Final wax product

After melting down the left over capping, I used a double broiler to melt it down, then strained it. After cooling down and separating the water that settled on the bottom, I have about as inch and half of wax.

Getting ready for some wax

I finally got around to cleaning the left over capping from extracting the honey. I rinsed all the honey off and will use a double boiler to melt the wax and strain it through cheese cloth to get the impurities out. After that I will make a couple of beeswax candles. Good to have around during the hurricane season.

Getting some honey finally

Thursday afternoon we finally managed to get together and take some sweet bounty form the kids.  After carefully pulling the top off and deciding how much to take, we decided on four deep frames.

After bring the frames in the house after removing the many stubborn little creatures from hiding in the comb, we started to use the uncapping knife to remove the outer layer of wax to expose the honey hidden inside.

After uncapping the frames they went inside a hand crank honey extractor which flings the material on the side then it runs down  and collects at the bottom.

When the extractor was full, I then poured the honey through several layers of cheese cloth to remove the impurities. When the cloth gets full of wax and thick honey, I needed to squeeze the rest out by hand, boy what a sticky job.

After all the sticky extraction was done, the extractor was placed outside for the bees to clean up the mess that I had made. The bees took all the left over honey and returned it back the hive from where it came from. I lost a couple of hundred bees doing this so I do not think next time I will let them clean up.

Here is one of my little buddies saying "Hello".

Update

Sorry for the long delay with the update. The Pepper tree blossom is now over and this weekend, I will see if there is enough honey to keep the kids going during the winter. If there is an excess I hopefully will get to harvest maybe one or two jars to sample. I am picking up a two comb extractor for this job Sunday after I get off of work. I feel sorry for the one who has to clean up the mess.

I will hopefully post the results next week, until then have a great one.

Condo addition

Sorry for the late posting, a lot going on right now. I finally added the honey super to the condo that the children are living rent free in. I discovered several frames in the second box that were already filled with capped honey. I am waiting for the pepper trees to fully blossom so the kids can finally go back to work.

Feeding time

After carefully examining my hive, the beekeeper decided that there was not enough food inside to maintain new upcoming brood. His recommendation was to feed them from the top cover to keep the neighborhood bees and ants from taking over. I boiled 8 pounds of sugar to one gallon of water and let it cool. After punching some holes in the top of six mason jars, I proceeded to cut out the hole for the jar to fit inside. In a couple of days I’m going to add one frame of honey inside the top super for additional feeding.

Hurricane Irene

Well we were extremely lucky and Hurricane Irene stayed far enough off the coast of Florida, therefore no damage to property or bees. All I did was strap the hive and stand down with a ratchet strap so they did not fly like the house in the Wizard of Oz. The queen is finally starting to produce some brood in the upper box.

Lousy weather

Been trying to take a peek at the kids to see how they are doing but the weather here has been unfavorable in the afternoons when I have time. With the last look I discovered the upper hive was showing signs of comb build up with some honey already in some areas. Hopefully I can peek before the weather gets to bad today.

Slow going

I checked on the bees the other day and still little progress with them moving up in too the next super. It should be soon since I have seen an increased amount of bees hanging around the opening and bring in pollen.

Final high rise addition to the hive

     I just installed the new stand that I had built for my little flying friends to get them further off the ground and promote better air flow and it does fit nicely. Witnessed a wasp trying to get inside the hive yesterday, boy the bees did not take kindly to this intrusion. After a few tries the guardian bees finally took matters into their own stingers and away went the wasp. The water bowl that is located next to the hive to keep them out of the pool seems to be doing its job, only found a few bodies floating in the pool.

     Had the opportunity to help extract some honey from the local bee keepers combs and I will say it is one messy job, but it was also exciting. Maybe in a few more weeks I will be able to install the honey super on my hive.

New addition

Well I decided since the hive has arrived home, I did not like how they were setting low to the ground on the paving blocks. I had a few minutes free the other night so I made a bee hive stand for them to rest uponout of some scrap lumber laying around. After slapping a few coats of paint to ward of the oncoming wood rot that will happen under the pleasant 80% humidity and sunshine, it is complete.

      I will place the bees upon their new throne in a couple of days after the new paint smell disappears. I opened the hive to take a peek last night and the kids are doing wonderful. There is new comb being made in the second super and everyone looked happy.

The next day

     Once the sun came up and curiosity got the better of me, I went outside to see what was happening to the hive. I found about a half dozen bees hovering in close proximity to the opening, with other just sitting there guarding the entrance. As I watched, two bees flew into the water bowl, one landed on the rock and the other landed in the water, I do not have to tell you which one survived. Later today the delivery of my bee equipment arrived.

Bees coming home.

     Yesterday was the day that I have been waiting for. My children were coming home. Went to the local beekeeper and was shown my hive of bee’s that would call my property home. After waiting for the rain to die down, he opened the hive to show the beautiful bounty that lies within. We then strapped the box in the back of my truck and away we went.  Once I arrived home and donned a thick flannel jacket to ward off the angry bees, I placed the hive on the foundation and placed a water bowl next to the hive with a couple of rocks to keep them from drowning. Now was the time we were waiting for, the removal of the tape holding them inside. Slowly I peeled off the tape waiting to dash away screaming as hundreds of angry bees poured out, nothing happened.

     One bee finally poked his head out and looked around then went back inside. A minute later several more bees appeared and just sat there looking around at their new environment. I decided to let the bees acclimate and went to bed.

Starting Out

     I cleared a patch of weeds in my backyard for the foundation of my upcoming bee hive. After hauling 50 buckets of dirt to level it out, I placed ten foot round plastic ring on the ground and filled it with cypress mulch. I then placed eight paving blocks with a 2x4 across for a foundation. Then I ordered the bee helmets for my wife and I as well as a smoker and hive tool.