honey

out of place

.

curvy comb

Yesterday I showed some photos of honeycomb that was built perpendicular to the wooden frames. Today, I’m showing you the other half of the honey super – not quite so perpendicular, but still curvy enough that the frames can’t be put into a honey extractor. If you look closely on the left-hand side you can see the wires of the frame. These are supposed to be buried deep in the wax of the honeycomb, and provide support when the frames are spun in the extractor. Not working so well here. Hence the big mashing and straining ordeal.

It’s been a sticky couple of days so far – I wash my hands after handling frames and honeycomb, then come sit at my desk with my forearms resting on it, and discover that I’m still sticky on my forearms. I go wash my forearms and get back to work on the computer. Later, after handling honey again, I wash up to my elbows. This time, I go sit on the couch and discover that the backs of my upper arms are still sticky. Upper arms!!??

Hopefully next year will see bees that build straight comb…. with a bit more ‘encouragement’ from me.

.