Beauty Farming Life

Honey Well, the countdown has begun...6 days until I am suited up in my protective gear and I'm playing with bees!  Well, OK, maybe not "playing with", but certainly getting my first ever hands on experience with them.  To say I'm not nervous would be a lie, but hey, we all have to make that first step.  The lady tells me they've taught dozens of these classes and no one has ever been stung.  I should knock on wood as I type this.  Or maybe SHE should, ha. Nerves aside, I am very much looking forward to it.  It will be a new life experience, that's for sure.  And if I'm comfortable with it, I think in another year or so, we could very well have honey from our own hive on a regular basis out at Seda Bolsa Farm...I wouldn't mind a shelf like this in the mudroom full of the delicious nectar! For those following my blog, be sure and check in Saturday afternoon/evening and get the full details...

I just got an email with instructions and "waiver of liability and hold harmless agreement" that has to be signed and witnessed!  Nah, that's not making me nervous, no sir, not at all...LOL! Clothing for the day:  Long sleeved shirt, blue jeans, a baseball hat, and boot or other sturdy shoe that covers the ankle.  I'll be there with bells on! (or wait, that might scare the bees!)

Bees This will be me, just about 24 hours from now.  I wonder if I'll dream about bees tonight?  2nd Man suggested "Attack of the Killer Bees" as a movie this evening, a request I politely, and firmly, turned down.  Can't wait until tomorrow!

 Honeycomb  Focus on the honey! Focus on the honey! Focus on the honey!  Today is the day, I'm supposed to be there at 9:45AM so I'm about to head out to meet my fate, er, destiny? They say the class is usually about 3-4 hours long, but sometimes people hang around to talk some more about bees and help with the cleanup.  I guess that means I'll be home at some point this afternoon and will post the details (and photos!) later this evening or tomorrow.

LOVED. THE. CLASS. It was an awesome time, and I have more than a 100 pictures to go thru and LOTS to write about, but I know a lot of you are curious how it went.  So instead of waiting until a much longer post/review later in the weekend, I wanted to post something as soon as possible so that  A) you'll know I made it and B) that I enjoyed it.   So more coming later, but long story short, I'm hooked on bees!

I drove up to the location of the "Introduction to Beekeeping" class and saw this sign.  I knew I was in the right place!  It was in a field at the end of a neighborhood in an industrial area of Houston.  Perfect spot for a bunch of beehives. Jennifer "The Bee Wrangler" was the instructor and she immediately began by teaching us some of the basics of bees and beekeeping.  She showed the different tools and instruments used in the process, gave us some fascinating history of beekeeping , the different hive types ("Top Bar" and "Langstroth"), and where and how to get them.  She definitely knows her bees!  She then taught us how to get the smoker going, what to use to make the best smoke and how to keep it going (you don't want to run out of smoke in the middle of messing with your hives).  The smoke calms the bees, puts them into a self preservation mode (they think there is a fire near the hive) so they are more con...

Honeycomb I have had several people mention the benefits of eating local honey.  I was also told about the health properties of honey during my beekeeping class.  So I thought I'd share some interesting tidbits I learned during class and after doing a little online research: Honey is a natural antiseptic and has antibiotic properties.  it can kill bacteria and germs and can be used to dress wounds and burns.  This makes them heal much faster. Honey you consume that is harvested locally, near where you live, will help you develop a natural resistance to things that might normally cause you allergies. Honey breaks up mucous and that's why it's recommended for coughs.  In fact, studies have shown that it's more effective than many over the counter cough medicines (and ALL NATURAL!) Honey is easier to digest than sugar because it dissolves in the bloodstream so much faster. Honey never goes bad.  It might crystallize, but once warmed u...

Honey Varieties After I recently blogged about taking a BEE CLASS , and my desire to have our own hives, I've been doing lots of reading about bees and beekeeping and of course, the BENEFITS OF HONEY .   During my reading, I found this interesting information about the varieties of honey, and how the color and flavor is affected by the main source of the bees' pollen.  As you can see, honey can be different shades and colors, and even have different flavors. _________________________________________ Clover, Sweet Clover yields massive amounts of nectar popular with beekeepers as a source; white in color and mild in flavor. Clover, White Most-used east of the Mississippi; color is white to extra-light amber with a mild, delicious flavor. Cotton Used mostly in Texas now; light in color with a mild flavor Dandelion Honey is yellow with a strong flavor. Eucalyptus Varies in color and flavor but is overall bold with a slightly medicinal aftertaste. Fireweed Light in color and ...

