Thursday, July 29, 2010

Photos

I heard a whisper in my ear
it was so clear and twas very dear
I turned to see who sang to me
and it was you, my little bee.
~ wendolyn

*she was resting on my shoulder *
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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

If You Don't Have a Natural Water Source

I don't have a natural water source for my apiary in Haymarket so I have used this method to ensure that the bees have plenty to drink.

This is a large metal container with cheese cloth material draped into the water to act as a wick and something for the bees to hold onto as they drink. The float toy is in case they land in the center and I think Dora just adds to the happiness at the hive.

The first picture was taken just after I set it up on July 2, 2010. The second picture was taken July 27, 2010. Can you spot the wasp and yellow jacket?






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Honey Harvest 2010

My father and I harvested some honey and used our new honey extractor, which is not electric but a hand crank. We didn't harvest from all of the hives because a storm was coming in quickly. The honey extractor did not spin out all the honey and we ended up scraping the comb and honey into the bucket. Later on we let it drip through a cheese cloth using gravity.

The honey this year is much lighter than the honey from last year. We harvested around the same time as last year. The honey is absolutely delicious. I hope to enter it into the Honey Exhibit at the Prince William County Fair this year.






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