It’s been a moment. My apologies, bee readers, for my delinquency in posting even one small note for a whole season! High summer has come and gone, and now we are approaching the Fall Equinox. The only excuse I have for neglecting Think Like a Bee is a summer job which took my attention and time. I barely got around to checking my bees this summer. But the girls did not miss my interference.

In the bee world, summer is the peak of pollination, food gathering and population explosion within the hive. My girls have been working busily to store honey and pollen for the winter. As I visited them this past week, I harvested at least 50-75 pounds of honey. Yep. It was heavy.

So, I set up my honey processing plant in the kitchen and backyard. Not only is honey harvesting, sticky, exhaustingly heavy and messy work, it is also invasive. I could’ve cried as the some of the larger honey combs pulled the inside cleat from the topbar and the whole comb crashed down upon my girls. Substandard equipment. I was sickened as I tried to clean it up, with the girls circling inquiringly around my head. “What are you doing?” “Why are you taking our food and wreaking this destruction?” “What have we done to you?” I felt like I was the aggressor in a war zone, with victims falling all around me from my incursion.

The last hive I checked, slightly Africanized (no, VERY Africanized genetics) were having none of it. They were ready for me. As I opened the hive to pull out their honeycombs, swollen with high summer sweet nectar, they attacked. Clinging to every part of my clothing, the stinging began. I could feel hundreds of tiny pricks through my worn garden gloves.

Now it was my turn to fight back. I had to grudgingly admit my respect and appreciation of these little warrioresses. They were not going to give it up or go gently. I ran, peeling off my gloves in the field and replaced them with my elbow length leather gloves. Full protection. They were not able to pierce my armor, and I closed them up without further offenses.

All this to say, that yes, it is honey time, friends, in spades. Time to get your winter honey for all those teas and warm oatmeal on cold days!

Let me know if you want to reserve your organic, raw, quart or pint(s) of honey! $45/quart (3 lbs) and $22/pint (1.5).