YES! John came home from work yesterday with a new washing machine on the back of his truck. It is small, efficient and most importantly – it works. I hate to buy new but in this instance new is cost effective.
The old dead useless mammoth of a washing machine has been shuffled to the side and the Tall Teenager is going to take it apart and see what we can salvage before scrapping the rest. There must be something I can do with the bowl!
I am going to harvest more honey today and tomorrow. I forgot to show you this bee escape board last time. Yesterday I placed it below the super full of honey. 
As the evenings are a little cooler the bees prefer to huddle together for warmth. I leave the bee escape board on the hive overnight. The bees in the honey super will zoom down through the hole in the evening, then into the maze to get to their cuddly sisters. But they are unable to figure out how to get back up as quickly. So when I take the box off, I only have a few stray bees to brush back down. 
So I am able to take the super (box) full of frames full of honey, right off the hive with a minimum of fuss the next day. Today. 
Plus I have bee presents. Each hive will receive a super half full of honey. Remember that hive of bees that completely disappeared in the spring. That abandoned honey has been waiting in its supers in the freezer to be distributed in the autumn after harvest. Seems kind of fair to give honey when I take some.
Good morning. You can see the bee escape board in place in the image on the right. And in the image on the left you can see that I have one more honey box to take off. I will pop the escape board under it this afternoon (once I have harvested the hive on the right) and harvest that tomorrow. In these supers are nine frames of capped honey. Each frame can weigh in at about 5 pounds. Sometimes more. So each super can produce over 40 pounds of filtered honey. Lifting these boxes is heavy work. Lucky I have been building those muscles carrying buckets to and from the milking parlour.
It is possible that we may have honey to sell this year. Now that really would be grand. I sell eggs all year round, which covers the chook feed. It would be wonderful if the honey started paying for the gardens and a few new hives! I may reach subsistence yet! (laughter!)
So today and tomorrow will be sticky sweet days.
The Tall Teenager starts his new country school today. He is being very stoic. First days are tough, we all know that one don’t we.
Have a lovely day.
celi
On this day last year. 7 links. This is a challenge where I was asked to name seven of my posts. I am unable to do these kinds of posts anymore. Writing my blog journal of the farm, farming, writing the books, minding my old people, managing a home AND doing these excellent awards challenges is way too much work for one person. So the awards, though delightful and I am always grateful to be nominated, have had to be put on the back burner. Which does make me feel bad. But a year ago I did have time and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Kitchen's Garden 
71 responses to “A crazy maze for bees”
I haven’t really grasped the idea of the escape board – but then, I don’t need to. I’m glad it works and makes your Promethean labours slightly easier. Respect:)
There are many things we do not need to worry about knowing, I will handle this one for you!! c
Get John and Tall Sid to rig the drum up to a sander drill motor and use it to sift your worms from the vermicompost before using on your garden. My sympathies on first days at new place to Tall teenager – it does get better:). Laura
You always come up with the best ideas!! laura, how we have missed you.. c
do the bees ever sting you? how much do u sell your honey for?
I have never sold honey before so i am going to have to see how much. And no the bees won’t sting, unless you do something stupid like grab one or stand on one. I have been stung once by a bee in the grass that i stood on when hanging out the washing! I was so hurt! c
thanks for answering my question !!!
First days are tough. We saw Mr. N off this morning. I think his nerves will ease once he’s around all of his friends again. Love that you are giving the bees back some honey! 🙂 And how I long to hang my sheets out to dry. Love how they smell when you bring them inside again.
Oh no poor Mr N. He will be a box of birds by now i am sure! telling you all about it.. c
Bees and honey—wheee! “The pedigree of honey Does not concern the bee; A clover, any time, to him Is aristocracy.”~ Emily Dickinson
Here’s some ideas for the old washer–
http://bluevelvetchair.blogspot.com/2011/09/whats-that.html
I went over and looked Alice and what a treat. i am now convinced that i want to make it into a lamp shade. These are fantastic ideas. Well done you! c
I just love the photo of your laundry drying! What on earth do you do with all those sheets? or tablecloths? Have you just been holding on up washing day?? they also look like towels, but I had heard towels didn’t dry nice on the line….
I love sun dried towels, those are actually my kitchen rags, I never use one more than once, so i wash them every evening. i don’t trust damp cloth in the summer! i am a bit crazy for rags I love them.. c
How wonderful to think the honey has been so plentiful you may have some to sell! To think in terms of abundance is very exciting. And best wishes on the first day of school…I really mean that! I don’t care who or when or how, it’s always a big challenge. Your photos, once again…just lovely and so inviting! Debra
the first day is always the worst.. poor fellow.. c
You could use the drum as a planter in the garden, seen photos before but never tried it
Working washing machines are a good thing so new is worth it. I’m a Pooh bear when it comes to honey, it’s great stuff. Hope school goes well for Tall Teenager. 🙂
The maze is very cool, did not know about that. And congrats on having so much honey you can sell it…very jealous!
Best of luck for the first day of school!! How exciting 😀
And I love your set up for your bees, you are so clever 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Celi, I’ve just been given a couple of jars of flavoured honey – maybe that’s something you might like to try with your harvest? There’s more information here:
http://thehoneyfarm.com.au/acatalog/honey-spice.html
Hmm.. this is something i have never thought about.. thank you celia! c
Now that is SWEET! 🙂 There’s a lot to do in the making of honey, thanks for explaining it to us.
wow, i don’t know what happened to my comment earlier…boo…anyway, i love your photos of your “kitchen rags” and of course your lovely bees!! yes, a planter or a fire pit for the old washer…I planted potatoes in an old whiskey barrel and got about 50 because they can be layered that way!! 🙂
Bee Sweet Honey!!
the potato planter is an interesting thought and I am leaning towards an outside fire too.. i need MORE washing machine basins! c
Washing hanging freely on the line, washed by your new machine – oh what freedom! I love hearing honey stories, in fact I collected a few for my last book. That was when I discovered that Ed Hillary built his muscles lifting supers! Here’s the quote for you:
‘all through the exciting months of the honey flow the dream of a bumper crop would drive us on through long hard hours of labour; manhandling thousands of ninety pound boxes of honey comb for extracting . . . and grimacing at our daily ration of a dozen, or a hundred, bee stings. We were incurable optimists.’
He reminds me of you. He ended up conquering Everest, and you are conquering your own lofty peaks every day.
Our very own Edmund,, i had no idea he worked with bees, that fellow is the epitomy of determination, my peaks are not so lofty in comparison!! c