tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77750266116414368242024-02-22T15:15:08.329-05:00Northampton HoneyNorthampton Honey is an apiary in Northampton, MA. All of the nectar gathered by our honeybees originates from the 01060 and 01062 zip codes. Our honey brings you the wholesome goodness that only nectar gathered from flowers planted by liberals can. Every hive a feminist utopia and a worker's collective.
We've been selling you the nectar from your own plants since, roughly, 2007. Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-44385139189104484082024-02-22T15:14:00.000-05:002024-02-22T15:14:05.911-05:00We're back, again. <p>It's been a while since Northampton Honey produced any honey to sell. My work situation changed and it was no longer practical to try an keep bees for honey production. I wound up working more than I did when we started Northampton Honey. The trees grew up in our yard and made it too shady for bees. </p><p>There were a couple of false starts along the way. We wound up <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/from-wreck-to-recycled-transforming-northamptons-buildings--406661041363239027/">owning a little vacant lot</a> after we bought and dissembled a warehouse there, giving the parts to Habitat for Humanity. We also remediated an oil spill too, cleaning up the land. We've now planted it in clover to enrich the neglected soil. It seemed only natural to bring back bees as well. </p><p>We've had bees there since last spring, and they're doing great. We hope this year we can extract a bit of honey for friends, family and for some for sale on a very small scale. </p><p>There's a lot of changes that are happening in our beekeeping, all for the better. One is that our bees will reside in boxes made by <a href="https://www.unionbeecompany.com/">Union Bee Company </a>next year. These boxes have roughened insides that would be more like a natural tree. This causes bees to deposit propolis there. This is sap they've collected from tree wounds. It's naturally antibiotic and antiviral because trees use that special sap to heal wounds. </p><p>This acts as a kind of shell that protects the bees. It's the first line of defense. Our smooth hives don't encourage this behavior and this makes bees vulnerable. </p><p>Union Bee Company is a little company round an hour away. He's a small time bee keeper and woodworker. The wood for the hives is locally sourced and milled by him right into the hives and woodenware he sells. He's clearly thinking about how to make a better product with every product he sells. </p><p>Because he keeps bees himself there's a level of practicality in figuring out what makes things better is a meaningful way. He said he made 500 top bars, part of a frame that holds comb for bees, before he was satisfied that he'd gotten it correct. </p><p>Northampton Honey is coming back as something that is better than it was and I think sourcing product from small makers like this makes us better. <br /></p><p><img alt="C080DE03-E196-4DF6-9F7C-CFB8880664A1.jpeg" height="480" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b72e0c_2538bf16101d401d80022bc55ba99fca~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_862,h_480,fp_0.50_0.50,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/b72e0c_2538bf16101d401d80022bc55ba99fca~mv2.jpeg" style="height: 480px; object-fit: cover; object-position: 50% 50%; width: 862px;" width="480" /></p><p><br /></p>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-10116596738582668962023-06-25T18:25:00.001-04:002023-06-25T18:25:40.244-04:00<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzpwOktOtieBugL92MZXARYPvONHnQVfmTnRYT_-QyypqQMTKv6OAWiDhcd8xnNcKopCMwtkbMWLyPqx6vcIA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><p></p><p>This year's bees look as good at this time of year as I have ever seen bees look. I've been taking a lot of these slow motion videos because it helps me understand just how fast the bees move. They're actually a bit bumbly in flight, more like zeppelins than jets. </p><p>We now have been on our vacant lot and may soon have some in Florence again. We didn't really have great spaces for a bee yard but that's changed. My friend Kari kept bees through what I think of as the dark times. Mites were super bad when we stopped. The best treatment was Mite Away Quick Strips but it was awful. It was as likely to kill your bees as it was to do in the mites. I've been following Kari lead and I am optimistic that one can again keep bees successfully. </p>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-17458265300751947422022-10-06T15:31:00.006-04:002022-10-06T15:35:50.992-04:00What makes a good bee? <p> In the beekeeping world you'll see a lot of emphasis on pedigree bees. I suppose this is a lot like the dog world or the horse world or the British royalty. The headlines didn't say "rich old lady dies" they said the Queen is dead. They said that Charles will succeed her, as if just showing up and claiming the riches is success. </p><p>I've toyed around with pedigree bees having had most of the major lines, and even <a href="https://fergusonapiaries.on.ca">Buckfast bees</a>, so rare they're bred on remote islands to preserve their genetics. You also hear a lot about 'northern queens' which is a more generic term for bees that come from the north, like New England or Idaho, I would imagine. </p><p>I'm less skeptical of northern queens than I am of pedigree, because it just seems to mean bees that have survived the winter. That's good for us, because we have a winter. </p><p>Over the years I've become more and more enamored of swarm queens. What this really comes down to is nature over nurture. Most queen bees that you can get commercially are raised in a kind of farming fashion. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAI5qt0tLJem1KmGRGaheH5TccsSWp7OZIa6v_8v5_IH-KUJHR8KoMlThUcdPldHR6DUtj11v83lPWaTcHsQALf5MQ8ZHs6MQQQ-e_V390iU6dl124tmj9gj78bTUqc1R776fV6VDDh-e8tph4exAqDtR6vgY45vN2a-EfwUO9pXCsvZNWIHd4hZ5/s768/beekeeper-is-holding-plate-with-queen-cells-shutterstock_1422749789.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAI5qt0tLJem1KmGRGaheH5TccsSWp7OZIa6v_8v5_IH-KUJHR8KoMlThUcdPldHR6DUtj11v83lPWaTcHsQALf5MQ8ZHs6MQQQ-e_V390iU6dl124tmj9gj78bTUqc1R776fV6VDDh-e8tph4exAqDtR6vgY45vN2a-EfwUO9pXCsvZNWIHd4hZ5/s320/beekeeper-is-holding-plate-with-queen-cells-shutterstock_1422749789.webp" width="320" /></a></div>The bees are made to raise many queens at once in a small box called a nuc. They do all right and the queens from this process can be good. <p></p><p>My problem with it is that it's not how the bees would go about doing it. In an what I am going to call an 'abundance swarm' the bees have survived the winter and charge ahead raising queens and getting ready to swarm. The hive is literally abuzz with activity. In the preceding weeks before the swarm this hive and all the other strong hives locally have been launching drones into the air in preparation. </p><p>A complex reaction of pheromones and activity mean the whole hive of tens of thousands of bees, maybe 40-50,000 bees kicks into gear to raise perhaps a dozen queens. Everything that happens is a result of surplus. </p><p>Like a rich household everything is supplied to these queens in abundance. The bees that supply the queen with royal jelly are young bees with special glands developed to this task. In an abundance swarm these bees will number in the thousands, they will be just the right age, they will be optimally fed. Every bee along the way in that queens development, and there are many hundreds, is primed and ready for the job. </p><p>When that queen emerges to go on her mating flight she will first murder every possible usurper to the throne before she takes to the air. It's hard to overstate the savageness and power of a swarm raised queen. </p><p>A swarm raised queen is by definition of northern queen that has survived the winter. She's got the lineage of a hive that was strong enough in spring to produce in abundance. This is before she even launches into the air. <br /></p><p>When she goes on her mating flight she takes to the air and flies into a sea of drones from all the most powerful neighboring hives. The other hives that survived winter in enough abundance to make useless drones who do no work and gather no nectar. </p><p>What's more these drones are rich and varied. The queen will mate with many to get enough seamen to lay the hundreds of thousands of bees she'll lay in her life. Like a litter of multicolored kittens these bees will have many fathers. In my own bees now I can see the variation, bees both dark and like, orange and yellow. </p>It's said a swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not worth a fly. This was because the later the swarm came the harder it would be for them to become strong enough to survive winter. <div><br /></div><div>I see that children's rhyme a bit different, linked to the value of a swarm <i>queen</i>. That May swarm queen will fly into the densest population of drones from the strongest hives in the region. In June this is probably still mostly true. But those drones will be mixed with package bees that came in from the south. By July she'll be mating with the results of disaster swarms too, were hives just pump put drones as a last chance cheap chance to procreate. These will mostly be package bees from the south that first year beekeepers got in killed straight away </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgreg3pgpRUVuwdzWlFNGr1x7Es-IunfQ1Oazc-A_rz_H4FXlgop36GSOCx3Mul-XPEiYwpInsgTToIBXGqzKNsfTUCyYDOyusbA0GCmWpsPfArVKJB_M7jaFtR8ZPyNqHXpvb5mBb2KO60R9zzqHIPUkt-KtQNynul2X3_eaMt3RYURrtUG_0XxhXJ/s512/Swarm.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgreg3pgpRUVuwdzWlFNGr1x7Es-IunfQ1Oazc-A_rz_H4FXlgop36GSOCx3Mul-XPEiYwpInsgTToIBXGqzKNsfTUCyYDOyusbA0GCmWpsPfArVKJB_M7jaFtR8ZPyNqHXpvb5mBb2KO60R9zzqHIPUkt-KtQNynul2X3_eaMt3RYURrtUG_0XxhXJ/s320/Swarm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This genetic variance from successful mating is shown to keep the hive strong. Like a town of people it takes all types. The variation probably helps the bees fight off disease because not every bee is the same. They're not a monocrop. Yes, give me a swarm queen every time.</div><div><p>We started using a method called the Tranov method. This method does a lot of things but, in theory, it can cause the bees to swarm into the object of my choice.