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.