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Archive for May, 2010

Stress and balance

Posted in Candle Bee Farm, Heidi Sanner, Uncategorized on May 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Tending the honey bees is a centering stress reliever. The gentle, hypnotic, contented buzz of a healthy hive is focusing and balancing. I can’t help but hum along when I’m with the bees. Honey bees are so aware and interactive. They fully utilize all of their senses, all of the time…touch, sight, smell, taste and sound. And oh, those wonderful dances they do. Their communication is highly evolved and complex. Yet, it is simply executed and engaging. It is a lovely way to be at one with nature and the universe.

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Blooms of Spring

Posted in Uncategorized on May 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The fields are filled with the first blooms of Spring here at Candle Bee Farm™. The wild flowers didn’t blossom until after the rains this year so they are full of nectar for the industrious honey bees to start the season. All impart natural health benefits that are preserved by the honey bees in tasty raw honey. Here are a few I remember from this morning’s walk and just some of their beneficial qualities:

Red clover (blood circulation, isoflavones with antioxidant properties), valerian (good for tension, anxiety, insomnia), mayapple (laxative, purgative of parasites), wild garlics (blood cleanser, high blood pressure, ‘sweeten’ the gut and intestines, skin disorders), wild phlox (stomach disorders), chickweed (cooling, anti-inflammatory), coltsfoot (hoarseness, bronchitis, pneumonia, coughs), speedwell (mental exertion, memory, high cholesterol), dandelion (liver and gallbladder, blood purifier, improve digestion, rheumatism, glandular swellings), yarrow (mentstrual disorders, menopause, bone marrow and blood renewal) and field mustard (anti-cancer).

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Rain, good news or bad?

Posted in Candle Bee Farm, Uncategorized on May 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Everyone is familiar with the phrase, “April showers bring May flowers.” Here in Kentucky, we certainly have our share of Spring showers. Fortunately, Candle Bee Farm™ sits high on a ridge so flooding is not an issue. But, we often get severe winds up here.

Beekeepers have a different take on the subject of rain. Generally, people welcome it for the good of vegetation. Most people think of water from the clouds as only doing good for budding and blossoming vegetation. But, the bees have a different outlook. The timing of the rains is critical to honey bees.

Rain, while quenching the earth’s thirst, also washes the nectar out of the blossoms. Add to this the winds that usually accompany storms and the flowers are basically emptied of nectar and pollen…washed out by the rain and blown out by the wind. It may be a week or more before blossoms with fresh nectar are available again for collection by the honey bees.

Early Spring, when the weather gets above 56 degrees Fahrenheit, is when honey bees become active and the queen begins laying eggs. These eggs are crucial for building the beehive up to the number of bees required to maintain the existence of the colony.

Worker bees collect the nectar and pollen necessary to feed the young. A lapse of nectar availability for a week in the Spring could mean the loss of thousands of young bees. Rain and wind, when too frequent, can cause this to occur. If the number of honey bees in the hive isn’t built up in the spring, there will not be enough workers for the next 6-8 weeks of nectar collection. This summer nectar is what will be used to feed the new bee brood and, most importantly, be converted to honey for food for the winter…and sharing with humans if there is enough in excess. The key to preventing a lapse in nectar availability is not to take too much honey from the hive in the fall. Experienced beekeepers who are good stewards of the hive will keep a close watch on the amount of honey remaining for the winter and for the next Spring should there be an onslaught of storms or a lengthy time of cold weather.

So raining too frequently, too heavily or for too long of a time can devastate a honey bee hive. Just as we struggle when we run low on money, honey bees struggle (or worse) when low on honey.

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