Honeybee swarms are a natural process of growth…if you find one remain calm and call a professional

As summer is approaching, the blossoming flowers and growing bounty of the land attracts the buzzing honeybee. As the season progresses these important creatures are busy building their hive. A natural part of this process is the swarming of the honeybee. As their hive grows they will begin to overpopulate their space and a portion of the hive will go in search of a new home. The bees will form a cluster and swarm in a tree, study foliage or even a man-made structure. They will then send out scouts to search for a safe place to build a new home. This is the natural way that the honeybee multiplies and builds their population. Often the bees will swarm in the proximity of those of us that live among them and can be an intimidating site. Knowing what to do is the most important thing when you cross paths with a honeybee swarm. According to Matt Reed, a Portland beekeeper and owner of Bee Thinking, bees are actually at their least aggressive while swarming because they don’t have a hive to protect.

So a swarm may seem like something that should elicit panic, but it is important to stay calm and call a local beekeeper (such as Matt Reed) to capture and move the swarm to a place where they can find a home. Of course it is a good idea to keep pets and children away from the swarm, but be patient and wait for the swarm to be safely removed. This is important to protect the swarm, a vital part of our ecology.

To find out who in your area will remove swarms, check with your state beekeeping association or you can search the internet of local beekeepers.

Resource Link:
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2012/05/with_the_advent_of_spring_hone.html
http://farmgardenandbeyond.com/bee-keeping-resources

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinn.
3. In a large bowl (separate), combine sugar, honey, oil, eggs, & orange zest
4. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with orange juice, mixing just until incorporated
5. Pour batter into prepared pan
6. Bake 40-50 minutes or until cooked through.

#2 Simple construction of stacked boxes…you can easily add to, clean and maintain these hives and the health of your bees

#3 The Warre hive creates less moisture due to the quilt structure – Also air circulation disperses moisture through the vents

#4 Less expensive than conventional hives

#5 A Warre beehive allows bees to build more efficiently

#6 Simple and easy to use

#7 The Warre bee hive is built to resemble as close as possible to a bees natural home.

Our Mason Bee Houses provide important nesting space for these docile, prolific pollinators. This house and these bees would a great addition to any garden or farm! The Mason Bees will start nesting in March, so now is an excellent time to get a Mason Bee House for the gardener in your life!

Mason Bee House

Our Bat Houses provide vital shelter for these important creatures that not only manage the pests in the garden, but also play an important role pollinating crops and gardens.

Bat House Made by Heart of the Hills

And our Warre Bee Hives are an excellent gift for anyone looking to start beekeeping or even someone who has already taken up the practice. Warre Bee Hives provide a healthier environment for bee colonies, allowing the bees to build combs with greater ease while allowing beekeepers to better manage and maintain the health of their hives.

Warre Bee Hive

Check out these great gift items, as well as our other amazing products, on our website. You can also email us at HeartofHills@yahoo.com to place your order!

3 cups flour, sifted

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp powdered ginger

1/2 tsp powdered cloves

1/2 tsp powdered nutmeg

1/2 pound butter

1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg together.

Cut butter into small pieces. Work butter into dry ingredients with pastry cutter or with fingers. When blended throughly, add honey and stir until completely blended.

Refrigerate dough for a minimum of 1 hour.

Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness on a floured board. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters of your choice. Bake for 12-15 minutes on a cookie sheet.

Let cool for one minute on cookie sheet, then cool completely on cookie racks.

Adapted from The Pooh Cook Book (Inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh) by Virginia H. Ellison, E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc, 1969. Click here to find this book on Amazon.com.

Nectar collected from several sources – or a number of different flowers – the resulting honey is referred to as “wildflower” or “mixed flower” honey. But when honey is made from nectar that is 80% of the same type of flower or plant, it can be labeled as a specific variety of honey.

Though each variety of honey is made of the same elements – sucrose and water – the different flavors are due to a variety of organic acids that give each type of honey its distinct taste.

Here is a sampling of honey varieties that you may not have heard of:

• Acacia: Hungary, Italy, France. Light in color with a delicate flavor. Good for baking.
• Avocado: California, Florida, Chile. Dark amber color with rich, floral flavor. Nice table honey, good for pancakes.
• Cranberry: Wisconsin, Oregon, Quebec. Medium amber color with hints of an intense, tart berry taste. Excellent with yogurt.
• Fireweed: Washington, Alaska, Oregon. Light gold color with mild, spicy flavor. Excellent for making honey butter or as a table honey.
• Lehua: Hawaii. Off white color with a distinct, complex flavor Overtones of butterscotch and lilies. Excellent with green tea.
• Rosemary: Spain, Italy, France. Light amber color with fresh herbal, slightly smoky flavor. Nice in glazes for chicken and drizzled over focaccia bread.
• Sunflower: Georgia, Italy, Spain. Pale yellow to light amber color with nutty, apricot flavor. Drizzle over yogurt or serve with fresh fruit.
• Tupelo: Florida, Georgia. White to light amber color with floral flavor and rich, buttery texture. Nice in glazes for pork.

To learn more about honey varietals, check out these books: Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper by C. Marina Marchese (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2009) or Honey: A Connoisseur’s Guide with Recipes by Gene Opton (Ten Speed Press, 2000).

Our second new product is a custom-made Varroa Screen Floor. This mesh floor traps Varroa mites (a bee parasite) as they fall off the bees when they enter the hive. The mesh keeps the mites from climbing into the hive, infecting the entire colony. A great addition to any Warre Bee Hive, to help keep your bees healthy!

For more information about these great products, check out our website, www.farmgardenandbeyond.com.

1/2 cup banana, sliced

1/4 cup frozen mixed berries (your choice of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons honey (or to taste)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Yields 1-2 servings.

Adapted from recipe found in Honey: A Connoisseur’s Guide with Recipes by Gene Option (Ten Speed Press; 2000). To find more great honey recipes and read more about honey, check out this book on Amazon.com. And find more great honey smoothie recipes by checking out Smoothie Web.

Bees the Other Way – September 18th, 10 am to 4 pm, $50.00

“Learn to be a friend to bees. Beekeepers, novices and backyard bee aficionados all welcome.” Click here to read more about this class.

Build a Compost Tea Maker- September 19th, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, $35.00

“Make a compost tea maker and improve your garden’s health.” Click here to read more about this class.

Biodynamic Compost: How the Magic Works - September 19, 1-4 pm, $25.00

“Build a legendary biodynamic compost pile, create vortexes in field sprays and apply to gardens. Bring an open heart for this approach to spiritual work in gardens and farms.” Click here to read more about this class.

To sign up for any of these classes, contact Friendly Haven Rise Farm at friendlyhaven@gmail.com or call (360) 687-8384.

For all of these reasons and more, Pistils Nursery is a great place for our products. You can not only check out our Warre Bee Hives, but also our Bat Houses and Mason Bee Houses.

For more information about Pistils Nursery, go to their website at www.pistilsnursery.com. And be sure to check out their upcoming workshops, including such topics as urban chicken keeping, bee keeping, garden design, terrariums, worm composting and vegetable gardening.

Thank you for reading our Farm, Garden and Beyond‘s blog!