A Taste of Honey

The bees have been having a good year.  A combination of learning from our mistakes, good weather, a better site for the apiary in the garden and especially working with a mentor has improved our beekeeping and Summer Sweet Apiary in New Farm is looking good.



Swarm in a spruce tree near the apiary



We had one hive winter over and we added a package to the other hive.  They were off a running.  On June 7th the green hive that had wintered over SWARMED! 

We tried to catch the swarm but they hugged a thick tree and by the time we got a spare box together and were ready to coax them they had departed for parts unknown. Fortunately the fertile Queen stayed with the original hive and they continued to work.

Jon and Bob helping with the hive inspections



 When we were in the hives for inspection and cleaning with our mentor on July 1st we noticed that one of the supers was full of honey.  Time to harvest! 

We soon extracted 2 gallons of dark, wonderful honey.   It is deep in color and flavor - not like the  light colored amber clover honey commonly found. Folks who have tasted it say it has various flavors of " molasses, vanilla, clethora (summer sweet), basil, mint, and earthy essences". 

It is excellent in tea, granola and yogurt and Liz has already used it in a couple of recipes.  We gave the neighbors a pint (we are keeping up good bee relations...a good idea when you have 70,000+ stingers flying around the hood).

Winds may blow over the icy sea
I'll take with me the warmth of thee
A taste of honey
A taste much sweeter than wine

as sung by The Beatles, Tony Bennet and more.



Ready to extract the stuff



First we add a "fume board" to drive the bees down out of the super



Jon adds a entrance reducer to prevent late summer "robbing"



We got the super full of honey off the hive by using a fume board to drive the bees down and then we used a  leaf blower to separate the bees from the frames.  The super went into a bag and then quickly into the house before the bees could rally.


The frames were loaded



The frames get spun in the extractor



Our honey extractor worked like a charm.  Afterwards I cleaned it in the outdoor shower.

Now I am looking around at yard sales for a couple of pots for processing my wax. 



Remove cappings, spin, filter - repeat





Whole lot of dripping goin' on - the capping yield some great honey





Yeah Baby!

 

We cleaned the frames after extracting and put the super back on.  Perhaps we will get a fall flow and harvest but first the bees need to have plenty of food for the winter.  It's only August but it is already time to think about winter feeding.

Keep up the good work girls...

RIP Casey

   Our beloved chocolate lab passed away two weeks ago after 15 years with us.  At the end of her life, she was the best farm dog we could hope for.  She loved watching the chickens, sipping from the hose,digging in the dirt, sniffing everything, and laying in the grass while my mom worked in the garden.  

Casey the farm dog, June 7, 1997 - July 14, 2012

Enjoy heaven, Casey.