A contemplative season

This is the season when many people review what has transpired throughout the previous months, and also look ahead to the fresh new year, rich with possibilities. It's often when we vow to change or improve the way we live our lives. To me, that is such a hopeful and human thing to do.

This year, as always, I've been blessed in so many ways. There have been losses large and small this year, painful and sad occasions, but I honor them as part of the rich tapestry that is my life. There was the hive in September that was discovered to be weakened because its queen was failing or had somehow been damaged. November brought the death of Dallas, our home's beloved "Queen Bee," the plucky and ancient little cat who was the last of my four magical felines. The year also presented me with the understanding that some of my relationships could no longer support who we had become, or are becoming, and thus must be ended if they cannot evolve. But I have so much to celebrate and for which to feel grateful, as well. So I have tried not to focus upon the failures and losses longer than necessary.

We are hoping to expand the apiary again in the Spring. There's plenty of planning and work to do in preparation. We've been pleasantly surprised by the support of so many people who are curious about bees, concerned about their plight, and who enjoy the raw honey we extract from our hives. The proceeds of our sales go straight back to beekeeping, and every penny helps. Fortunately, I didn't wake up one morning thinking, "Ah...beekeeping...that will support me in my golden years." Anyone who keeps bees, too, will be amused at the thought. I laughed out loud when Mark Robar remarked to me at a meeting this Summer, "The day I make my first dollar from beekeeping will be the day I get out of the business." He's probably been working with bees for at least 40 years...

Yes, I am so grateful to everyone who aided and supported our endeavors this year. And every time someone asks whether they can buy more honey, I still feel incredibly surprised and happy. One very beautiful moment came in September when Sarah placed her second, very large order of honey. She'd already purchased several pounds of honey about two months earlier, some of which I know she gave to her family and friends. Even so, I was surprised when she asked could her husband to stop in for more. When Jordan arrived I took him out to the back deck so he could see the two hives we had in the garden. I asked about the order he was bringing home--what could they possibly do with so much honey. He said it was to be used for the sacred rituals their family would observe during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I felt so honored and very humbled that our honey would be a part of something so special, and I still am.

So thank you, Everyone, for your friendship, your interest, your caring, and support. Beekeeping has been my great privilege and I am honored that you have chose to be a part of it.

Happy New Year, dear Ones! Wishing you the blessings you deserve and desire, and the opportunities during 2009 to make all your dreams come true.



[The photo above was taken near Llangurig, Wales, December 2008, by Mike Southern. Click on the photo to enlarge the image. 

Photo of Dallas, left, was taken May 2008, in the garden of Pleasant Lane Apiary.]

Our August extraction

On Friday our friend Emily wrote to me:

How are you?  Is there honey and jars all over the place at your house this weekend?

There certainly will be this week as you can see from this photo!

We gathered another 150 pounds from five of the six hives. It will probably be our final extraction of this season because we want to leave enough honey, the approximately 70 pounds per hive that bees in this area can require to survive the winter.

When I consider that each bee produces an infinitesimal amount of honey--something like 1/12 of a teaspoon--I am even more grateful for all we receive from them! 

 

4th of July in the Foster outyard

Mike removing frames of honey for extraction.

Independence Day in the Foster outyard

We began extracting honey yesterday. The established colony here in our garden produced a small amount of Spring honey, somewhat less than we expected, in fact. When he inspected the outyard in Charlestown, Mike was surprised by the amount of frames that were capped and ready to take. 

Our hives in Charlestown and in Foster were newly installed in April so we really didn't expect much or any honey from them until next year, especially since it was such a wet season until June. New colonies must expend tremendous energy in their first season building out foundation for brood production and food storage, as well as producing their own honey for winter. So any honey in the first year is a gift, I think. Spring honey in the first year feels like a little miracle.

Because of the holiday it was even more quiet than usual when we drove out to Foster yesterday afternoon. Dogs baying in the woods, birds singing, bees humming. That was all. I hadn't been there in a couple of weeks (Mike had done those inspections for me) and was so pleasantly surprised to see Butch and Deb's garden was brimming with plants. A month ago Butch was laboring like mad and seemed a bit discouraged because he hadn't been able to complete his planting by Memorial Day. Yesterday, his worries seemed unfounded. The garden looks lush and wonderful!

When Mike opened the first hive yesterday, we were truly amazed at the amount of capped honey there. As of this morning we haven't yet extracted and weighed all the Foster honey, but we are so pleasantly surprised at, and very deeply grateful for the abundance of honey from those two young colonies! Wait until Butch and Deb receive their percentage of honey from this first extraction of the year. I hope they will be just as happily surprised as we are.

It was difficult for me to leave once we were finished working in Foster. Besides the unexpected abundance of honey, another wonderful surprise was watching blue birds flying across the garden. Here in the East, blue birds were nearly extinct for many years. More people are trying to encourage their numbers and those efforts seem to be working. Last month we visited a favorite vineyard in the mountains of Virginia. The moment we started up the long drive, two blue birds shot out from under the eaves of the barn and out over the fields. I was so delighted by the sight. 

Spotting a blue bird at first is a moment of incredulity: one has to really stop and observe because the sight of them is so rare. So I spent awhile yesterday before we drove off  just taking in the miraculous pleasure of watching several blue birds streaking back and forth over the top of the fence surrounding the garden's perimeter.

(Clicking on each photo throughout this blog will give you a larger view.)

Midsummer

The Old Farmer's Almanac tells us that 24 June is Midsummer Day because 

"to the farmer, it is the midpoint of the growing season, halfway between planting and harvesting...it's a time of magic and soothsaying as well for, as Washington Irving said, 'This is a time when it is well known that all kinds of ghosts, goblins, and fairies become visible and walk abroad.' "

And who should know better about such things than Irving, author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Well, at midsummer we beekeepers are happy to see our colonies thriving and active and producing honey for their winter food, and for our tables, too. Our hive last year produced nearly 100 pounds of honey--it was a perfect Summer for bees. This year, we've had lots of rain, and uneven temperatures throughout the Spring. Here, a gentle and rainy May became a blistering June heat-wave for four days and suddenly my entire garden was in bloom. While the riot of flowers was beautiful it also made me wonder what, if any, nectar and pollen sources would be available to the bees in this area as the Summer progresses. If so many plants have bloomed ahead of season, hopefully there's something left for the bees to pollinate in the woods and fields during July and August. We shall see.

This is the first time in our three seasons that we are anticipating an extraction of Spring honey. That is the pale, delicate honey with the very sweet taste that children and honey bears like Winnie the Pooh love best. At least three of our six hives will probably produce a few frames or more of the early honey. We'll know for sure this week. While it's wonderful to receive this reward for our labor and care, we cannot be greedy. We must be sure between 60 to 70 pounds of honey remain in the hives when we close them up in the Fall. But hopefully this Summer will be another good one for our bees. If it is, we will enjoy a second extraction in August, this time of a darker and not-so-sweet honey, gathered from plants like Pepper bush, golden rod, chickweed, borage, Joe-Pye weed, sunflowers, and buckwheat. To anyone passing by those "weeds" at the edge of the road, in an uncut field, or in an abandoned lot seem to have little or no value at all. To the honey bee and the beekeeper they are like stumbling upon pure gold!

The hives at the Charlestown location were tended this morning. Mike sent this photo of the neighboring pond from his cell phone. I'm not certain whether or not honey bees pollinate water lillies, but some creature does, and this location offers a banquet for them, as well as an idyllic sight for the fortunate passer-by.