We sold our last jar of honey today. In the late fall we harvested 50 lbs. of honey, and kept 5 lbs. for ourselves. When I got home from town I went to the hives and told the girls that all the honey we harvested (we leave honey to take them through the winter, never ever take all of their honey!) was sold, and we'd appreciate it if they could give us another good harvest this spring. Our honey-selling "business" just pays for some of the equipment. If we charged enough to pay for all we've invested, that honey would be the new gold standard!
Heh heh heh....yeah, I hear THAT! There's no way we could charge a price that would reflect all the work and investment either...but of course (like you), that's not the point either. It must be a sad day for you, MG--the last pot of honey. I still have one pot left, but I expect to start on that in a couple of days...so I'm right behind you. We are having unseasonably warm weather this winter and it is very wet and rainy. I am not sure what this is going to mean for my girls. I hope that yours are happy and surviving well.
Yep, Jane..it is an expensive hobby. I like having the bees and the honey to use for bread, but I think it would be much cheaper to just buy honey from another bee keeper. I love having the bees though. We invested in another extractor this Fall and it holds 9 shallow frames. I need them to make a lot of honey to pay for that. On the other hand, I am hoping to get some of them through the winter which isn't looking really great. I already took one hive apart and put it in the shed. I was very sad to say good by to that hive. All the bees ate all their stores already. Normally we check them around the first of Feb. I checked this past weekend and they aren't looking too good. I had to feed one other hive and I am not sure if it will make it through, either. The other hive didn't have much activity going on and I am afraid it isn't doing well, either. sad, just sad. I hope your girls are doing better than these up here are.
Carolyn, I'll keep my fingers crossed that your hives make it through the winter. We worry about ours, and don't face the harsher weather that you have. We checked our hives last week, and as a precaution, we are feeding one. The other hive is strong and still has quite a bit of honey stored. Husband put an entrance reducer on both. We have chickweed and a tiny clover in bloom, so there is some forage for them. Barring a weather disaster, it looks as if both hives will come through the winter just fine, and we may even split the stronger one later this year. Having bees is the important thing--as you said, the honey is just a pleasant by-product!
One of my former customer had many hives. Seen pictures of her covered with them in her suit. She had log cabin-cooked and heated all with wood. Her bread was to die for.
Congratulations mg. Well done to the girls too. I do hope they'll put in a lot of work for you in 2014. I guess the pleasure of working with the hives can't be calculated in money.
