Honey Harvest

One super-frame filled with capped honey.















The uncapping process
















The extraction process
















Some of the first honey oozing from the extractor















Filling the first honey-bear.














One pound of our first honey crop.




















A sample of the 27 lbs of honey we harvested today. We left one on the hive that was not yet capped off, so we'll check on it in a couple of weeks.

Drying Onions

In previous years, we dried our onions by tying them up in the barn. While this method was mostly effective, we got quite a few that spoiled while drying and ended up mushy.

The first photo shows the original method.







This year we tried a new method. After suspending a wire shelf from the rafters of the barn, I place the onions on the shelf after cutting the tops off flush. Since they begin dripping almost immediately, they have to placed with the cut-off top facing down, so the drippings don't run all over the onion. See the picture below that shows the onions dripping from the new shelf (click to view it full size).











Here is a sample of the payoff. Beautiful onions, dried and ready for storage, with no softies. The only downside, is if you walk under the shelf for the first few days, you might need an umbrella!

Honey!

The first picture is our realization that the first honey super is FULL of HONEY!















The next picture shows the end frame with fully capped honey! Time to put on the next super.
















The last picture shows my son Kenny who assisted today with second super on the hive. Gosh, we're going to need a step ladder to get the honey next month.

Celebrity Tomatos!

One of the fun times with summer is being able to walk into a supermarket and laugh at their produce knowing full well that everything in my garden is better looking and better tasting. I find that I especially do this with tomatoes. There is not a tomato at the store, no matter how pretty it looks, that matches a garden tomato. Of course, that does not stop me from going over to the produce section just to check out what they have and make comparisons. I find that I am subconsciously making comments under my breath like, "You call yourself a tomato", or "You probably aren't even juicy". It isn't the nicest thing to do but I justify it by knowing that it is all true.

Another reason to have a garden, it relieves stress. I often find myself in the garden, at the end of the day, picking vegetables or watching the bees. It has a calming effect. If I really need a "pick-me-up", I just pop a few sungold cherry tomatoes in my mouth and that always does the trick. David has also discovered this. He often sneaks off to the garden after work and if I look real close, I can see the evidence of tomato juice on his lips. Whatever the reasons, I always come in from the garden happier than when I went out.