Sasserfrass Hill

Mild winter on Sasserfrass Hill

2012-02-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

We all have been enjoying the mild temperatures this winter. We have only had about 40 chill hours. Which may not be good for the trees and bulbs that need cold to get them ready for spring. We also have lots of bad bugs that have not been killer by the cold.

The bees love the warm weather but they must thinking it should be cold now.?? The position of the sun is telling them we should be in a cluster, keeping the queen in the center and keeping warm by eating honey and vibrating their wings, which creates heat and keeps the cluster about 92 degrees.

I hope they will be okay with the warm weather and not freeze when the Mercury drops.

Bulbs have bloomed, trees are budding out, even azaleas are blooming, I just hope they don't all get killed when we do get the cold.

Talk to you all soon.

Bee Sweet,

Deborah

May your New Year Bee Healthy and Happy!!

2012-01-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Thanks for Bee-lieving in Sasserfrass Hill, Thanks for Bee-lieving in me....

2011 was full of wonder and many incredible opportunities. I met interesting people and produced photographs of my sweet girls and told of their need, for us to get off the chemicals.

I learned so much in 2011. Thanks to every club, group and school that listened to our presentation, bought our honey and loved our lotion bars. We appreciate and Thank You.

December 2011 had very mild temperatures, our first freezing nights didn't come until January 2, 2012. The Farmer Almanic is calling for a mild and dry winter in Georgia. If you would like to help the bees, plant native drought tolerant plants the bees love such as echinacea, asters,and yarrow's.

Thanks to my sweet bees for all your hard work. I adore and appreciate the fruits of your labor. Thanks for sharing your bounty.

Thank you God for my Mother, Marcella. She had a stroke in July, she was in the hospital four days. She did not get the medication within three hours...that slowed her recovery. She is doing remarkably well. She is my number one fan. She washes my jars, labels, cleans wax and anything she can do to help. Thank you mama. I love you.

2012 will be a fantastic year for Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm. We expect even more blessings and opportunities.

The "Girls" and I plan to start our documentary, Our goal is to get the pesticide "Neonicatiod" off the market. Get it banned from our country NOW. It is poisoning every one's food supply.!!!

We hope every one's New Year is full of love, healthy and happiness!!

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Arthor Patricia Lanza visits Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm

2011-11-28T07:44:00.000-08:00

Greetings Everyone,

We have had such a warm fall. I still have zinnias blooming and my Cherokee Rose is full of beautiful pink flowers. My sweet bees are so happy the weather is still warm and they are bringing in pollens for protein and the camellias are blooming providing nectar and all is right with their world.

Last week Sasserfrass Hill had a very special visitor. Patricia Lanza, Author of Lasagna Gardening which is a book on a new layering system for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! She was wonderful and I enjoyed her so much. She shared information on things I should do to take another step on my journey. She made me feel I was ready to move to bigger venues to reach more people with my message to help save the bees.

She encouraged me to publish some of my photographs in magazines. She reinforced my resolve to continue my quest and I needed her encouragement.

Thank you Pat. I am so happy I met you and I hope to see you again soon.

I checked several hives on Friday, the bees were doing great and are going into the winter with lots of honey. I hope I will come out of the winter with strong hives and healthy bees.

I am getting my Christmas decoration out of the attic this week and will start decorating Sasserfrass Hill for another wonderful holiday.

Eat more local honey.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Augusta Magazine came for a photo shoot

2011-11-09T02:22:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Sasserfrass Hill,

We have been blessed with some beautiful fall days this week. It was 74 degrees today. I fed the bees Honey -B-Healthy with some antibiotics and it was a feeding frenzy. I want my bees to go into the winter strong and healthy.

I worked in my yards all day Monday and Tuesday morning, raking, bagging and blowing tons of leaves into the garden. I mulched them with my tractor mower in hopes it will help add organic matter to my hard clay soil. I watered flowers, dead headed plants, and used the blower on the drive way, carport, patio and the bee shed porch. I made flower arrangements and got dressed and ready for Laurie and Chris of Augusta Magazine, to come in the afternoon and take some photos of me in the bee yard. I am not very photogenic, and I hope the photo they choose will not make me look like a deer in head lights.

