bottled!

Our first jar! We gave it to our dear friend Christopher when he arrived to pick me up for yoga. He's very happy with it. :)

















In total - fifty five jars. They ranged in size from 8 to 16 ounces (which is 0.71 to 1.42 pounds). When you consider the total amount of work it takes a hive to store excess honey... this is staggering. I'm in awe of those beautiful girls flying about the yard.

We had a good amount left in the pail after filling the jars, but were hesitant to bottle it for the amount of bubbles in it. It was added to the Elderberry wine that is in primary fermentation. I'm interested to see what the honey adds to the wine.

I moved the jars of honey to the shed, and stored them next to the bottles of wine. I laughed, thinking - if there's an emergency I'm not well prepared, but I'll be one of the most fun houses in the area. I also scraped the wax from the uncapping tank and stored in two freezer bags. M is looking into making a solar heater to melt the wax. Projects, projects!

The bees have done an excellent job of cleaning the frames. I stored them back into supers in the shed, covered with cardboard to prevent unwelcome guests from getting in. There's a few ants on the frames, once they leave I'll be able to store them in the weather tight container.

M checked the hive today. They have not built out the comb on the newest super and frames yet, which is a relief that we've got a bit of time before the next harvest.

In the news, Florida has banned "fake honey".

Tomorrow morning we are headed to Memorial Park to camp for the weekend. I've just pulled a batch of granola bars out of the oven, made with Urania honey. There's honey packed to take camping, as well as newly bottled Syrah and Elderberry wine. It should be a great weekend!