Kilpelän Luomutila ja Sen Ympäristö

The Honey Harvest

I had just one hive this summer, but I was able to pull two supers (the smaller box on the top) from it. This picture was taken after I had already removed the supers.

Honey bees aren't particularly aggressive bees, but their patience wears thin when you start brushing them off the honey frames. One of the ancillary benefits of beekeeping is that if your bee veil is not tied on well, bees can find their way inside and begin stinging your face. This is very painful, but it strengthens your immune system and builds character. Unless you are allergic to bee venom and go into anaphylactic shock, it takes about 200 strings to kill you, but by the time you have had five or six you will probably take some corrective action. A hive this size likely has around 50-70 thousand bees.

I kept the frames in our basement for a couple of days with the lights off and a window open. The bees left on the frames were attracted to the light and flew away. In this picture I am using a heated knife to cut off the wax capping off the honeycomb.

The cappings and honey fall onto a screen suspended inside a pail

Next I put the uncapped frames into the extractor.

The extractor holds three frames at a time. I orient the frames in the same way to ensure that they balance each other.

Next, you turn the crank as fast as you can and the honey flies off the spinning frames. Afterwards you turn the frames so that the inner side is now outward and you spin them again. As long as the frames are reasonably balanced, the extractor doesn't shake much. The extractor stand has an 80# bag of quickcrete for ballast.

A fully capped frame of honey.

The wax cappings contain a gallon or two of honey. I let them drain for a day or two and then pour the honey into the other pail.

The extracted honey drains into a pail with a similar honey gate at its base. I will put a lid on the pail and let it sit for a day so allow all the wax and impurities to float to the surface.

Time to fill up jars. This is the easy part.

Since all the wax has floated to the top, the honey coming out of the bucket does not need to be filtered. I simply hold a jar under the pail and open the honey gate. When the jar is full I close the gate. Whoever invented this little device deserves a prize.

Voila, there you have it, 24 quarts of honey at the cost of only six stings. In case you are wondering I did order a bee shirt with an attached veil right after those stings. I just don't trust that old tie-on veil any more.

Summer Winds Down

The August Moon, the harvest moon, the moon that ushers in autumnal weather, the one that reminds us that summer is almost over and it's time to get off your butt and get on with all the projects you've been putting off. WINTER IS COMING. Ouch!

Nonetheless, it is one of the most beautiful, gentle months of the year.

Morning sun on the tall grass.

I finished the roof on my tractor shed.

This at least is ready for winter.

The neighborhood bakers stopped over for eggs to make scones.

A friend wanted to borrow some frames for his beehive, so I finally got around to inspecting and cleaning some old equipment I had stacked near my hive. Shortly afterwards I inspected my hive and found that both of my honey supers were already full of honey, so I added a third super under the two full ones.

Despite being planted on July 12 our garden is producing potatoes, chard, carrots, beets, lettuce and zucchini.

My young ram, Einar, has grown into a big boy this summer.

So has his buddy, Arni. It will be interesting to see if Einar can retain his alpha status this fall when the serious jousting begins.

A great blue heron landed near the pond one morning.

Once again we hosted the Kilpela Farm XC meet.

The award ceremony.

The coach's daughter awards first prize, the Golden Shoe to the winner.

Berry Picking

Our raspberry patch has yielded a bumper crop this year.

Raspberries are good at hiding themselves under leaves. You have to lift the branches. Unlike strawberries they can be picked from a comfortable standing position for the most part, but it pays to occasionally squat low and look into the undersides of the bushes.

Off to a good start. We fill the cups and then empty them into the bucket. That limits the risk of spilling an entire bucket.

Our blueberry patch is beginning to produce well.

Here you just set the bucket next to the bush and drop the berries into it.

But what is the purpose of picking berries? That is the great existential question. To make jam? Yes, but there are higher and better uses for those berries. Berry picking easily excites our greedy, acquisitive instincts, but there is no joy in hoarding. A higher, perhaps highest, use is to dump a whole mugful of sun-warmed berries on a bowl of ice cream and sit in the shade with your feet up with a cup of coffee and a good book to read. When you have an abundance of your own berries you don't have to scrimp. You can do this on a daily basis and still have lots of berries to make into jam.

But they shall sit every man under his vine or under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. Micah 4:4
Life is good.

Big sister fills her bowl.

Little sister's berries go straight into her mouth.

Life is good.

Wolf Point

Our campsite in a small field that used to be a logging landing.

A PBJ is a handy lunch to carry.

The big lake is at a record height this year and our long sandstone shelf is under a foot and half of water.

Nothing beats a steak dinner at the Point. It has become our regular tradition.

A quiet evening.

Sunrise.

Morning swim.

Breakfast

Oatmeal with freshly picked sugar plums.

We decided to take advantage of the calm lake to load the canoe and head for the sandy bay. Launching a canoe off the rocks is a bit tricky when the waves kick up.