Robbing The Bees

After we looked in the hive last weekend, we knew
that we had to rob the bees, because there was just
no more room for honey. So early in the morning,
the sun was just coming up over the mountains we
got the smoker ready. The stuff that goes in it reminds
me of compressed dryer lint. But, it smells like pot.
It sort of makes me sick because the smoke is so sickeningly
sweet. We bought it when we got our bee hive so I have no idea
what it is or what it is made from, I tell myself, next time I am
going to gather pine needles.

We brought frame by frame into the house. Since this is
fly by the seat of your pants bee keeping, I got my largest
pot full of hot boiling water and put my best knife in it
to heat and keep hot to cut the tops off the honey.

This is my husband cutting the wax off with the hot
knife, there is a knife you can buy that is electric that
stays hot and cuts through really nice but since we
didn't have one this worked just fine, just not as fast.



This is what it looked like once the wax was all off
and the honey is exposed. My husband then pressed
the honey with a spatula and got the honey out that way.
We tried to make our own extractor and it might have worked
but the honey was cold so we ended up putting the
stuff in 100 degree oven until it warmed up and then we
poured it through cheese cloth into the jars.

This was the first jars we got, we ended up with 11
little jars.

This is a bit with the honey comb, my daughter wanted
it for a man at her work who suffers with really bad
allergies and he needs a source of local honey and the comb
so we cut it like this for him.
It was so messy, making jam is a piece of cake compared to
this. I would get so mad at my husband because it was taking
so long, I would leave the room and blog hop a bit and then come
back, finally he looked at me and said, " I can see you start
getting that look in your eye and you leave and then you come
back all happy and nice does this really drive you that nuts."
I said,"yes, it drove me big time nuts it was so tedious."
He enjoyed it the peaceful movement of cutting the wax and
watching the honey as if flowed in the pan.
Me, I was happy when I had everything back in order, the kitchen
clean and mopped and all of the dishcloths in the washing machine.
I told him I was re thinking this whole bee keeper thing.
I have been stung, I can hardly walk by without the bees wanting
to have a upfront and personal conversation, which means I am running
around in the pasture like a crazy woman trying to get away.
I am so glad we have no near neighbors, there might be a
truck with padded walls some morning if people could see me
running and hitting myself in the head.
They are really going crazy today trying to get the frame cleaned
up and put back into order. They are a little miffed that all of that honey
is now gone, they had gotten kinda smug about their riches.
Have a great Tuesday!

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, for His wonderful works to the children of men!

(Psalm. 107:6)