FoodAg Project F23 site for Fozzy

It was a trying time, preparing for this lesson and presentation. How does one keep the attention of college age students? How do we make the process of presenting your findings engaging?

I take from my own personal experiences. As a young student, it has been well documented that I spent more time in the hallway than the classroom, due to autism and my ADHD. My learning style has always been hands on. If you want me to learn, I have to be performing the task at hand. I had heard the term Trauma-Informed Teaching before, but I had never taught to apply it to how I educate, or how I learn. So besides engaging the sense of taste with the honey, I taught how can we engage all of them. So I thought a candle-making exercise would be the perfect way to engage the students while I presented my information. I taught how I would like to learn.

Sarah came up to me and asked if I knew the candle making would be a bigger hit than the honey tasting. I figured we would have a spectrum of those who would enjoy both. I approach most of how I interact with others in this fashion. How would I like to be interacted with?

A true educator can teach anyone! And it was my pleasure to be able to engage with the Foodways students and educators!

I brought in my foundation mold to melt wax and create a tactile experience to grab the attention of my audience! Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

We tasted quite a few honeys! Two of which were harvested by myself! The first was a varital from Calliope Farms just down the road from us. The second from the community garden hive that was my own personal hive from this summer! The Calliope was mostly blackberry forward, with notes of wildflower. The EOF honey was nuttier and dark. With some hints of the buckwheat we had in the back 40. The others were a lavender infusion from GRUB, and 3 honeys including a wildflower, buckwheat, and blackberry from The Honey Man courtesy of Jen and Sarah!!

The weather and the temperatures have really made this honey extraction the most difficult I have ever done. With a majority of the honey being crystalized, even the wood stove wasn’t able to get the bucket up to temperature. So I had to place the bucket in the kitchen of my home next to the heat register to ensure that we have the proper viscosity to make this happen.

I do want to state this is is highly irregular to be doing ana extraction this late in the season. We as beekeepers and those who work the land, need to use the seasons to our advantage. There is a reason we dont till our beds in the winter. Frozen Ground. This can be translated to beekeeping as well.

Because of the flow of this particular batch of honey was so hard to get flowing, I was unable to use the honey centrifuge that I have been so familiar with. Instead, I used the old school scrape and crush method. Graceful no, but effective.

Out of the hives that we lost and my personal hive in the community plot 11 super frames we harvested. Some of these frames had been scavenged by remaining hornet populations, and the bees eating ravenously close to hive death.

After 3 days, the honey and the wax cap became not frozen and separated in the bucket, and we got an actual honey flow

More wax cap that will be rendered into useable wax for candles etc!! Those who took part in my honey tasting presentation will know about the hand candles we made!!

Just enough for the holiday season!! make some recipes and some to share with those who helped the bees along!!

Due to the cold weather, we had to heat up the workshop so we can get the honey in a more viscuous state, so that we can actually work without “freezing up.” So I had to do some chopping and clearing of the wood stove to heat up the area. That was a process in itself, with its own hornets nest, and deceased birds.

I am grateful for the workshop that I have available to me at my new farm!! Which in the Spring season will have its own apiary!!

Cleaning and Preparing the extractor for the extraction. We need to make sure it is clean of detritus and sanitized for food safety. Honey itself has such low water content that mircobes won’t grow. But we need to make sure that no natural yeasts are present to prevent fermentation. So Dry and Clean!!

5 frames of recoverable honey in the honey super of my personal hive that was located in the community garden plot on the farm. Going through the hive itself, there is a lot of evidence as to why the bees have left. My hive , in particular, was lacking brood. Brood is the larvae and pupae of the bees. The offspring. It was a very weak hive, and with the weather (cold windy and rainy) 25 degrees on morning, the bees just didn’t have a chance to stay warm. There simply just werent enough bees. There was evidence in the entrance of the hive of bee death as well, from bees getting hit by freezing rain.

When I initially opened the hive, there was a large infestation of bald-faced hornets scavaging the remains of the hives resources.

As you can see here, the distribution of honey and space is almost what we want to see with a well prepared hive for winter. Usually we want the full top section to be capped honey. Just below that pollen and bee bread, then our brood, eggs, etc.

Well used comb turns this dirty brown color. It has all the scents that bees want. Just because the bees passed doesn’t mean we can recycle this frame next season. It will be a great frame to start a new hive. This here is unborn capped brood.

Here we can se the pollen on the sides of the frame the empty brood section and some honey left on the sides.

