Hive in a House Video

This YouTube link comes from friend and follower Troy (or Tee-Roy as we like to call him).  It shows what can happen when bees are left to build their colony inside a house . . . for years on end.  Please note: these are exterminators at work.  Not only did they literally tear the house apart (which will have to be repaired at the home owner's expense), they literally ripped out the combs  and watched the ceiling fall in as bees fill the house.

I'm not saying beekeepers will always do a better job in terms of having to tear apart the house to get to the hive, but most will try to trap bees first to reduce the number in the house, use a bee vacuum to remove them while also preserving them for a colony in another location, and do their best to preserve the comb and brood.

I can't imagine anyone was happy when this day was over, as the bees would shortly be exterminated, the house was a mess, and everyone was covered in honey. I suspect the homeowners had to live somewhere else for a day or two.

But the exterminators walked off with some money, that I can promise you. Again, I'm not saying they shouldn't be paid for working, but I'd rather give the money, bees, and comb to someone who would appreciate them and not dump it all in the trash.

Thanks, Troy!

Introducing Beekeeping to the Next Generation

One day this summer while Mark was at the Barhams' Bee Yard, their granddaughter Elizabeth expressed an interest in learning more about the bees. Sarah served as the documentary photographer from a distance, and Elizabeth suited up in my gear to get a closer look at the hives.  She is adorable!

 Mark loves to talk about bees, and was thrilled with her interest.  She had a great time and found the process intriguing.  Even if she never becomes a beekeeper, she hopefully left with a better understanding of the role bees play in pollination and a new appreciation for honey.

Unfortunately for Sarah, one of the hives swarmed while they were there and came flying straight towards her . . . and she didn't have any gear on.  Even though she knows bees aren't aggressive while swarming she was unnerved. For those who know Sarah you understand that "unnerved" means completely freaked out and screaming. When I asked her if she followed them into the woods to see where they went she looked at me like I was insane.

I guess she won't be apprenticing any time soon.

August Honey Harvest

It's been a busy week, especially for Mark.

He noticed a break in the weather in the forecast, so on Monday he pulled eight supers from Barhams' Bee Yard.  He was up late processing and cleaning up to prepare for the next day.  Late meaning 11:30 p.m., which is two hours after I was asleep.  :-)

Each frame is uncapped by hand on both sides. Each super has 10 frames. 

The extractor holds 20 frames.  The extractor runs for 30-40 minutes. Multiply that times four batches. Then, on Tuesday, he pulled eight supers from Mayhew! (He'd perfected his process and Sarah and I helped uncap, so we were in bed by 9:30 p.m. . . . only an hour later than usual!)

At first, the honey and wax flows out in a small stream. Then the flow increases as the extractor gains speed and centrifugal force pushes the honey out of the combs.

If you're not careful, you can end up with a full bucket relatively quickly!

We had several buckets full, but needed them empty for Day 2. 

Mark was prepared with handy storage containers that could be fitted with spouts for bottling. Now, we have about 5 large containers and at least 3 buckets full of honey, almost 500 pounds.  We're so blessed!

The empty frames went back into supers. Initially they were left outside for bees to rob out the remaining traces of honey. When I left for work, a cloud of bees buzzed busily around the stacks, but there appeared to be severe bee carnage from fighting -- bee bodies littered the concrete.  Today Mark put the supers back on the hives for the bees to clean up. He was afraid wax moths would take up residence in the comb. Once he finished up the clean-up job this afternoon, the major work of harvesting was over. 

This weekend I hope to bottle and label, so I should have honey available for sale next week.  I'll keep you posted!

Update on Influx of Imported Honey

Would you knowingly ingest or feed your children a food contaminated with heavy metals and known carcinogens, just to save a few cents?  Of course not.  But that's what millions of Americans are doing -- unknowingly -- when they purchase honey from major retailers instead of their local beekeepers.

This insightful article from Food Safety News explains -- in easy to understand terms -- why some imported honey poses a health risk.

We Have a Winner!

The random number generated was 4, which means Angela Walters, you have won a one-pound jar of the next harvest of Prairie Blossom Bee Farm Honey!

I suggest you hide it from your husband. ;-)

Welcome to the new friends, and thanks to everyone for your comments and continued support.

Mark and I hope to drive to the Delta tomorrow afternoon. We may harvest, we may add boxes, it all depends on what we find and the weather.  I've not been there yet, so I'm excited to see the bees in action.

While we did see a few bees while we were in Alaska, we didn't see many honey bees.  So here is a photo of a lovely dahlia we found in Anchorage.  Don't you just love saying the word, "dahlia"? And "calendula." I have a thing for flowers . . .

Beeswax Candles

This post could also be titled "Why Beeswax Is Best Handled by People Who Have Patience"

Mark went out of town. Whenever that happens, I try to carve out time to do things I enjoy so that when we're both home, we can spend time together.

The only picture I took that conveys a sense of competence & lack of mess-making prowess.

That's a nice way of saying I can't do crafty stuff with him in the house.  Because, let's face it: crafty stuff = mess making. I have to get out all the stuff, figure out how to do it, do the crafty thing, and clean up.  This take a long time, and sometimes, the process is a lot messier than the product would lead you to believe. My OCD husband does not like messes.

"Let's just do a couple of candles, just a bit 'o wax," she said.

Today I got the clever idea to try my hand for a second time at making beeswax candles.  I have the pot, the molds, the wicks, and a supply of beeswax. I was bothered with the cracks that formed in the initial batch, so I read up on the subject and hoped today would be different.

Melted wax, reflection of myself in tea kettle.

 

It might have been, were I a person who had patience. Alas, there was much mess making.  Then, I decided, since I already had wax drippings on the counter and floor, why not just melt down all the wax we've been accumulating and pour it through cheesecloth so it would be cleaned up, in one place, and ready for whatever I wanted to do with it.

Part of our stash of wax. No, not all of it!

A loaf pan of clean wax.

That was not a good idea, really.  I got distracted from the candles. I didn't watch and fill.  Then I panicked and overfilled. Then I yanked the wick out of a votive candle trying to get it out of the mold -- a mold I had sprayed mold release into.Then I forgot to pour the French vanilla fragrance sample I'd gotten into the melted wax while it was in the pot so I poured it into the mold and it hardened the wax before I could stir it due to the temperature difference.

Trying to keep the wicks straight. But overfilled molds = clips and sticks stuck to candles!

As I was pouring up pots of beeswax, I'd try to pour the dregs into a small bowl to keep the honey and detritus out of the beautiful, clean wax in the loaf pans. Instead of waiting for the wax to rise to the top and harden, I tried to skim some off the top, which made a mess of the entire bowl.

Just one small part of the carnage.

I spent nearly three hours slaving over a double boiler, and ended up with 8 small candles, none of which are perfect.Why did I think this was a fun way to spend some free time, again?

I have to say, I am pleased with the loaves of wax. If I were sane, I'd sell them to someone and give up the idea of crafting with them altogether . . . 

The Peace Bee Farmer on Moisture in Honey

For those of you interested in just how the bees deal with moisture in the nectar they bring back to make into honey, check out this blog post from Richard.