On Tuesday, yesterday, Pat was walking through the orchard when he heard a buzzing sound and saw a swarm of honey bees flying from the old mobile home to an old well house just to the north. This is what he found attached to the mobile home after the bees had left.
He quickly ran to the house to get me and the kids.
At first Pat thought the combs were empty but after looking closer I noticed dark spots in the middle. Pat and Jonathan ran back to the house to get a ladder and knife so we could cut down the honeycombs.
The centers were full of honey.
When we got the honeycombs back to the house we began inspecting them.
The pockets were full of honey and pollen.
We began slicing them to get the honey to drip out.
The thicker part was easier to handle and cut.
I loved how the honey just oozed out.
We put the sliced pieces into a juice colander/strainer that was placed over a glass jar. Watching the honey drip was very exciting. I was expecting the honey to be thick like what we buy at the store but instead it was very runny.
While the honey was draining Pat and I went back to look at the bees in their new home.
I have never seen a swarm of bees before.
After draining the honey we began sucking on some of the wax. The flavor was fantastic, rich and very sweet.
This is how the wax looked after all the honey was drained.
Next we poured the honey from the larger glass jar into a vintage canning jar.
We ended up with about a pint of pure raw honey.
Today we are making fresh ground whole wheat bread to go with our treasured pure golden honey.
2 comments:
Cool!! fresh honey is always the best. If you haven't already trashed the wax, melt it down in the microwave and pour it into molds.. maybe an old ice cube tray that's been sprayed with Pam. You can use the wax for lots of things such as using it to run your sewing thread through to keep out tangles.
You might even do a search to see what all it can be used for. When I was a kid I use to love chewing on it.
What a FASCINATING day ya'll had! I would have loved to had been there with Pamela to help extract and sample the honeycomb.
Pamela and I had recently watched an AMAZING video on honeybees. It sounds like the larger nest is elsewhere. When a colony becomes too large, they break apart and the scouts go looking for a new nest to start with a new queen.
They may decide to nest nearby. Which is a good thing for your garden.
I have a HIGH suspicion we may have a colony in my roof or very nearby. I'm finding way too many honeybees in my pool.
I'll have to have Pamela log on to read your blog (she reads mine all the time from her computer -- she's always saying, "MOM! You post EVERYTHING on your blog!!!")
Great post!!!
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