The long awaited day has finally arrived..... my honey got his honey. I must say, that after much skepticism, criticism and fear, I am now a believer in beekeeping!
Last Thursday, John and Beau suited up in bee gear and headed out to rob the honey. Beau manned the smoker while John lifted the capped frames from 2 hives and loaded the trailer with the very heavy honey. With all of our extracting equipment waiting in the basement, the rest of us let out a cheer as John carried the prized reward through the door and down the hallway to the capping table! The kids were so excited it was as if they had already ingested a pint of the sugary treat. I played many roles during the process. Between crowd control and snapping pictures, John showed me the ropes of uncapping the honey with the capping knife. I must say, I think I will remain in the beginner / novice category for quite a while. It is more difficult than it looks to manhandle the heavy frame and gingerly glide the hot knife over the wax in a controlled, non-spastic motion. Maybe I will get the hang of it one day. Next, after loading the uncapped frames one by one into the extractor, it was time for the big show! John loved operating his new extractor and we all marveled at the honey flinging out of the comb. First it dripped slowly and as the cheering got louder, the honey came faster. First it was strained through the coarse filter, then the medium and lastly the fine filter. Before too long we had 5.5 gallons of honey... 88 lbs all together!
After this amazing experience, I think it will be easier to remain calm next time he climbs 40 feet into a tree trying to capture a swarm of bees. I think the reward is actually worth all the effort... I can't believe I am saying this!
The Quest for Honey.......
Beau was a great helper!! One time he panicked when he felt a bead of sweat dripping down his face and thought there was a bee inside his veil. When I verified it was only sweat, we both cracked up!
ReplyDelete