2015 has been an exciting year in beekeeping.
I started the 2014-2015 winter with ten hives, over wintering seven hives, losing three. Easter brought me my first swarm call of the year. One day, I had 4 hive inspecitions, queen cell removal and installation, and 3 swarm calls. That was a busy day!
The blackberry bloom was early in 2015 but the weather decent and the bees took advantage of it. A fresh frame of capped honey was used in wedding. For the first time, I sold cut comb honey – and it was a hit. For the first time, I also made only five jars of creamed honey. Those five jars were gone lickity-split. From just 6 hives, I managed to harvest approximately 200+ lbs.
I love my bees!
With the bees all snug as a bug for the winter, I really would like to thank Lisa of Round Tuit Farms for selling my honey along side her honey and honey from other beekeepers at the Oak Harbor and Coupeville farmers markets. She’s awesome – she’s my bee mentor and she really knows her stuff and is very supportive.
I would also like to thanks Lonnie at Red’s Boutique in downtown Oak Harbor for selling my honey from her store. She was very excited to have it in her store and reports that the customers are very pleased seeing it there.
A lot of thanks goes to my hive hosts. Those marvelous people who allow me to place my hives on their property from the Keystone/Admiralty Bay area to the Deception Pass area and places in between. Without their love of bees, keeping bees for me would be a lot more difficult. My hive hosts have been nothing but awesome!
Last, I want to thank everyone who bought my honey. I don’t know why but there’s something special about keeping bees, visiting their hives, the ups and the downs, harvesting honey comb and getting that honey into jars and sticking that label on (designed by my son) and imagining people enjoying that fresh Whidbey Island honey! I grin at the idea that local people are enjoying local honey. That brings me so much satisfaction and without the customer, I wouldn’t be able to keep all these wonderful bees that do so many wonderful things beside making honey.
I thank you all!