We now have April and June 2026 extractions

We were able to harvest and extract another 2.25 gallons of honey and extract it last weekend.  We have it bottled and newly available in our stand. This super seemed to have even more of the citrus and mockorange nectar in it providing a very sweet floral bouquet to highlight a fresh and mildly sweet flavor. Less herbal than the April extraction, but still with a slight green bitter finish -- like lime zest?

Come try it for yourself.

It took some time, but we've harvested

Only the first super so far.  We added a third recently. They have drawn out comb in that super and there's plenty of nectar in it. The second super we added near the end of March is full, but not yet completely capped, so we're leaving it for another week or so.

We went ahead and extracted right away while we have some time, and should have some honey bottled soon! Yum.

Exactly four weeks later

...we checked to see how the first super was being filled. We are surprised to learn that it is already completely full and capped. We have added a second super with comb already drawn from last year. We left the full super on because we are not prepared to do an extraction any time soon (maybe next week) and the bees will keep the honey from pests for us in the mean time. It will also hopefully lead the bees to start filling the new super.

Short story is: we should have honey available before May...(fingers crossed).

Last Week

Today

We want the hive to have a start filling the new super, find time to extract, prepare jars, bottle and label, get the stand out again....

Spring is springing

With the mild winter and a relatively warm past couple of weeks, the bees have become rather active.  We noticed that there were some vigorous orientation flights happening, but with a still present threat of cooler days and some rain, we were reluctant to remove the entrance reduction we had put in place.  (I couldn't find our official entrance reducer, so I just propped a stick across part of the entrance, and that has been working fine.)

However a few days ago we saw a stream of bees backed up on the hive front as they tried to return from their orientation flight. 

I pried up the hive cover a little and saw that the population appears robust. The threat of rain has passed, and the temperatures seem to be past risk of dropping below the 60s during the day, so we decided it was time to give the colony some more room to expand their storage and keep them from feeling crowded and prone to swarm.  Today we added a honey super with some new foundation. (The old comb we kept had a little moth damage, so we are going to treat them with sunshine and then freeze them to eliminate any eggs and larvae before introducing it into the hive again.)

We dusted both of the hive bodies with powdered sugar, just as a preventative measure to help the bees knock any mites off of themselves to try and keep them at bay.  This colony is hyper-hygienic, and while mites are a persistent problem, the bees have kept them in check pretty well last year.

The hive bodies are pretty full, except the end frames. Hopefully that bodes well for a strong start to the year and a plentiful harvest.

Thank you! Happy New Year.

We are all sold out for the year.  Many thanks to everyone who was able to stop by our little stand and take home a sample of the Princesses' work.  They will have more for us to put out in the Summer.

There are still stirrings when the weather is warmer, so we anticipate a pretty easy time for them to re-establish in March.  Until then, have a wonderful new year.

Farewell to the old year and welcome back to the new light.

The bees are still cozy in the hive.  On warmer days, several still venture out to forage what they can.

Beginning this week, the days gradually become longer (mornings will come earlier to begin, and gradually the evenings will last later).

So while the cold days are still ahead of us, we recognize the promise that spring will return.

The trees and flowers will bloom again, nectar will flow again, and there will be more honey to harvest.

For now, though we are down to our last two jars to sell in our little stand.

We are grateful to everyone who has purchased a jar or two from us, and sincerely hope that our bees' efforts have brought a little pleasure to everyone who has stopped by.

When these last jars are gone the stand will be closed until early Summer, 2026, when we anticipate we will be able to begin extracting the new year's supply.

Until then, stay safe and warm and enjoy the joys the season has to offer.

Good Yule. Happy Holidays. Have a wonderful New Year.

With joy and gratitude from the Pollen Princesses.

Holidays are upon us.

Honey production is over for the season.  The bees are still out foraging while the weather is warmish, but we've removed the honey supers and what they are collecting will provide for them and allow them to keep their own stores of honey until it is cold enough that they are forced to remain in the hive, clustering to keep warm and protect the queen.  Then, they will depend on their honey stores for sustenance until spring.

Because they seem to have less problems with invasive pests this year, they should have a good head start when spring arrives because they won't have to repair the wax comb as much or do as much cleaning. Once they can forage for nectar, that can go directly to honey production rather than wax production.

We will also be hunkering down for the rainy season and relying on our own canning for the winter, keeping soul and sprit warm by celebrating the holidays: Thanksgiving, Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year.... reminding ourselves that the blossoms will return in time.

One of my very favorite holiday traditions is fruitcake.  Mock it all you wish, but a good fruitcake--well spiced; with dried apricot, figs, dates, candied citron and cherries mingled with hazelnuts, walnuts and/or almonds; rum soaked and aged slightly to allow the flavors to develop--is a delight. Italy has their own take on fruitcake, from Siena: a dried fruit, nut tart robustly spiced with ginger, clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, coriander and a little black pepper, and of course, honey--named panforte, "strong bread".

It starts with honey and sugar, boiled gently together until they reach a soft-ball stage.  This syrup is poured over a mix of dried and candied fruits, citron, cherries, and maybe some candied ginger, blanched almonds and hazelnuts that have been dusted with all the dried spices, a little flour, and just enough cocoa powder to add a rich depth to the flavors.

The mixture is pressed into a round pan and baked at a medium temperature for 20 minutes to bring everything together into a nougat-like consistency. The flour merely helps everything adhere and prevents the caramel from becoming too sticky.  If you are gluten sensitive, any gluten free blend works just as well since the flour doesn't provide the structure.

There are multitudes of recipes out there, but once you have the basic proportions of nut, fruit, and honey syrup to flour, you can use whatever fruit and nuts make you the most happy and spice it up to your heart's content -- lemon zest? cardamom? a little chile? more cocoa? Dust with generous confectioners sugar and let the celebrations commence.