Greetings everyone, and Happy March Honey!
The Cold
Before we were hit with the January 31st snowstorm, George set up a temporary wind screen for the bees, and we’re keeping it up until next weekend. Since that freaky wind blew in this cold air yesterday, I’m glad it’s still up, albeit ugly to look at.
The bees have fared well so far. They ate lots of Fondant and made nice brood patterns for coming out of winter.
Bee Education
George has been busy with Bee training and learning. In the beekeeping world, you have levels of education you can seek. They are the Certified, Journeyman, Master, and Master Craftsman. There are tests in bee biology, pest management, and community services you must complete at each level. He became certified after his first year and is now working towards Journeyman. Currently, there are fifteen active Master Beekeepers in SC and only one Craftsman. George wants to go all the way.
If you are interested in some of the things he has presented at state-level conferences, you can access them here. He has a few presentations he shared as well as some YouTube video companions to go with some of his training.
Swarm Traps
I finished painting the swarm traps George built over winter, and he has placed them at various family residences in the hopes of catching some bees this year. They will get first dibs on our Honey for their help, but I think they are just excited to be part of it all.
We wanted to paint them a camouflage color so they would not stand out, and I think we accomplished our mission.
We plan on putting one on our property as well if we can hide it in our itty-bitty tree line. We do not have much of a forest on our property that is not already close to the hives.
Farmer’s Market
We were approved to have our booth again this year at The Farmer’s Market. While George has not started any peppers yet, he does plan on starting some Micro Tomatoes soon, which can be indoors or outdoors. We do have lots of Garlic growing that will be ready around June, and some carrots even sooner.
We cannot wait until our Honey is ready for the June Harvest!
I’ve been making some homemade honey soaps and balms while George has been practicing his Baklava and Cinnamon Roll Recipes. There are rules you must abide by to bake and sell things at the Market. So, his infamous Cinnamon Rolls with cream cheese icing are a no-no as they are not considered “shelf-stable”. However, all is not lost as he met the wonderful owner of Levé Bakery in Conway, who promised to share a delicious icing alternative. And we are looking forward to that!
Thanks for being here, and Happy Blossoms!
♥tootles♥
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