Tag Archives: honey
Spinning Out of Control
I had absolutely no intention of spinning honey today. I hadn’t even planned to check on my bees, really, but then I noticed that one of the hives had an alarming absence of activity. Upon closer inspection, I saw that … Continue reading
A Swarm in June
A friend of ours found a bee swarm on a sapling in his yard and asked if we might, pretty please, come take it the hell away. Another friend of ours just had all her beehives decimated by a bear, so … Continue reading
Waiter, There’s a Bug in my Sap!
Collecting sap late last night, I was surprised to find sallow moths in nearly every bucket. In some cases, the moths were on the inside wall of the bucket and could be saved, but largely they had met their watery demise … Continue reading
I Can’t Hold a Candle to You
After spinning out our honey, we had what appeared to be a great deal of beeswax left over. We soaked it in water overnight to loosen up any residual dirt and then rinsed it several times to get it as … Continue reading
Sticky Fingers
At the end of the summer, I pulled honey frames from my two bee hives. As long as the bees are left with at least 70 pounds of honey to get them through the winter, the beekeeper can take any surplus. … Continue reading
Spring Queening
Because one of my bee hives did not survive the bitter cold winter, I am learning to split the surviving hive. The goal here is to both try to avoid a swarm and to start a new hive to replace … Continue reading
Minding My Own Beeswax
Going into the winter, I had two thriving beehives. One was a nucleus colony (or nuc… pronounced “nuke”) purchased from a local beekeeper and the other was a package from somewhere not-local. The difference between the two is that a nuc … Continue reading
The Bees Are Alive!
I have very low expectations when it comes to my bee hives. Low expectations are one of the best possible things to have regarding everything, and they have served me well thus far in my beekeeping experience. Basically, I always … Continue reading
Just Like Honey, Baby, From the Bee
“There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance.” -Henry David Thoreau Last weekend, my friend (and beekeeping … Continue reading
The Bears and The Bees – A Not-Love Story
On Monday, my friend Maggie came over to help me open my hives and see what was going on in there. Maggie is into her fourth year as a beekeeper and I’m in my first, so having an experienced set … Continue reading
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