Animals
Mike and Bev....ready to go to work on the hives. The proper attire is a must for this job. Thanks to these great suits we handled several hives (and hundreds of thousands of bees) with no stings!
Mike getting ready to "smoke" the bees. The smoke has a calming effect on them.
The first hive that we inspected was a very healthy hive containing at least 60,000 bees.
Opening the hive.
Brushing the bees back into the hive. 
The frames containing honey are removed from the hive .
A hot knife is used to remove the waxy covering over each cell of honey. This bees wax will be filtered to remove the remaining honey and then I will use the wax for pouring candles.
Nine frames full of honey are loaded into the centrifuge.
The honey is then put through a hand-cranked centrifuge to extract the honey from the frames.Jack spins it at a high speed for 5 minutes.
Honey...right out of the comb. This drains into a double filtering system to remove wax and bee parts.
- Casualties Of Winter
I don't have to tell any of you...This was the HARDEST winter ever...of my life...ever! Now, we've had winters with more snow.We've had winters just as cold.But we have never had a winter with this much snow and ice and this much cold,that...
- Baby, Its Hot Outside!
I have come to notice that the bees act as a thermometer. A few weeks ago, I published a picture of how they hang outside their hive on a hot day, cooling themselves. What I have come to notice is that the hotter it is outside, the more bees are on the...
- Adventures In Beekeeping
Imagine this....you are driving down the interstate in your Honda Element with at least 100 loose bees buzzing around the inside of the vehicle. Scary? Not really. Yesterday I drove about an hour and a half to an apiary. After attending a seminar on Sustainable...
- Hive Inspection
Yesterday was a beautiful, warm, sunny day....a perfect day to work the bees. In the late afternoon, I suited up, put fuel in the smoker and set off to inspect my 5 older hives. Opening the lids and removing the top boards I was happy to see my colonies...
- Looking Forward To Spring
This is an exciting time of year for us. We are presently taking a bee keeping course to increase our knowledge and ready ourselves for full time beekeeping. Our brother-in-law Mike has up to this point been the beekeeper with help from us for special...
Animals
Honey Harvest...The Process
Mike and Bev....ready to go to work on the hives. The proper attire is a must for this job. Thanks to these great suits we handled several hives (and hundreds of thousands of bees) with no stings! Mike getting ready to "smoke" the bees. The smoke has a calming effect on them. The first hive that we inspected was a very healthy hive containing at least 60,000 bees. Opening the hive.Inspecting the frames....looking for honey.
Brushing the bees back into the hive. The frames containing honey are removed from the hive . A hot knife is used to remove the waxy covering over each cell of honey. This bees wax will be filtered to remove the remaining honey and then I will use the wax for pouring candles. Nine frames full of honey are loaded into the centrifuge.The honey is then put through a hand-cranked centrifuge to extract the honey from the frames.Jack spins it at a high speed for 5 minutes.Honey...right out of the comb. This drains into a double filtering system to remove wax and bee parts. The end result is raw, organic, deliciously healthy honey...and it IS delicious!
- Casualties Of Winter
I don't have to tell any of you...This was the HARDEST winter ever...of my life...ever! Now, we've had winters with more snow.We've had winters just as cold.But we have never had a winter with this much snow and ice and this much cold,that...
- Baby, Its Hot Outside!
I have come to notice that the bees act as a thermometer. A few weeks ago, I published a picture of how they hang outside their hive on a hot day, cooling themselves. What I have come to notice is that the hotter it is outside, the more bees are on the...
- Adventures In Beekeeping
Imagine this....you are driving down the interstate in your Honda Element with at least 100 loose bees buzzing around the inside of the vehicle. Scary? Not really. Yesterday I drove about an hour and a half to an apiary. After attending a seminar on Sustainable...
- Hive Inspection
Yesterday was a beautiful, warm, sunny day....a perfect day to work the bees. In the late afternoon, I suited up, put fuel in the smoker and set off to inspect my 5 older hives. Opening the lids and removing the top boards I was happy to see my colonies...
- Looking Forward To Spring
This is an exciting time of year for us. We are presently taking a bee keeping course to increase our knowledge and ready ourselves for full time beekeeping. Our brother-in-law Mike has up to this point been the beekeeper with help from us for special...