Honey harvest. Finally.

[Rurification]

It's my 5th year.   Finally got the right kind of bees for this area.    It's a small harvest - 1 1/3 gallons, but the mother hive made me a whole super of honey.    Even though it swarmed, I split and it threw another small afterswarm.    I'm hoping for good things from this hive next year. 

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[Hops Brewster]

Congrats Robin.  Enjoy the bounty!

[divemaster1963]

what where they on?  I like the light color. almost morning sunshine.


john

[cao]

Congratulations.  I bet it is the best honey that you've ever had.  I know my first harvest was.  I've got honey the last 3 years and its always good.  Yours look a little lighter than mine this year.  Hope your bees are doing well and continued success.

[Dabbler]

Congratulations !

After reading of your ups and downs over the past few years, I am left wondering who worked the hardest to create that honey - the bees, or You ?http://www.beemaster.com/forum/Smileys/beemaster/happy.png

[monarchis]

Nice job.

[Nugget Shooter]

Nice and enjoy!

[tjc1]

Congrats! You are one patient beekeeper! You deserve it - keep up the good work. What kind of bees sis you end up finding were the 'right' ones for you/your area?

[mtnb]

Good looking honey! I'm happy for you Robin!

[sc-bee]

 

[Acebird]

The thrill of victory.  Kudos to you.  You earned it.

[bwallace23350]

Good job

[Rurification]

Thanks everyone!.   It's sweeter knowing you all appreciate it, too.

I was really surprised at how light the honey was.   We have a lot of locust trees, but that's early and the bees didn't fill this super until late.    I also have acres and acres of goldenrod and totally expected dark, strong honey.    This stuff is light and tangy like clover honey, only it's not clover.   We have a lot of wildflowers on in September - lots of aster this year.    Maybe that?

tjc1 - I paid extra for Russian queens on 2 packages two years ago.  They promptly requeened when they got here [ARG!], so they're Russian crossed with feral.   I had one colony make it through the winter.   She swarmed in the spring and I caught it.   I split the mother hive to prevent more swarming, but each of the splits threw an afterswarm, I lost one and caught one, so I ended up with 4 hives from that queen.   

I also figured out how to use quilt boxes for the winter and I think that made a huge difference getting them through in my little microclimate.   I got 2 local nucs this year and one is good but the other never thrived and went queenless last month so I combined it with one of the swarms from my Russian cross.   I've got 5 colonies going into winter.  Fingers crossed I get 2 or 3 to make it through.

Congratulations !

After reading of your ups and downs over the past few years, I am left wondering who worked the hardest to create that honey - the bees, or You ?http://www.beemaster.com/forum/Smileys/beemaster/happy.png

That made me laugh!   Too true! 

[divemaster1963]

I was wondering what type. It was. I had a special hive on sucluded flow. Wisteria and honeysuckle. Was very light also. Had the aroma of wisteria with  very sweet taste. I only got one gal. Before I broke my shoulder. Its now my special reserve honey.



John

[GSF]

Congratulations Robin, you dang shore deserve some honey. You worked  mighty hard to get this far. We're happy for you!

[KeyLargoBees]

Never ceases to amaze me how light that northern honey is....Mine is always medium amber to dark amber ;-P

Enjoy the honey Robin!!

[bwallace23350]

The colour of honey is the so interesting to me. How each type of flower and plant creates totally different honey. Around where I live my general rule of thumb is that I like the darker honey until we cross a line just south of Dothan and then it can be different and once you get to the coast and the Tuepelo Honey nothing compares to that.

[mtnb]

It really is amazing. And also the viscosity of them. Mine is very dry and viscous. And light too. Like Robins'.

Tuepelo...I've never tried that. I want to try that and sourwood. I picked up two different honeys in Belize last year. They were both very different. One was more floral and the other I think was a forest honey. The forest one granulated quickly into nice small crystals. I was thinking of using that as a seed for whipped honey. Until I saw my own honey crystalize. It turned into the finest rounded smoothest little crystals I've ever had any honey crystalize into. Seriously blows me away.

What does your honey taste like Robin?

[bwallace23350]

I have a business that sells it. PM your address and next time we have a truck or someone down that way I will get your some and send it your way. We buy it straight from the beek and resell it for him.

[mtnb]

That'd bee awesome!