This is a frame from my personal hive again. This is a frame from this season. Fresh and yellow. This was quite a small hive, but was well stocked considering.

Upclose with the pollen, nectar (not yet honey), the capped honey, and the dead capped brood towards the left on the frame

Gorgeous capped honey! NOM NOM

The time of the season has come where we want to start using all that the bees have provided us over the season! So we are going to take another stab at candle making, This time with some molds!

Trial by Fire literally. I found that it is easier to puncture the candle after it has formed and thread the wick through as opposed to trying to get the perfect coil.

I threw in some essential oils of eucalyptus and lavender into the melting wax. This will provide some necessary aroma therapy

It has begun to feel alot more like winter than fall with the frosts in the morning, as well as the rain. so we are moving the bees from open and free Demeter’s and the Hedge Row to assure they are covered. Moisture more than cold is the biggest enemies of the bees whilst overwintering, so even more protection from the rain and wind the better.

I discussed with the farm manager, Beth, about possible moving the hives over to the equipment shed where we overwintered last season. SHE SAID YES!! This area provides for much more sun exposure throughout the day. This means the bees will have to expend less energy to stay warm. Thanks Solar Power!

Without the resources of the farm this move would have been impossible, and my handy tie down straps

Surprised!!! This hive was empty yesterday! We had a swarm return to the Hedge Row Hive!! This was discovered only when I was there to disassemble! Miracles

It is time now for us to begin feeding the bees. This usually begins the month before the first frost, it can vary between beginning of October to beginning of November. In the fall seasons we want to make the bees efforts as minimal as possible, so we create a 2:1 sugar solution. This will provide the sugar content, and require less energy for the bees to dehydrate into honey stores for winter.

One cup of water = 433g One cup of sugar= 233g

So when we are discussing ratios we have to go by weight. 5lbs of water: 10 lbs of water.

15lbs of material only really reduces to around a gallon of solution. We know that our solution is in suspension when

Since we already had the hot plate out, I thought what better way to try out the new foundation mold that I procured. When we are melting our beeswax, we want to use low heat. Wax can ignite at 185 degrees F, and we don’t want it to boil or roll.

Created a measure for 5lbs of water for a quick solution “solution”

The Foundation Mold can be used to recycle your wax into frame foundation for the next season. I also found a handy trick to use it to make candles so lets give it a try.

Organic, Natural, Hemp Wicks= Longer Lasting Burn

Almost There!!

Once the wax is melted, I just poured, since learning that a ladle you can ruin is best.

Attempt #1 was alright. Finding it near impossible to get it even through out.

the first hand rolled candles

The solution has come to a finish when it comes clear from opaque. Or as clear as 10lbs of sugar in water can look!!. Make sure you cool this before we are turning it over to our bees.

Holy Beeswax Candles Batman!! THEY WORK!! and burn quite well. I will try some other methods as well!!

I performed a wax render at home after discovering that use of the SAL is going to be interesting and fruitless. There was some collateral damage due some wax splashing, but I was able to find many techniques to remove wax from many household items and clothing!!

We want to separate the ick from the beautiful wax! So we need to melt and filter out all the dead bee parts and honey leftovers

You have to place rocks or weights inside your bindle so that the water completely covers the wax. You have to keep close eye on the temperature of the water! We do not want the water to boil. Wax will ignite at 185 degrees F.

This quarter has been a tough one. Trials and Tribulations have hit me and the bees at every corner. The most devastating moment would have been when I discovered the loss of 3 hives. These three hives were preyed upon, and there is guilt permeating. Being a farmer of any type reminds you of complete responsibility with absolutely no control. I was helpless. When I discovered the bees had evacuated the hives in bee shed, I tore through the hives in desperation hoping for any semblance of life. One, Two…It couldn’t be all three!!!! It was. I ran full throttle to the work shed to see if anyone knew what may have happened. I had yet to investigate, to discover the hives had swarmed due to predation. Bees instinctively will leave unsafe area. I felt like I failed them. I was attentive enough! I took too much honey!! What could I have done differently?!

As it turns out, there is nothing that I could have done differently. This is nature. The things that I am learning this quarter is more life lessons than anything else. I have had such a great track record thus far. I was the perfect little beekeeping student. I didnt make mistakes. But what we have to consider is that we can do everything absolutely perfectly and you can still FAIL. Nature is a fickle lady, and when you, as a farmer, are trying to manipulate odds in your favor, she can have other ideas.

