July and the Dog Days of Summer also mean the first crop of honey is ready. Beekeeping becomes so very satisfying as the warm, golden honey is spun out of the beeswax combs and smacks against the stainless steel sides of the centrifuge (called an extractor) sounding like summer rain on a tin roof. The harvest so far this year has been amazing! Three hives have presented me with 18 gallons of honey. That is 216 pounds of honey. It is a license to steal of sorts, but none of my neighbors complain because their gardens and fruit trees are enjoying increased production because of the foraging of my livestock.
This photo is a comb of honey being "uncapped" or opened so that the liquid can be spun out. The bees not only build each hexagon shaped cell, fill them with nectar, cure the thin "juice" into honey . . . ALL in the darkness of a beehive . . . . but they "cap" each cell with beeswax to preserve it at the precise time the nectar becomes honey.
An electric hot knife is used to slice the cappings off of the honeycomb. The resulting beeswax is drained and saved, then rendered into a beautiful brick of pure, yellow beeswax to be made into lotion bars and lip balms.
The resulting honey is strained, then bottled in several sizes and sold at outdoor festivals, farmer's markets and at our web site. Local sales are brisk as it is well know that raw honey (not pasturized, heated or filtered) helps to relieve certain allergies in folks who eat this pure, natural product every day. The small bits of pollen remaining in raw honey are ingested and help to reduce sensitivity in sufferers. Store self honey is good but it is not much more than a sweetener. The "active ingredients" if you will, like the pollen and beneficial enzymes have been removed in the commercial bottling plant.
Here are photos of the Sept 2007 harvest in the pint mason jars with a chunk of honeycomb inside, and the lighter July 2008 harvest in our typical honey jar. It is lighter because I didn't do 2 harvests last year as the honey flow was not as good as this year. All the flowering species that bees like throughout the season were included in the "mix". In this earlier crop so far this year, the bees never got to include some of the darker amber producing flora like Japanese Knotweed and Rabbit Brush that will begin blooming in a week or two. The honey is as delicious as it looks, and will be gone in a couple of weeks at the Farmer's Market.
The amazing thing this year is that each hive has nearly re-filled the empty honeycomb boxes that I returned to the hives after the 5 July harvest. They are on track to produce another 200 pounds by September.
Well, I gush on and on, but this beekeeping thing is addicting and gratifying on so many levels that I cannot help but try and share it in words.
What lesson did your father teach you that still helps you in life?
I had just given this example in a speaking assignment this past Sunday in Church. When I was but a lad of 8 or 9, Dad and I went fishing in our 19ft outboard just off the Pt Loma Kelp beds. The quarry that day was the very desireable Yellowtail Tuna. Soon I had one on the line. The twenty-some pound fish was strong in his element, and the fight went on for 30 or 40 minutes as Dad throttled and steered the boat in the general direction the tuna dictated.
My legs began to wobble and my arms grew tired. I turned to Dad and made what I thought was a reasonable request to make of a loving father. "Dad, ya gotta take over for me and land this fish. I am tired!"
The next thing I knew, Dad took the boat out of gear, whipped out a big pocket knife and grabbed the fishing line in his left hand. "No problem, son, I'll just cut the line for you."
"Noooo! I cried out. "DON'T CUT IT! I'll finish!"
My little body found new strength. I discovered resolve that day. I was never more pleased with myself than when Dad gaffed what turned out to be a 22 pound Yellowtail, and brought it on board. I think he was pretty proud of me also. We ate from that splendid game fish for days. I have dined off of that lesson at the hands of a wise and loving Father for decades! Dad knew about tough love before it was cool. Just one of the many things my father taught me.
This is the second hatch this year of 5 baby Finches in the artificial Christmas Tree I left in the corner of our covered front porch out of lazyness. Thought I oughta capture the images, not to point out the Bee Whisperer's sloth . . . . rather the trust of Mama Finch. The babies sorta look like Condors or something when this small. Perhaps the nest architect knew we sold the cat a few months ago - yes this once posted cat. I simply could not have cat hair show up in either honey or lip balm. Our Dog, Cassidy neither sheds, nor jumps up on the counter when we are out. Cassy seems content to knaw on spendy, favorite Birkenstocks (BAD dog) rather than spoiling the beeswax pot. Guess that tree must stay put for a while so I am off the hook, so to speak.
Every new "Today" seems more anxious than ever. Do you find more solace in "Yesterday" or "Tomorrow"? Why?
Submitted by Bee Whisperer.
I should allow an insight as to what I was feeling when I shot this QotD off to Vox. Yes, anxious can mean worry, but I used it as in hoping or wishing . . . . every day I am anxious for good news on the energy front . . . securing our borders, air and water quality (NOT global warming) I wish that things could be made right. It seems to me that we have all we need to solve most of our problems, but we waste so much in nest feathering and barrels filled with pork.
So I find myself immersed in books . . . nostalgic books and some DVDs . . . . taking me back to the Beaver Cleaver and Richie Cunningham childhood, even young adult years that I experienced and for which I yearn. I find real solace in those yester years. Solace - to make cheerful, to amuse. Oh, the present is good . . . a wonderful wife, a good life closing in on retirement. Have a loyal, giving dog, bees that give me the fruits of their labors . . . . but I am not feeling all that wonderful about tomorrow. I also have children and grandchildren who are all well and productive, but I am anxious for their tomorrows too.
