Winnie the Pooh and his bear friends aren’t the only animals who like honey. Protecting your bees from predators can ensure the vitality of your colony and a fruitful harvest. Use the following solutions to keep bee predators at bay:  Put up electric barriers or chicken-wire fences to keep bears, opossums, and skunks away. Elevate hives to keep opossums and skunks out of the hives. Place birdfeeders away from hives. There may be a slight gap in time between when you introduce your bees to their hive and plants begin producing nectar. During these few weeks, feed your bees with a 1:1 mixture of water and sugar. Punch holes in the top of the hive and hang small food jars with the mixture from them. This can ensure your bees have nutrition until they can access nectar. Check the hive as often as you like. This could be once between spring introduction and fall harvesting or every day if you prefer. This can ensure your hive is flourishing, building a strong comb, and doesn’t have any pests or other problems. During your check-ups of the hive, look for signs of illness, parasite infestation or other animals accessing your hive. This can help you nip potential problems in the bud before they affect your hive. Some signs of issues with your hive include:  Misplaced bars Weakened colony Visible hive beetles or wax moths on the comb Lack of larvae Deformed wings . Take out the long, flat hive frames in the fall. Scoop off the honeycomb and wax into a container or bucket with a hot knife. Then allow the honey to gradually sink to the bottom of the container and remove the wax cappings that remain. This will give you delicious, raw honey to eat and wax cappings you can turn into candles or other items.  Set the wax capping on a sieve or filter to strain out bits of the capping from the raw honey. Get an extractor if you prefer to strain your honey into a spigot and keep the wax separate.
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One-sentence summary -- Ensure your bees’ safety from critters with barriers. Feed your bees as necessary. Monitor the hive at regular intervals. Watch for potential problems. Harvest Honey


Go to the shallow end of the pool and walk down the steps into the water. Spend a few minutes splashing around and getting used to the water. If you’re nervous about being in water try blowing some bubbles to relax. First, take a deep breath. Bend your legs until your face is underwater, keeping your eyes closed. Exhale slowly, blowing out bubbles. This will help you relax.  Don’t start swimming until you’ve relaxed. If you swim while you’re stressed out you risk injuring yourself or drowning. Try opening your eyes underwater while you blow bubbles. This will also help you relax. Stretch your arms in front of you, keeping your head above the water. Stretch your legs loosely out underneath you. You can keep your feet on the bottom of the pool until you start swimming. Remember to breathe deeply and relax.  Don’t lie completely flat or stay completely horizontal. Try to find a point in between where your body is almost floating. Make sure to do this in shallow water. If you need to, you can stand up to breathe or float until you catch your breath. Cup both hands by pressing your fingers together tightly and bowing your palm out. Extend your hands one at a time and pull water towards yourself in a scooping motion. You will feel yourself moving forward a bit when you scoop the water. Practice this motion until you’re comfortable with it.  Some people prefer to scoop water in a downward motion instead of towards themselves. Your hands should be under the water at all times. Your legs will keep you afloat while your arms move you forward. While scooping water with your arms, kick your feet under the water. You can kick in a “bicycle” motion by kicking your legs in circles or a “frog kick” motion by kicking your legs out. Practice each kicking motion and decide which is more comfortable for you.   Breathe deeply. Keep your head over the surface of the water to allow you to breathe easily. If you find yourself struggling to swim or breathe, stand up and take a break. If you find yourself straining your neck, keep your head close to the surface of the water. Raise your head above the surface when you want to inhale and slowly exhale while your face is in the water. Make sure you’re staying calm at all times.  If you’re having too much trouble keeping your head above water you need to paddle harder with your hands. If you find yourself getting worn out, either stand up or turn onto your back and float until you catch your breath. If you’re having trouble staying close to the surface of the water this means you need to kick harder with your feet. Kicking your feet will keep you afloat but only if you’re kicking hard enough. Similarly, if you find yourself moving forward too slowly, paddle harder with your hands.  If you’re scooping the water towards yourself, scoop the water down instead. You won’t go forward as fast but it will help you stay afloat. If you’re struggling to do a bicycle kick, switch to a frog kick (and vice versa).
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One-sentence summary --
Get used to the water. Position yourself to swim. Practice the arm motions. Swim using your legs. Alter your breathing technique if needed. Correct swimming problems.