Design|Build - An Observation Bee Hive!!!

I've been charged with the task of designing and building an indoor apiary for a Seattle based clothing company!!! I'm pretty excited because I had wanted to do one of these for a while and this one is bigger than I could really find indoor space for. There are some really cool challenges to building an indoor bee hive, not having to mention bees getting loose in the store! This store has already been built out and the display floor is arranged so this build needs to mesh with the existing decor.

Since the store has a warm feeling of repurposed construction materials from salvaged wood and patina metal, I dug around for some matching materials. Since the specification for the beehive was three deep frames wide and three deep frames tall with optional space for six honey supers, I figured I'd need to use metal to get the strength and aesthetic I was after. I was able to get in the shop and spend a good day or two welding up the observation frame. It's great really getting into the groove of a project and not watching the clock and just enjoying the craft.

Stay tuned for the finished product and I hope to have enough media captured for a video on my YouTube channel!

Jason Michael Kotarski Observation Beehive 

Jason Michael Kotarski Observation Beehive

Jason Kotarski Bees Beekeeping Apiary Honey Permaculture Welding Ironworking Metal Fabrication Furniture Office Furniture Commercial Design Build Architecture Nature 

Daytime Trail Activity!!!!

We have been noticing there happens to be more rabbits than usual this year and I suspect that predators should soon follow. Checking the trail cam confirmed that suspicion. Recently I noticed for the first time we have a weasel. I managed to catch him on the camera but he was in chase mode and the photo wasn't very good as I didn't have a chance to adjust my settings. I did catch him and I have proof so it counts, it's not worth posting until I get a sniper shot of it in action or chilling. Next up was the bobcat, I've also caught the bobcat on camera but again, my camera was setup for still shots of products and not action. The trail camera picked her up again with a different angle from the previous bobcat post Bobcat . This time it appears she has something in her mouth and has stopped as someone at the top of the screen is checking the mail. The second video is a comparison of Reilly and I, Reilly is 50 pounds (ish). I came across a cougar a couple of years ago while walking Reilly and it was easily three times Riley's size, I'd say this bobcat was 30 pounds maybe?

And even though the post said Daytime, I thought I'd add this one as I think it was a coyote. We know almost every dog around here and at 2:30 in the morning I'm guessing it was a coyote.