</p><p>This method is hard. As shown here it's easy to mess up and not have a swarm queen but just have a swarm and lose half your bees, your best bees and have the whole hive set back weeks</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ETgWMMZr4So" width="320" youtube-src-id="ETgWMMZr4So"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>The trickier part of Taranov is timing it right to prevent the swarm from happening. Someday I will be able to time this accurately and everyone will think I am a genius. Until then I will keep trying. </p><p>I think that to large part people project onto bees their own prejudice. There's a broad divide between the survivalist, right wing beekeepers and the left wing hippies. They have their own take on what works and why. Not ever one for pedigree or respecting one's betters I think I am naturally predisposed to the wild, promiscuous mutt queens. Honestly, how can you not be under the spell of the wild, promiscuous mutt queen? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNsctZRKfT7zbfq-J7drh1WZ2mkko6LrGO1oY9-zC5wF6WGGuH2T2ZRhodkdlkLfmfKsNEGOfIYnjj1TzDgB2dXgteDlmcNwgNfpw3EppjC0VTys9LH9w95FTepa8iJGMQJauzsUuThnbvd0Xj2HZkjWJEo4g9mf6CpyV92xgR6I4kqOH1RMHjqOh/s512/01060%20April%2030%20swarm%20weirdness%20049.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNsctZRKfT7zbfq-J7drh1WZ2mkko6LrGO1oY9-zC5wF6WGGuH2T2ZRhodkdlkLfmfKsNEGOfIYnjj1TzDgB2dXgteDlmcNwgNfpw3EppjC0VTys9LH9w95FTepa8iJGMQJauzsUuThnbvd0Xj2HZkjWJEo4g9mf6CpyV92xgR6I4kqOH1RMHjqOh/s320/01060%20April%2030%20swarm%20weirdness%20049.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-8184234211799230002022-10-03T17:24:00.004-04:002022-10-03T17:25:22.680-04:00October bees, the start of winter. <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zUXWlD43IOY" width="320" youtube-src-id="zUXWlD43IOY"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p>Here's a video I took with a cheap <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MV6X4M4?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1">endoscope</a> of bees clustered inside the hive entrance on a cool day. The left side of the hive is blocked off because the weather has turned colder and the bees don't need as much room to come and go. This hive is strong but it's also peak robbing season and I have seen some fighting on the landing board so, just to keep things civil the entrance has been reduced by about half. </p><p>I really hadn't expected to see this when I peered in there. It's not like the weather is super cold, but it's cold enough to cause these bees to cluster or beard. I can only guess that these bees are here to block drafts from entering the hive. </p><p>I've spent a lot of time observing in both the conventional and unconventional ways with cameras, sensors and my own senses. This gives me some insight that maybe bees don't really require extreme temperatures to start thermoregulating in complex ways. </p><p>It seems that right now the bees are well past producing summer bees and closing down on the production of winter bees. These kinds of superbees will live many times as long as summer bees and be able to use fat as a fuel. This is required to raise the new bees in the darkest and coldest winter that will emerge into the spring to forage for nectar. </p><p>In a week or two, by halloween for sure, the production of brood will stop completely. The bees will forage a bit but not for the most part they're closing down. They look good, largely pest free, and well set up to survive the winter. The next big milestone is dandelions. If this hive lives to see dandelions there spring experiment when they swarmed out of their hive will be successful. This two year old queen who will have laid hundreds of thousands of eggs from a single mating flight will have won.</p><p>I love a swarm hive more than any other kind. They're mutts, they're fighters, they're optimists. Who could not love that. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-77092183149218560172022-09-21T15:45:00.003-04:002022-09-21T15:45:46.068-04:00We Don't Sell Marijuana. <p>If you're looking for marijuana it's not here. Marijuana is wind pollenated. Bees have zero interest in it. Pretty funny that a <a href="https://honeynorthampton.com">dispensary</a> is our name reversed but with 14 of them in town it was bound to happen eventually. </p><p>By the way: Northampton Honey is an Apiary masquerading as an art project masquerading as a business. You can rearrange those parts, apiary, business and art project any way you want and it still makes about as much sense. We just like keeping bees and having fun with it. </p><p><br /></p>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-21665414023283556652022-09-21T15:34:00.002-04:002022-09-21T15:34:27.743-04:00Sensors Galore, but what does it mean? <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YKd6JhUOc8HJqv5cSTbb0_Q45FcxzkcSMkqGdaj6oLr37a-e2qVa5oEGjjYb71z8fks3RVD5Tm2-qj0Yimi3fAigR0ElszopxU7oms4uLWzxw89O8WhCZBIqvRi9-xMYef8v3lmQmowRyDVP4WAm5CJSnPd_UOp5dq02837UoKy9jURiky2tf47v/s4032/IMG-3768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YKd6JhUOc8HJqv5cSTbb0_Q45FcxzkcSMkqGdaj6oLr37a-e2qVa5oEGjjYb71z8fks3RVD5Tm2-qj0Yimi3fAigR0ElszopxU7oms4uLWzxw89O8WhCZBIqvRi9-xMYef8v3lmQmowRyDVP4WAm5CJSnPd_UOp5dq02837UoKy9jURiky2tf47v/s320/IMG-3768.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>The is a photo of our beehive. We used to have 30 hives, now we have just this one. The problem with 30 hives is that you can't really keep on top of them with a full time job. They get killed by mites, swarm, go into winter too weak and die. So, we quit keeping bees. <p></p><p>Now we just have the one hive and I keep keep on top of it pretty well. You'll note the two solar panels in the side. These are the power supply for <a href="https://www.wyze.com/products/wyze-cam-outdoor?gclid=Cj0KCQjw7KqZBhCBARIsAI-fTKKIDJQnKDUUbEmmNXB_I4RTzxKJh3P8pL2V1RjfCAGf-A8R6obTo_UaAvHaEALw_wcB&related_selling_plan=41618559008930">Wyze Outdoor Cameras</a>. </p><p>These cameras let us keep an eye on two things, one is how the bees are feeding inside the hive. Winter is coming and we had a pretty severe drought around here. The whole second half of the season was too dry. There were flowers but mostly with very weak nectar and pollen. The hive made bees but never really stored honey or pollen. So we had to feed them. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8u6I0UTOsQ3sf9_-qlxYvVJhNPtxEE7sgtI629OH8oh404PAxFhYaUyqkNYMQZKJNoDWvI4iNEXdOft9zctsqt3ctyrLRTG2VG7L5FKhy9xqowiGZOxeiTTgJYuCL6MV83RRNumviFi70-4vAjkLTaMkCNVZpr6s9HAX3xfeiNibOzPr25Br5OaDw/s1920/D03F2782ECAB-1663529843-album-local.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8u6I0UTOsQ3sf9_-qlxYvVJhNPtxEE7sgtI629OH8oh404PAxFhYaUyqkNYMQZKJNoDWvI4iNEXdOft9zctsqt3ctyrLRTG2VG7L5FKhy9xqowiGZOxeiTTgJYuCL6MV83RRNumviFi70-4vAjkLTaMkCNVZpr6s9HAX3xfeiNibOzPr25Br5OaDw/s320/D03F2782ECAB-1663529843-album-local.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>This photo is a still from the video feed from inside the hive. The tank at the center is sugar water. The powder in the dish on the right is dry pollen substitute. The yellow container on the right contains dry pollen substitute mixed with sugar syrup. <p></p><p>The bees will almost always take sugar syrup but are less interested in it when there's a good nectar flow on. These bees are very interested in this syrup even though at the time of the photo the best nectar flow of the year was on, goldenrod. </p><p>In the upper right had corner of the photo you will see a small white box. That's a Bluetooth temperature, humidity sensor. Using that I can tell how warm the bees are keeping this part of the hive compared to the brood nest and the outdoors. I can see if the bees feed in cold. So far I have seen that in cooler temperatures the bees seem to plug the hole to the brood chamber at night. They're insulating that interior of the hive with their bodies. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10QYajdvyZg9VP-bs9UrqsO9Mic6YKq96DcdTpIpwsSNnepRfrYHMz7Eva6gphXGEZxEP8uaSmfYV8CXYVHK56427j-VM-tsDIVrh6ZIWG2OHTlYCBufygCKSs2x6N6OUeIQeWdxinuetTtLbqATwv51XLfteJeSkEIlJJ_E9R8rH_yVtqb7DKpYg/s1200/West_hive_chart.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10QYajdvyZg9VP-bs9UrqsO9Mic6YKq96DcdTpIpwsSNnepRfrYHMz7Eva6gphXGEZxEP8uaSmfYV8CXYVHK56427j-VM-tsDIVrh6ZIWG2OHTlYCBufygCKSs2x6N6OUeIQeWdxinuetTtLbqATwv51XLfteJeSkEIlJJ_E9R8rH_yVtqb7DKpYg/s320/West_hive_chart.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>We also have three <a href="https://broodminder.com">Broodminder</a> sensors in the hive. These sensors measure the weight of the hive, the temperature of the brood nest, where the bees raise their young, and the humidity in the hive along with the outdoor temperature. The line at the top is the overall hive weight of about 170 lbs. You can see little spikes on it where I've added feed. <p></p><p>The most important part is the thin grey area in the middle. That shows the temperature of the brood nest. As long as the bees keep it between 92 and 98 the brood will survive. The bees keep the center of the hive, where the brood are at this temperature no matter if the temperature outside is 100 or if it goes down to 30 degrees. Since they start raising brood just after New Year's Day around here that outside number might me minus 10. They'd have to lift that temp 105 degrees, insulating with their bodies and shivering to keep warm. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2wb2skI1YyIhl5Nto10Xs1TFO2NB5slkwDiC1_Pfa4v_5DPqbSbwbxlgOH-Ytp1o2DO-6_6YOvWjNcXFA2IkT5dtLAsLhdsnRAujDNNmZMtJ2HlgItAUuDXIH2tizjm3lB923b0RIgSFULtU1-72uF4uXP1eidpimrhwYiRU_4O60NEyR_aDzABE/s1200/Apiary%20Temperatures_Home_apiary_chart%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2wb2skI1YyIhl5Nto10Xs1TFO2NB5slkwDiC1_Pfa4v_5DPqbSbwbxlgOH-Ytp1o2DO-6_6YOvWjNcXFA2IkT5dtLAsLhdsnRAujDNNmZMtJ2HlgItAUuDXIH2tizjm3lB923b0RIgSFULtU1-72uF4uXP1eidpimrhwYiRU_4O60NEyR_aDzABE/s320/Apiary%20Temperatures_Home_apiary_chart%20(1).jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p> Here, above, you can see these bees are keeping the temp in the center of the zone with variance by less than a degree despite the outside temperature fluctuations. These sensors read down to the 10th of a degree accurately. Note the outside temperature goes up and down. </p><p>On this hive we have one scale, two cameras, three temperature sensors and two humidity sensors? That six sensors. I started keeping bees 15 years ago, we've had up to 30 hives. I've had plenty of chances to observe bees. </p><p><br /></p><p>Still, after all this they're a mystery to me, more so now maybe then when they when I started. I know more than ever how little I know. </p><p>I kept chickens before I had bees. Chickens have two arms, two legs and a head. They're basically like us. A beehive is a superorganism. I stopped long ago thinking of it as made of individuals. I hive, the whole of it, the wax, the bacteria, the bees in all their casts are one body that blows up every warm sunny day and spreads itself out over 20 or 30 square miles. It thinks with 60,000 minds that communicate with dance, vibration, pheromone, and sound. </p><p>Right now these bees are raising "winter bees". These bees have a switch flipped in them that allows them to store energy as fat. It also makes the bee more durable to last the winter. Summer bees are like cars. If they run out of gas (sugar) they die. The beat themselves to death flying to flowers and dodging raindrops. They're expendable. The the nature of the hive is change now, change to a winter life where they line between success and failure is death for the whole superorganism, not just one bee. </p><p>That's why fall is the start of the new year. It's the plan, the change, for winter. </p><p>Where these bees came from I have no idea, but they survived. They prospered enough to split and land in my yard. They took the risk that they would be able to divide their resources and come out of summer strong enough to make it though winter again. </p><p>Bees now fight pests imported here from around the world. Mites from Siberia, beetles from Africa, virus from everywhere. They live in a world with more drought and more rain too. We're in this together the bees and us. In return for my care they provide endless fascination. </p><p><br /></p>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-19440367129839534762022-09-19T16:04:00.002-04:002022-09-20T09:52:01.034-04:00The Bees Came Back <p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Fpd_0WiXq84dAA2TRYQh3WLU_n4fsxgYU4m6Tl28Qc8bGql_VR8pM-dCegR5kcfixPqvZoFkTxui25Nir54F2PR07_qBy0EF9Agjzux64p4PtJ2GwHB_IpF19KpzNNum2QTzpoyvt59L9-By2sd4vL2kEsQbjGmFrgIRy-QpSCdNtSSbbHcEsrnk/s4000/IMG-3009.