Just Like Us...They Battle Diseases Too!

Tuesday night's class wasn't the most pleasant...

We discussed the various types of diseases and pests that may come to harm the "Babies."

After hearing all of this...I started to think...Do I still really want to keep bees?
OMG, so much can happen to them...can I do it? Will they survive?

Well, I decided...YES, I still want to keep bees because I'm not only helping the environment...

1. I've already made new friends. (Can't get enough of the good ones.)
2. The honey will enhance Chez Moi cakes. (Especially when I'm able to say..."and you know...I harvested this honey myself...from my Chez Moi Bees."
3. Eventually, I plan to learn the art of Apitherapy...
4. I'll have something that God gave to take care of directly since there is such a decline.(kinda like we should be doing anyway...but that's another topic) RECYCLE...oops, that one slipped. lol

I won't bore you with the various diseases and pests...as it's not a fun topic.
Just know...when you are purchasing honey at your local farmers' market...
it took a lot for that little container to get there.

BEE TRIVIA

How many bees does it take to make a pound of honey?

5300 bees

How many flowers must honey bees tap to make one pound of honey?

TWO MILLION

Appreciate the craft and the life of a bee!

BUY LOCAL!

What Will I Do with the Products of the Hive?

Hmmm, what will I do?

Of course, you all know about Chez Moi (the bakery)

http://www.chezmoi-bakery.com/ (small plug)...anywho....lol...

This is a Chez Moi rum cake...Brown Sugar Vanilla!

First and foremost, I plan on coming up with a unique recipe in which to use the honey I harvest. This will become one of Chez Moi's Signature desserts.

There are soooo many different products which come from a hive.

They are...

• Honey - is a good alternative when dressing wounds because it halts the growth of bacteria. Of course, it's always good to eat!!! Honey can be used as a health food because of its high content of energy giving sugars.
• Beeswax - candles, cosmetics
• Pollen - is another bee product that can be used as a health food. Bees collect pollen, reproductive spores of seed-bearing plants, from flowers. Pollen extracts have been used to detect and immunize against allergies.
• Propolis - is the sap, or the resinous material, that oozes from the bud and bark of trees, especially pines Bees take the propolis to their hive and add their saliva and wax flakes to it. The material is then used to cover the inside of their hive. Bee propolis reinforces the hive walls and it also help protects the hive from infection. Humans can use propolis to boost the immune system. It has been shown to act in a similar way to aspirin without the negative side effects (Stangaciu, 1999) and to reduce the swelling in a sore throat (Broffman, 1999).
• Royal Jelly - provides a variety of benefits to the human body in addition to its antibacterial and antiviral action
• Bee Venom - Bee venom therapy is able to relieve painful symptoms of arthritis and rheumatism. By injecting the venom from a bee into the skin the pain caused by arthritis and rheumatism is often reduced.

http://www.angelfire.com/me/HoneyBeeHive/MT4.html

Apitherapy utilizes products from the honeybee

including bee venom, bee pollen, raw honey and propolis,

to help promote healing.

I will take advantage of the many health benefits
since I do have OsteoArthritis and Hashimoto's (thyroid disease).

Let Me Catch You Up ... Part II

This Tuesday, February 17th will be our 5th class. There are 10 - 2 hour sessions altogether...with a field day on March 21st for four hours. There is just so much information! Also, I've already made some great friends! Rachel and Christine (and her son)...!

I ordered my "Babies" (this is how I refer to my bees, lol) on February 9th from Busy Bee Apiaries in Chapel Hill and expect to receive them approx. April 9th...All 26,000 of them (approx.) In a 3 pound package, there are approximately 13,000 per package. They recommend you start with 2 hives in case one is weak...you can even them out.

Being that I've never been stung, I made an appointment to visit an allergist to be on the safe side. Yes, I was an indoor child...the most outdoor time I had was on the apartment patio in Delaware. LOL We were pretty much in the "country"...we had tons of trees...our apartment overlooked the complex baseball field...but I just didn't do outside...LOL! Anywho... the allergist is sending me for a blood test but said it really won't tell too much since I've never been stung. She asked about my medical history and of any other allergies. She gave me a prescription for an Epi-Pen...just in case...since I will be working with sooooo many bees. I'm sure I'll be stung at some point...I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Dr. Dunn also gave me a great resource to check out regarding planting a "bee garden." I have some space in my backyard which really needs some attention...a "bee garden" would be perfect!

There is a program through the Alamance County Farm Bureau where they are giving away 15 sets of hives. I do hope to get a set of these hives so I haven't made a purchase yet. At the same time, the probability isn't in my favor. So, I've been researching the various equipment to see what will be best...and CUTE! ...Come on now, you know me! lol






This hive is called the English Garden hive...isn't it cute! Wouldn't it look great with my house? I think so too. It does cost a little more but for the first two...it may be necessary. (smile)






Things I still need to do...

• Inform the neighbors (a nice courtesy)


• Join the State Association


• Durham doesn't have a county association. I believe this is because before January 12, 2009 there wasn't an official ordinance allowing beekeeping with Durham city limits. Even though, some of the info presented with the ordinance states there are approximately 35 active beekeepers already. WOW! I need to find info on how to start one. (maybe something else to do...hmmmm?)

My OBF sent me the "Beekeeping for Dummies" book with a note enclosed...

"If they turn on you...
you can always use the book to kill'em."
(bee friends...he's kidding! LOL)

(photo courtesy of http://www.indianchild.com/bees.htm)

As you see, I'm extremely excited!
I look forward to taking care of my bees and helping the environment!

Let Me Catch You Up!

I know what you are thinking...what is she doing now!?! Yes, one more crazy thing...!!!

I want to keep bees.

Why? You ask. I've always been extremely fascinated. (By the way, I've never been stung...we'll talk more about this in a moment.) I even remember going to Historic Stagville here in Durham and seeing a beekeeper taking care of a few hives. I wanted to go over there sooooo bad...not that it would have been a good idea with no gear.

Anywho...yes, I saw the movie "Secret Lives of Bees." I'm sure that aided in the fascination but not really it. Every Spring, I have a couple of (what I thought were) "Bumblebees" that hung around my door...hovering over the deck. There were always two and they seemed to be guarding something. I've always felt that if you are calm with animals...whatever they may be...they can tell a difference and will be calm too. I would always make it a point to carefully walk past the "Bumblebees" to let them know...I just wanna get to my door. (Shhhh...I know I sound a little nuts.) Needless to say, I never had any trouble with the "Bumblebees." (Since that time, I've found out they are Carpenter Bees. This explains a couple of holes in the deck. Carpenter Bees aren't like Termites though...they are just trying to build a nest and really didn't mean to make the holes.

I ordered a book on beekeeping and read it the entire weekend...WOW! Yes, it's really that good! So extremely interesting, I just couldn't put the book down. That Sunday night, I started searching for a beekeeping course.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 was my first class with the Alamance County Beekeeping Association in Burlington. The class cost just $5 (building fee) and $22 for a manual. The first night of class, there were 98 students. WOW! ...especially when they said average class size is only 30 - 40. Many in the class are farmers who need to have their crops pollinated...others are concerned about the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)... and many are simply interested in honey bees.

Visit this link for photos of our class... http://alamancebeekeepers.com/courses.aspx

(you may not be able to find me in these pics...I'm all the way over to the left side of the class)

To be continued...