My goals and directives for this quarter have been keep the bees alive. We have 5 out of 8 hives that are still under our management. I feel like I am barely aiding in their survival. My attempts at forming a bee club in the first half of the quarter have been thwarted. Myself and Aubrey may have to storm the S&A office. There is interest within the student body, but my energy is dwindling with the administration. I only have so much fight in me. I have been working on healing myself physically and mentally this quarter as well. I can relate to the bees, with their feeling of housing insecurity. I have to evacuate my hive as well. The cold snap a month early is going to provide issues as well. Ill nee to insulate and seal quicker than I want.

Some successes though! We cannot forgot where we have come and what we have accomplished! The garage is finally bee stuff free as well as cleaned of the fremented honey mess. Everything has been moved to its new home over in Demeters until the steel shed arrives and we can install in its new location! Wax Renders have been done, with some collateral damage of my kitchen! Sugar Solutions and Pollen Patties are being fed! Attempts at Salves and Candle making!!

Having talked with Sarah and reflected on what Im learning, I need to reflect more on what I want to learn. As I do, I realize that not all lessons can be tangible or understood in the moment. This quarter is helping me find direction for my future. Having given up on attaining any science credits, for now, for my continuing work with the bees on campus and start to focus more on getting the newer student body’s interest engaged and complete the manual for future student to manage bees on the farm in the future.

I continued to finish the move from the garage to the Demeter’s work shed. My original attempt was to get an inventory of what we have while i did this, but I really have to wait until I can spread out to get anything detailed. I was informed that the locking galvanized shed is ordered, we are just waiting for it. We will have to level some area for it in Demeter’s, but overall, this will be perfect for storage and work.

The weather is changing drastically, and we must start thinking about how we are going to keep our bees warm and insulated over the winter months.

I’m going to have to combine the existing hives so that they are strong enough to survive the winter. I believe we can move the hives into the bee shed and allow for reorientation before it begins getting too cold. Though we may not have the opportunity. When combining hives, there is also queen loss. Usually the stronger queen wins, but there is potential for injury. After having lost 3 hives already I have been extremely hesitant to do anything for fear of hurting them. Another mental roadblock that i will have to overcome.

After a hiatus from the bees due to illness, I was able to finally make my way back to the farm and tend to my brood. The main plan has been to move the bee supplies that are currently residing in the farm garage, to the Demeter’s work shed. This is an attempt to create a safer environment from swarms that may be interested in the resources the shed has to offer.

This also provides me with access to the materials without having a key to the garage, allowing for more independence.

First steps that needed to occur was clearing out space in the work shed in Demeter’s to accommodate everything we have accumulated over the years. What one can also see is that we have lost a lot of equipment for the community garden as well. this has led me to store the items of value in my car until we can find a better solution,

Trisha and Beth have ordered a shed that we will erect in Demeter’s that will the dedicated FOZZY’S BEE SHED!! This is an amazing revelation, because we will have a locking shed for all this wonderful gear!!

It was just me emptying and cleaning the garage of all the equipment and doing a deep clean of bee carcasses and honey that had leaked all over the floor over the quarters. Hopefully, we can utilize the organization and get the whole garage better designed for the space.

Upon my arrival back to the farm and inspecting the hives, I came upon the bee shed, and made a discovery. The 3 strongest hives ( two of which had overwintered with us prior), had swarmed away due to the hornets and possibly the weather after resources were robbed.

The following are photos of the empty hives after I frantically inspected them. When looking at the hives, I found little bee death and no carcasses surrounding the area. Once the hives were opened however, hornets came flying out of them, thus reinforcing my robbing theory.

Empty frames: No life found

Some resources remain: We will still be able to reuse the frames and hives: melt the wax and maybe there is still some honey in there!!

I was able to do inspections again. All of the hives that are surrounding the farm (not in the bee shed) are doing well. But in the bee shed, there is an issue. Firstly, I forgot to charge my phone, and I was left unable to document the encounters or inspections. Secondly, a ground nest.

There is a giant hornet/yellow jackets nest that has been uncovered by most likely a skunk. (skunks absolutely love hornet and wasp larvae, they tend to uncover the ground nests, though if they get overwhelmed they leave a very angry and uncovered nest. I was stung in the face and hands 4 times just approaching the hives.

I didnt spend any more time on the farm because I needed to tend to my stings and leave the area and the alarm pheromones .

I made Beth aware of the issue and Atlas will come and remove the nest.