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Fpd_0WiXq84dAA2TRYQh3WLU_n4fsxgYU4m6Tl28Qc8bGql_VR8pM-dCegR5kcfixPqvZoFkTxui25Nir54F2PR07_qBy0EF9Agjzux64p4PtJ2GwHB_IpF19KpzNNum2QTzpoyvt59L9-By2sd4vL2kEsQbjGmFrgIRy-QpSCdNtSSbbHcEsrnk/s320/IMG-3009.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p>We're keeping bees again after a long time off. Work and life just made it too hard to keep bees for a while. Then, this spring, a swarm landed in some old equipment we had and suddenly we were beekeepers again. The equipment was in a horrible state with wax moth, mold, and mouse damage but the bees cleaned it up. It was shocking, really. </p><p></p><p>It was like they bought a fixer upper and really went to town, all marble countertops and prosumer appliances. I'd have never put bees on that equipment in a million years. Still, with some help, they thrived. I've never seen such good bees. The docile, not prone to fight, the queen lays in a really nice pattern. </p><p>I should have paid more attention to them in the drought but they came late, being a swarm, and I had to move them to a friend's property for a bit. Out of sight out of mind as they say. Still they soldiered on and look like one of the best colonies I've seen. </p><p>I was lucky enough to keep bees with <a href="http://www.dancingbeegardens.com" target="_blank">Ross Conrad</a> in Vermont this summer for a day. I learned quite a few things about mite treatment and where it's come since we stopped. Ross was just also a fantastic bee keeper, so smooth and efficient. Keeping with him really lit the fire again. You wouldn't think beekeeping could be like athletics or dance but it is. When you see someone really good at anything it's just graceful. </p><p>Anyway, these bees seem to be in great health. I enjoy them roaring away in the evenings with that stinky sock smell that only comes from goldenrod nectar. They seem to me like one of the strongest hives in September I can recall. Maybe I'm just misty eyed about them. </p><p>Next year we'll be a real apiary again, with a few hives at least. And these bees, yes, they really do roar at night. </p>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-8457911792137577882020-07-18T19:31:00.001-04:002020-07-18T19:31:46.201-04:00Strong Bees in July. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XowRl7UOknw" width="320" youtube-src-id="XowRl7UOknw"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />This is what the landing board of a strong hive looks like in July. These bees were split in mid June by the Taranov method and are now undergoing treatment for mites. Were using a treatment certified organic in New Zealand as there is not certification for organic aracnoides in bees anyplace else in the world but this may be our last chemical treatment of any type as we're moving to a heat based treatment. Mites die at 104 degrees and bees and larvae at 126. Anyhow these bees look very strong, the aroma of honey is in the air. They're flying purposefully and are docile. Their daughter colony is doing wonderfully in Florence. It's all you could ask of a hive. </div>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-80808219866200478062020-07-13T16:46:00.002-04:002020-07-19T17:17:20.784-04:00Frame repairHere's a great example of recycling. The bees did a super job of rehabbing old comb. What a difference two months makes! The work on this frame of honey represents about 300,000 miles of bee flight. <div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfm1XlAgSvX5O_JMp7KUbQ99sVKb61ndccFq-pnB905qDVOiXPNnPplkp6MOv_fkOiStDA3TsEfS1R_B__x_1SF1wgvnFOukDpgKyZlukXWdkDFKQICBIxRE3qPARmZxqGqIvlGLUp1I/s960/107712063_3286468101415463_3957246114793501665_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfm1XlAgSvX5O_JMp7KUbQ99sVKb61ndccFq-pnB905qDVOiXPNnPplkp6MOv_fkOiStDA3TsEfS1R_B__x_1SF1wgvnFOukDpgKyZlukXWdkDFKQICBIxRE3qPARmZxqGqIvlGLUp1I/s320/107712063_3286468101415463_3957246114793501665_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8YjdaqG25x3RiTzD0DWMYxxMlYNlodOdckIUD4hbhfN2z1IDtkmsQDfu7x7X9DjttUU524BA8wPVBfU-ahtpklKr9_C3mAystjCaN8CjsA2EgeryVLG82iEgE7BELWY7mnx-rnBdXoQ/s2048/108018881_3286465651415708_8763421595600833739_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8YjdaqG25x3RiTzD0DWMYxxMlYNlodOdckIUD4hbhfN2z1IDtkmsQDfu7x7X9DjttUU524BA8wPVBfU-ahtpklKr9_C3mAystjCaN8CjsA2EgeryVLG82iEgE7BELWY7mnx-rnBdXoQ/s320/108018881_3286465651415708_8763421595600833739_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-40639189049272026992020-07-07T10:20:00.000-04:002020-07-07T10:20:06.425-04:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9C9eqFa5Uf-9X4CjlZHNluEjN6RcJG8dxFjZTl3KfPJZh8yeTE7Bxor7emHHvP0qhd6vn-ZAVJ19hKDI3T_IpGpdrY1PdffTDs0GBVm4EsW5_GcSwD4ai8E-cmG5r9GONXCaAy-CN45E/w300-h400/106973717_3269198629809077_1573931680543688639_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Hive Bodies (where the bees live) and supers (where they store honey) painted and ready for the bee yard! </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-85301739052551921092020-07-05T16:27:00.000-04:002020-07-05T16:28:41.687-04:00We're Back! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Northampton Honey took a little time off. When we started the business it was because we both loved beekeeping. Priscilla worked half time and Adam 22 hours a week. At our peak we had 30 beehives. <br />
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As both of our jobs became more demanding and full time beekeeping just became more work. We made honey but we sort of fell out of love with the bee yard. </div>
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Now, a shocking six years, later we're keeping bees again because we love to. Nobody follows the season like a beekeeper, except perhaps a farmer. To love bees is to love flowers and to know how much rain you've had or how many good flying days the bee have had recently. </div>
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We now have 2 or 4 hives depending on how you look at it. These are heavily managed hives that put the health of bees before anything. </div>
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Now when we light a smoker and pick up a hive tool and walk to the bees it's with joy again. The good news is the bees look better than ever. We should have honey later this year. </div>
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Northampton honey took a little nap and woke up happy. </div>
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Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-5363509362661457812014-12-15T15:13:00.000-05:002015-01-16T09:27:55.125-05:00New jars celebrate rail's return to Northampton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been a really long time since we've posted to this blog! We're getting ready to release our 2014 summer harvest, finally. Since both Priscilla and I are so excited about the return of rail to Northampton and because I, Adam, serve on the Northampton Rail Committee we've decided to release our harvest in jars commemorative of the return of rail service. <br />
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In years past our jars have been stenciled with either 01060 or 01062 (the zip codes of our bee yards) but this year since<a href="http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/first_amtrak_train_on_knowledg.html"> rail returned to Northampton December 29th </a>we've decided to stenciled NHT--the name of our new rail stop.<br />
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It's still the same honey and it still comes from our hives situated either in downtown Northampton or near the old State Hospital. <br />
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We hope to have jars at River Valley Market around the new year. <br />
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<b>UPDATE: </b><i>Looks like we'll be bringing the honey to market over the MLK weekend...</i></div>
Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-78113413302383661262012-06-08T13:42:00.001-04:002012-06-14T17:15:13.315-04:00Honey Harvest June 9 and 10!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We've had a crazy spring with warm weather starting in March and then cool rain after the warm snap. I didn't really quite know what to make of it all but I guess the bees did. We have hives heavy with honey already and will do a small but significant harvest this coming weekend. <br />
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The honey will be somewhat unusual as normally we'd not harvest until at least July, when clover and basswood would be present and contributing factors in the honey. The honey we take in this weekend will really be spring honey with fruit tree blossom and dandelion being important nectar providers to it.<br />
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Expect honey at River Valley Market in a week or two. It'll be a special but small run of unique honey, only from an oddball year like this. </div>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-9714091156415458362012-04-19T08:27:00.003-04:002012-06-14T17:14:22.019-04:00Queenspotting after Brunch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We had a busy day at the apiary last Sunday. We had a visit from friend <a href="http://www.rhymeswithorange.com/">Hillary Price</a>. We'd post a picture of her here, but everyone looks pretty much the same when their photo is take in a bee veil. We took her over to the yard and we poked around in some hives. <br />
