Winter

Winter is usually a time of us to relax, since the bees are doing their version of hibernation. We can usually catch up on ordering supplies for the spring, painting equipment, bottling honey; we usually make a batch of Mead (honey wine) over winter. Essentially, we have more time on our hands because we don’t have to spend 3-5 hours in the hives every weekend. However, this was our first winter with an active business. And the business does not hibernate through winter. We spent a lot of time crafting products, ordering supplies for products, sharing our story on social media, and planning for what’s to come in the spring. It’s been so busy that we haven’t even made a batch of Mead this winter (though we do intend to).

As busy as we’ve been this winter, some great things have come from it. We perfected our creamed honey: we’ve got all of our supplies set, our recipe down pat, and the creamiest result every time. We also began working with Stl Cheeseboards to have our honey incorporated into hundreds of charcuterie boards every month. As of writing this, we have several products in the wraps, waiting for final adjustments prior to sale. We will also be joining a farmer’s market in the spring (details to come), so we’ve been preparing our tent for that brand new setup.

As you might understand, winter can be a very harsh time for the bees. It is not uncommon to have a certain percentage of hives not survive the winter. We do everything we can to make our bees as healthy as possible as they enter winter, giving them the best odds of surviving until spring. Unfortunately, of our 13 hives that were alive this fall, we had one perish over winter, leaving us with 12 going into the spring. Though not unanticipated, it is always sad to lose bees. The 12 remaining hives seem to be in good health and we’re hopeful for a productive year!