Thoughts for 2013

Well, yesterday I sold the last of my honey from 2012.  What a great honey year it was inspite of the drought.  I believe Aaron has a few bottles left, with at least one needing to be delivered.  I'm not 100% sure how much honey I harvested, but I believe I bottled around 260 pounds with profits going into more equipment.  Beekeeping can become an expensive hobby, especially when you look at buying frames.  While the wood to make a hive box isn't too expensive, the frames are over $2 a piece.  So, a beehive with two deep supers and two honey supers will cost just under $100 just for the frames!  At present, I am assembling 20 deep hive boxes to expand the apiary this year.  Next, I need to make 10 more bottom boards, inner covers, and telescopic lids.  That should give me the opportunity to expand to approximately 25 hives.  Next I need to build more honey supers to maximize honey production.  If all goes well, I hope to produce 40 gallons of honey in 2013.  So, what does one do with 40 gallons or 480 pounds of honey?  Expand markets!  Ah, but let's not put the cart before the horse, because it is still winter, it is actually snowing as I type, and the bees have to make it through winter yet, and now is the time that some face starvation....time to feed!