I will be in the January - February issue on the very last page of the magazine, called the "Last Word". It has a photo and they ask you five questions. I thought they would be questions about the bees, but there were only a couple of bees questions. I asked Laurie if the magazine could do an article on the bees in the spring. Laurie said she would love too and she would see what she could do.

We are making lotion bars this afternoon. We have several orders we need to deliver by the end of the week. Amaretto and Lemongrass are the flavors of the week.

Mama has been busy putting labels on the lotion bar tins, labeling honey and cleaning wax. She is a busy bee and we appreciate all she does on Sasserfrass Hill.

Eat more local raw honey everyone. It will help build up your immune system and keep you healthy this winter.

Bee Well,

Deborah

P.S. I don't know why the spacing is so crazzzy... It looks fine when I type it but when it goes to publish it put about five spaces between each paragraph....????

Fall is in the Air on Sasserfrass Hill

2011-10-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

We are as busy as bees on Sasserfrass Hill this fall. We are enjoying the cooler temperatures and so are the bees. This summer heat was brutal and many plants dried up before giving a drop of nectar to the bees. We hoping for an abundance of hardy fall plants.

We have several Garden Clubs coming to see the bees and we have really been working hard to make the yards worthy of the attention. It is a little intimidating to have master gardeners come and see my yard since I am not a master gardener or have I had a lot of time to get beds and plants put into place.

I am also speaking to several garden clubs this month. I spoke to the West Lake Garden Club on Tuesday and after the meeting a Girl Scout leader ask me to come speak to her girls about the importance of my tiny pollinators.

I am going to Lake Forest Elementary, they have a Garden Club for kids and I am very excited to talk to these little gardeners on Tuesday. I am speaking to the Lunchbox Series in Aiken on the 17 th and will have lots of photos and honey to sell.

I am also participating in the Quest Fall Holiday Festival the first weekend in November. So as you can see we are really as busy as bees. When I have a spare moment I am making lotion bars and lip balm to get enough to carry me through October.

I have several special orders of lotion bars and even sent an order off to Miami. Florida last week. My Niece Rhonda is in Guam and ordered honey, lotion bars and lip balm for her friends as gifts. Her friend Sadie enjoyed them enough to order more.

We put a mite treatment in the hives a couple of weeks ago and I need to check them one more time before it gets too cold. This year is flying by a light speed... I am trying to keep up.

Mama came over and helped me with a garden club and home school group last week. She is so nice and friendly, I think people buy more because she is so sweet.

I put a "Buy Local Honey!" sign on my car and have sold lots of honey from people inquiring about the sign.

Another one of my photographs was accepted by Bee Culture Magazine as a cover shot. I am very excited and hope to see my "girl" on the cover very soon.

God has bless us and we feel the need to give back and try to be a part in saving our tiny pollinators.

Thanks to everyone that has supported us and had faith in us. We are having a wonderful and thrilling time at Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm.

Come see us and Eat more Honey.

Ms Deb

Time for Fall Chores on Sasserfrass Hill

2011-08-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

September is only a few days away and it is time to do your fall chores in the bee yard.

A friend of mine, Jane Waldrop is interested in getting bees. She asked if she could help me check some of the hives. She wants hands on experience so when she does get bees she will feel a little more comfortable. You can read all the books you can find on bees but the real test comes when you open the hive and have thousand of stinging insects in your face. Even with a veil it is a bit intimidating. We went through several hives and all was well.

We got to the peach hive and I knew things were not right. I had been watching it for days. I had hurt my back the week before so I could not check it as I should have. I kept thinking it would be O.K. until I my back was feeling better....but no. Those nasty wax moths moved in and had started to tunnel through he frames. They are such nasty pests. They can only make themselves at home if the hive is weak. I was sad to see all the damage. I put the frames into the freezer (I have a frig in the garage just for freezing frames). I felt better

knowing I was killing those awful pests, larva and the eggs.

The peach hive had no queen, no brood, (babies) and only a handful of bees. so I decided to combine them with another small hive. I put a sheet of newspaper on top of the green hive and put the peach hive on top. I poked several slits in the newspaper, so the bees could smell each other and get familiar with the queens pheromones. The next day I went out to check and the bees had eaten the paper away and was throwing it out the front of the hive. Everyone seemed to be happy. I successfully combined two weak hives. I was happy the technique had worked.

