As beekeepers, the ability to monitor our hives comes in short bursts of activity usually  in the form of regular hive inspections. For the most part, unless you have an observation hive, this time spent deep in the nitty gritty of the bee’s daily life is only for a few short moments. As we remove […]

If you’ve been on social media lately, I’m sure you’ve heard of the new Cheerios Bring Back the Bees initiative to help bees around the country by giving away wildflower seeds to consumers to plant in their backyards.   At first it sounded like a great idea! When I saw the Cheerios ad I headed […]

There are a few different ways to purchase a new colony of bees but packages or nucs are two of the most common. In this article I describe what each is, and some of the benefits/drawbacks to each.     What is a Bee Package?   A bee package is a wooden frame box with […]

The land of milk and honey…literally.   When our goats are in milk, we can potentially get over two gallons of milk per day. That’s a lot of milk for two people to consume. I’d love to sell it, but unfortunately milk laws being what they are, make that difficult.   Over the years, I’ve […]

Honey is a unique food in that it never spoils. Properly saturated honey should stay safe to eat forever.   In fact, one study found “stored honey from Ancient Egypt to be over 3000 years old and still completely edible”. http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/08/21/chemistryofhoney/   So Why Doesn’t Honey Spoil?   Honey safely stores for long periods of […]

Bees are important to anyone who likes to eat, and not just those who like honey. Bees are responsible for the pollination of many different foods including coffee beans, cacao beans (where chocolate comes from) and many fruits like apples, squash, peas and many, many more.   The bee population is in turmoil right now […]

The snow has finally melted and we’ve been enjoying warmer temperatures here in Michigan. The days are around 50 degrees and the nights hover around freezing. We just finished our maple syrup boil for the year and got 9 and a half quarts from 55 gallons of sap. It’s such a small yield considering what […]

If you read my previous post Overcoming my Fear of Bees, then you know that I used to be petrified of anything that went buzz. But after learning and working with bees, my fears subsided and curiosity and intrigue soon replaced any apprehension I had. I love our bees! They are amazing little creatures which […]

GIVEAWAY! Enter to win a tube of Stops the Sting! Entry details at the bottom of the post! When I was about 11 my dad was stung by a Bald Face Hornet. It was a Saturday. He was mowing the lawn. Suddenly the mower engine stopped and my dad came rushing in the house. He […]

When people mention beekeeping, it’s the sweet golden stuff that gets all the attention. But bees also make another useful and rather remarkable product in the form of comb. What is beeswax exactly? How does it come into existence in the hive? Do bees collect it? Is it part of the pollen that they carry? […]

I can’t help feeling guilty, tucked into the warm farmhouse, the wood burning furnace roaring and blasting heat up through the vents. We bundle up, and hurry through the outdoor chores so we can get back inside and warm ourselves indoors. But my conscience always nags at me as I leave the barn and the […]

Bees are amazing! It’s strange to think that I have a relationship with an insect, but truly I do. And not just one insect, but thousands! A whole insect family! When I’m out in the yard, pulling weeds in the garden and I see a honey bee, my heart smiles. “That’s one of our bees” […]

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are behind us, I like to start thinking about the spring to come. I’ve already separated our Buff Orpington chickens for breeding this spring. The seed catalogs are coming in and dreams of warmer weather and longer days are on my mind. Each night I sit […]

These turkey place card holders are very easy to make, and they give the Thanksgiving table a little something extra. I love the warm golden hue of the beeswax and the scent of the honey-infused wax. It’s the perfect color to compliment the late autumn palette. When packed carefully, they can be used for many […]

The phrase stealing honey from the bees could not be more accurate. In addition to bees, at Iron Oak Farm we also raise chickens for eggs, and goats for dairy and fiber. With the other animals on our farm, I feel as though the relationship is a bit more balanced. We provide food, shelter and […]