on the bees then the one just passed. #WinterIsComing #BeLikeABee #WinterCuddles #MoxyUrbanHives #UrbanBeekeeping #FirstHivesClub

11.01.2022 Honey for sale. Only a small amount due to the tough conditions for the bees this year so get in quick. 13. Campbell Street #moxyurbanhives #urbanbeekeeping #pocketmoney #honey

09.01.2022 Honey flow is on! Johnnys been filling jars this week and they are outside 13 Campbell Street as we speak. $7 a jar (grab your own change, not his strong suit). First in best dressed. They have also been strained through a medium rather than super-fine sieve so you’ll find a bit of pollen on the top which is great for any of you that suffer from hay fever.

09.01.2022 Spring has sprung! Rise and shine my gorgeous bees- it’s go time! #moxyurbanhives #beeseason #spring #gotime

08.01.2022 It’s flipping cold and windy out there today, so unsurprisingly all the bees are staying indoors. In these conditions the bees will stay indoors and huddle together to keep the brood warm. They’ll seal up the drafts and group hug it out until it becomes warm and lovely again. Meanwhile I am still pushing my brood outdoors to burn off some energy. The youngest however gets windburn very easily so I use a bit of my ‘Calm The Farm Balm’ on his cheeks at night. This balm is a mix... of a lot of amazing lovely stuff and of course beeswax so it traps the moisture in. It was originally made to help with a friends dermatitis and Johnnys sensitive skin but since then I’ve given it to friends and it works really well so far on eczma, chaffing, dry itchy skin, cracked heals, chapped lips, grazes, insect bites, gardeners hands, sport grazes, radiation burns, nappy rash, shaving rash and now windburn. Below is the blurb but it is for when you skin needs to calm-the-farm down. I’ve made up a few batches in different sizes so if you would like a pot let me know. I’ll post it up in the shop.

08.01.2022 I was having a cuppa and checking on my hives today. It’s still winter so they should be fairly quite. But no they are going gangbusters! A quick look around showed me why, all these sprigs I gathered within a few metres of the hive. The ladies are loving it! There are a lot of people who ask me how they can help the bees, and one of the best ways is to plant some bee friendly plants in your garden. Our Aussie natives are some of the best. It looks like come spring we could be in for some ridiculously good honey this year - fingers crossed! #beefriendly #moxyurbanhives #getyourhandsdirty #toowoombawinter

07.01.2022 One the last day of the school holidays Eddie snuck in a little bee work. It ended with us all hot and hungry, just like the bees at the moment but happy. I am hoping I end tomorrow in a similar state as I have just been informed that my new queen is ready, which means tomorrow is the day we roll a current monarch. I feel this is a good time to introduce you to our hives and explain why one of them is in need of a new ruler. Each hive has its own personality, and its easiest ...Continue reading

05.01.2022 My little wildlife warriors. I’m trying my best to do my bit for the planet going forward but I think educating and empowering the next generation who are growing up in this ever changing world should be the priority........ oh and like Johnny said don’t make the queen bee angry

05.01.2022 It's raining!! Just a little bit but I'll take what I can get! I have uploaded a picture I took yesterday of what should be a lovely sight, but that blue sky has been cloudless for far too long. As I sat at my local amateur bee club meeting last night (feeling very young as I wasn't sporting a hearing aid or wearing a souvenir Norfolk Island ironed polo), an elderly gentleman stood up and said he has been beekeeping around Toowoomba for almost 50 years and he has never witnes...sed such awful conditions for his bees. For a very long time now its been dry as a biscuit, or if it isn't stifling hot and dry its been windy. Then in the very few patches of rain for the plants its been so torrential the top soil has washed away. All in all the trees and plants are distressed, which are making the bees themselves distressed and everything has been a bit grim. And we are the lucky ones!! Our poor friends up north have witnessed the most awful flooding, and beekeepers in Tasmania have had their hives and forests burnt down in bushfires. I have been wanting to check on my hives, especially the newly queened one for a while now, but I am hesitant to open the lid as it will disrupt their carefully engineered temperature control and kill the brood. Also if they are struggling, opening them up may push them over the edge. So for now we wait and watch the weather. I have been told there may be a bit more rain to come, fingers crossed it comes and goes regularly for a while! Also may I ask, if the rain doesn't return, please fill up a container of water for bees, butterflies and anything else parched in this heat. Add pebbles, marbles, or even some sticks as they swim as well as a cottonball with legs. #moxyurbanhives #beewaterer #raindancing