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I cannot really imagine what it's like to look into a bee hive for the first time. They're so strange. Anyhow, we had a nice brunch with friends and then did some beekeeping.<br />
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Later on <a href="http://http//massacorn.net/update/11-highlight/134-september-2009-buzzing-around-the-hive-with-rick-and-nancy-intres">Rick Intres </a>from Bear Meadow Apiary stopped by to help us beekeep. We know Rick from the Franklin County Beekeepers. He's very knowledgeable about bees and kindly offered to come by and show us a few tricks.<br />
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The early spring has lead to record large hives for this time of year. It's great for taking advantage of nectar, but can very easily lead to swarming, so we had to take action. We set about finding the queen bees in the hives. Can you spot her in the photo above?<br />
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It may seem easy there, but in a hive of 30,000 bees it's not easy. Rick showed us tricks that help him locate her. We then moved each queen we found to another part of the hive where she'd be less crowded and have more room to lay eggs. We spent about 6 hours in the hives. If things work out it could be a record year for us, but the swarm impulse will be intense.<br />
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This year we're inviting many experienced beekeepers to visit us in the hopes of learning a lot and sharing what we know. Nothing beats really seeing what others are doing that makes their practice special.<br />
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We also gave Rick a small colony with a queen from one of our best colonies. We're hoping he'll do well with her too. In this way we preserve and spread the best genetics to deal with the complex and harsh challenges bees face. Think of this practice as being a lot like seed sharing. Beekeepers can't compete and hope to survive; we cooperate.<br />
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Add to the list of challenges that bees face a newly emerging disease, Nosema Cerene. Most beekeepers know Nosema Apis pretty well as bee dysentery. This "new" nosema was formerly a bee disease from a social bee found in northern India. Now thanks to globalization it's here too. It's a likely contributor to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder">Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), </a>and we're trying a new fix against it. It's the extract from the bark of a tree found in Czechoslovakia. Nosema is a fungus, and trees have to fight off fungal infections all the time. The first line of defense is their bark. Make sense? <br />
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Lastly, there's been a lot of news lately about <a href="http://www.beecharmers.org/Pollination2.html">neonicitinoids </a>killing off bees. Everyone is looking for the magic bullet that'll stop CCD but IMHO there is no magic bullet. CCD has many causes, not the least of which is how we live. Sure, neonics are probably not helping anything, but neiter is nosema cerene. I'm not sure what will stop it, or if anything ever will. In a small stand against it all we gave away a queen from our best colony to a friend.<br />
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She's been a strong girl that came to us through a swarm I captured in Florence. She was strong enough to fly away and try and make it on her own. She did this in a world with Nosema Cerene, neonics, varroa destructor and crazy weather. <br />
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Good luck with your queen Rick. She's the future, part of the one I want to live in anyhow.</div>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0Northampton, MA, USA42.3250896 -72.641201342.278131099999996 -72.7201653 42.3720481 -72.5622373tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-84680182634940939812012-03-31T17:06:00.008-04:002012-06-06T09:44:12.693-04:00Spring comes to Northampton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnuy2ijaXApowLFWZDjRQZ2iOFk6T5pH1bL-ukxOto1OuOoodYj6R8JxIPH3KWkvYQqJgy8LHjiCgu2SIzHPKHfDLQWTbUCJXltmGz9h-Mx5KuRRM0_hGw5B4fd83d229zuBmsl0Og9U/s1600/IMG_0153%255B1%255D.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726172407783265986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnuy2ijaXApowLFWZDjRQZ2iOFk6T5pH1bL-ukxOto1OuOoodYj6R8JxIPH3KWkvYQqJgy8LHjiCgu2SIzHPKHfDLQWTbUCJXltmGz9h-Mx5KuRRM0_hGw5B4fd83d229zuBmsl0Og9U/s200/IMG_0153%255B1%255D.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
Spring comes to Northampton to find us with 18/20 hives surviving the winter. Some called this the winter that wasn't, but even this comes with problems. Some people have hives starve because the bees tried to maintain brood all winter and used up stores at a very fast rate. Others are reporting high mite levels due to strong and early growth of brood.<br />
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I've seen drone comb in our hives already. This year is historic; old timers say they've never seen anything like this. Our peaches and stone fruit are in bloom-- nectarines are seen above. Oddly we had a huge honey run with bees flying to maple and willow the week of the 70 degree temps in early March. But now the fruit trees have blossomed early and it's gone back to being too cool to fly. It's all so confusing.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgNHjB9S6AKOuzjCgjL6yYlJ_6Zxt6JS_HI1HWKMoNm3TgFL7Bc19v2P5MSM0l_KEPQ0zHeBOyw1OIJAV7rJ_g6aV_BJ4gdfOKxvVjrfZB6cfmBP4b3LnQSuXtyWy1FNxdhgq7M6byrE/s1600/IMG_0156%255B1%255D.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726173248475353618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgNHjB9S6AKOuzjCgjL6yYlJ_6Zxt6JS_HI1HWKMoNm3TgFL7Bc19v2P5MSM0l_KEPQ0zHeBOyw1OIJAV7rJ_g6aV_BJ4gdfOKxvVjrfZB6cfmBP4b3LnQSuXtyWy1FNxdhgq7M6byrE/s200/IMG_0156%255B1%255D.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
Still, our girls came through winter with flying colors (yellow and black)! The bee here was likely born in October or November. She is different than the bees born earlier that year--a special bee designed to carry the hive through the long winter, keep the nest warm to 95 degrees when the queen starts laying, and to then forage in the spring. In bee years she's 3 hundred years old. Normal summer bees live about 6 weeks; she's probably five or six months old.<br />
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We<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQztEsNmVxnHcvdbiQY613GVQd7riCKAaQuWcPD1VrEHODnSKguEUpr7t0jHte-aSmiPvL6Mmz460R3j0Fy0OPp91wx3aDuNnkD6TsUqoiZ3TAf-Iu-ENq5GnjkqQH6wTnwcfyc4kMJ4/s1600/IMG_0155%255B1%255D.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726174291641538210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQztEsNmVxnHcvdbiQY613GVQd7riCKAaQuWcPD1VrEHODnSKguEUpr7t0jHte-aSmiPvL6Mmz460R3j0Fy0OPp91wx3aDuNnkD6TsUqoiZ3TAf-Iu-ENq5GnjkqQH6wTnwcfyc4kMJ4/s200/IMG_0155%255B1%255D.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px;" /></a> also let the bees recycle some wax from last years honey harvest and they made these odd top entrances to their hives. The look like little space towers designed by some 1970s futurist architect from Sweden or Turkey. Here bees are seen boiling out of their little strange door, I guess thinking their weird bee invertebrate thoughts.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjIdMK1PGcizy1PgvyZm_sDjwn-0DmUDu1r6fw8lRI5Y6BzyZGB9tdhfnZiyS3DY9OqgmGTfHeW2AR-8JHiqBi9RvaBgrT2fzxabHx1BYJjZ16Wd1YpHDsG9xjep_m1bveTIfqduZZP0/s1600/IMG_0157%255B1%255D.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726175767005885298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjIdMK1PGcizy1PgvyZm_sDjwn-0DmUDu1r6fw8lRI5Y6BzyZGB9tdhfnZiyS3DY9OqgmGTfHeW2AR-8JHiqBi9RvaBgrT2fzxabHx1BYJjZ16Wd1YpHDsG9xjep_m1bveTIfqduZZP0/s200/IMG_0157%255B1%255D.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px;" /></a>As we pick up tools we've not taken to hand in the better part of six months it's hard to not think we've entered some strange new world where it's almost 80 degrees for a week in early March. I was talking over the fence with our neighbor Pam and she commented that her toddler son Gavriel was inheriting an uncertain future environmentally. Beekeeping has brought us closer to the world we live in, marking the temperature ever day and watching a very complex and incredibly old superorganism respond to those changes.<br />
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Once again I find myself grateful to have bees around, and to see a bit of the world through my relationship with them. I guess in return I'll do my best to hold up my end of the bargain and take good care of our girls.</div>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0Northampton, MA 01060, USA42.3250896 -72.641201341.5710021 -73.904628800000012 43.079177099999995 -71.3777738tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-13369105257248967992012-03-07T12:14:00.003-05:002012-03-31T18:33:54.734-04:00Buckfast! The bees that Brother Adam made<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BWrm48FoR3o/TqCJV_yeWSI/AAAAAAAAANI/lZWwiNKGJ6I/s1600/Buckfast.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BWrm48FoR3o/TqCJV_yeWSI/AAAAAAAAANI/lZWwiNKGJ6I/s1600/Buckfast.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />In 2012 we're going to add to our bees with some very special new bees. These bees are Buckfast, a special kind of bee. The history is that in 1916 the bees in England were decimated by something called Isle of Wright disease. the beekeepers didn't understand what was killing the bees, but it killed nearly all of them. It turns out it was an imported mite, not unlike our current situation with the Varroa destructor mite, and not unlike our situation with colony collapse.<br /><br />Nearly all the colonies were killed off but then a monk, Brother Adam, found a feral colony living and healthy. He returned these to the Buckfast Abby for breeding. Over the next 70 years years Brother Adam traveled through the Near East, Africa and Europe returning with the strongest bees he could find.<br /><br />These bees represent the hope of a generation and a link to ancient monastic breeding programs. Today the bee is produced only by a few specialized breeders that keep Bother Adam's work alive, literally. Our Buckfast colonies are due to arrive in late April.Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-54062201172636163262011-09-21T17:53:00.000-04:002011-09-22T07:01:01.135-04:00Preservation Honeybee<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's a little known fact that Northampton Honey's original name was Preservation Honeybee. It's still the name we have on file with the state of MA as a DBA. It's on our business checks if we ever need to pay you for something but in the end Northampton Honey made more sense to us. <br />
