Faith

                                                              
William Wordsworth defines Faith is a passioniate intuition.  When I think about the things that I am passionate about - honeybees is one of them.  I enjoy everything about the process and never cease to be amazed with what I learn and observe along the way.

We started a new adventure this year and sent our hives to Califnornia to help pollinate almonds, blueberries, oranges, and avocados.  So as I look out the window on this snowy day I think about our honeybees on a warm, sunny day busy at work.  So this journey  is a small leap of faith for us and we look forward to spring when they are back home and busy pollinating and making honey once again.

I received a new mold as a Christmas present from a good friend and I just love it!  Beautiful, carefree daisies accented with the word "Faith".  Filled with beeswax and natural butters and oils this butter bar is a treat for rough, dry skin and a reminder to have passionate Faith!

http://www.deesbeeboutique.com/

Taking Inventory

It always brings me much pleasure to see my honeybees enjoying flowers I have planted for my enjoyment and for their benefit.  During the next several months I will long for warm days, colorful flowers and the sight and sounds of buzzing bees.

Honey has been extracted, beeswax has been collected and melted and we are heading into the long winter season.  We had a warm day yesterday, so took advantage of it and went through our hives.  Two years ago we started out with 4 hives.  Between swarms we have caught and ordering of new packages this last spring our goal was to be at 25 hives this summer.  We didn't make that goal this year, but overall it has not been a bad year.  We have had 3 months of wonderful, drier weather which helped make up for such a rainy spring and summer. 

We are going into winter with 16 strong hives and hope it is nothing like last winter!  Now that the outside work has pretty much come to a standstill I look forward to using the long winter months creating skin products with my honey and beeswax.  For everything there is a season!
                                                                    

Tree of Enchantment

 

In an earlier blog I commented on my love of any kind of weeping trees. This weeping pussy willow is planted right outside my front door and I get many comments on it because it is such a unique and graceful tree. Seeing this tree any time of the year just lifts my spirits, but there is nothing better than this time right now! I took a picture of this tree just a couple days before the honeybees found it and then have a picture showing a bee foraging on this delightful tree. Their pollen baskets were just loaded!


It is one of the first trees to bloom in early spring and once they are full of blooms and they turn from white to yellow, the honeybees show up in numbers! Since there aren't many things for them to feed on so early in my part of the country I am glad I have this to at least help them get started.

Among the most graceful trees. It is connected with all that is feminine-dreaming, intuition, emotion, enchantment, healing and revitalization. The willow has long since been recognized as a sacred tree by poets, philosophers and religious leaders because of the flexibility of its twigs. The willow's flexibility symbolizes resilience and inspires us to move with life rather than resist what we are feeling".

If you are like me, I try to plant something new and different every year. I encourage everybody to think about planting some flowers that will attract beneficial insects such as the honeybee. Some favorites to consider are Red Maple, CrabApple, Floxglove, Evening Primrose, Lavender, Hydrangea, Cosmos, Bee Balm, Oregano, Sunflower and Aster. This is just a small list of the many trees and flowers that honeybees love and will grace your landscape too!

Package Bees in 32 Degrees

It's that time of year when we start to receive our long awaited new packages of bees.  Although it may not look like the first picture above with snow all around, in my neck of the woods, it is not unheard of to have some snow when your bees arrive and for temperatures to be in the 30's!  It is certainly not the ideal, but can be expected sometimes!

During my class this winter one of our guest speakers talked about installing package bees in 32 degrees.  He did an experiment that I thought was very interesting.  When he received his bees the outside temperature was 32 degrees.  He put the bees on top of the frames, (not in the bottom of the hive) then placed a newspaper over the bees and covered with a hive body.  He also put a thermometer inside the hive and checked the temperature a few hours later.

In just a few hours when he checked the temperature the thermometer showed 60 degrees!  The bees had generated that much heat in just a short amount of time.  The more I learn about these honeybees the more I am amazed at them!  If you are interested in more information on this experiment there is a DVD available titled Package Bees in 32 Degrees.