I cannot go home again for sure, but I can reminisce and wish that our political system was not spilling out of our collective hands, out of control, like trying to drink from an oasis with cupped hands . . . most of the cool clear water slipping between fingers back on to the sand. The choices we have for the CINC of tomorrow seem lacking, even pathetic. I'll take yesterday as my solace . . . not tomorrow for tomorrow is more than uncertain, it is seemingly void of substance and soul. I don't reccommend this for you . . . it is just where I am at.
So we have been thinking about launching a personal care product line based on some of the good things our honey bees make in addition to just selling honey. That has now come to fruition. Millcreek Valley Farm is a quiet little operation nestled against the Old Millcreek running through Ogden, Utah. The location is, as we were fortunate to discover, perfect for keeping a couple of bee hives. The rest, to borrow a phrase, is history!
In addition to bringing in a crop of sweet, golden honey every year, we are excited about including honey and bee's wax in our line of natural soaps and personal care products. These "Comforts for the Body & Bath" proclaim a minimalistic approach to the ingredients list with an eye towards the way our grandmothers made necessities for the family.
Our personal care products are as near and dear to us as is our unprocessed natural honey. It is not just a desire to make cool stuff that drives us. Rather it is a commitment to bring to market a line of handmade products that represent the best to be found in the genre. Furthermore, we are proud of our research and development process which has yielded personal care products that are lavish, effective, attractive, tamper resistant and fun to use and show off!
We have had reservations about selling online, mostly because we enjoy so very much the interaction and approval we receive at our local shows and fairs. It is a fantastic way to bond not only with the patrons at such boutiques, but with fellow vendors. Our local sales events are a great community, and we hope to find Etsy a fun place to be also.
Our prices are not the cheapest, but neither are our products. We go to great lengths to produce high end, store shelf worthy items, and in fact you will find Millcreek Valley Farm products in many gift shops going forward into 2008. If you shop carefully and compare at our online store or at Etsy, we are sure that you will be able to discern the obvious quality found in our offerings.Well, that is our "hat in the ring" and I hope that we will be honored by all your good thoughts and wishes!
Bee well!!
I am looking out my office window at the beginnings of yet another winter storm. This pic was last week about 2 miles east of my home. The Ogden Valley will have a lot of "winter kill" (folks who moved here this summer for the beauty, clean water and clean air, and will now leave for the warmer clime from whence they came) this spring. At my home, the old aluminum speed limit signs that lay atop my beehives to shield them summer and winter, held over 30 inches of snow. It has been a deep winter.
As I day dream now, my mind clearly sees Ka'anapali Beach, Volcanoes National Park, Sunset Cliffs (the SoCal variety) Moab and even my grand kids home in tropical Imperial, CA. I have cabin fever bad, and a tax return on the way with which to purchase my escape (if only for 10 days) from the great white Rocky Mountain West. JP
What's the best book you read this year?
I admit to not being a heavy reader, other than Scripture and other spiritual writings. But then to me, beekeeping is very much a spiritual thing with ties to both ancient and restored religious tenet. This book, Robbing The Bees, was a new find for me in 2007. I thought I had read most writtings about bees so this was a pleasant surprise. The Amazon link is imbedded under the title. Beekeeper or not, the author inlightens and entertains. JP
This photo speaks volumes! It was a first prize winner at the Picture of the Year International competition concluded recently. The link will take you to the their site, and further comment on this photo. I recieved it in an email announcing "Blue Fridays". Even though this Blue Friday is evidently not gonna catch on, maybe we can set aside the often seen yellow ribbons, which were the subject of a good song years ago, but a terrible choice for a military remembrance.
Now understand that I am speaking as a volunteer veteran of another very unpopular conflict in which some 55,000 + men and women lost their lives . . . their chance at the American Dream. I pray that the cost in lives this go-around will not begin to approach those numbers. The body of that email of unknown origins follows. JP
Subject: Will YOU wear blue?
We take for granted the lives that are lost to keep us free and safe. Please don't let America forget, and pass this on. God Bless our troops and their families. God Bless America. Here are two photographs honored at a recent International Competition:
Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing blue every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority' We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing.
Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday, and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that they are not forgotten . . . . that their sacrifice is noticed, honored and supported.
By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of blue much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in BLUE and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.
The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is ....'We need your support and your prayers.' Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something blue every Friday.
Book: Show us a book you've read more than once."
Well this one for a start. > > > > > > > > > > > > >
You see, at my age I can safely hide my OWN Easter eggs. Every book I have is new again after 3 and a half years, more or less. Amazon HATES me for re-reading, but now and then I toss 'em a bone. JP
Have you ever ridden in a hot air balloon or a helicopter? Where did you go?
Yes, in a helicopter a few times, or "Fling Wing" as we used to call them. As some of you remember, I was an Army pilot in Vietnam in the 60's . . . airplanes such as the L-19 with me pictured above, Twin Beech and de Havilland Beaver which is still used in the bush today. The Army versions are included in these links.
Well, I digress . . . I did not have a great deal of trust in helos back then . . . too many moving parts. HOWEVER, on proding from my fling wing aviator friends, I did fly along with them in their Hueys a few times from Dust Off base at Phu Loi to exotic locations such as Duc Hoa, An Loc, Vung Tau and Tay Ninh. WHOP WHOP WHOP . . . I did't like it all that much, and I flew air cover above too many of them as they were shot up trying to evacuate wonded, or insert re-inforcements into a hot LZ. Never did want to ride in a civilian model . . . not even in my 5 trips to Hawaii. I wanna look out and SEE my wings! JP
