These trees are all sticks right now, they started to drop their leaves in early autumn and finished by winter time. I was surprised by how early the leaves dropped and initially thought my trees may have had some kind of sickness. But I have been assured that the Cherry trees just tend to drop their leaves very early in the fall season.
During the winter I have seen some spiky nodes show up on the branches and trunk of the tree. From there flowers should bloom and new leaf sets should emerge. Hoping it gets some more stem and trunk growth as its real small right now. But I only got it a year ago so I am being patient.
When the spring time comes around I am quite curious when these trees will flower, hoping they line up with when my Mason bees are out. From what I have read Blueberries and Cherries are some of the earliest blooming fruiting plants.
I have three cultivars of cherry trees, A Minnie Royal, Lapins and Black Tartarian. They all seem to be producing these little spiky nodes, so soon I should see them leaf and maybe even flower. From what I have read the Minnie Royal may blossom during a different week than the Black Tartarian or Lapins. Which may affect their ability to get pollinated, but even if I do not get fruit from one of the four Cherry trees I have it will be a good pollen and nectar source for bees. They say the Minnie Royal flowers very early on, so hoping it will for my Mason bees sake.
I recorded this video a few weeks ago and by today March 6th the spiky nodes have yet to open up, but looks like they are really close. Starting to see some green and maybe some red or pink inside of some of the unopened nodes. So I am guessing another week or so and they should be popping open. We shall see if we get flowers this year, it may just put on more growth before trying to blossom.
Adding wax to your trays is an important step in making a good home for honey bees. I recently saw another bee keeper on Hive doing this, but a different way from my process. You can find a link below to how they make a press to design his own trays. Maybe next year I can design such a setup, seems like the way to go. But being my first time I am sticking to what others have told me and what the bee keeper I bought from suggested.
> https://peakd.com/hive-173511/@hivelifebg/my-press-for-wax-bases
by @hivelifebg
I will be using foundation trays and starter strips, and then adding some warm wax to these trays to give the honey bees resources to start drawing out combs.
https://i.postimg.cc/vHjqrMCk/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-09h59m51s378.png
As of one of the final preparations to the bee hives, I melted down bees wax and applied it to the trays. This will help encourage the bees I will be placing in the hives to build out honey combs using it and to start producing their own.
https://i.postimg.cc/8z6yw9S5/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-10h01m30s191.png
When I got the trays I could see a tiny bit of it applied to the trays, but I was told by @meanbees the more the better. So I added more wax to these trays. I hear if theres too much the bees will just knock it off so no big deal.
https://i.postimg.cc/ncw53q9d/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-09h49m59s116.png
The tools used for this is an old crockpot to heat up the bees wax pellets, a paint roller, and a brush. I soak the paint roller in the wax and then let some of it drip off before rolling it onto the foundation trays. The roller and brush were brand new so no paint was on them.
https://i.postimg.cc/hjg3XrNG/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-09h52m26s609.png
As I roll on the wax it quickly dries and forms a hard substance on the trays.
https://i.postimg.cc/T1NkHX1y/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-09h54m11s105.png
Once I flip them over to do the otherside it looks like the warm wax makes the trays change colors.
After rolling on the wax I go over the missed spots with a paint brush.
https://i.postimg.cc/3NxSBw85/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-09h55m57s641.png
Moving onto the starter strips I only use a tiny bit of wax to coat the top, these trays the bees will draw out the comb and hopefully fill the whole frame.
https://i.postimg.cc/cLpzSZmw/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-09h57m20s877.png
I place them back into the beehive once done and move onto the next tray, each of my hives hold about 8 trays so I had 16 total to do.
https://i.postimg.cc/9fynXS8S/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-09h58m30s691.png
One box done and one more to go, since I have two bee hives.
https://i.postimg.cc/KzNpBTyD/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-09h52m47s892.png
Setting up my next foundation tray I use the roller again and let the wet wax drip off so theres not so much on the roller. And then I get the rest with my paint brush.
https://i.postimg.cc/cJGFzhxc/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-10h02m05s753.png
With some extra bees wax at the end of the tray painting process I decided to use the rest on a stick. Ill place this stick near the hive and see if they try to collect the wax from off of it. Just wanted to use of the rest of the wax, no idea if its useful.
https://i.postimg.cc/VsKHNXgY/vlcsnap-2021-02-25-09h54m48s210.png
One last things needs to be done to these hives, and thats install the entrance reducer. When a hive is not strong yet the guards outside the hive can only watch over a small area, so by reducing the space for bees to enter the guards can do a better job. I will use some wire screen to do this and will show hows its done in a future post.
