So,
why not just buy honey? Answer, COST. We all know that
honey can be bought for as much as $2 a pound or more. If
we only get 50lb of honey, paying $45 for the bees, that
comes out to .90 a pound. As Carl would say, "That's
a deal!"
Where
We Got Our Bees
Recognizing
that it was a cost effective venture, and we like
honey. Correction, we LOVE honey. A friend of ours
from church offered to help. He has been keeping bees
for years. We ordered our bees when he ordered his.
And, ours came with his. What an exciting day it was,
when the bees came! Dick, our friend brought them
over, and he put them into the hive. Then we had to
feed them, since they were not producing food for
themselves yet.
Feeding The
Bees
Would
you believe? We fed them sugar water! Sugar water?
Well, we didn't take to that too well. But, you do
what you gotta. We did not use regular processed
sugar. We used a raw sugar called turbanado. So, we
can feel better about that. We get our turbanado from
store in Appleton, Wisconsin, Cathy's Country Store. They carry lots of
bulk foods as well. The sugar water recipe? One part
water and three parts sugar. Heated up just enough to
disolve the sugar.
Unusual
Facts About Bees
Did
you know that bears are NOT after the honey? They are
really after the larve and the bees.
Bees
don't fly on windy days. Or on rainy days.
The
pollen is best two days after a rain.
You
don't squish a honey bee or the rest of the hive will
be after you. They can smell the dead one.
You
can outrun a honey bee. Just ask Carl.
Carl's
Story
I
was out by the hive, checking on the bees. It was a
really nice sunny day. I was in full bee suit. Helmet,
netting, white suite. All tucked in nice. I needed to
take the hive apart, to look for extra queens (only one
to a hive), and to see how the honey production was going.
Things
were going real well, accept the "ladies" were
not happy with me disturbing their work. My smoker ran
out of smoke. Well,the bees were flying right at my face!
Hitting on my face guard. I figured I was ok. All tucked
in... Then I felt it!
I
had gotten stung on the back of my neck! How could that
be? I wasn't going to stick around for more! Then I saw 2
more inside my helmet! !
OFF
CAME THE HELMET! AS I RAN! OFF CAME THE GLOVES! I was a
half an acre away before I stopped to check myself.
Denise
laughs about it. She says she came outside to see how I
was doing and saw the helmet over by the hive, the gloves
by the birch tree, and me brushing myself off. She still
loves me.
I
got 2 stings and some really good tender loving care for
the next few days. So that worked out quite well.
Lavender oil and Tea Tree oil are really good for bee
stings.
Harvesting
The Sweet Stuff
We
were successfull in harvesting about 50lb of honey. The
frames needed to be removed from the boxes or supers as
they are called by beekeepers. After removing the frames,
the caps needed to be cut off the comb. This is done with
a heated knife. Then we placed the frames into the
centrifuge. We were able to fit 4 frames in at a time.
Now
for the fun part! Spinning! It behaved somewhat like an
out of balance washing machine. But, more so. One of us
would sit on the centrifuge while the other would crank
it.
When
honey was out of the frames, we drained it into a pot. We
found that using a siv worked well. We used the the cone
shaped one that one would use to make applesauce or
tomato sauce. The draining process takes a while. We left
it overnight and were suprised that it was STILL dripping
in the morning!
Then
the honey needs to just set, and set, and set. To bring
the excess stuff and bubbles to the tope to be skimmed
off. Another day or 2.
Then
you can put it into your jars! And put your special
labels on the jars.
Taaa
Daaa Yummy honey for your family and friends!
BeeKeeping
Resources Other
Here
is where we get to the links, Denise's favorite part of
any web page. We found a unit study on bees as well. And
were putting together one for a summer project. Got the
paper work done and found the links, but, got busy
enjoying summer. Maybe this spring. Anyway, here are some
really helpful links.