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The reason we originally were called Preservation Honeybee was that we want to support land conservation with our honey operation. Western MA is a beautiful place for many reasons, but the land is chief amongst them. I am often astonished how sprawly other places are, the land chewed up for nothing but two acre lots and endless Jiffy Lubes. We're in love with the land and want to keep it beautiful for all time. <br />
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We've kept at it and now expect to be keeping bees on <a href="http://www.rsairphoto.com/gallery.php?gal=16&PHPSESSID=ed0801d54735f520082e492a53076a7d">city conservation land </a>that the <a href="http://www.kestreltrust.org/">Kestrel Trust</a> holds the permanent conservation restriction to . We're going to give a portion of our proceeds from bees kept on Trust to the Trust to further invest in land conservation here in Western MA. We think this is how business should operate, we think people should give back.<br />
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Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0Potash Rd, Northampton, MA 01060, USA42.30603865000375 -72.62821197509765642.303102650003751 -72.633147475097658 42.308974650003748 -72.623276475097654tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-2325673832944592622011-09-08T15:56:00.000-04:002011-09-12T12:02:06.475-04:00Hive Scales<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Update: If you are looking for the most up to date information on our hive scales please use this link: <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsBZ1t0dJNNZdE9XNlpibk1lMFk0N0ZfaVhHb3lPbEE&hl=en_US">Hive Scale Data </a><br />
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I had thought that the chart would update automatically, but that doesn't seem to be the case! The above link should stay current. <br />
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What you see below is a chart of hive weight and ambient temperature for one of the hives in our backyard. Right now the hive weighs 142 lbs. You can see it's lost a few pounds over the past few days as the bees have not been able to fly due to the rainy weather. <br />
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A few days ago we purchased two "grain scales" or old fashioned platform farm scales from someone on craigslist. We've loaded hives onto them so we can track the weight of the hive and see if the bees are adding nectar, pollen and new bees or dwindling. <br />
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It's been pretty amazing to see how quickly hives gain and lose weight even in the few days that I have been keeping track. <br />
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These charts will become more useful over time as we begin to really see when hives are growing and when they are dwindling. It's should also be useful to see how hives perform over the winter. <br />
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These charts are linked directly to data we enter into Google Documents and should stay updated even as we add data over time. We hope they are useful to us and to other bee keepers in the region. <br />
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We'll also be participating in the <a href="http://honeybeenet.gsfc.nasa.gov/">NASA climate change program</a> that uses hive scale data to understand flowering times as correlated with other data the agency collects. <br />
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Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com017 Hooker Ave, Northampton, MA 01060, USA42.326822 -72.63435342.3253545 -72.6368205 42.3282895 -72.63188550000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-74840325599655642932011-07-21T10:11:00.000-04:002011-07-21T17:23:04.821-04:00Honey Harvest!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsX2vb_gEnsZKK7LPzcK3hT9WHGjJhv8Poly8oYcLM_lhG1wpgR6l4inGxDOv6PooyHDUzJMqMBDc6nQ1MdOtJFTrQwdQT7a_E5oLgV-W1rC3f0Meqby5fS3EvbgnD3EA5uFMWCqB9/s640/July%252520Honey-13.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsX2vb_gEnsZKK7LPzcK3hT9WHGjJhv8Poly8oYcLM_lhG1wpgR6l4inGxDOv6PooyHDUzJMqMBDc6nQ1MdOtJFTrQwdQT7a_E5oLgV-W1rC3f0Meqby5fS3EvbgnD3EA5uFMWCqB9/s640/July%252520Honey-13.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This field of winter cress came into bloom about two weeks before we started to harvest. It's several acres big and alive with bees. The day we took honey the bees were so concerned with flying here that they barely bothered us. A situation like this is called a honey run. July 2011 honey will contain winter cress, sumac, dandelion, fruit tree, catapula, basswood, and garden flowers. Since both bee yards have good access to Smith College there'll also be some gingko honey in there!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XM9zeETHu1aOQO3ehLUCaL06lZv2pXw_dCOBUFetL74Zz0kKQ1ZTSUajWPwRg_eOJ8janh-gxwqwhGz8LWvMTnMRm6wSCTAlqSyaPJpNUj4Sux8wnpWGO1PYRIZ6pRgb1Y-zbk3x/s512/2011%252520July%252520Extracting%252520and%252520Packaging%252520001.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 512px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XM9zeETHu1aOQO3ehLUCaL06lZv2pXw_dCOBUFetL74Zz0kKQ1ZTSUajWPwRg_eOJ8janh-gxwqwhGz8LWvMTnMRm6wSCTAlqSyaPJpNUj4Sux8wnpWGO1PYRIZ6pRgb1Y-zbk3x/s512/2011%252520July%252520Extracting%252520and%252520Packaging%252520001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Priscilla gears up by clothes-pinning her pants shut. Beekeepers know something running down your legs is sweat, something running up is trouble.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7NMgQsiVYLvOrL41Cc2U7chUzMWLIwdinE_kBJwyR5XWgmyTtDjWgfvGHwIz5-NgRvjdR1DOZvHy4a8nQTa9cKROZyFs0YV63OtO3t7QVQ02OPbOQF5ibhX_y08OdYOXIGEU-ZQe/s640/July%252520Honey-1.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 501px; height: 377px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7NMgQsiVYLvOrL41Cc2U7chUzMWLIwdinE_kBJwyR5XWgmyTtDjWgfvGHwIz5-NgRvjdR1DOZvHy4a8nQTa9cKROZyFs0YV63OtO3t7QVQ02OPbOQF5ibhX_y08OdYOXIGEU-ZQe/s640/July%252520Honey-1.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Priscilla takes the first super of honey from me. A super is the box the bees put the honey in. A hive body is the box bees raise brood in. This box weighs about 40+ pounds. Note the lack of veils and gloves. The bees were really mellow throughout. We did put them on later but after disturbing all the hives in the yard the bees are bound to get a little testy.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIq4eLeWefuWJQ7pg8IxmtnV8Ub8t5UhgVcmFlIxt_pt2zpMBsN_G4aT-7h_j5VTTI7KOcw-vu_w-XOl1lMfxIOHmRy98d4qpFaCMn_qIqTSIDS-Ulm5sAusSPvSdtbWqsPJJKiDEU/s640/July%252520Honey-7.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIq4eLeWefuWJQ7pg8IxmtnV8Ub8t5UhgVcmFlIxt_pt2zpMBsN_G4aT-7h_j5VTTI7KOcw-vu_w-XOl1lMfxIOHmRy98d4qpFaCMn_qIqTSIDS-Ulm5sAusSPvSdtbWqsPJJKiDEU/s640/July%252520Honey-7.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Priscilla holds up a perfect frame of honey. This frame is so perfect we should have saved it for a county fair entry. That is what success looks like. A frame like this will only be drawn by a strong hive with good nectar foraging options.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhT5v667AU2vRi2o992HdMwxl1xzbEVu57maYwxQlNMGctDQF2l5508-vjqJcZXhzar-9W7XwNnu8cAcNbt6Z9bu5CUp51FBDX5_Wlj1JfzKvJBsaFgdR5pGQRnWhuZLWz9ZU9QpoY/s640/July%252520Honey-11.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhT5v667AU2vRi2o992HdMwxl1xzbEVu57maYwxQlNMGctDQF2l5508-vjqJcZXhzar-9W7XwNnu8cAcNbt6Z9bu5CUp51FBDX5_Wlj1JfzKvJBsaFgdR5pGQRnWhuZLWz9ZU9QpoY/s640/July%252520Honey-11.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Priscilla, Erin and I inspect a hive for removable frames with well-capped honey. Erin is our bee "intern". The relationship is pretty informal but Erin helps out around the bee yard learning about how to keep bees. She's a sustainable agriculture grad student at UMass and a Smith grad. She helped set up Smith College's community garden program. We're confident Erin will put her education to good use. She's super smart and fun to be around.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHpEYmA8GsS4ZtQc9Arm_8Un2vzVZQEAYBltDFqqo13nprC7MwqFSbwWLCAmpx0p2i1ed8hZOYwCX-Jefe1VgTvQnl74sm4HcDXmlc9AEIysBHTCuckaXP0A7hmcR0CHte-0zvoBb1/s640/July%252520Honey-16.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHpEYmA8GsS4ZtQc9Arm_8Un2vzVZQEAYBltDFqqo13nprC7MwqFSbwWLCAmpx0p2i1ed8hZOYwCX-Jefe1VgTvQnl74sm4HcDXmlc9AEIysBHTCuckaXP0A7hmcR0CHte-0zvoBb1/s640/July%252520Honey-16.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We use an herbal substance called Bee Quick to clear supers of bees. It was made by a company called Fisher's, and contains a blend of herbs that bees don't like to smell, so most move out of the super. It's sprayed on a board that is positioned above the hive and the bees just move down into the lower parts of the hive. A few stragglers are always left. Priscilla uses a leaf blower I had laying around to clear the rest of the bees off. It works amazingly well. The bees just get blown out of the top and don't even seem mad - maybe a bit confused. They just sail back to their hive. This is common practice but we had never used it before. I feel that it's less disruptive to the hive and way fewer bees are harmed than the older process where bees are brushed off each frame.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ocRg0oAaPiggJng-63d224EPv_PrRbImnmc5T1podp7o38hYdwY1HEnmN-QjkEYSu0IUr4gvp3YjmO3cZfWE1sfmySjp3TzYJt-7ArRaF5xNpWRtk-hW4sWHzRBmuSik2u4DBVNw/s640/July%252520Honey-17.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ocRg0oAaPiggJng-63d224EPv_PrRbImnmc5T1podp7o38hYdwY1HEnmN-QjkEYSu0IUr4gvp3YjmO3cZfWE1sfmySjp3TzYJt-7ArRaF5xNpWRtk-hW4sWHzRBmuSik2u4DBVNw/s640/July%252520Honey-17.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This little mini hive is called a nuc, short for nucleus Colony. It contains a queen and some workers and a little bit of brood. We use them as a back-up in case a hive goes queenless. The laying queen with consort is accepted quickly by the hives and things go back to normal quick. While we were working in the yard we looked into all the hives to see that things were going well.<br /><br />The queen in this hive is from a USDA breeding program that uses stock from the Siberian region of Russia.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcW5DPJiFkANvbVpu7Rw5McmGzzw7DB1Po-JY9xNdhjpXOzLnEhJjqsJQKragEb34BTTVo6SJEPIygpG5UraLbmNvvgXlmlLzTPC560tbP84uF0gCDa0MLeZoUCfzZn8SiQ5nJpwe/s640/July%252520Honey-20.