I ditch the van as the tires got all shot out. I find a near by parked vehicle with four seats.
The flare gun that the bodyguards have would shoot flares and get stuck to the vehicle making it quite blinding.. Some vehicles like the van are much better for shooting flares.
I think the flare gun is one of my favorite weapons in GTA V. That and the fireworks launcher. They are usually not powerful in a single shot but sometimes you can get pretty lucky shots and do some major damage. I guess I just like the fire causing weapons. Hope one day buildings and structures can be set on fire in the game. Pretty cool that grass now catches on fire in GTA V. But the bodyguards are pretty dumb and usually die when trying to use the flare gun or fireworks launcher in grassy areas.
I turn on the angry peds option in the native trainer, it makes as the title suggests peds angry. This made things alot more interesting for me and the bodyguards. Otherwise they really only aggro on police.
The bodyguards are equipped with a non lethal weapon and an incendiary weapon. Instead of giving them normal guns they have to fight off the angry peds with flares and tasers.
I change vehicles again and use a tour bus van vehicle. So I can fit many bodyguards inside. At first I did not think they could shoot inside the vehicle. But eventually they figured out how to do so. The van got all its windows shot out and then the bodyguards could fire back.
Changing the angry peds option back seeing how quickly calmed down was interesting. Though I turned it back on and had some more fun with bodyguards with tasers and flare guns.
Solominer Presents:| Grand Theft Auto V with enhanced native trainer Update 42 |
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Year | 2013
Genre | Action-Adventure
Console | PC
Platform | Windows 10
Rig specs:| Main gaming setup |
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Processor | Ryzen 7 1700 Eight Core overclocked to 3.7 Ghz
Memory | Corsair DDR4 32GB overclocked to 3066 XMP 16-17-17-35 1T
Video Cards | 2x Gigabyte G1 1080 no overclock
Power Supply | Corsair 1000W
---
Coin | Address
-|-
BTC: |bc1qhfmvd2gywg4fvrgy2kkkkyqta0g86whkt7j8r7|
LTC: |ltc1qdyzm5cwgt8e2373prx67yye6y9ewk0l8jf3ys9|
DASH: |XkSqR5DxQL3wy4kNbjqDbgbMYNih3a7ZcM|
ETH: |0x045f409dAe14338669730078201888636B047DC3|
DOGE: |DSoekC21AKSZHAcV9vqR8yYefrh8XcX92Z|
As the covenant boards the ship we are on, I have to repel them. I run out of marine weapons and switch to the alien blasters. The same kind the Elites use which has a nice rate of fire.
One of the Elites jump from a corner and I take it out. Then I heard of a bomb that is on the ship though I had some troubles trying to find it.
I come across a shotgun and switch to that weapon. As I get into a few area of the ship there is alot more resistance. I switch to a submachine gun I found and get to work taking out the covenant.
Many grunts running around but they do not stand much chance of surviving my weapons. The elites are more dangerous but as long as I keep an eye on my shields I do just fine.
Finding myself doing a space walk I have on jetpack Elites. One of was stuck in the structure so I just threw a plasma grenade at him.
I got to this moving structure though not sure what its purpose was. I kept moving on, I find the bomb and disarm it and deliver it back to the enemy.
The next map loads and now we are in a city trying to fight off the covenant. Those flying insect aliens show up and I use most of my ammo taking them out. Probably should have stuck to the stationary gun but oh well.