It will be fall before you know it. I also treated my bees with a new mite treatment called HopGuard. It is made from hops and is an all natural product. I am hopeful the Hopguard will work and the bees will go into the winter free from the awful parasite mites and have a pest free winter.

God Bless my bees...and all the tiny pollinators of the world.

Swarm goes into nuc

2011-07-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

Late Sunday afternoon I looked into the bee yard and saw the sky full of bees. They were gathering on the fence just behind the hives. I went out and took some photos and video and thought I would let them stay till the next day since it was late and already getting dark.

It has been too hot to go into the hives and pull queen cells. When you don't pull the queen cells out this is what happens. But with 110 heat index the thought of putting on a bee suit is too much for me to endure.

The next day I got a nuc, (a small five frame hive) with four empty frames and a frame of honey. I started scooping from the fence. I would put mu hands onto the frames and the bees would just crawl off my gloves into the hive. I had scooped about half the swarm into the nuc, looking for the queen with every handful. I never saw her... but all of a sudden I heard a loud buzzing and all the bees took flight. The ones on the fence left and the bees in the nuc started pouring out as well. I was sad to see them go but I wished the love and light. I took a few photos of them in the top of the pecan tree.

I had an appointment and when I returned home they had left the tree. I took the nuc and put it on the the feeding table I have in my bee yard. I saw some bees but I thought it must bee the other hives robbing the frame of honey. I did not put the top on the hive because I wanted them to have easy access to the honey. Several days passed before I looked at the hive. I thought the robbers should have had time to clean the frame. When I looked into the hive to my amazement they bees were building cone on the empty frames. My girls had not flown the coop but had gone into the nuc. I was so excited... but also I am not sure what I need to do to move the bees to a new location. They can not stay on my feeding table.

I am going to my bee meeting tonight and I will ask several of the more experienced bee keepers what they would do.

The bees are amazing little creatures. I am so happy they did not leave Sasserfrass Hill but decided to stay. We bee happy.!!!

Ms Deb

Weather has been cooler and wetter

2011-07-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Last week we had two days of only 90 degrees, which was almost cool, com paired to the 110 degree heat index we had the week before. I worked in my yards. I planted some plants friends had given me. I cut my grass and my elderly neighbors grass. It was actually pleasant working outside.

I found a very small swarm of bees on my umbrella very late last Sunday evening. Experts say if it is a small swarm and you remove the queen, the worker bees will go back to the hive they came out of. I did find the queen and put her in a bug box along with several attendants. I have a friend that needs a queen. I think she will be a welcome addition to her hive. I hope she will be happy and live a very productive life across town.

My queen and her attendants have been in the bug box for a week now. I hope she will survive until my friend returns on Tuesday. Until then she is getting honey and water. I have never kept a queen for so long in a bug box. I am not sure how long you can keep a queen in a cage... We will see...

Good luck my tiny queen.

Ms Deb

We have had lots of rain

2011-07-08T04:13:00.000-07:00

Today is July 8th and we have had more rain in the last few weeks than we have had all year. We were in a nine inch deficit until a few weeks ago. Afternoon showers has turned the grass green and the flowers are blooming again. We are very grateful.

Jennifer Berry from the University of Georgia Bee Lab, came down and spoke to our Clark Hill Bee Club. She said the forecast was for cooler and wetter July and August. At the time it had not rained in weeks and it was 101 degrees... I thought... from your lips to God's ears...I think he heard, because it has been raining since her predictions.

The bees have been festooning on the hives in the evenings. Which is equivalent to us sitting out on the porch trying to stay cool.

We are getting the old four frame, hand cranked extractor out and we will be extracting honey from some of our hives next week. The Augusta Chronicle Newspaper reported Luke Thompson called and want to bring a photographer out and do a story on extracting honey. It will be exciting and I am looking forward to seeing how much honey the girls on Sasserfrass Hill have produced so far this year. The girls work hard for the honey ... and I am sure it will be impressive to see the beautiful liquid gold pouring from the extractor.

We made a big batch of Lip Balm last week. We gave out over twenty samples. Everyone said they really liked them and think they are the best recipe so far. We also have to make a big batch of lotion bars and fill several orders. Hopefully we will be making lotion bars next week.

