Honey Stall

Very impressive,Do make use of much of the Honey yourself.

I knew your OH had Bees,Chris,but didn't realise he got so much honey from them..I assumed it was just the odd hive he had..clearly not..a great yield there...well done:o)

Wow . . . that's brilliant; good for you too. I had a hot-whisky-and-lemon-with-honey the other evening, and was cured!

We don't get a huge amount of honey, I think this year we had about 40 lbs altogether. John does it all, I just put the labels on the jars!!

Lovely Rosie, didnt know you had bees, very interesting hobby seeing as our bees are under threat, I think 40lbs is a brilliant yield or do you normally get more?

what a lovely display,

I am not a huge fan of honey but I have a spoonful each morning because I think I should!!! Helps hay fever I have been told.

By the way,the weather down here is just terrible at the moment, flooding everywhere. No trains went out of the West Country last night at all.

Lovely display Chris. I'm sorry about the weather you're getting at the moment. Lets hope it improves for your Christmas trip.

Sorry to hear how bad you are having it down there,Chris..we have been so lucky..I do hope it improves very soon ...

Thanks Bloomer and Rose. The constant rain has been horrid, but we have been fortunate and no water has made it into our house yet. I feel terribly sorry for anybody who has to cope with flood water in their homes, it must be a nightmare.

Scenes on the news tonight were a bit too close for comfort.

I saw the news too,Chris..just awful ...fingers crossed,it improves for everyone soon..take care x

Wow, what a tempting display, Wildrose. I love honey and would definitely have bought a jar (or two). We brought a couple of jars back from Germany where the bees feed on the grape vine flowers. It's all gone now though, but was delicious.

We had a couple of hives up in our meadow this summer, courtesy of some friends. They got about 75lbs of honey from those two alone, and we were given - 1 jar!!!!! I wasn't too sorry, though, we have a lot of sweet chestnuts around here, and the honey is very dark and rather strong - not very much to my taste but supposedly good with strong cheese. We prefer buying from local producers who can sell us lime-blossom and acacia honey - much nicer tasting! Your array looks absolutely splendid, Chris. Am I right in thinking that's beeswax polish, too? How wonderful - one of my all-time favourite smells. We can find beeswax (supposedly) furniture spray in our local supermarkets, but it's very clear it's been nowhere near a hive in its existence, and smells more like Harpic. Ugh!

Dear Gattina,

I too love Acacia honey and remember buying some in Cyprus I think, a few years ago. I am not keen on heather honey because that is quite dark and has a much stronger flavour than the garden honey. I am living on it at the moment as I have a bad cough!!!

Yes, there were tins of polish on the stall. John uses a creamy recipe for it and it is very nice to use. Last batch went wrong though and the house smelt of turps and wax for days until he decided what to do with it!!!

I bet you are getting nice and snug and cosy ready for the winter ahead!
x

Ah, we're doing our best, Chris! Am supposed to be driving OH to the airport very early tomorrow morning, but the forecast is for very heavy snow overnight and icy roads, so I'm taking him down the mountain to the train station this afternoon instead and he'll stay in town tonight. These twisty, steep, narrow roads get incredibly difficult and dangerous, even in daylight, and I can't wait to get back this evening, light the lamps, stoke up the stove, close the shutters, drape myself with a cat or two and settle down to a warm evening of doing nothing much. We have the cellars stocked, the firewood stacked, the teabags handy and today I finished storing away all the chutney to marinade and mature nicely in a dark cupboard. I can quite enjoy winter if I organise myself properly beforehand.
I wish you lived closer - I've been dreaming about having a lovely shiny house smelling of beeswax and chrysanthemums, woodsmoke, oranges and drying herbs. I can manage the last four: I shall have to come and find you when next I'm back in the New year, and stock up with polish. Ah, daydreams! Are you secretive about the recipe for the polish or would you consider sharing it? If I can get some beeswax from the hive and clean it up, maybe I could try making my own. ;o)
We drink hot honey and lemon with rum or brandy (well, ANY kind of strong alcohol, really) for sore throats, and find it very comforting. If you're going to die of a cold, you may as well go happy! I'm busy swallowing echinacea capsules every day to try and keep the nasties at bay. I don't know if they work, but I'm happy to give it a go.

Pity I dont live nearer we get through such a lot of honey....

All ours has gone this year, but maybe next year? Ther's always a way!

I think you should set up an on-line shop, Chris! You'd do a roaring trade! Would the bees be able to cope?

Would I be able to cope is what you ought to be asking!!!

As long as I get my secret supply, I'm selfish enough not to be too bothered about you coping....! LOL!

Gattina you paint a lovely picture, I can picture you in your house all cosy and warm with the lovely smells, the cats,the stove the hot drinks....... we have some snow forecast, not sure it will come to anything though..

Thank you, DD! The chrysanthemums are dead now, but I got my beeswax polish and the house does smell gorgeous. We have snow coming at the weekend, and lasting for at least the next 10 days. It's gone from lovely, warm, sunny weather to FREEZING and misty in a matter of two days. Stay warm!

And you, it is very wet here again, getting to be a pain now!!

That is why my husband keeps bees because his father used to have hives. John checked his hives today and has living bees in 3 of them. He had been worried that he had lost 2 colonies of bees over the winter but they are still alright and looking forward to the spring!!!

I checked our hive the other day when the weather warmed up a little and the snow had melted sufficiently to allow me to crunch up the hill and across the vegetable garden: They are still alive! How do they manage it? The temperatures are about to drop dramatically next week, and the snow will be back again, and I get the urge to go and lag the hive with an old duvet, but our much more knowledgeable bee doctor friend tells us it isn't necessary. I even saw a butterfly, but have the distinct impression that it wasn't very bright and should have stayed at home until at least April. We have 10 days of heavy rain and sleet forecast, and 8 of those days the temperature isn't due to get above -1°. Bbbrrrrrr!

I am glad that your bees are OK too. I guess the snow gives them some cosy insulation! I thought you had moved away from winter but perhaps it was just wishful thinking! We too are in for a cold snap beginning on Sunday. Just when I was getting used to a springlike feel in the air - aah well!
x