Feeding time at the hives

This is the time of year when the queen will start laying eggs to make more workers for the spring. The bees raise the temp from around 60 to 93 degrees.

Most beekeepers feed their bees sugar or pollen patties. I had three sugar patties left from last year, so I thought perfect - I have three hives why not use them. I went out wearing my regular orange coat and orange gloves - what a beautiful day!

I didn't exactly rip open the hives, I cracked the inner covers open about two inches and slipped a disk of bee candy in. The bee candy is sugar and corn syrup cooked and cooled in a pie plate until it forms a rather hard disk. One disk had cracked in to about 10 pieces, but they are all usable.

I checked on Pink's hive first and found a few girls out and about.

I slipped the sugary disk in and found part of their pollen patty from Oct still there. The girls should eat that soon.

Sun's hive was pretty much the same but there are way fewer bees. They had not consumed any of their pollen. I am most concerned about these bees and will keep a close on them.

Then I went to Joy's hive. WOW. I could hear them buzzing the moment I touched the outer lid of the hive. I made the mistake of trying to slip the broken patty into their hive. They were all up in arms and one tried to get in my hair.

Have I mentioned I HATE bees in my hair.

I closed the lid best I could and made a beeline to the shed to get a veil. Sheesh. So with veil on and hive tool in hand, I re-cracked open the hive lid and maneuvered the sugar pieces so that the lid would close properly. The sugar bits were COVERED with bees and there were a handful of girls still flying around.

If Sun's hive doesn't make it - and I hope they do! - I will manipulate things so that one of Joy's daughters becomes the new queen in that hive.

Joy ROCKS!

I love being a beekeeper.

Cold snap

With the very cold weather, I am especially comforted by the extra insulation on the hives. Now I wish I knew if the bees felt the same way!


Although other beekeepers I know had a 50' day recently allowing their bees to get out and pee, we haven't gotten over 45'. The girls must be crossing their legs!


I do know right now that there are live bees in each hive. All three hives have dead bees on the door step. Bees will throw out any dead bees - so either these bees were tossed out or they flew out and got stuck. Either way, it is a good sign albeit a sad one.


Send some warm thoughts to the bees and keep your fingers crossed that they are warm and toasty in their blue homes.

Honey Cookies

I've been making Honey Cookies since ... well since ever! I can remember making these when I was very young and covering them with frosting and then sprinkles of every shape, size and color. My favorite were the little silver balls.

Although I still have some of the cookie cutters I used as a kid, I prefer nice tall ones so I can make a thicker cookie.

This recipe comes from an OLD Betty Crocker cookbook that my mom got as a wedding present in 1963. There is no copyright info and many of the pages have evidence of use and notes of changes penciled in the margins.

Merry Christmas Cookies

1/3 cup soft shortening

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2/3 cup honey

1tsp lemon flavoring

2 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Mix shortening, sugar, egg, honey and flavoring thoroughly. Measure flour by dip-level-pour method or by sifting. Blend flour, soda and salt: stir in. Chill dough. Heat oven to 375. Roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. When cool, ice and decorate as desired.

Now for the recipe I use! As many of you know, I just cannot leave a good recipe unchanged!

Honey Cookies

1/3 cup butter, NEVER EVER margarine

1/3 cup sugar (I have used as little as 1/4 cup)

1 egg

2/3 cup honey

1 tsp good vanilla flavor

2 3/4 - 3 cups flour - more makes softer cookies

1 tsp soda

Mix the sugar and butter until creamed. Add egg and mix. Pour in honey and scrape every last drop with a spatula. Mix well and add vanilla. Add the baking soda and slowly add the flour. Mix until very stiff dough forms. Chill at least and hour. Over night is much much better so the dough is very firm. Preheat your oven to 350. Dust your work surface with plenty of flour as this dough gets sticky when it gets warm. Roll out dough at least 1/4 inch thick. Dip cookie cutters into flour and cut. These cookies don't spread much but I still bake no more than 12 per sheet usually fewer to ensure even cooking. I add colored sugar to the tops now since I don't like to frost. Since they are made with honey that will affect the color of the dough and it will be darker and more flavorful than sugar cookies. Bake 8 minutes not 10. Let them cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Although the honey, in theory, will makes these cookies remain soft for longer periods than say... sugar cookies, I would know. They are always gone before any real testing could occur.

Enjoy!

