Just adopted about 20-thousand more daughters!

Really! It is true! I now have two daughters, two grand-daughters and about 50-tousand bee daughters. Thank goodness for a husband, a grandson, two sons-in-law and a male dog to add the testosterone to the family!

Last week we picked up our nucleus hive and brought it home. Our club had taken nuc orders and the truck arrived on Wednesday with a delivery of 150 nucs! We brought it home, set it in the yard next to the first hive, opened the door and promised the girls we would move them into their new house the next day.


Nuc waiting to be housed

Installed and flying happy!

The nucs came to us from Grant Stiles, a NJ beekeeper and bee business person, so they are native to the state and relatively local. Other club members and long time beekeepers swear by the quality of the bees they get from Grant so we were happy to be able to get some for our own.

Well, of course, it was cold and rainy and snowy the next day so they had to wait. Then we had freezing temperatures overnight so they had to wait again. Finally on Saturday it was sunny and warm and we were able to put the nuc into its official permanent home.

It was fun to inspect the frames in the nuc and try to find the queen. We always take pictures of each frame so we can more closely inspect them later. I'm happy to say that we had eggs, capped and uncapped brood, pollen, nectar and the queen!



Caught in the act of laying an egg!

It's Alive! We made it through the winter!

What a tough month February was around here! snow, snow, snow and freezing temperatures had us really worried about the bees making it through.  We had seen them out on a few sunny days in January and then BAM! February arrived and didn't let up.

The hive had been wrapped in insulation on the north and west sides and we kept the doorway free of snow and ice and added an entrance reducer to help keep the chill out. We started feeding the bees sugar fondant (bee candy) because it can be quickly placed on top of the frames, close to the cluster of cold, hungry bees and their queen. We actually made our own fondant because we didn't want to wait for an order to arrive. See how to do that- http://www.honeybeesuite.com/how-to-make-fondant-from-table-sugar/

On Feb. 22, we breathed a sigh of relief when we the sun came out, the temperature went up a bit and we saw bees flying! They were taking cleansing "poop" flights and bring out the dead and coming out just to stretch their wings. We were very proud bee parents! Our first hive had made it thought its first winter!  We have talked with may beekeepers since February and learned that we were very lucky. Many hives were lost this winter even though the beekeepers did everything possible to help them along.

Cleansing flights Feburary 22, 2015



We kept up with fondant feeding into March and then, at the beginning of April we were brave enough and the temperatures were warm enough to go into the hive for a quick inspection. The bees had not only taken to munching on fondant, they had discovered their own warehouse and were eating honey they had put aside. Some of them were venturing further from the hive in search of water. Take a look at these girls, finding snow melt on our back deck.

So here we go, into our second year as beekeepers with hopes of honey and pollination and good stewardship!

Jars and Labels and Packaging.....Oh My

For as long as I can remember, my Dad's honey label was the same, yellowish with brown text with his name and a space for the weight. At some point, he added a small label to the back of his jars explaining about granulation and how to fix it. He also used the same classic jars in various sizes and the plastic honey bear container.  

 

 Nothing fancy because my Dad was a classic New England Yankee. His label clearly says "Here's honey which I put in a jar. It is pure and it weighs 1 pound. What you see is what you get." I can still picture the full jars on the kitchen table, lined up for labeling back in the days before self-sticking labels. Everyone in town probably had one of these jars in their kitchen and they would return the empty jars to him for refill.
 

He added the back labels when he got tired of listening to people tell him that their honey "went bad" and turned to sugar. Honey does not go bad. In fact there is documentation of honey found in ancient tombs and it was still edible. Read this article from Smithsonian Magazine- The Science behind Honey's Ancient Shelf Life for a real explanation.

All the bee supply vendors sell labels. Some can be customized with your own apairy name, type f honey (wildflower, raw, pure ). Most are generic and have blank space for the weigh and type of honey. Labels can also be custome designed and created. It all depends upon what you, the beekeeper, want to say. Take a look at Google images for an idea of just how many honey labels there are- Honey Labels.

This past fall, my club, Northeast New Jersey Beekeepers Association, held a honey label contest. Club members submitted their labels and other club members voted on which they considered to be the best, most interesting, etc. the label designs were interesting, as were the choices for winners. Winning entries were- J First place, I Second place and A Third place.



Northeast NJ Beekeepers Association Sept. 2014 Label Contest
 

I've been pondering my packaging and my labels. What do I want my brand to look like? First, I'm not really looking to have a brand nor do I expect to have a honey crop large enough for world-wide recognition. I love the traditional, glass jars used by my Dad so that decision has been made. I also like the idea of clear labels so you can see through the jar and through the honey.

A talented artist that I have know for her entire life has created various labels for me to use. I'm not going to share them with you now because I am not yet sure which I like the best. I also don't want anyone to borrow my label and use it for themselves! I can tell you that she does some really interesting art which you can see at her Etsy Store-DeepCereal. Her work has a sense of whimsy that I really like and it isn't too serious.

So, while my bees rest up in their hive, I'm busy getting ready for spring and my 2nd hive and thinking about jars and labels and packaging as well as extracting and swarming and bee stings.

Happy January!