Buzzzzz.......Honey Harvest

Chuck helps get them suited up

Ben smokes the hive

frames full of honey

cutting the plugs off of the honey comb.  

While we were at Melanie's last weekend, we were honored to be a part of the annual " Honey Harvest".  Melanie has a hive in her back yard.  Yep...right there in a neighborhood of Birmingham.  Ben, Melanie's brother who lives down the street also has hives.  Every summer, they harvest the honey.  Tons of honey!!!!  This year it was over 6 gallons of honey.  I didn't count the jars but they covered a five foot able in the middle of Melanie's kitchen.
  Chuck helped suit up a friend of Ben's who was there to help.  Chuck was just there to watch but in the end, he helped Josh get the honey out of the frames.  First they cut off the plugs at the ends of the honey comb with a hot knife.  Then, they put the frame in a spinner and it spins the honey out.  This all took a good part of the morning.  Melanie served lunch on her pretty back porch to everyone.  Then, her and I set out to put all the honey in the jars.  Jars and jars of beautiful honey! Thank you to all of the bees that live in Melanie and Ben's back yards.