Things are buzzzy on Sasserfrass Hill so I will sign off and get to work.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

We checked six of our ten hives today

2011-06-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

This morning Rick and I checked six of our hives. We put a queen cell into two separate hives on June 5th, and I am happy to report each has a new prolific queen. I was so happy to see my attempts at re queening was successful. All the hives were doing well and making honey.

I have several honey supers ready to be extracted. I guess I should be extracting this week.

I have an old Dadant stainless steel honey extractor. It was a gift from an old family friend whose husband had bees some thirty years ago. It is a four frame, hand crank model. I do fantasize about the twelve frame radial ...Mac Daddy model sometimes. . .but I am very grateful I have an old family heirloom.

It was really hot this morning with all of our protective gear on. We could only check six of the ten hives. With temperatures climbing to 98 degrees today, I was lucky to get six inspected.

We sell our honey at Wild Birds Unlimited on Washington Road, in Augusta, GA. I delivered the larger, pound and half jars of honey on Friday and they ask me to bring in some of my lotion bars and lip balm. Our products are made with all natural botanical oils, Shea, mango or cocoa butters and 100% pure beeswax. We use no chemicals, preservatives or petroleum in any of our products.

I will be happy and very fortunate if Wild Birds decides to carry Sasserfrass Hill lotion bars also.

The hot temperates are hard on us and our tiny pollinators. Make sure you drink plenty of water and keep a clean supply of water for the birds and the bees. They need our help and will appreciate our efforts.

Stay Cool,

Ms Deb

It's Hot, Hot, Hot on Sasserfrass Hill...

2011-06-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

The weather forecast is 98 - 102 degrees every day this coming week. My hives are in the brutal afternoon sun. I put up the bees umbrella's this week... It has been so hot in the afternoon and evenings many of the bees sit out on their front porch.... much too hot to go inside. I am going to try to give them more shade with plantings and I want to use the bamboo from my backyard to build an arbor or pergola, some type of shade.

I have been doing a little research.
I hope to come up with an attrictive, inexpensive and clever way to give the bees a little afternoon shade.

We had a powerful storm Wednesday evening. Several huge old oaks fell and hit a transformer, the entire neighborhood lost electricity. Our power went out about 9pm Wednesday evening and did not come back on until 6am on Friday. I must admit, it was miserable Thursday night. Rick bought a generator and we had a few fans stirring the hot air around, it did help a little. It made me very grateful for air conditioning, ice cold water and all the modern conviences we take of granted.... I hate to admit it but I think I was a tiny bit whinny.... sorry but it was really hot....it was 85 degrees inside my house.

Rick and I are going to go through the hives, frame by frame, in the morning (weather permitting) to pull queen cells, check on the queen cells we put in on June 5th., and check to see if it is time to extract some honey.

We had rain three day in a row, the plants are singing and the grass looks green and happy. We are grateful.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Checked and Pulled Queen Cells

2011-06-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Rick and I went through all ten hives Saturday and pulled lots of queen cells. I would have had swarms next week if we had not done our chores. It is a lot of work, you must look carefully at every frame making sure you don't miss a single cell or you will be looking at your bees in the top of a tree. That amonts to a loss of lots of bees, honey and $$$$ !!!

We got a call today from a man saying he had honeybees in a tree in his yard. He said the bees have been in the tree for at least three years. I went over to check and saw a very gentle healthy colony of bees. I am going to do a trap out and try to bring these girls to Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm. What is a trap out you ask??? You place an adapted funnel over the opening of the tree, using wire and duct tape. You must make sure the bees can get out, but can not get back into the tree. The funnel has wire at the end of the spout, to prevent the bees from returning home with their pay loads, of nectar, pollen or water. I will place an empty hive full of frames just outside the tree. So all the forging bees can not return to the tree, so hopefully they will find the new hive an acceptable new home.

I must find a queen to put into the hive. Hopefully the bees will accepted her and she will become the new queen of the colony. It will take several weeks for this transfer to happen... I will be patient and wait and see.

It is nasty hot with no rain in sight. Plants are drying up faster than normal... I am worried what August will bring to hot dry Georgia . . . Keep your bird bath full of cool clean water for the birds and the bees. They will appreciate it.

