Thursday, May 7, 2009

Honey!

We did the spring inspection today, and were lucky enough to locate our star - the queen! (in the center, with the red dot).



The honey supers are already full so I plan to experiment with a mini honey harvest this weekend... and I say experiment because we've never done it before. Like so many things here, it's all just a learning experience ;)

Some frames we pulled from the hive still have fall honey, leftovers that the bees didn't eat over the winter (this is the dark honey, on the right). Spring honey (below - I scooped some out with my finger but it's practically clear) has a light, less intensely sweet and more flowery taste, while the amber-colored fall honey has a deeper, richer flavor... probably what most people expect when they taste honey.

It's pretty incredible to pull a heavy frame out of the hive, scrape off a bit of the wax capping, and taste the fresh honey. CSA shareholders will have the opportunity to do this soon, and judge the difference for themselves!