Ready for winter

I closed up the hives today - a bit late but with it being near 70 last week I'm not that late! With temperatures dipping below freezing at night it was critical that I take out the honey and sugar water containers. They can be the source of condensation in the hive, the moisture can drip in to the hive and the bees can freeze. It is moisture and cold that are a such a deadly combination for bees.

After talking with a more experienced beekeeper at the Worcester County Beekeepers Association Christmas party on Saturday, I gave the hives an extra bit of insulation. I wrapped three sides of the hives in a foil-coated bubble wrap and the top got foil coated foam. It looks really silly but he swears by this method. According to him, the bees adapted to living in trees that are much thicker generally than wooden hives so a bit of extra insulation mimics the trees.

One girl came and sat on my veil for a while I was cleaning up.

I miss my bees.

Honey Recipes

This year's honey is darker and richer lending its rich flavor to cooking and baking. I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite honey-using recipes here.

Today is Morrocan Chicken which freezes really well. It was inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe, but as so many of you know, I can never leave a reciped untouched. Now that I've changed just about everthing except the chicken and zucchini, can I call it my own?

Regardless, this makes a great supper over couscous or rice.

Moroccan Chicken
Serves 4

4 Tablespoons oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons black pepper
8 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped (or 1 15 oz can of diced)
6 Tablespoons honey
¾ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 – 1 ¼ lbs boneless chicken breast, whole if they are small or cut in chunks
1 lb zucchini, sliced (2 medium or about 3 ½ cups)

In a large skillet, heat oil and add garlic over medium heat. Cook for about a minute. Add tomatoes, ginger, coriander, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for about 6-8 minutes or until about half the liquid is evaporated. Add the honey and stir. Add cilantro, chicken, and zucchini. Cook 10 minutes, turning the chicken at least once.

Place in a freezer bag and label if desired.

If frozen, defrost over night in the fridge. Heat in a microwave or saucepan until heated through. Garnish with fresh cilantro if you have it on hand.

Craft Fair

I was pretty excited to send out this email today. This is my second craft fair but I am even more nervous this year than last. It was a blast last year - I shared a booth with my friend Liz Tuff who had sewn gifts for sale. This year I will be sharing with Felix Mimo who is a potter.

Email:
I will be selling local honey, hand cream, beeswax bars, and, for the first time, beeswax lip balm at the Millbury Chain of Lights this Sunday from 10-4pm. The Millbury Parents Club is hosting a craft fair at the Millbury High School and I will have a booth in the hallway near the entrance - look for Blue Hive Honey on your map.

If you would like to preorder honey or other products and pick up at the Craft Fair I will include honey sticks with each order. If you cannot make the craft fair, I will make other arrangements for delivery. Also, if you are interested in smaller sizes of hand cream, please contact me.

None of my products have added fragrance or colors - just the natural warm smell of honey and beeswax.

Prices for 2009:

1 lb Papa bear of honey - $7 ea or 2 for $12
4 oz beeswax handcream - $5
1 oz bar of pure beeswax - $2
lip balm - tube or pot - $2
honey sticks - 5/$1

More Please...

On Thanksgiving I whipped up a batch of sugar water for the bees thinking that they might take a bit more before wrapping up for the season. I love it when my bees remind me that books will only take me so far and that experience is really the best teacher. There are many beekeeping books that will tell you that bees stop taking honey and sugar water around Halloween and my girls haven't read a single one of them.

Not only has each and every hive sucked dry the jars of sugar water set out for them they also inhailed the warm honey I put out. It was pretty crystalized here in the house and I expexted it would do the same in the hive so I warmed it on the stove until it was smooth and liquid again.

The bees were great - only Pink's girls were flying but the other hives were still quite active. None of my hives have clustered yet.

Bees don't hibernate, migrate or sleep for the winter, they cluster. Essentially bees cuddle to stay warm and keep the queen happy. She is kept fed and warm in the center of a big hug all winter. Once they cluster up, they stop taking sugar water, honey or even spend much time outside the hive.

It is great that the girls are taking on as much honey as possible. When it does get cold, and it will, they will be in a better position to use their stored food and start next year off with lots of bees.

The smell from just cracking the top covers off was amazing. I am slowly weaning myself off smoke as it really disturbs the communication of the bees. I am also learning more about how the hive smells at different times.

Happy Thanksgiving to Pink, Sum, and Joy!