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something delicious
Take some runny honey and softened butter in roughly equal amounts and blend together with cinnamon. That’s it. If you love cinnamon, add lots. If you like it in moderation, just put in a pinch or leave it out altogether. One word of caution – don’t blend it too long or the butter will separate and give it a really weird texture. If you take this and mix it one part honey butter to two parts peanut butter, you will have what tastes like the inside of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Oh baby. I foresee some xmas goodies in my immediate future. I’m sure it can’t bee too hard…
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extracting honey
. . I had one honey super with frames that had honeycomb acceptable to use in the extractor. So here they are, in the extractor ready to be spun. First I had to pick off the wax caps covering the cells of honey. There’s a special tool for that. Next, the frames are placed in the extractor in such a way that the extractor is balanced. If this is not done right you could end up with a hole in the wall of your honey house. Due to massive extractor banging around because it’s imbalanced. Fortunately I had some help – Steven was there to show me how to use…
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here we go again
. I’m harvesting honey today. The hard way. Like last time. That’s what happens when you let the bees build their own foundation comb. Since the comb is built mostly perpendicular to the frames, I basically need to cut it out and mash it to get the honey out. Beeswax candles, anyone? I’m generating way more beeswax from this honey harvesting event than normal beekeepers would. Normal beekeepers, I’m told, use plastic or wax foundation in their honey supers so that the bees will build where they’re supposed to. Hm. Well. I wanted to try a different technique that I heard about. I got mixed results. One of my honey…
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fire power
. After Thursday’s fiasco, I wanted to make sure I could light a good fire in my smoker no matter what. So – I borrowed a fire tool from my hubby. Propane torch, complete with sparker. No need for matches, even…. very nice piece of equipment. It did a great job of lighting my smoker – look at that smoke: These pictures are from yesterday, when I went to get the honey supers. I have two mostly-full supers now sitting in my kitchen waiting for me to harvest the honey from them. One will need to be harvested like the first time, and the other, I think I will actually…
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escape with no re-entry
. I went for a visit to the beeyard yesterday at sunset. It’s probably the most unromantic place you could think of, what with all the buzzing and stinging and such. The sunset was nice but not memorable. The bees, however, were cranky (in a memorable sort of way). Go figure – I’m there to separate them from the product of their summer labours, and they’re not happy about it. I opened the first hive to find a layer of bees under the top cover, sitting poised with their stingers in the air – straight up – and already angry at the intrusion. AND – my smoker wasn’t working very…
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don’t wash your hive tool
This here is a scrap piece of metal I found in my 'bee bag' that holds my various beekeeping tools. It's a good thing it was there, because I somehow ended up out at the hives without my trusty hive tool.
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first honey harvest
Since I had a super full of crazy curvy comb - that can happen when you don't use foundation - I couldn't just pop my honey frames in an extractor and give them a spin. First, I had to cut the comb from the frames. I used the wires in the frames as a guide, so it all came out in strips.
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bee lifeguard
I was filling my backyard pool today (thanks Bianca!) and decided to do a bit of skimming. I guess this gal was thirsty - or maybe got too hot? - she showed up on the skimmer. Then I started noticing that there was more than one bee in the pool.... hmmm....
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bee escape
Setting up the bee escape and waiting for a few days allows the beekeeper to come back and take the box of honey without having to shake out the bees and piss them off. Or use a bee brush on the frames, which I can't do anyway since the comb is not actually in the individual frames. It's kind of meandering through the honey super. So I need a bee escape. And I need to go check it soon, since it's been on there for a bit. Here's a pic of the escape:
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a taste of honey
I've filtered my first half-cup of honey through this old food mill that belonged to my Grandma - see the honeycomb in the cone - and now I just want to look at it! I've tasted it, but that's all. It's a very light yellow - here's the comparison to Ken's: