The honey harvest is now over. We harvest the honey from the hive by first searching for fully capped frames with fresh new comb. We make sure to leave the bees sufficient honey to make it through the winter, harvesting only the excess. The bees are gently removed from the honeycomb with a feather. This is much easier on the bees than the brushes with nylon bristles sold at beekeeping supply stores–the bees REALLY hate those brushes!
We extract our honey using the crush and strain method, cutting the comb off of the frame (or top bar) and using a potato masher in a stainless steel bowl or a stainless steel press to crush the comb and free the honey. The mixture is then strained through first a coarse screen and then a fine screen into a glass or stainless steel bowl to produce clear, golden honey. To ensure our honey stays pure, we avoid plastics during processing.
The summer honey this year is medium-dark, with a beautifully complex flavor that comes from the combination of lavender nectar from Bees N Blooms and blackberry nectar from the neighbor’s blackberry field, as well as other wildflowers blooming in early to mid summer. We have found a talented artist to paint the honey jars with lovely pictures of the flowers the bees have gathered nectar from to make the honey. Once every last delicious drop of the honey is gone, you’ll have a lovely jar to use for something else!
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I am very excited to have you as one of my regular visiting places, Thank you so much for your presence in this world!!
Very cool & beautiful photos, Susan!