Honey Bee Farm: Honey harvesting never tasted so good

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1 Honey Bee Farm: Honey harvesting never tasted so good The Redding Pilot Written by Liz Skalka Thursday, 05 August 2010 Bobbie Meyzen holds a frame containing honey capped with wax. Chris Rempfer photo

2 Drop by drop, it came out in spurts, and then increased to a steady flow freshly-harvested honey draining out of a hand-operated extractor. This flow of honey was the culmination of a recent day of honey harvesting at Honey Bee Farm. The end product wasn t easy to achieve, and required getting up close and personal with bees and spinning the large, heavy extractor for hours. Bobbie Meyzen, who keeps the hives on her Redding property, harvested that day with several family members who all took part, whether tasting the end product or helping to remove parts of the man-made hives that store honey. They re so supportive and great about it, Ms. Meyzen said of her family s experience with her bees. We re very lucky. For the job, the harvesting team dressed in shirts and hats especially designed for tending to bees. The women wore oxford shirts with ties around the waist that Ms. Meyzen sells on her Web site. The hats they wore were also created by Ms. Meyzen, and feature a protective veil and a faux flower accent. Once dressed, the crew walked down to the honeybee yard to begin work at the hives. The wooden hives, which Ms. Meyzen assembled herself, contain boxes on top called honey supers, where surplus honey is stored. The honey supers contain several frames that are removed and later placed in the extractor. In order to take the frames without harming bees, they are exposed to smoke and a natural spray that, while calming the bees, moves them to the bottom of the hive. Once several frames were removed, they were taken out of the yard in a wheelbarrow and brought near the house. Ms. Meyzen and her helpers then gently brushed the remaining bees from the frames. Though taking the frames meant having to get close to many bees, no one was stung and the bees seemed hardly thrown off by the event. We re brought up

3 thinking that they want to sting you, but they don t really do that, said Chris Rempfer, Ms. Meyzen s brother. They re docile and non-aggressive. Her third year This marks Ms. Meyzen s third year keeping bees on her property. She started out with one hive and now has seven that house thousands of bees. Last year, she lost all her bees following a wet summer during which the bees were unable to produce enough food for the winter. Ms. Meyzen started over this year with a hardier strain of bees that were bred in Vermont. I had two winters that were challenging so I wanted to do something different, Ms. Meyzen said. Her new Russian bees are also very smart and hygienic, she said. Though Ms. Meyzen didn t harvest honey last year, she did the year prior by draining it through a strainer. The honey Ms. Meyzen harvested this year is completely natural, she explained. When bees get mites, beekeepers pour powdered sugar on them so that as they clean it off, they rid themselves of the mites. Ms. Meyzen also plants flowers throughout her property so the bees always have something blooming to feed on. This year, she planted extra butterfly weed, which the bees eagerly flock to. Before bringing hives to her property, Ms. Meyzen spent time learning everything she could about bees, and continues to do so. She will be taking a course soon at Cornell about beekeeping. I think it s just respectful to do the best for them, she said. So many things can go wrong.

4 From left, Skylar Rempfer, Louise Rempfer, Bobbie Meyzen, Michelle Meyzen and Barbara Rempfer wear shirts and hats designed for beekeeping. This family spent the day harvesting honey recently at Ms. Meyzen s Redding home. Chris Rempfer photo

5 Extracting honey Back at the house, the remaining bees on the frames were brushed away, and the frames were taken inside. Some bees also followed the scent of the honey up to the house. In the kitchen, the real work began. One bee made it into the house, and watched the honey being extracted for a short time until it was released. Before placing them in the extractor, the honeycombs inside the frames needed to be uncapped, meaning the wax the bees use to seal the combs when they re full must be scraped off with a knife. The wax is saved, as it s the most expensive thing the bees produce, Ms. Meyzen said. Once the combs were uncapped, the frames were placed several at a time in the extractor. It will be interesting to see how much we yield, Ms. Meyzen said before starting to spin. We re learning as we go. As the frames were spun, the honey flowed out an opening at the bottom of the extractor. Everyone took turns spinning the heavy machine. At first, the honey flow was hardly noticeable. But as more frames were spun, the flow became steady. The outcome thrilled everyone, especially once they were able to try some. It s such a light, beautiful color, Ms. Meyzen said. It s really unique. It was almost creamy tasting. Honey has a wealth of health advantages, Ms. Meyzen explained. It s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Eating local honey, which contains pollen from local plants, can also help immunize those who suffer from allergies. Ms. Meyzen only plans to harvest honey once more in the fall so the bees have enough left to feed on in the winter.

6 Some of the 15 pounds of honey harvested will be available soon on Ms. Meyzen s Web site, honeybeefarm.org, as well as hats, gloves and shirts. A portion of her sales are donated to the American Beekeeping Federation. The honey is also used at her and her husband s restaurant, La Crémaillère, in Bedford, N.Y. For more information about Honey Bee Farm, visit honeybeefarm.org.