My First Honey Harvest
I joined the Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative, took a beekeeping course taught by the tech transfer team (through the Ontario Beekeepers Association) and I’ve spent a few hours here and there handling the bees :)
Yes, I’ve been stung and it hurts — but it was nothing compared to when a wasp (who was unprovoked) stung me in the eye — well, just under my eye lashes. That really hurt, and the swelling was much more severe, thanks to the fact that wasps are dirty and so the sting caused an infection. Anyway, back the friendly, hardworking honeybees…
Last weekend was our first honey harvest of the 2010 season. The weather this spring and summer has been pretty good so the honeybees have been able to collet lots of nectar. Since it was my first harvest ever, I was amazed with every step.
Uncapping the frames, (removing the wax lid from the honey comb),
spinning the frames to remove the honey,
Mmm…fresh honey!
… and squeezing the beeswax from the wax cappings (to get every last drop!). No photo for that, because my hands were way too sticky!
A full days work for about 20 of the co-ops members, but considering the bees spend months collecting that nectar, we get the easy part!
