I told you that in May our family embarked on a beekeeping adventure. Jeff and B kept an eye on the hive, did a lot of research, and learned a lot about honeybees and beekeeping this year. Sadly, our bees disappeared. We were bummed about that, but were grateful for the experience nonetheless. We had issues with yellow jackets and bald-faced hornets, and that could have been the reason for it. We think we need to start with more bees initially. We’d like to start with more bees, and two hives (rather than one), and plan to do that next spring.
In addition to all the experience we gained, and everything we learned, we also received some gifts from the hive. The honeycomb was so beautiful! We loved seeing the different colored pollen in the cells. I was glad for the beeswax. The bee bread was delicious. And the honey? It was really something special. Having honey from right here on the homestead is such a gift.
*To filter out the honey from the honeycomb, we put it in a colander, covered it with a tea towel, and set it near the warm woodstove. It worked great!
We have been very grateful for these gifts from the hive, and look forward to continuing our beekeeping adventures next year.
Wow! This is just lovely! (I’ve been really delighted by your posts recently Taryn, so fun to see your family with birds and goats again).
We are considering getting bees, with a lot of interest and eagerness, but I admit my mama heart is concerned about stings when thinking about my kiddos (6 and 9) especially if yellow jackets and hornets get interested in hives as well. How did you, Jeff and B manage that aspect?
Thank you Elizabeth! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the new posts, and animal additions. 🙂 I can understand your concern about stings. One thing we did was locate the hive not in our main yard or garden. We placed it between the woodshed and an apple tree. They are still in close proximity to pollinate everything, but the immediate flight zone out of the hive is not in a place we walk a lot. Then we got bee suits to wear while working at the hive. B got stung only once this year, and that was because he was handling a bee with his bare hands- trying to help it because it got stuck in the greenhouse, and it got scared and stung him. We have wasps here whether the hive is here or not, but yes- everything is attracted to that sweet honey! Including the bear. 🙂
Thanks for the help and insight Taryn! And sorry to hear about the poor bee and B in greenhouse misadventures.
The critters just all have good taste – even the bear! Whew. 🙂 I appreciate you not trying to sugar-coat (honey-coat?) the potential complication and share the realistic solution you created. I think right between our cherry tree and apricot tree might be needing a hive. Happy almost 2024!