Hunters show up and I went right for that stationary gun, glad I did. Made pretty quick work of them. I kept them in the door way and they got mowed down after a few seconds.
This video is almost 40 minutes long so alot more action in it than just what I mentioned.
These trees are really waking up now, leaves coming out and forming small branches. The first one we look at is a Minnie Royal Cherry Tree. Its considered a low chill hour tree only needing a fraction of chill hours as the others I have on my property. It also flowers much earlier than the other Cherries. They are grown in Southern California and other southern areas, and its part of a different pollination group which means it needs a very specific Cherry cultivar to make fruit. So its hard to say if I will get fruit from this tree, but at least it should be an early flowering tree for the Bees to make use of it.
Its been in the ground for about four months now, and seems something has been nibbling on the leaves. The second tree we look at is a Lapins Cherry tree, it needs more of the standard amount of hours of chill time under 45F. Around 400-900 for this cultivar, the Minnie Royal only needs 200-300 chill hours below 45F to make fruit. As long as it gets pollinated.
The Lapins Cherry Trees produced flowers earlier this year but I do not think they got pollinated as it was only one tree that did that. They wilted away as I think the tree was in shock from just being planted.
The forth Cherry tree I own is a Black Tartarian cherry tree, it produces dark sweet cherries and should pollinate the Lapins and vice versa. Its shooting off some stems and hopefully will flower in a year or two.
Looking forward to when they produce flowers in mass, and to see how well it lines up with my Bees emerging in late February. Many trees do not produce flowers until April so having some trees around early on in the season like my Peach tree will give the Bees a source for nectar and pollen to build homes. And pretty sure the Two Lapins and the one Black Tartarian should produce fruit, may be a few years away but I think I can be patient and wait for them to be ready to flower and produce fruit.
I recently found a mod for Oblivion that applies new textures and upscales the overall appearance of the game. I decided to try the game out again as I have not played it in many years.
It looks great now, in the past I would be hesitant about playing such an old game on my 2k and 4k monitors but with the mod to make the graphics better its worth giving a try.
When it comes to open world maps, I sometimes like to just run off in to the wild and see what I find. Usually over powered enemies, so I have to run away or take extreme measures to kill them. Sometimes climbing up where they cannot get to me and then I use arrows or magic.
While looking for places to search I came across a pretty tough enemy. I had to back track and really run around just to survive. Using a mix of magic and weapons I eventually took him out. I entered the underground lair and got to looking for enemies. Early on in the game I got a detect life item and its been really helpful. I can see enemies around walls and I do not get suprised so easily. Though sometimes they find a way to sneak up behind me and not much I can do about that.
I found alot of skeletons but only had a sword which does not do much damage against them. I wish I had a axe or hammer something that does blunt damage. So I ended up just running around the map trying to avoid getting killed and not wasting my time trying to fight back. I could barely put a dent into the skeletons.
Being so early on in the game maybe this place I found was something I was suppose to visit later. I guess that happens when I just run into random places and expect to clean house. Well running away works pretty well too.
Last we checked on these Bush Cherries they were a little stressed out. I had just put them in the ground early spring, so during that time they were not adjusted yet. Though in the last few months they have put on some new growth. A few inches have formed and seems to be doing okay.
A question still remains, do I have two Cherry shrubs. Looking at the two they have different stem structures and the color is a little different as well. I am curious to see when the other one flowers what they look like. I ordered two Hansen Bush Cherries from Starkbros. So maybe there was a mistake and I was shipped two different plants. Or maybe two kinds of Bush Cherries.
These shrubs are not growing as quickly as my Cherry Trees, but they do seem to be adjusted and stable. Maybe next year we will see some big growth on them. And hoping in a couple years I will get flowers on both. During the fall I am looking forward to the color changes in the leaves. Since they will drop their leaves when the frosts come around the leaves tend to change. My Blueberry bushes turn a bright red color, so curious what color the Cherry leaves will look like.
Looking at the second Cherry shrub I am unsure which one is which. I guess I will have to wait and see what the flowers look like. And even fruits, will tell me alot about the plant. So this mystery may remain for the next few years until both of them mature into adult plants.
