Is it business or pleasure? Well that depends on what you regard as business and what you regard as pleasure. To us, business is pleasure.
“The Business,” a honey cocktail
Recipe inspired by: London’s Milk & Honey Cocktail Bar
Shake and pour over ice.
Adding the clearer board with 2 Porter-style bee escapes.
Brushing bees off honey frames I’m about to pilfer isn’t fun for anyone. The bees get testy, I get buzzed, and by the time I’ve cleared bees off all the frames in a box, everyone’s beyond foul in mood. Waiter, make that a double!
That’s why I simply adore the bee escape, aka “clearer board”. What is a bee escape, you ask? It’s essentially a one-way valve that allows bees to leave but doesn’t let ’em back in. Perfect for clearing a box of honey with minimal stress to me and the bees.
[Here’s a diagram of the original Porter bee escape.]
So how do you use it? Oh do allow me, darlings. Continue reading
The bee hero
Beneath the desire to keep bees there lies an even more secret… even more primal… desire. It’s the archetypal — dare I say, boyhood — desire that leaks out in the fury of a brave dream filled with rescue and danger and buxom lonely maidens.
It’s the dream to become a hero. And in this case, a bee hero.
You’ve seen it in the machismo of a bare-armed swarm rescue. Or the bravado of a bee-wrangler when the cameras are rolling.
I spied it this morning as my husband donned his bee suit on the way to capture yet another bee swarm. In his mind’s eye, he was apparently a massive, bee-eating robot off to save the world as he hummed to himself while suiting up, “Transformers… more than meets the eye. Transformers, robots in disguise.”
Indeed, from mere mortal to giant white bee-snatching robot in the zip of a zipper. Believe me, your children are all now much safer.
Swarm season is raging in Albuquerque! In the past 3 weeks, we’ve captured 7 swarms some of which (she says blushingly) were our own.
If you’ve ever wondered how to catch a swarm or wanted to learn more, here’s a quick photo essay documenting the process.
First, prep the girls’ new home if you have the luxury of doing so (if not, they can stay in the cardboard box for an hour or so). In our case, we’re combining today’s swarm with a small colony from earlier this spring. We’ll separate the two boxes with a sheet of newspaper allowing the girls to slowly become acquainted. We’ll also provide a top entrance for the new box filled with swarm bees.
Next, we grabbed two ladders. I’m holding a cardboard box (any box will do) while Alex shakes the bees from the limb into the box. Really, it was that easy. Once most of the bees are inside, we closed the box part way and carried it over to the new hive.
I don’t know about you, but tracking hives with paper and pen seems awfully…. well, 20th century.
And thus I’m thrilled to find out that someone’s built just the app I’ve been looking for!
Beetight: Online Hive Tracking
This weekend I plan to give it a whirl. Are you already using Beetight? Let me know how you like it…
Beekeepers on swarm duty this spring, it’s time for a drink. Vámonos!
Recipe from: http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki/Canchánchara
Pour the honey and the lemon juice into the glass and stir until the honey has dissolved. Add the rum, the ice and the water and stir.
It’s what every beekeeper loves to see — fresh eggs in an uncertain hive.
The queen is a-laying.
For newbeeks, the black Ritecell foundation makes it easier to find eggs when hunting around your hive. In this case, the sign of a fertile queen is unmistakable.
Toasted Sesame Honey Ice-Cream
Lucky beekeepers (and those we love) have more honey stashed away than the modern world knows what to do with. Personally, I keep a collection of high-honey-use recipes like this one to burn up excess honey.
Inspired by the flavors of honey halva, I’ve adapted this recipe from David Lebowitz’ basic vanilla recipe. It pairs ridiculously well with these sumptuous chocolate tahini cakes. Even better, the entire combination is gluten-free.
5 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup honey (I like amber honey here, but if you’re omitting the sesame for some reason, use light honey instead.)
1/3 cup white sesame seeds
pinch of salt (IMHO, salt is key in this recipe as it balances the honey by adding warmth)
Spring in the city is subject to the whimsy of urban gardeners which, in the case of one neighbor, means a yard full of brilliant blue cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus).
Like any of nature’s shamans, a beekeeper can’t help but pause for a peek. In this case, I was rewarded with the strange knowledge that a plant so dedicated to blue bears a ghostly white pollen and apparently one quite appealing to neighborhood honeybees.
Photo by Joy Godfrey
mistress beek 
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