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcW5DPJiFkANvbVpu7Rw5McmGzzw7DB1Po-JY9xNdhjpXOzLnEhJjqsJQKragEb34BTTVo6SJEPIygpG5UraLbmNvvgXlmlLzTPC560tbP84uF0gCDa0MLeZoUCfzZn8SiQ5nJpwe/s640/July%252520Honey-20.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />During the hot day we took several swims in the Mill River to cool off. Priscilla is seen here after harvest and before extracting, the process by which honey is removed from the comb. She's standing in front of the greenhouse we use as a honey house. The very warm temperatures in there help the honey flow out of combs and eventually into bottles with a minimum of trouble. I love the fact that it's surrounded by bee-friendly flowers.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QIhpnh6rg89WtsoxwnD8jEfEPQ27jOeC7Megi3IFA4gI4pab9aIGL2F5nDqjI9tdwYSdSKPZFetHaULpOOkpQORHBf734lbGhFdD7Ou4jd1ekMKM45u3h6T9oO7xlkRJusPr2zHi/s640/July%252520Honey-18.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QIhpnh6rg89WtsoxwnD8jEfEPQ27jOeC7Megi3IFA4gI4pab9aIGL2F5nDqjI9tdwYSdSKPZFetHaULpOOkpQORHBf734lbGhFdD7Ou4jd1ekMKM45u3h6T9oO7xlkRJusPr2zHi/s640/July%252520Honey-18.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here is the final haul of supers stacked in the honey house. We left plenty of honey on the hives for the bees to use and they are still flying strongly to plants in the field. It's best practice to always leave enough honey for a hive to winter over successfully.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURtgwLFkzU1eC5bGtIY6antJ3ABYUy_chxBcWx5cAXgZEerdaLgtiKFJIK364oJVLo0ruovMeN4dFbcuSHuggf5kTwJJ3XKkL7FkQIaa5mZoOOuee-aIzws4DT0SBcfD5aGBDFStz/s640/July%252520Honey-23.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURtgwLFkzU1eC5bGtIY6antJ3ABYUy_chxBcWx5cAXgZEerdaLgtiKFJIK364oJVLo0ruovMeN4dFbcuSHuggf5kTwJJ3XKkL7FkQIaa5mZoOOuee-aIzws4DT0SBcfD5aGBDFStz/s640/July%252520Honey-23.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We started to process the honey after dark, so the bees would stay back in their hive. We tried to process during the day once before and it was like the house was under attack by bees. I guess that's because it was under attack by bees.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqX4jccjOfKKvc7FmsI5oisrEr5-RIH3jlO7FEhWtG5I_yp_dronz4FT-GmQNK7ZQQRmmMfOQyqnNMDtIcDXqDpKthTVzSU7nugmIok2xvuPBwPLRsBSoQ_eUh7OQ6nLX6N1C9tY7/s640/July%252520Honey-24.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqX4jccjOfKKvc7FmsI5oisrEr5-RIH3jlO7FEhWtG5I_yp_dronz4FT-GmQNK7ZQQRmmMfOQyqnNMDtIcDXqDpKthTVzSU7nugmIok2xvuPBwPLRsBSoQ_eUh7OQ6nLX6N1C9tY7/s640/July%252520Honey-24.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Priscilla cuts the caps off the honey so we can put it in the extractor to be spun out. She has a great touch with this. When done just right the cappings come off in roll like this. She uses a heated electric knife to do this. It's just warm to the touch, not hot.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Cx4LifRXnomc__m8LXP4U27ZLVurdmXmMWrlv6H0yc7gFVAm1UO6qCraFRJ-KDIK-NFXDIecgfkmcK01KCDO4q1jIjdLNKp-u74fxR5EjdhBOStWTXinlpSJsySjtM-lXI43k9Sh/s640/July%252520Honey-28.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Cx4LifRXnomc__m8LXP4U27ZLVurdmXmMWrlv6H0yc7gFVAm1UO6qCraFRJ-KDIK-NFXDIecgfkmcK01KCDO4q1jIjdLNKp-u74fxR5EjdhBOStWTXinlpSJsySjtM-lXI43k9Sh/s640/July%252520Honey-28.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The honey-containing frames are then spun in our Maxant extractor, made in Ayer MA. The spinning action slings the honey onto the inside of the extractor where it collects at the bottom and...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-9j-4uojczPB4WcrtBbgy9We_XyYKtV2vpEsbrYGPXXbMfFXu_jPtqO1l2rToz6K1hgiOXnN3LfwU4hghPNdy6UqOLgQSDFRkuCIsdtQQ3GV0h_gcTvadFJy518PR7ZWyaReyk30/s640/July%252520Honey-30.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-9j-4uojczPB4WcrtBbgy9We_XyYKtV2vpEsbrYGPXXbMfFXu_jPtqO1l2rToz6K1hgiOXnN3LfwU4hghPNdy6UqOLgQSDFRkuCIsdtQQ3GV0h_gcTvadFJy518PR7ZWyaReyk30/s640/July%252520Honey-30.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />...finally pours out the bottom through a course strainer, and passes into the stainless steel bottling tank. All our equipment is stainless including the strainer. The strainer is course and frequently overflows so a lot of wax, pollen and propolis wind up in the honey. These are all safe and natural hive products. Pollen in honey is reputed to help with allergies and loaded with protein and amino acids. Propolis has a lot of medicinal properties including being an antibiotic capable of killing MRSA, the super bacteria found in hospitals. Our honey practically defines raw unfiltered.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpod0i1Y2Sab_mjoYSxAcUWxETIFaEs3IUofOgMBW7MMul0d0hnFqJ2mYIDIAtdI0FS5U9ryS3IO5CmrJ3xmxw9dBKwZ5VAprSISYAw_-a3f6sMJn4xJ4CCG1iku0P2HtaznWIjhk7/s640/July%252520Honey-27.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpod0i1Y2Sab_mjoYSxAcUWxETIFaEs3IUofOgMBW7MMul0d0hnFqJ2mYIDIAtdI0FS5U9ryS3IO5CmrJ3xmxw9dBKwZ5VAprSISYAw_-a3f6sMJn4xJ4CCG1iku0P2HtaznWIjhk7/s640/July%252520Honey-27.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We worked until 2 AM processing, as we didn't want to leave a lot of honey in the house to attract bees. We finally gave up and went home to bed.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSyYMOwGP2Sj1zBbrsfE1I5RTcXPabheDlzI2jP0fDkP5AaTxWdSHJ4rj2JZVfaEOOPYzWl2Bdb9oMEC-gxz8OEH9Wib1Y7mzBNG507kenxhuZd7tW6xUBXJXUIZ_M_372cBHAoEo/"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSyYMOwGP2Sj1zBbrsfE1I5RTcXPabheDlzI2jP0fDkP5AaTxWdSHJ4rj2JZVfaEOOPYzWl2Bdb9oMEC-gxz8OEH9Wib1Y7mzBNG507kenxhuZd7tW6xUBXJXUIZ_M_372cBHAoEo/" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We returned the next day to to bottle our liquid sunshine.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqgieyoGbfLMzzRk22elhfpQGGF_dwJ6mSZ3l9bTvRSAPNmpIlaZ89Ix3ykEoOdNTpnv-Ho23hnkwzxP_3hbiiaKezxVSSYzOHaSeeIBQuyj1aPrcSDWraeeexTPY_DhiVTkfGo-K/s512/2011%252520July%252520Extracting%252520and%252520Packaging%252520042.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 512px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqgieyoGbfLMzzRk22elhfpQGGF_dwJ6mSZ3l9bTvRSAPNmpIlaZ89Ix3ykEoOdNTpnv-Ho23hnkwzxP_3hbiiaKezxVSSYzOHaSeeIBQuyj1aPrcSDWraeeexTPY_DhiVTkfGo-K/s512/2011%252520July%252520Extracting%252520and%252520Packaging%252520042.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We placed the used equipment in the back of this field for the bees to clean off. They harvest a surprising amount of honey from the equipment.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiv5AuyQz24qn6ZypOsNZxrzxzxgXLrukfzGdJ9yqn8tx1Z4rMG82V_qeLfVkHB1yWP39MGSCNvlyTe-agK1iwBWJ9Ggbca4jyn6ri1Hd5bJUbqwxxSK7151cF9wljzcp4miTYMxBq/"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiv5AuyQz24qn6ZypOsNZxrzxzxgXLrukfzGdJ9yqn8tx1Z4rMG82V_qeLfVkHB1yWP39MGSCNvlyTe-agK1iwBWJ9Ggbca4jyn6ri1Hd5bJUbqwxxSK7151cF9wljzcp4miTYMxBq/" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The bees then cleaned out any honey spilled in the bed of our pickup.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJMd7c2Qm6IelnacG9g8oRQe2cd6JrQR3DwiqtOIssV8U-UGlLisSgcsx3P2oNajw3bDe9o9M_578GwLJBu_cOuyO27upWE7C06ETkg3o11n973WIIbroReMiApegC9wklJ6JkgvW/s512/2011%252520July%252520Extracting%252520and%252520Packaging%252520006.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 512px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJMd7c2Qm6IelnacG9g8oRQe2cd6JrQR3DwiqtOIssV8U-UGlLisSgcsx3P2oNajw3bDe9o9M_578GwLJBu_cOuyO27upWE7C06ETkg3o11n973WIIbroReMiApegC9wklJ6JkgvW/s512/2011%252520July%252520Extracting%252520and%252520Packaging%252520006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And finally everyone went home and back to their regular jobs.Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-4990798300241562662011-07-16T18:34:00.000-04:002011-07-21T17:21:22.971-04:00Philomena<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=9c77891b52&view=att&th=131347fbf57b587c&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVMDICjx7Qfk-Sh-kTzBDU8e7uuZqMT4dKJO_gK_rzAwr0YHTMDFXH0JyJuNkgcbbFsaIXV2Wfxis71CTpYlST4jSEehbgDQQlIfQOg3aFLsUO4NZBfBHF77fEp7MZM200bddJhM4Sac/s200/Mom+and+dad+paint+hives.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630087563905870738" border="0" /></a>My Mom, Philomena, paints all our bee keeping equipment. To say that my mom does a good job is a real understatement. She's over 80 years old but can outwork people of 1/4 her age. She's seen here in the backyard painting bee hives on the picnic table. My 85 year old dad sits to the left "supervising" her.<br /><br />Most of our bee keeping equipment comes from an outfit called Brushy Mountain. It's a family-owned business with wood working shops in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. I guess we're just keeping on with the "family" theme here because my mom has painted well over 100 hive bodies.<br /><br />She paints on primer and two coats of paint, sanding between coats for a perfect finish. The hives come out beautiful. It also ensures a very long life for every hive.<br /><br />When we assemble the hives we use coated nails and also glue both surfaces of each joint. This makes the hives super strong.<br /><br />We make sure every hive body is square using a tool called a speed square. When we have time we coat the mating surfaces of the hive with bees wax so they don't stick together.<br /><br />The bees themselves finish the process coating the inner surfaces with a substance called propolis. It's made from the sap of the wounds of trees and plants. The trees secrete special substances to prevent from getting infected. It's been shown that hives with lots of propolis inside are healthier. The wood inside can have the look of a fine resin-coated antique.<br /><br />In all when we think about sustainability we often think about where materials came from and the like. But it's important to also think about how long something will last. We try and buy the best, longest lasting equipment we can. We build it the best way we can and try and treat it well thereafter. I am confident many of the hive bodies we have will last into the next decade and I have special reason to want them to.<br /><br />Quite apart from Yankee frugality, good business sense and sustainability my own mom helped me out by doing a wonderful job painting these hives. She's going great but at an age when her friends and family are starting to pass on, so it can be on my mind that she will too in a time not too far distant.<br /><br />I am glad to have something that I can work work with that she's had her hand on. I'll think of her and my dad sitting in the back yard and all her crazy shims and methods for getting the paint just right.Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-23145937972524788592011-07-14T11:06:00.000-04:002011-07-14T15:57:46.247-04:00Maxant 3100HWe recently purchased a <a href="http://www.maxantindustries.com/extractors.html">Maxant 3100H extractor</a>. An extractor is machine that spins combs of honey like a centrifuge. It separates the honey from the comb in a way that we can give it back to the bees so they don't have to build it all over again. For us, this single piece of equipment was a large expense.<br /><br />We drove out to Ayer, MA to get it. We could have bought a similarly specified extractor for less elsewhere, but this one is made in Massachusetts. By this I don't mean it's assembled from parts in MA but it's made "whole cloth" right here in the greatest state in America. Let me point out that we have marriage equality and we also invented the truly public library. The American Revolution was born here and Aerosmith is from Boston. Really, what more can you ask for? It's important for us to support people with similar values to ours and to support businesses that deliver good lives for the families of their workers.<br /><br />The drum of the extractor comes there as sheets and is bent and welded right in Ayer by third generation metal workers that get paid a living wage. The baskets that hold the frames are made in Worcester, even the nuts and bolts are sourced from American companies. The motor and motor control were foreign made<em><strong style="font-weight: normal;"></strong></em>,<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>from England and Taiwan respectively but when we spoke the to the owner of Maxant he said he tried to source American components but couldn't find any parts domestically that would work as well.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>As much as we are able to, we like to know that our money goes to people who are able to earn a decent wage and live a good life. The purchase of our Maxant extractor is one way of making sure that happens.<br /><br />It was also important for us to meet the people that made our extractor. We now have a relationship with our supplier, which is something I cannot get from an online catalog. Yeah, so it would have been cheaper and easier not to drive to Ayer and just to have had a Chinese made extractor delivered to our door, but we didn't.<br /><br />We don't ever plan to get huge and be some giant company. We just want to do what we enjoy doing, keeping bees healthy and productive and learning about the world in the process. Sometimes that means identifying flowers and sometimes that means driving to Ayer to meet the people that made something we need. I think this extractor is made better than the than most I have seen and I think it will handle our needs forever. So, for the rest of my life I can look at this piece of equipment and know I have done right by someone.<br /><br />All our equipment is American made. Out hives are made either in Pennsylvania or Maine and out foundation and frames are made in California or here on the east coast. We recently switched to the California supplier of foundation, the wax the bees are given to start drawing comb on, because they used domestically sourced bees wax that tests as chemical free. We also feel the product is more durable and longer lasting.<br /><br />Our glass jars come from Andler Packaging whose Springfield MA office has served generations of Pioneer Valley folks. Yes, the glass jars are American made. Do you get it yet? We're serious about this.<br /><br />Whenever we can we choose American made, and the more local the better. I'm not a patriot, not in the sense of a flag waving, but we do believe that our money should flow to companies that support their workers. American Made helps us know that's true, but there's nothing like meeting people face to face to know we got it right.<br /><br />Bye the way, it's also why we're proud that our honey is availble exclusively through River Valley Market.<br /><br />Massachusetts, rock on.Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-57703011406771343502011-05-03T19:18:00.001-04:002011-07-14T15:52:00.465-04:00A long tough winter.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokJ1PA2Lf4m4FOiglL_ixagrT2y2-fzrnJf0o_MTKYC5Ug8b4GvIng8BP18XrqcfTIJMzkpT0_qD3KZlp9hMCxc3mvPBkfvKPB4cDmGJGvLpEk_qfBat_qvJ4tdSlytBUvXs4ABsQLCs/s1600/blossom.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokJ1PA2Lf4m4FOiglL_ixagrT2y2-fzrnJf0o_MTKYC5Ug8b4GvIng8BP18XrqcfTIJMzkpT0_qD3KZlp9hMCxc3mvPBkfvKPB4cDmGJGvLpEk_qfBat_qvJ4tdSlytBUvXs4ABsQLCs/s200/blossom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602633282352002882" border="0" /></a>The blossoms are out on our pear tree and on trees all over the neighborhood. It's a hopeful time, and now we need hope.<br /><br />The winter was amazingly hard on our bees, and we lost lots of them. We entered winter with 22 hives and now we have around a dozen, I can't recall exactly. The combination of a dry hot end to summer and fall wasn't kind to our bees. Without nectar colonies didn't produce so many young bees and most of our hives entered the winter with small colonies of older bees. On some years this could have been OK, but last winter got cold and stayed cold and we had a long cold spring.<br /><br />Without a January thaw or even some warm days in April our bees stayed hive bound. Even now, cool day temperatures keep too many bees from flying even though there's nectar and pollen in dandelions and in the blossoms of pear and apple trees around neighborhood.<br /><br />Much of this was my reaction to last years wintering strategy. I in the fall of 2009 managed the hives to be large and powerful going into winter. I wrapped all the hives and filled extra supers (boxes) with maple leaves for a kind of attic insulation. This allowed the bees to use less honey over the winter staying warm. I fed the bees in early spring and whoa! did we ever have bees. We had so many bees that it seemed like we had a swarm every couple of minutes.<br /><br />Resolving not to repeat that I cut way back on feeding and wrapping hives. The long winter and slow spring took a lot of colonies. I am learning that a good maple syrup season can mean a tough spring for bees.<br /><br />Well, that's behind us now. With pear blossoms abundant we hope for warm days and lots of flying weather.<br /><br />Agriculture teaches things in a way that's especially hard. In school when we missed the deadline for a paper we could make an excuse but agriculture doesn't listen. Many years ago I worked for <a href="http://www.baggottfarms.net/">a farmer named Tom Baggot</a>. I had a great deal of responsibility for a very young man. Occasionally I would make mistakes and sometimes costly and complex mistakes.<br /><br />Inevitably I would come to Tom and say, "I'm sorry" and try and explain how the mistake had come to be made. Tom would always say. "Adam, I am not interested in that. Explain to me how things are now so that we can make a plan to move forward." He could be mad or moody or exasperated when I told him how things were wrong, but he always brushed it off an looked forward.<br /><br />Agriculture doesn't care why you made the mistake, it's simply asks if you're moving forward. We are.Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-1663138148554479232010-08-25T15:51:00.000-04:002010-08-25T16:46:19.571-04:00Signs and Wonders<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sparklinglotusland.typepad.com/sparkling_lotusland/images/2007/08/30/goldenrod.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 283px;" src="http://sparklinglotusland.typepad.com/sparkling_lotusland/images/2007/08/30/goldenrod.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My sister sent a note to me saying it had been a "great summer!" meaning we'd had good beach weather. It's true, we had more sunny, hot days this summer than any I can remember. All that heat and sun meant we had a drought. A big patch of our lawn browned up. You can see it in the crowns of some trees that started showing fall color in mid-August.<br /><br />We started the year with an amazing spring. We had just the mix of sun and rain to produce a huge bonanza of nectar! Everyone was optimistic, including the bees, who took it as a signal to swarm! Swarms, really, are a sign of optimism. Bees think to themselves, "Hey, conditions are pretty good, the days are still getting longer, I bet we can split and form a new hive! Whaddaya say!" More or less, a swarm is like a business opening another office someplace.<br /><br />The great spring gave way to a hot dry summer. Not much bloomed, and what did didn't have much nectar it in. In drought conditions plants don't put out much abundance and try and hang on until conditions improve.<br /><br />Our bees, which took off like a rocket in May, were in stasis by the end of June. You can tell this because the bees which had been furiously drawing comb in early Just just stopped when nectar stopped coming in. You can see this because the partly drawn comb is no longer white, but yellow. It sounds funny, but it's because the bees walked on it with dirty feet!<br /><br />Around August 1st I saw bees on Queen Anne's Lace. A sure sign that everything had gone from bad to worse. Queen Anne's Lace is a plant of last resort that bees turn to when there is nothing else. It's the bee equivalent of taking a job at MacDonald's.<br /><br />Last week two wonderful things happened:<br /><ol><li>It rained more than an inch for the first time since June. I put a glass on our deck looked outside and watched it fill over the course of the day. We slept on our enclosed porch for two nights to listen to the rain fall on the roof. I walked across the back yard to the compost bins in my socks and didn't mind at all when they get soaking wet.</li><li>The tall goldenrod came into bloom. The early goldenrod had been out, but is apparently of little use to the bees. The world is gold again. Like the dandelions that have come to symbolize the abundance of spring, their fall sisters arrive to rescue our girls from the nectar dearth that is midsummer in Western Massachusetts. </li></ol>I think, in the end, that 2010 for beekeepers nearby will be remembered as a dry year. Maybe, if the frost comes late and we get a bit more rain we'll come to remember how the strong fall honeyflow was this year.<br /><br />Though summer isn't over, I can now look back over enough of it to see the greater pattern of much of it. I can see how our actions managing the bees fit in with the bees themselves and the environment we operated in. I wonder what I could have done differently, and wonder what to do now.<br /><br />Sometimes we see into the past no better than we can predict the future. Yet, this year, I am beginning to see how our bees, my actions, and the progression of the year interacted. Beekeeping means reading signs, either from the bees or from the environment. It means interpreting these correctly and acting appropriately. I don't think any of this is possible without wonder.