The honey harvest is over. I've taken all the honey I want from the hives and I'm now pouring it into jars, ready for sale. I'm not greedy; I've only taken a fraction of the honey I could take because I like to leave a lot for the bees. After all, this honey is the result of their hard work - not mine - and I don't want to raid all their food because they need it for winter stores.
I've been fascinated by this year's honey because it's much darker than usual. I'm really not sure what the bees have been foraging on, but they've loved something flowering locally that has produced honey with a deep, rich colour. And it's not only my bees that have been heading to and from this mystery source. I've been talking to a fellow beekeeper in the village and she's found exactly the same in her hives. We're both very keen to find out now where the honey has come from.
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| This year's honey ready to be extracted from the comb |
So I'll just have look into what my bees have been up to this summer. In the meantime, they're foraging quite happily now with the bumblebees on some late summer flowers, such as single-flower dahlias, helenium, japanese anemones and verbana.
The other harvest has also taken place in the surrounding fields and we've collected bales of fresh straw from a local farmer for animal bedding. I love the smell of fresh straw; it's a smell of late summer. The straw is now stacked in the barn with our winter logs.
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| Straw and logs stored for winter - and Harry watching a rabbit hole |
This is the technique. First of all try and knock the young tree to loosen the apples - and act casually, as though you're not up to anything...
Then rub up against a tree, which might be more successful...
Gaze up at the tree for inspiration...
Then just take a leap...
And success. you've grabbed an apple!
It's a good job the other sheep aren't following his bad example, otherwise I don't think we'd have any apples left.
I had to smile at your apple thief, he was determined to get at those apples. I wonder what your bees have been feeding on, I hope you and your fellow bee keeper find out where they have been going. It must be very satisfying to have your barn stocked with dry straw and wood ready for the colder weather:)
ReplyDeleteI don't like to think about winter just yet but it is good to know we have the logs in store. The straw will keep us going for a while, too. Now we only need to get the hay in for the sheep!
DeleteI didn't know that sheep were partial to an apple a day! How lovely that you are able to enjoy the honey from your very own bees - a crunch piece of bread and butter with your own honey sounds divine.
ReplyDeleteThis particular sheep adores apples, so we had to name him Adam! Only one of my sheep doesn't love apples - one of the girls. She's the only one that hangs back when I take the apples over to them.
DeleteThat's so funny. Naughty sheep!
ReplyDeleteHe is very crafty. Unfortunately I now have some new apple trees growing at strange angles after he's pushed them over.
DeleteOne clever sheep Wendy.
ReplyDeleteHe's certainly worked it all out. There's no stopping him.
DeleteWhat a naughty but clever sheep! It takes brains to work that out so you have an intelligent sheep!
ReplyDeleteHe is too clever. I only hope he doesn't teach the others what to do.
DeleteDo you have any chestnut or horse chestnut trees near you? They can produce a dark honey.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've suggested chestnut. I did think about it, but I believe I read somewhere that sweet chestnut honey is a little bitter and my honey is still quite sweet. I did shook swarms this year, so all the honey I'm collecting has come in since May and after the oilseed rape - which usually 'lightens' it.
DeleteHow funny Wendy, a clever one there!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting hearing about the difference in your honey, suppose it will be hard to tell where its from. Lovely to be able to collect your own though. Very lucky.
I can only make a good guess at where the honey comes from. I wish I'd paid more attention to what they were bringing in June/July. I know at the moment they are bringing in lots of whitish pollen and so they may have found himalayan balsam somewhere.
DeleteIt must be wonderful to collect your own honey Wendy - I try to buy honey from local beekeepers when I can :)
ReplyDeleteYour story and photos about your apple thief did make me laugh :) What a clever sheep :)
It's great that you buy local honey. I love to remind myself that I'm eating food produced from the flowers in my garden and the local countryside. It's fascinating, too, that the tastes and flavours vary from year to year.
DeleteHello!:) We used to keep bees at one time, and I still remember the taste, it was so much better than the super market kind. I didn't know that sheep like apples. What fun captures of the apple thief. Thanks for sharing!:)
ReplyDeleteI don't think you can beat local honey. It's a bit like growing your own vegetables or eating eggs from your own chickens - nothing compares to the taste of good quality, fresh food which comes from your own backyard!
DeleteHello Wendy...thank you for stopping by..I love your blog. I think in my heart I am a country girl married to a big city boy so we compromised but my neighbor had a farm with ducks, geese, chickens and goats and I loved visiting. When she died a few years ago, the farm was torn down and a regular house was put up which makes me very sad. People underestimate how smart most animals are...Michelle
ReplyDeleteHello Michelle and thanks. That is a shame that the farm went like that. I live in an area which is becoming built up with so much countryside disappearing and and it's very sad to see it change.
DeleteIt's all just gorgeous and I love your cheeky sheep. I can almost taste your honey!
ReplyDeleteThanks Marianne. The honey is going down very well here and it's interesting comparing this year's and last year's (all delicious - thanks to the bees!)
DeleteWell that's new on me, a sheep leaping at apples....love the other techniques too, You have me laughing here, the things we have to put up with! I too am fascinated to hear what the bees have been feeding on!!!xxx
ReplyDeleteI suppose I should be grateful he's only after the apples and not the rest of the tree. He's 'lifted' the weeping willow tree so that all of the bottom leaves have gone and he is constantly trying to get to one of our new, mixed hedges when he can.
DeleteIt was fascinating to read about the darker honey. Your apple thief is very clever, those are amazing pictures of the deed! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteYes he was caught in the act, but then he doesn't seem to care. I call out of the window to try and stop him, and he stops, looks and then goes ahead anyway!
DeleteCould the dark honey be from Japanese Knotweed? I don't know if it is as invasive there as here in Maine, but it produces a dark reddish honey that is supposed to be very flavorful. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting thought. I hadn't considered it or the honey it might produce. Japanese Knotweed is invasive here, too and is dealt with under an 'antisocial behaviour act'. I suspect my bees are bringing in himalayan balsam now, another invasive plant. The pollen looks the right colour and they're bringing lots in.
DeleteMine also have been bringing in our version of himalayan balsam. I freaked out at first seeing bees coming in with thick white stripes down their backs or totally covered with white. They looked like ghost bees. Fortunately, a little internet research set me straight.
DeleteThis is when the internet is great - I've often checked up on something after looking in the hive. Usually someone somewhere has had the same experience!
DeleteSuch a cheeky sheep! Really interesting to read about the honey. The bees are so fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThe sheep is still working his way around the apple trees! A couple of days ago I put a jar of this year's honey next to last year's - the colour is completely different.
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