Box’s Bees

Last Saturday I sat waiting for the postman to arrive… if I missed him my £50 Queen would not have survived till after the Bank Hol.

I introduced her to the hive, and went back today to check she’d settled in …… hoping to find frames full of eggs and larvae …. None …

She was still trapped inside …. Usually they eat their way out through the sugar fondant …. But, maybe because it’s been so dry, the fondant was solid and they hadn’t been able to release her.

I gave them a helping hand … but am
concerned as the population is ageing. So, once she’s settled in a couple of days I’ll take a frame of brood from a different hive and add that to the colony to boost the young population.

🐝 Treat your Leather 🐝

Beeswax to waterproof, tallow to nourish, eucalyptus oil to kill bacteria.

I’ve been making ‘saddle soap’ / ‘leather conditioner’ for over a year for Flo to treat her tack and for Paul and I to treat our work boots.

Come and get some from my back door near Wadswick, or come and find me this Sunday at the RA Point to Point at Larkhill.

New bright fabrics for beeswax wraps - great for kids packed lunches. Last for years if washed in cold water.

Made with wax from my bees.

Find me at the Royal Artillery Point to Point at Larkhill on Sunday 18th January.

Last of my honey 🍯 will be for sale…. Grab it before it’s gone.

It’s a day for making beeswax wraps ….

Getting more stock ready for Box Christmas market on Sunday 7th December.

All made with wax from my bees - the kitchen smells amazing!

Perfect - Stocking fillers !

Honey mainly set, some runny:
220g £6
450g £10
Chilli honey £5

Lipsalve £4 (lavender or peppermint)
Saddle soap/ leather treatment £6.50
Tea-tree salve £5
Beeswax wrap set £16

Postage added at cost.

Drop me a message with any queries.

I’ll be at Box Christmas market on Sunday 7th December 1-4pm.

When we lived in Kazakhstan for a couple of years I came across Creamed Honey. Smooth and creamy, occasionally flavoured with something like lavender.

So I have decided to make some myself- with a combination of crystallised honey and runny honey….. blended together in a mixer…..

Tea Tree Salve

New product. Come and find me at Box Revels tomorrow 12.30-4pm.

So …. This hive is taller than me! Never had that before … I hope the stand and the base are strong enough … and not about to rot through …

So from the bottom:
2 x brood boxes (where the queen is)
Blue line is Queen excluder, a wire mesh that the Queen can’t fit through so she doesn’t lay eggs upstairs
Then
3x supers ( one two nearly full , one empty from yesterdays extraction)
Then
Green line is a crown board with a small hole in it … so bees can go upstairs to the lilac box… which is wet with honey I extracted today. I want the bees to clean this off for me, but not start filling it…
Then
The purple line is a clearer board, with a one way door in it as I want to empty the box above of bees - it’s a box I extracted yesterday and I just want the bees to clean it, not fill it.

So …. There you go…

Also the bees are getting a bit hungry- they are investigating the concrete shed where I store bee equipment. This dry weather causes even the flowers to dry out of nectar later in the day with such prolonged dry weather. Never seen that in May, usually late august. It can cause them to start robbing each other’s hives… so I might reduce the entrances a bit tonight … to help be guard bees do their job.

Extracting honey today. It’s at least 3 weeks earlier than normal due to the dry, warm settled weather. I’ll be selling it at Box Revels on Monday 26th May, or from the shelf by the back door.

Beeswax from my bees being put to good use!

Leather treatment, great for tack and boots etc now available in 500g tubs or as a bar.

Wood treatment, lipsalves and soon to come ….. healing tea tree salve…..

🐝 Busy bees 🐝