We're in the honey!

      The day is finally here! We harvested our honey! It took several days to get to the final step, but it has been well worth the wait! The harvest began Wednesday evening extracting the frames from the top part of the hive. There are frames of honey in the bottom that we will not harvest because that is where the queen lays the eggs and also what the bees will feed on this winter. There were seven frames ready and three left for another few weeks. The frames were removed and left in the room where the extracting is done, so they could get de-humidified. Thursday night, we got to remove the caps and open the comb so the honey could be slung out. The machine looks like an old fashioned, stainless steel washing machine. It took time for the honey to run into a large bucket, but we finally got it all out. The next few days was spent pouring the honey through different sizes of strainers to remove any impurities.  We finally finished last night. There may be something I left out, but you get the gist of it. Photos below will show some of the process.

      Can you believe the hurricane (Isaac) is following the same path as Katrina? I'm praying that it won't be as devastating, and that people will be able to evacuate before it's too late. It was heading for Mobile, but has changed directions. I hope it fizzles out before landfall!

      We were experiencing pleasant weather, but alas, August has returned! Now for September! I find it so hard to work outside when the humidity is so high! So many weeds! Too hot sun! Nice ac room! We (the hubs) did get the smoker on yesterday when the sun went behind the trees. The chicken turned out nice and smokey! I believe it's going to work even after that crash! It's hard to believe that the days are getting shorter! That means less time for the hubs to accomplish yard work and other tasks that need daylight, and more for Saturdays. One day, all of these projects will be completed, I suppose! Have ya'll completed any long awaited projects lately? We're very close to having the shower door completed. Once we get the sink installed, I can use the master bath! Six years in the waiting! What's a couple more months? 

      As the season changes, so will my projects. I will focus more on cooking, and hopefully, sewing and craft projects. Then the new niece will be here. I believe we'll have a very busy Fall! Hope ya'll stay safe! Blessings from Bama!

Removing the frames.

Brushing the bees off of the frames. The frames are then placed in the box, behind the man.

More brushing. At one point, the bees were getting agitated and the guys received a few bee stings!

Removing the caps from the honey. The knife is very warm.

He then used a pick to remove the rest of the caps.

Frames inside the tub.

Frames being slung.

Honey pouring from the bottom of the tub.

The first straining of the honey went quickly.

Just had to show you this beautiful, dark honey! Second straining.

The final straining took a very long time!

Win came over for a while. She loves peanut butter!

Her facial features are getting more prominent.

The bees are cleaning off what is left of the honey.

They will take it back to the hive.

Getting ready to bottle some honey.

This step took a couple of days because the honey drained so slow.

See? Such a small stream of honey.

Chocolate chip cookies for Skylar's lunch.

Finally got them all done!

Now I think I'll take a swim!