Cant wait to get those fruit to form, on both the trees and these shrubs. The trees should produce nice sized fruit, and the shrubs produce a smaller but more sweet tasting berry. I do not think I have eaten a Bush Cherry before, so maybe its something I will really enjoy. I hear the seeds are quite large in them but we have a cherry depitter. It works fine for full sized cherries but not sure how well it will work on the Bush Cherries.
At this point in the build I have the stands set up and its time to add the beehives and finish the workbench. Using a sawzall, a level, and my screw driver I make some changes to the design of my work bench and then get to installing the table top.
https://i.postimg.cc/fLbTkfqp/beesitepart21.gif
First I carry down my beehives, right now they have no bees in them. Last I checked I should be getting them in early April, seems the frost has pushed forward the date where I will be getting them. None the less I carry down my hives and set them up outdoors to await the packages of bees.
Link to part 1:
https://peakd.com/hive-173511/@solominer/honey-bee-site-setup-part-1
https://i.postimg.cc/Qd5Brmvq/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h09m00s800.png
I decide to flip over my sugar water feeders since they are empty right now and I do not want rain water trying to collect inside with the holes I put in them. I was worried rain would get in, then freeze and crack the plastic but it appears that did not happen so I am glad. I just flipped them over until I get the bees.
https://i.postimg.cc/sxq2kGc8/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h09m15s082.png
The table tops are two feet by four feet, I used plywood which I then applied many layers of outdoor plant on. Hopefully they will hold up for many years outdoors by painting them as much as I could.
https://i.postimg.cc/yY3xFn6z/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h09m22s181.png
In the last part of this video I build the table frame, but realized it was way too big for what I needed. So I removed the 2x4s and cut them down to fit the table top.
https://i.postimg.cc/sfN1Qbrc/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h09m37s336.png
I probably should have taken it apart piece by piece but I didnt and had some troubles moving it around..lol
https://i.postimg.cc/kgx5H4t1/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h10m24s039.png
After disassembling it on the ground I placed the 2x4s back on the pole and screwed them into place, but offset this time as I will be cutting them shortly.
https://i.postimg.cc/rw6mgWzR/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h10m11s701.png
Measuring how much 2x4 I wanted to keep on the pole I mark it and then prepare to cut the remainder off with my sawzall.
https://i.postimg.cc/tgk4XMkF/beesitepart22.gif
Using my reciprocating saw made quick work of the job, I cut the first 2x4 and then moved onto the second one.
https://i.postimg.cc/6pNWCX1d/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h19m06s922.png
Once the 2x4s were cut I proceeded to install the eight foot 2x4s that will be the framing for the table top.
https://i.postimg.cc/7ZMxVWpj/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h19m16s919.png
Checking how level it is after putting one screw in, then tilting it until I find it level.
https://i.postimg.cc/7PdYY73t/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h19m29s547.png
Brought the two 2x8 boards down and got them ready to install on the 2x4 frames.
https://i.postimg.cc/c431KHTx/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h19m38s935.png
Setting both on the table took some skill, had to balance them as the long 2x4s made it a little wobbly until I put both on.
https://i.postimg.cc/Y9jMtqhw/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h20m05s669.png
Once I started screwing in the table, it shored everything and made the table rigid. I placed about six screws into the table to hold it all in place.
https://i.postimg.cc/5t4fkmJy/beesitepart23.gif
Next was to add some my Hive stencil to the table top, I did over spray a little, thought I had enough paper to cover. Its okay its just a little bit.
https://i.postimg.cc/j27TJgHg/beesitepart24.gif
Removing the over spray paper and the stencil reveals the Hive logo in its regal red color.
https://i.postimg.cc/ryjxnqrN/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h44m13s137.png
I move on to applying the stencil to the beehives.
https://i.postimg.cc/4N3tjjvk/vlcsnap-2021-03-08-09h44m43s484.png
They came out great! Was worried the stencil was going to be too big but it was perfect.