Bee with Fly Parasite on its back Now this story is quite alarming.   Scientists have discovered a tiny fly that deposits its eggs in the abdomen of honeybees, and the gestating larvae take over the bees brains, essentially turning them, for lack of a better term, into "zombies".  This causes them to go mad and become suicidal. I know it sounds like something from a bad Sci Fi movie, but it's real and it's happening in California now.: READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE This is not the CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) that has been in the media the last few years, this is apparently a completely NEW thing they discovered that is affecting bees.   It is still unclear if this is a culprit for CCD as well. Either way, it's a very real threat to our way of life as people don't realize how much we depend on the honeybee for the pollination of so many of our crops.  They are an important link in our food chain which, if eliminated or, in ...

A couple of years ago, I took a very basic 'intro to beekeeping' class.  I had a blast getting up close and personal with bees and it gave me, no pun intended, the bug for keeping bees.  Of course at that time, we had to do much more on the property to even get to that point and to be honest, I also wanted to see if I felt comfortable around them.  Here are a couple of photos from that class: Me, holding bees! I was definitely comfortable, ha. I was also totally fascinated by the whole process, not to mention the natural beauty of the bees and how they create what they do. Honeycomb section with honey So recently, a fan of the blog who lives not too farm from our farm, reached out in an email to say hello and chat.  Turns out he and his wife built their dream home on some rural property and like us, have planted fruit trees, berries, etc, on their land.  They also have a couple of hives! Also like us, they had no experience prior to having...

A couple of years ago, I took a very basic 'intro to beekeeping' class.  I had a blast getting up close and personal with bees and it gave me, no pun intended, the bug for keeping bees.  Of course at that time, we had to do much more on the property to even get to that point and to be honest, I also wanted to see if I felt comfortable around them.  Here are a couple of photos from that class: Me, holding bees! I was definitely comfortable, ha. I was also totally fascinated by the whole process, not to mention the natural beauty of the bees and how they create what they do. Honeycomb section with honey So recently, a fan of the blog who lives not too farm from our farm, reached out in an email to say hello and chat.  Turns out he and his wife built their dream home on some rural property and like us, have planted fruit trees, berries, etc, on their land.  They also have a couple of hives! Also like us, they had no experience prior to having...

Honeybee collecting pollen / nectar  Tomorrow is the all day beekeeping class we signed up for a couple of months back.   We're  I'm so excited.  Sadly, 2nd Man can't attend, he will not be back in town soon enough to go.  So I'll be solo with the bees. The class starts at 8am, and is about 70 miles away, so I'll be up and gone early in the morning. Off to bed early tonight!

Honeybee on a dewberry flower The day is finally here! The  Beekeeping class  we signed up for is happening.  When this posts, I'll be arm deep in bees (or maybe just watching, LOL).  I t's an eight hour event, with lunch served, so it should be a fun but full day.  As I mentioned yesterday, 2nd Man got back into town too late to be able to attend.  He was very disappointed but I understand.  I'm taking the camera and should have lots to share with him and of course with all of you in the coming days. I'll be back about 7pm and we'll go out to dinner when I get back into town and just make a whole day and evening of it. Hope your Saturday is going great!

That is the question... ...and the answer is TO BEE!  Yes, we are going to have hives.   Unfortunately, what I learned at the school yesterday was that, for this part of the country anyway, it's a bit too late to start hives this year.  I met with the instructor after the morning "Beekeeping 101" class and explained our situation.  He said that while we might be able to push it and order bees now, by the time they come in, coupled with the fact that we'd be rushed in buying supplies and setting things up, the bees would likely miss the all important honey flow.  There are all sorts of new hive rules I had no idea about (but do now!). This is just about to be the peak 'honey flow' season in these parts, meaning that bees will be foraging like crazy to get honey for the hive before the heat of Summer sets in when there are less blooms available, then trying to get more for surplus to make it through the Winter. We talked ...

Warning, long post! So I got up at 5:15am.  Showered, dressed and headed out by about 6:15am.  It's a lovely drive from Houston to Brenham, about 65 miles NW.  Pretty much just getting on one freeway and driving until you exit, turn right and arrive! When I arrived, there was already a line at the check in table.  They had over 500 participants registered.  It was awesome!  We all received these yellow gift bags that were full of catalogs and brochures and magazines, all related to bees and beekeeping. Since I was a bit early, I did partake in the breakfast of champions; donuts and hot tea with some bee reading! Of course, there would be local honey for sale, I mean what kind of beekeeping school wouldn't have that? LOL.  The first class of the morning was two and a half hours.  It was called "Beekeeping 101: For Beginners".  It lasted from 9:00am to 11:30am.  The time FLEW by.  So much good ...