First Spring Work Day at Bee Hill

If the weather could be as perfect all summer as it was today, we'd both be full-time beekeepers. A light breeze, beautiful sun, and temperatures in the low 70s . . . I didn't even sweat!

A friend of Andrew's loaned us his Mule while he's out of town. We like the bigger bed space and bench seat!

Today we worked the 7 hives on our property. Earlier in the week Mark worked the bees at Barhams' and the week before that, at Harley's. Two colonies at Barhams' didn't make it, but all six at Harley's are doing well.

It's been a cold, wet spring, and the bees haven't had much of a chance to get out. Which means the beekeepers haven't gotten into the hives much!

That said, today they were bringing in *pink* pollen from the redbud trees, as well as yellow, orange and white pollen. Pollen will stimulate the queens to lay more eggs and build up the colonies' populations.

I can safely say that all 7 colonies are in good shape. We took two frames of solid honey from #3 to give to #4, which had a big population and no honey left whatsoever. Since #4 was the first hive we opened, we were concerned, especially since we did not harvest honey from this yard in the late summer!

Fortunately, this was the only hive without enough resources to make it through this weird spring.

Mark got a ventilated jacket with a hood last year, and really likes it.

 The most interesting thing we discovered was that leaving 2 deep boxes and multiple mediums on top filled with honey, combined with a cold, wet spring, resulted in abandonment of the brood chambers. We discovered "chalkbrood" -- a fungal disease that takes hold when there aren't enough nurse bees to keep the brood warm. The bees in at least 2 of our colonies were too spread out, and resources were far from the brood chamber. In both of these cases, the queen and workers had simply moved up to where the honey and pollen was, and took up residence there.

We ended up taking off both deeps from #2 and leaving a stack of three mediums. On another, we removed one deep.

It was so lovely to be back in the bee yard! All of the hives were docile and content, happily humming without showing signs of aggression. Well, except #7, and by then it had clouded up and gotten windy, so perhaps that was part of the problem.

Every year we learn more about what to do and what not to do. Mark has a lot of work to do in terms of killing weeds and ants out at Bee Hill. Next week he's going to set up a bee yard in Starkville for a guy who is starting an organic farm.

He got the first swarm call of the year yesterday, and like last year, it was a false alarm. And, like last year, it was because bees were going crazy in some holly bushes. It won't be long, though, until the weather warms up and the swarm calls come in. We're ready!

Snow!

I snapped this photo this morning at about 7:30 a.m. We had snow today, on my birthday! It reminded me of this walk we took in the snow to see the beehives. It's rained for so many days we can't even get to the hives on Bee Hill right now -- flooded. But I know Spring will come soon!

Happy Holidays!

If you have received Prairie Blossom Bee Farm honey this holiday season and are visiting the blog for the first time, welcome!

With the support of several business clients, Mark has bottled, shipped and/or delivered over 300 one-pound bottles of this year's first-ever Delta honey crop.

This super-sweet honey, made primarily from the nectar of cotton blossoms, has a tendency to crystallize faster than our wildflower honey. Exposure to lower temperatures also increases the rate of crystallization. But don't worry! Crystallization is a natural process.  Here is a brief article on the process.

If you don't like your honey in its crystallized state, we recommend warming it in hot water. Repeated warming and cooling can impact the color and taste of the honey. Microwaving, while the fastest method, super-heats the honey and diminishes its health benefits.

Our honey is a raw product -- we filter it only once, when it comes out of the extractor. We don't super-heat it, because heat kills the beneficial enzymes. Our goal is to bring you a pure, natural and delicious treat with its health-related benefits intact. 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask us.  Wikipedia has a thorough article on honey, and details best temperatures under the section titled "Preservation."

For more information on the natural benefits of honey, visit the National Honey Board's website.

Our thanks to the Tatums at Loresco, Ronnie Jones Construction, the Brocks at Shelter Insurance, Johnny Wigley at Southern Landscaping, the DeLois Smith All-Star Team and everyone else giving the gift of honey this year. We appreciate you!

Mississippi State Fair

We went to the State Fair this year, the first time since I moved to MS.

We took my favorite 4-year-old, who made the day so very memorable with his excitement. He never complained or asked to be carried. On the way home he said, "We had a big day. We can go again."

Of course we stopped by the honey booth! We didn't enter anything this year, but this gave us a good idea of how it's done.

Mississippi Beekeepers Association Conference

Last Friday and Saturday we attended the annual MBA conference. For me, it was very convenient, as it was held in the conference center at my workplace -- the Bost Extension Center at Mississippi State University.

Event organizers had a stellar line-up of speakers.

Randy Oliver, whose site www.scientificbeekeeping.com is a repository of all kinds of research-based information, knocked our socks off with his keynote address. He and his sons run 1,000 hives in Grass Valley, CA. He is full of energy and enthusiasm for maintaining healthy colonies. He also convinced me that raising queens isn't as hard as I think it is. ;-)

Russian bee breeder and long-time MBA leader Harry Fulton greeted everyone and taught packed sessions on beginning beekeeping. It was heartening to see so many people interested in taking up beekeeping as a hobby. (I didn't even get up and give a testimony about how they *think* it's going to be a hobby and then it takes over their lives . . .)

Walter T. Kelley Company and Dadant were both on site to sell equipment and all sorts of bee-related goodies, like these signs.

One of my favorite presentations was given by Ed Levi, a retired apiary inspector from Arkansas. He has traveled the world to help struggling beekeepers improve their practices for more financial stability. His amazing photos included traditional hives, a house with a hive kept in the wall for instant access to sweetener, and photos of honey hunters who have to avoid tiger attacks while harvesting.

Thanks, MBA, for a great conference!

900 pounds and counting

On Saturday we extracted about 300 pounds of honey from the Delta. We've had to order more storage containers, as we still have honey at Mayhew to harvest, including what we hope is delicious comb honey.

If you know of any businesses that need a holiday gift for clients, we'd love to help! Last year we shipped our honey all over the world -- the business owner provided the mailing labels and greetings, we boxed everything and took it to the post office.

Cooler weather is making the honey harvest more pleasant! I've also started my fall garden in my raised beds.

Calling All Honey Customers!

We have been blessed with a bountiful harvest. If you have empty PBBF honey bottles you need refilled, please let us fill 'em up! Remember there's a $2 discount on refills, so the prices drop to $13 for a 3-lb refill and $5.50 for a 1-lb refill!

We'd love to fill your honey bottles and make room in the bottling tanks. Both are full and we've only harvested from two bee yards.

Bring your bottles to us with your name on them somewhere (a Sharpie marker on the lid works well), and Mark can fill them up with super fresh honey from this summer's harvest.

Coming soon: 2-lb bottles. For those of you who just can't decide between the 1 & 3!