### Bonus trailcam photos:
https://i.postimg.cc/52TwBpCc/IMAG0623.jpg
I forgot I had my trailcam set up watching over my beehive site. And it captured me carrying down my hives.
https://i.postimg.cc/d1mrKYSv/IMAG0626.jpg
Was trying to be careful not to drop anything or side down the hill.. lots of leaves were on this hill and made it easy to slip. Luckily I did not.
https://i.postimg.cc/Qtr1Ptm0/IMAG0627.jpg
This was from before trimming down my table frame so it stuck out alot more. One of the reasons I trimmed it down is it was too close to the hives and would make it hard to work by them.
https://i.postimg.cc/90mTmnv9/IMAG0631.jpg
Getting the hive all set up and ready for the bees. I make sure the hives are slightly higher in the back so water does not pool in them when it rains.
https://i.postimg.cc/PJSDPMjR/IMAG0655.jpg
@activate.alpha came out to check out my work on the hives. She liked it but where I set them up is kind of hard to get to.
https://i.postimg.cc/GpDvqYF4/IMAG0807.jpg
Using my table for the first time, loving having a work bench by the hives. Should make working on them alot easier
A few of the bee boards has had its holes completely filled in, this is great as they are taking to what I built for them. I see mud all the way to the front of the opening, one of those tunnels is completely filled in. Mission complete by a ms Mason Bee.. hah
So this is a sign that the boards are working, and hope to see more filled in soon. As I pan my camera across the boards a Bee takes cover inside its home. Though they have not been without their problems. I found a dead Bee inside one of the homes. It was just laying in there and not moving. So I pulled them out with plyers and left it off to the side. Ive found about five of them dead like that so far, but out of hundreds im not too worried about it. As long as we get more cocoons its okay as its just the cycle of life. More will die as it gets closer to the end of their life cycle. Im not stressing it.
I also check inside the bee house and show off a few covered holes that the Bees have completed. I point out which ones they filled in but the Bees did not want my fingers in there so I quickly gave them space. They wont sting me but I can tell if they are bothered by something. Just a day or two ago Luci the dog sticks her snout in the bee house and tries to eat them. Lol.. we think she may have gotten stung by one while trying to eat the Bees. Since then I moved it up higher up so she cant get to them.
Really glad the Bees are taking to them, after all the work I put into building their homes. I am looking forward to filling them in.
Since these boards have worked so well for me, I need to make some more and figure out the costs of them. And then offer to sell the bee boards on Hive and other places.
The Bees fill these holes from the back all the way forward to the front. In the cover animation, a female can be seen laying larva at the end of the tunnel. Her face and body covered in pollen as she works hard during peak season to build as many homes as possible. Probably the final cell before she caps off the end with mud and moves onto a new hole. This can be seen at 1:05 and again at 9:38 She will repeat this building many depending on how far of a flight she needs to travel from flower to the home. I try to provide them with many flowering plants and trees within 100 yards of them.
At 5:45 a Mason Bee can be seen collecting wood fibers from the holes. Since I only roughly sanded down these tunnels there are little flecks of wood attached to the tunnels. Searching for pieces she can break off with her mandibles. She hangs around for a little awhile before deciding to take flight, maybe off to the hole she is working on building homes in.
Seeing the mud walls of different colors makes me think these Bees are quite diverse in where they collect mud. As I see tan colored mud, brown and even the red Georgia clay mud thats well known around where I live. Being high in iron it makes the dirt rust colored. The Bees seem quite happy with it as a building material.
At 11:41 a Mason Bee can be seen laying fresh mud down, it was still wet in appearance as it has not dried yet.
In Part 5 we will see the flight path of the Bees as I pull the camera away from the home. Its obvious how busy the homes get. In the next part I will also move their homes. As we have had problems with Luci the dog sticking her face inside the Bee house when walking by it. She will try to eat the Bees, and I dont want her to get stung. Has not happened yet but would rather be proactive. These Mason Bees are very gentle and I have yet to have any aggression issues towards humans. No stings yet and they just seem to want to be busy building homes and not much else.