<br /><br />There is a sweet-sourdough smell that comes from a strong hive processing lots of goldenrod nectar. In late afternoon when the field bees have returned it's quite pronounced in front of several hives hard at their work. Somehow, here, I feel a fellow traveler with our bees and the land.<br /><br />I am sure of this at least: I will not lack for wonder.Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-35033164011999520872010-07-30T13:44:00.000-04:002010-08-23T16:17:31.584-04:00What's blooming locally, and local queens.I have started to look at the <a href="http://www.newfs.org/visit/Garden-in-the-Woods/bloom-board-7-29-10.html">Bloom Board</a> over at the New England Wild Flower Society to get an idea of what's happening out in the world away from the hive. It's turned into a great resource for finding out where our bees are going. It's been dawning on me that my hive management is such a small, small part of what happens to our bees. The rest is what's going on away from the hive, in the natural world.<br /><br />Here's a list for what's blooming at Garden in the Woods, which is meant to showcase southern New England wildflowers. Since they're only about 60 miles from our apiary, it's also a pretty good bet that this is what's blooming here. So, when I am trying to understand what's available to our bees I start here--it helps me with identifying plants. I've highlighted plants that are at least are decent honey plants.<br /><br />Of these, the most exciting is goldenrod. Early goldenrod isn't a super plant, but it's the first of the goldenrod that will make the bulk of our honey this year. Tall goldenrod comes later, and when it arrives the real show starts!<br /><p><em>Actea pachypoda</em> (white baneberry)<br /></p> <p><em>Actea racemosa </em>(black bugbane)</p> <p><em>Allium cernuum</em> (nodding onion)</p> <p><em>Allium plummerae</em> (Tanner’s canyon onion)</p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><em>Asclepias incarnata</em> (swamp milkweed)</p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><em>Asclepias tuberosa</em> (butterfly weed)</p> <p><em>Baptisia tinctoria </em>(yellow wild indigo)</p> <p><em>Blephilia hirsuta</em> (hairy wood mint)</p> <p><em>Callirhoe digitata</em> (winecup)</p> <p><em>Callirhoe involucrata</em> (purple poppy mallow)</p> <p><em>Cephalanthus occidentalis</em> (common buttonbush)</p> <p><em>Clethra alnifolia</em> (coastal sweet pepperbush)</p> <p><em>Coreopsis verticillata</em> (threadleaf tickseed)</p> <p><em>Diphylleia cymosa</em> (American umbrella leaf berries)</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><em>Echinacea purpurea</em> (purple coneflower)</p> <p><em>Eschscholzia california</em> cv. <em>Aurantiaca orange</em> (California poppy)</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><em>Eupatoriadelphus fistulosus</em> (hollow-stemmed Joe-pye weed)</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><em>Eupatoriadelphus purpureum</em> (Joe-pye weed)</p> <p><em>Euphorbia corollata</em> (flowering spurge)</p> <p><em>Euribia divaricata</em> (white wood aster)</p> <p><em>Filipendula rubra</em> (queen of the prairie)<img class="image-right image-inline" src="http://www.newfs.org/images/visit/Heliopsishelianthoidescv.SummerNightssunflowereverlastingwebsized.jpeg/image_preview" alt="Heliopsis helianthoides" /></p> <p><em>Gaillardia aristata</em> (common blanket flower)</p> <p><em>Helenium autumnale</em> (common sneezeweed)</p> <p><em>Helianthus microcephalis</em> (small-headed sunflower)</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><em>Helianthus tuberosa</em> (Jerusalem artichoke sunflower)</p> <p><strong>Heliopsis helianthoides (oxeye daisy)</strong></p> <p><em>Heuchera micantha</em> (small-flowered alumroot)</p> <p><em>Hydrangea quercifolia</em> (oak-leaved hydrangea)</p> <p><em>Hydrastis canadensis</em> (goldenseal – fruit)</p> <p><em>Hypericum prolificum</em> (shrubby St. John’s-wort)</p> <p><em>Impatiens pallida</em> (pale touch-me-not)</p> <p><em>Liatris pycnostachya</em> (prairie blazing star)</p> <p><em>Lobelia cardinalis</em> (red lobelia)<img class="image-right image-inline" src="http://www.newfs.org/images/visit/Monardadidymawebsized.jpeg/image_preview" alt="Monarda didyma" /></p> <p><em>Lobelia siphilitica</em> (great blue lobelia)</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><em>Lysimachia quadrifolia</em> (whorled yellow loosestrife)</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><em>Lysimachia terrestris</em> (swamp yellow loosestrife)</p> <p><em>Mimulus moschatus</em> (musky monkey-flower)</p> <p><em>Mimulus ringens</em> (Allegheny monkey-flower)</p> <p><strong><em>Monarda didyma</em> (scarlet bee balm)</strong></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><em>Monarda fistulosa</em> (wild bee balm)</p> <p><em>Nymphaea</em> odorata (white water lily)</p> <p><em>Petalostemum purpureum</em> (purple prairie clover)</p> <p><em>Phlox divaricata cv. alba</em> (white wood phlox)</p> <p><em>Phlox paniculata cv. Blue Boy</em> (summer phlox)</p> <p><em>Physostegia</em> (obedient plant)</p> <p><em>Pontederia cordata</em> (pickerel weed)</p> <p><em>Pycnanthemum icanum</em> (hoary mountain mint)</p> <p><em>Ratibida pinnata</em> (gray-headed Mexican hat)</p> <p><em>Rhododendrom prunifolium</em> (plum-leaf azalea)</p> <p><em>Rudbeckia hirta</em> (black-eyed coneflower)</p> <p><em>Ruellia humilis</em> (wild petunia)<img class="image-right image-inline" src="http://www.newfs.org/images/visit/Sarracenia_purpurea_websizedBill_Cullina.jpg/image_preview" alt="Sarracenia purpurea" /></p> <p><em>Sarracenia flava</em> (yellow pitcher plant foliage)</p> <p><em>Sarracenia oreophila</em> (mountain pitcher plant foliage)</p> <p><strong><em>Sarracenia purpurea</em> (purple pitcher plant)</strong></p> <p><em>Saururus cernuus</em> (lizard’s tail)</p> <p><em>Silphium perfoliatum</em> (rosinweed or cup plant)</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><em>Solidago juncea</em> (early goldenrod)</p> <p><em>Spigelia marilandica</em> (Indian pink)</p> <p><em>Symphyotrichum linariifolius</em> (stiff aster)</p><p><br /></p><p>As an aside here, my dad was president of the American Wild Flower thing-or-some-such when I was in my teens. I love my dad a lot, so learning about this now is something that I feel especially good about.<br /></p><p>In other news, we're making up some new "nucs" (short for Nucleus Colonies) with special queens. Roger from the <a href="http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/">Franklin County Bee Keepers </a>has offered us a queenly daughter (princess?) queen that is supposed to be especially resistant to mites. We've also started a couple of queens from <a href="http://www.northernbredqueens.com/">Lagrant's.</a> He's a second generation local bee keeper who breeds queens right here in western MA. Most of our queens come from Dan Conlon of <a href="http://www.warmcolorsapiary.com/">Warm Colors Apiary.</a> We like Dan's queens because they come from just up the road from us, about 8 miles from here.</p><p>Local means a lot in bee keeping. As an example, bees that hoard honey and respond strongly to changes in day length do better in someplace like New England, since we have long, cold winters compared to someplace like Georgia. We're starting to breed our own queens now, but queens from people like Dan keep local beekeepers like us going.<br /></p>Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7775026611641436824.post-14553832258552793612010-07-27T16:40:00.000-04:002010-08-23T16:19:48.727-04:00Through the Eyes of a Servant<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3443/3902218712_a25bef0663.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3443/3902218712_a25bef0663.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />In my teens and twenties I played at being a trout fisherman. Spare time took me into the woods to stumble along the banks of streams and narrow rivers. Along the way I began to notice vegetation and soil types, the makeup of the trees and the feel of the ground under foot. I looked at the plunge of water and where light came over hills and into valleys. I learned about nature, but for the purpose of catching fish.<br /><br />In my twenties and thirties I worked for a farm in Connecticut. I once worked a 106 hour work week and did many 18-hour days. We planted corn, squash and other market garden crops on 1600 acres scattered from south of Hartford to north of Springfield. I learned to identify weeds; I became familiar with sumac. I learned how water flows across and through the soil by watching newly plowed land dry after rains, and much later seeing how crops grew. I learned about nature, but for the purpose of growing crops.<br /><br />In my thirties I moved to California and took up surfing. I spent hundreds or thousands of hours watching waves break on the shore. I learned about what makes a wave strong, how the land and wind affect its shape. I became familiar with the things that live there, in the dangerous boundary between earth and sea. I learned about nature, but for the purpose of surfing.<br /><br />This morning I went up to Andy's to see the bees. When I was there I wondered where they were going. I allowed myself the time to wander from the hive to see where the girls were working. I found some on Queen Ann's Lace, early goldenrod and a kind of thistle I later identified as Canada thistle.<br /><br />In my wanderings this morning I felt again that searching that I have so many times been party to. I tend to learn from and wander through the natural world when I have given myself some sort of mission. It could be fishing, farming or surfing. I rarely go abroad with binoculars or a guide book to observe for the sake of observation. I don't know if this is good or bad, I just know this is how I am.<br /><br />When, at liberty this morning, I did wander the fields in search of my girls the great panopoly of things that may be observed by me, were observed by me. There, amidst the grass and thistle, I became again a servant of mission. It is a wonder to think of them aloft above the heads of rich and poor alike, alighting on hundreds of thousands or millions of flowers each day, a thousand times too many for me to even imagine, even had I had the whole day and all the tea in China.<br /><br />It occurred to me then that for the first time, I was not looking for something for myself, I was looking for where my bees were making their fortune, and that all the work done back at the hive merely prepares them for the changes in the land.Adam Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429820924749981166noreply@blogger.com3