Honey Harvest

I am just as busy these days and the girls are. I am preparing for the craft show for the Chain of Lights here in Millbury on December 6. I will have a table to sell honey, beeswax, hand cream and for the first time this year, lip balm.

In a total panic yesterday I realized I had 20 (now 19) days to get ready. I got inspired and bottled all the remaining honey safe for the smidgen on the bottom of the bucket. Here's the final number for the year:

36.5 lbs

Sigh - it is about twice what a I though we'd get but way less than I hoped. The honey we have this year is so much more complex than last year's honey. This year is darker, richer, and very intensely floral.

In addition to bottling, I melted wax in to bars and small batches to make hand cream. The whole house had a faint smell of honey and wax all evening. The bars were made in the lovely molds that my dear husband gave me for Christmas last year. The bars came out smooth and shiny with a strong odor of bees, honey and the faint whiff of warmer days past.

My list is still long. I have to make hand cream, label all the honey bottles, get bags, tissue paper, and find some way to label the lip balm. Here's the hand cream recipe I use as my base. And as many of you would expect, I made some changes!

This weekend I will tackle learning to actually make lip balm.

Come visit me at my table at the fair and say hello!