Caught my 2nd swarm today. It was a small one from a backyard Avocado tree in my area. I put them up in my BackYard - BeeYard. Let's see how happy we can be together.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
What do you do with chrystalized Honey
I found this article really well written.
Thanks to Gwen Pearson
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Bee checkup March 8th 2014
I thought I share another time-laps of my weekly checkup.
The splits are doing as expected, but I don't see any fresh eggs yet. It is still early, only 21 days since I split, but I can't wait anymore to find out!!!
The new colony is packed with bees and I added one honey box. I am not sure thought I really have a queen in there. In the process of removing 2 frames I saw two filled queen cells, which where opened in the process ==> destroyed the queens. I stopped checking after this, hoping that there will be more queen cells. I will have to see.
The new colony is packed with bees and I added one honey box. I am not sure thought I really have a queen in there. In the process of removing 2 frames I saw two filled queen cells, which where opened in the process ==> destroyed the queens. I stopped checking after this, hoping that there will be more queen cells. I will have to see.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
The cost of true honey; untreated, organic, raw, local, never messed with, bees treated exellently
I have a question to who decides to read this.
How much should honey cost ?
I mean true honey, real honey, raw honey; from bees that are treated like you would treat family members, your daughter, your wife.... You get the picture.
If I look around me in stores I see a lot of honey being sold. At least that is what the label says.
Is it real honey? I really can't tell. When I buy it, compare it with other store bought jars of honey, I taste some differences, but not much.
How do I know about how the bees are kept, the bees that collected all that honey. Are they being fed sugar water in the winter to survive? Are they treated with chemicals to fight off pests? Are they killed in the process of extracting the honey? If I look in the store, I see prices of $3-$5 per lb. Some higher, some lower.
Who can produce honey, true honey, responsibly keep bees and extract honey for $3 per lb?
I see honey as a true artisan product. I put honey on the same level as wine, olive oil, breads, beers, coffee and such. It is a true pleasure to taste great honey. It changes through the seasons, it changes through the locations, it is a truly local product that has it's space on so many Palates, in so many minds.
I really think we need to elevate honey to the level of appreciation it deserves in our minds.
How come Starbucks taught us over the last 10Years that it is perfectly ok to pay $5 for a latte, but we cringe at the idea of paying $6 for 1/2 a pound of honey. I don't want to say, the coffee is not worth it, NO NO NO. I love that awesome hot little cup and I am happy to pay for it. But I think we need to teach ourself that same is true for honey.
Once we appreciate honey for what it is or can be again, we are ready to pay for what it really worth.
Tell me what you think.
Thanks for listening.
How much should honey cost ?
I mean true honey, real honey, raw honey; from bees that are treated like you would treat family members, your daughter, your wife.... You get the picture.
If I look around me in stores I see a lot of honey being sold. At least that is what the label says.
Is it real honey? I really can't tell. When I buy it, compare it with other store bought jars of honey, I taste some differences, but not much.
How do I know about how the bees are kept, the bees that collected all that honey. Are they being fed sugar water in the winter to survive? Are they treated with chemicals to fight off pests? Are they killed in the process of extracting the honey? If I look in the store, I see prices of $3-$5 per lb. Some higher, some lower.
Who can produce honey, true honey, responsibly keep bees and extract honey for $3 per lb?
I see honey as a true artisan product. I put honey on the same level as wine, olive oil, breads, beers, coffee and such. It is a true pleasure to taste great honey. It changes through the seasons, it changes through the locations, it is a truly local product that has it's space on so many Palates, in so many minds.
I really think we need to elevate honey to the level of appreciation it deserves in our minds.
How come Starbucks taught us over the last 10Years that it is perfectly ok to pay $5 for a latte, but we cringe at the idea of paying $6 for 1/2 a pound of honey. I don't want to say, the coffee is not worth it, NO NO NO. I love that awesome hot little cup and I am happy to pay for it. But I think we need to teach ourself that same is true for honey.
Once we appreciate honey for what it is or can be again, we are ready to pay for what it really worth.
Tell me what you think.
Thanks for listening.
New additions to my bee family
This morning I moved a strong colony and a freshly caught swarm from my friend Patrick in Pleasanton, down to our bee yard. He had to let the girls go for now for medical reasons. I am sure they will like it here, till it is time for him to pick up this wonderful hobby of Beekeeping
This weekend I will get to check out how well they are really doing.
Swarm season just started here in the Bay Area. So I expect to get a few more in the next two weeks.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
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