We spent the day extracting the honey from the hives in Maine. Brought them down last weekend. There were six of them, but there were a few in there that were light, a couple not filled at all. Some wasn't capped all the way, but withstood the shake test, so we extracted them anyways.
Hubby bought me a cold uncapping knife, and I really like it. I had the hot knife plugged in, but unplugged it quickly. That cold knife cut through easier, and dealt with comb that hadn't been built out very far. I was pleasantly surprised.
The honey is all mixed up. Some frames were very blond, some very dark, and some had a little of both! It's a rich, full bodied honey, not herbal or floral like what we'll get off the hives down here. That has to happen soon! Problem is weekends are too short when you have to work on Saturday, and he's been working lots of Saturdays.
Here are a few pics, first a nice full frame:
(http://annzoid.com/images/forums/bees/full-frame.jpg)
Greg says "Annie, look!":
(http://annzoid.com/images/forums/bees/uncapping.jpg)
Here's the knife in action:
(http://annzoid.com/images/forums/bees/uncapping1.jpg)
Nice pictures. 8-)
Nice clean comb!!! I'm jealous!!!!!
Bet your thrilled!!!!!
That is some very nice looking comb.
Enjoy the honey.
Sincerely,
Brendhan
TYou look like and old pro at that job. Maybe we should all contract you to do our extracting! :)
Nice pics thanks for sharing
Hey Ann, do they call you "the knife" as here's a pic of "the knife" in action? :-D
You look like you could be deserving of that title, you go girl! Nice pics!
...JP
I am so jealous of everyones clean beautiful comb. Mine is mostly dark, and almost black in some cases. My hives that I got last year were all old and abandoned I think. So I have all old comb. I am looking to add some new frames next year for some new fresh comb.
That stuff looked great. My wife and I just extracted this weekend as well. We loved it. Worked together and all.
F
Thanks, JP, Ann the KNife - doesn't have a good ring to it! :-P
And Frantz, believe me, I picked a winner there to photograph. We had plenty that were dark, and some that were so convoluted it was tough to get the cappings off! We did have a few that were beautiful like that one, though! I'm going to have lots of wax for candles this fall!
gee Anne,
You really did good!
Must be really nice when you dont have a zillion bees flying everywhere!
Are you in your basement?
your friend,
john
Yes, we extract in the basement, so we've got to make sure no girls are lurking when we bring the supers downstairs! But it's nice to not have to worry about stickiness, I use the top of the freezer so it's easy to wipe down when I'm finished.
Greg pulled the supers off the hives out back today, we may only have three full out of five, but we'll see. There's four or five over at my mom's, he's hoping to pull them tomorrow.
Quote from: reinbeau on September 29, 2008, 09:48:08 PM
Thanks, JP, Ann the KNife - doesn't have a good ring to it! :-P
And Frantz, believe me, I picked a winner there to photograph. We had plenty that were dark, and some that were so convoluted it was tough to get the cappings off! We did have a few that were beautiful like that one, though! I'm going to have lots of wax for candles this fall!
Not "Ann the knife" just "the knife" something like this, ladies and gentleman, introducing in the blue corner, some call her the "mad uncapper" able to uncap medium frames in a single swipe, the "Senorita of mass honeycomb destruction" she can cut you with her claws, rip you to shreds with one evil look! Ladies and gentleman, secure your seatbelts and put on your headgear, we introduce to you...
(drumroll).....
"THE KNIFE!"
...JP
How are you getting the bees off? the brush or the smelly stuff?
your friend,
john
Quote from: JP on September 29, 2008, 10:59:35 PM
Quote from: reinbeau on September 29, 2008, 09:48:08 PM
Thanks, JP, Ann the KNife - doesn't have a good ring to it! :-P
And Frantz, believe me, I picked a winner there to photograph. We had plenty that were dark, and some that were so convoluted it was tough to get the cappings off! We did have a few that were beautiful like that one, though! I'm going to have lots of wax for candles this fall!
Not "Ann the knife" just "the knife" something like this, ladies and gentleman, introducing in the blue corner, some call her the "mad uncapper" able to uncap medium frames in a single swipe, the "Senorita of mass honeycomb destruction" she can cut you with her claws, rip you to shreds with one evil look! Ladies and gentleman, secure your seatbelts and put on your headgear, we introduce to you...
(drumroll).....
"THE KNIFE!"
...JP
Oh boy, JP, there are some out there in the real world who would tell you you were closer to the truth than you know! :lol: But that's ok, fear is good :evil:
Quote from: johnnybigfish on September 29, 2008, 11:40:04 PM
How are you getting the bees off? the brush or the smelly stuff?
your friend,
john
Unfortunately the smelly stuff. Bee Go is awful, but JP was right, the scent does dissipate, thank goodness! I can't wait til the Bee Quick is back, but I will say, it is nice to not be quite so temperature dependent. That Bee Barf works even when it's cool out.
Yeah Ann, bee barf, good name for the stuff.
...JP ;)