Thursday, April 18, 2019

Busy Bees

There's been a lot of
buzzing around here this week.



A couple months ago
we lost all our bees in our hive.
It wasn't to the cold,
or the lack of winter food.

The only possibility was that
in their efficiency, the hive
plugged up vent holes and
it probably caused  moisture to build up
which caused their demise.   

We were heartbroken.
So we harvested the honey
that was left,
so all their hard work 
wasn't wasted.
Running Man uses a hot uncapping knife
to release the golden honey.

Once the frames are prepped

they're place in our high tech honey extractor (not very)
3 at a time.
Running Man gets quite the work out.

The honey is spun out,
and comes out the bottom spout
where it's filtered
and then we place it in sterile jars.


Then we heat it to keep the honey from crystallizing.

Well, that was all well and good, but
now we needed new bees.

So guess what's in this box.



Our new hive had arrived.
I wish you could have placed you ear 
next to the box.
It was a sound like a very deep droning sound.



The bees came from Arkansas 
and Running Man picked them up in Denver.

Ready for transferring the new arrivals
from the box to the hive.


They arrive on frames
and they can be
easily and gently placed in to their new home.



Anybody who fell off the frames
were simply poured into the hive.

 Running Man added 
an extra box to give everyone
a little extra room to 
stretch their legs.

So far they seemed to have settled in 
to their new home.
The queen must be happy.
The workers have been busy
flying out and finding pollen.
No time for relaxing and settling in.


We all need to do our bit to 
support these amazing insects.

 The average worker bee produces 
only about 1/12th teaspoon of honey 
in her lifetime.
 Doesn't this fact make you love every drop of honey?
Until Next Time-
Kyle

20 comments:

  1. WE have a hive too...it is fascinating to watch them! WE lost a large part of our hive this winter, but they are thriving again. I plant flowers, just for them!!!

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  2. I never knew how little each worker bee produced, though it makes such good sense given the number of bees in each hive. We had a large colony of honeybees living in a huge old oak tree near our house in Oregon. Every couple years they would swarm and a young colony eventually fly off. One time the swarm landed on our peony bush, they were so focused on their queen that my husband was able to sit down next to the plant and never got stung. I was nowhere near that brave, lol!

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  3. Wow--I, too, had no idea each bee produced so little honey. This was a fun education, Kyle.
    The property next to ours, that used to be a pasture, was made into a "bee garden" when the owner died and passed it to a daughter. She planted the lot with native plants that attract bees. When my dozen+ lilacs are in bloom they just hum with bees.

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  4. I had no inkling that you and Running Man kept bees. Not a hobby I want to take up but good that there are people that do. And I didn't realize that a bee produced so little honey in its life time. Do you use the honey when you bake?

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  5. At one time we had hives; one daughter had bees as her 4H project. It was fascinating to watch them when they swarmed onto a tree in the yard. We also extracted the honey this way. I hope you have good luck with the new bees. We have more bumble bees now than honey bees.

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  6. I'm so happy you have a new hive and I loved seeing the process of collecting the honey.
    I went to bee school when I first moved here, but ultimately decided not to start a hive. Everyone in CT that I spoke to lost their hives every year :(
    I do purposefully plant flowers that they might like.
    Thanks for a sweet ;) post and good luck with the new bees.

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  7. Kudos to you for taking care of your own hive of bees. I'm just a little afraid of them honestly, too many stings when I was younger! Love the look of all that honey though!

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  8. Great post, seeing how honey production works. My SIL has started bee hives at our farm and I have enjoyed the honey but not been there to see the action when she was in operation mode. Bees are super important, thanks for sharing.

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  9. Three rousing cheers to you both for being good stewards of our planet - doing your part must be so satisfying!! Have to ask though - did you have to put little fur parkas on your new arrivals? Thinking the snow cover is quite a change from Arkansas! Wishing your new family additions a happy home.

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  10. Running Man has been a busy little bee, hasn't he? Bees seem to be having a tough time up in our neck of the woods as well but happily several of our friends keep bees so fresh honey is never far away. Right now we are enjoying maple syrup season - nothing like fresh maple syrup!

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  11. How fantastic! For the new bees I mean, sorry about the old ones. I didn't know you were beekeepers. I do love honey and I'm so lucky to buy mine from folks just down the road. It's interesting to see the 'behind the scenes' photos. Good luck with your new bees, I hope they are very happy in their new home.

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  12. I'm sorry about your bees from last year. They left behind a pretty great gift though. It is so interesting and educational to see your photo record of the new arrivals - I hope they settle in and are very productive :0)

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  13. What an interesting and informative post! I love honey; I use it every morning on my oatmeal and in my hot tea quite often, but I never knew what all goes into making it available to me! Thanks for sharing. ---"Love"

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  14. I will never look at my teaspoon of honey I put in my tea the same way again! I hope your new bees do well.

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  15. Great post, Kyle! I had no idea you were bee keepers. Sorry about your old hive but happy to hear you now have LOTS of bees for a new one. That's quite the extracting process and the honey sure looks good in those jars :)

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  16. We lost our hive last year due to ants. With our current house renovation work and the loss of a few fruit trees, we have decided not to replace it this year. I'm happy to hear you are starting over. We need all the bees we can get. I scolded my neighbor last spring for spraying his dandelions. He no longer sprays and he now realizes that these funny little yellow flowers are the first food of the year for our little friends.

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  17. What a shame you lost the hive. It is often hard to know the exact cause at times.
    Nothing better than your own fresh honey.
    We had several hives many years ago until my husband found he was allergic to bee stings. Had to quickly change plans after that.

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  18. Fascinating! Not sure if I could take up bee-keeping, but I do appreciate the important work they do in the world (and I love honey)!

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  19. Wow! Great job! We need more 🐝 in our environment. They are struggling. And the honey 🍯 looks delicious, that is a tasty benefit.

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  20. Kyle duele que perdiste tus abejas. Aunque te dejaron cantidad de deliciosa miel.
    Saborea cada cucharada.
    gran trabajo de tu marido
    saludos

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