Sixty pounds of goodness
We spent a productive morning and afternoon robbing one of the four hives. Sixty pounds of honey later and we are that much sweeter.
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Reading this weekend: A New Green History of the World: the environment and the collapse of nations by Clive Ponting. Seems to be a nice companion piece to Dirt by Montgomery.
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those are lovely jars!
Good old mason jars.
And it tastes even better!
Very impressive. Any notion whether the other 3 hives will be even close to this level of productivity?
Clem, Sorry for the delay, your comment was dropped in the spam folder. The other three hives were all started this year. Raising bees is all about an ebb and flow, success and disaster. So those three will keep all of their honey until next year. And even then we might give them another year to build.
That’s a lot from a single hive.
I can definitely recommend Chesterton’s Cobbett; fits in well with our present discussions.
60 pounds off of 12 frames, leaving approximately the same amount for their winter use.
I took you up on the Chesterton suggestion (and, shush, don’t tell Clem, but I snagged a first in dust jacket for a very reasonable price). I’ve always liked Chesterton. And Cobbett was introduced to me by the writings of Verlyn Klinkenborg. V.K. has written a series of books on contemporary American rural life. He wrote a wonderful eccentric novel called, Timothy; notes of an abject reptile, based on the tortoise in Gilbert White’s Natural History of Selborne, and told from Timothy’s view. Which, if you liked White’s work, I’d recommend.
Cobbett’s, American Gardener, is one of my favorites, and one I reread from time to time (“the inner soul of a man is glimpsed by how he keeps his garden.” Which means I’m in the deep poop). The man was prolific. But, man was he opinionated, I have an odd little book of his in my collection, Advice to a Lover. In this work he advises a young man on how to pick a wife. Apparently French women are out (pigs in the parlor and peacocks on the promenade). And for a woman who drinks, he’d as soon married a strumpet from the streets! He also suggests, if I remember correctly, watching your intended cook mutton chops. Because if she can’t handle that essential task, then imagine what other failings you might uncover as the years progress. Fun stuff to read on a winter’s night.
Verlyn Klinkenborg…isn’t that the middle-aged bachelor newly arrived on the shores of Lake Wobegon?
Will check him out.
I’m now reading Frank Landis’ ‘Hot Earth Dreams’, and waiting for Rob Wallace’s ‘Big Farms Make Big Flu’ to be published (once the deli closes for the summer).
White is still sitting on my electronic shelf (I have real ones as well, don’t worry), now joined by ‘Rural Rides’ and Chesterton’s ‘A Short History Of England’.
My garden is still a little undernourished, but that will change with the application of some holy water in a few days.
Then I will be free of sin.
And I certainly know how I would want my mutton to be prepared:
Go forth and multiply. Coincidentally, I have been rendering lard all week.