In this photograph the bees are outside trying to stay cool. The temperature inside the hive is currently too hot for the girls to be comfortable.

Stay Cool,

Deborah

The "Girls" are making Honey

2011-05-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy at Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm. The "Girls" are hard at work coming and going all over the bee yard and beyond. We went through the hive with honey supers on Saturday, Rick helped me with the heavy lifting. The honey supers weights close to 80 pounds. They have capped off lots of the supers and I am waiting for them to finish each one.

We have gone over and checked several new beekeepers bees. It looks like everyone will have an excellent spring harvest.

We are as busy as the bees with speaking engagements, making lotion bars and lip balms, graduations, class reunions, plantings and spring chores.

We will post more later, look at the time ...where does time go???

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

The Sasserfrass Hill "Girls" make the 6pm News CH 12

2011-05-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

We planted flowers, cut the grass, did the weed eating, cleaned the bee shed and we were all excited to see News Channel 12 pull up to shoot a news story on the bees of Sasserfrass Hill.

I met a cute, young reporter, Carter Coyle at the MCG 's Earth Day a couple of weeks ago, she ask ed if she could do a story on the bees. She called yesterday and came over today and did the story.

Carter was tough, she got a sting on the cheek while we were shooting the story. She was brave and had a great attitude. I apologized for the sting, but she said she expected at least one sting.

I was wishing for the girls to be extra gentle . . .

Carter said she would send the link as soon as she got the web story posted. I will pass it along as soon as I get it.

We had fun today.. and maybe someone will see the story and get some bees or at least plant some wildflowers. The "Girls" will appreciate it.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

We are all buzzing on Sasserfrass Hill

2011-04-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring Everyone.!!!! We are having a Buzzzzy time on Sasserfrass Hill.

I am learning so much about my bees everyday. I have been speaking to Garden Clubs in the area. Encouraging everyone to stop using so many chemicals in the garden.

We all know the pollinators are in trouble. But, Why you ask???? Scientist blame one group of agricultural toxin-neonicotinoid pesticides as a major contributor to their rapid demise, and bee populations have recovered in four European countries that have banned these products.

Bayer still sells this deadly poison here in the United States. One of our goals on Sasserfrass Hill is to enlighten everyone and get this poison banned in the United States of America.We must convince our government not to heed the powerful chemical lobby, but to defend the bees and the country's food supply by calling for a national ban NOW!!!!! ... no time to waist.

Our best chance to save bees now is to push our government to join the ban, their action is critical and will have a ripple effect on the rest of the word.

This is not just about saving the bees , this is about survival. Silently, billion of bees are dying off and our entire food chain is in danger. Bees don't just make honey; they are a giant, humble workforce, pollinating 90% of the plants we grow.

Please join me, sign the emergency petition now, and send it on to everyone you know ...we must get the poison banned in our country.

To sign up go to: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl

Bee Safe... (did I mention the poison is put on your corn seed),

Deborah

New Packages of Bee Are Here!

2011-03-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

It seems like we have been waiting a long time for our spring bees to come in ...and they are finally here. I am getting two - three pound packages of bees on Sunday. Orders for spring bees must be in place late in the fall. Wilbank Apiaries in Claxton, GA is the original home of these south Georgia girls. I hope they will like Augusta and Sasserfrass Hill.

I lost three colonies this cold winter, they froze in a cluster in the middle of the hive with honey all around. They were too small of a cluster and the temperatures went too low and stayed cold for too long time for them to generate the heat they needed to stay warm. I was very sad.

Lee Ann gave me six brand new frames with wax foundation. I have never use them before...I have always used plastic. I will see how the girls like them.

I am off to get everything ready for the new arrivals.

Bee Well,

Deborah

Spring is here and the Bees are Happy!

2011-03-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

I took some photos of Lee Ann Hagler's bees last week. They are extremely strong hives. Lee Ann is planning to split them and add two more. She has a beautiful garden and a perfect location for her "girls". She is panting two more hives. She bought a queen at the meeting on Tuesday and wants to get the queen in the hive by Friday. I plan to help her and take photos.

I have been planting flowers and shrubs this week. Betty, one of my oldest friends gave me some Zinnias, Marigolds and Mums seeds in the fall. I shared some with my mom and started planting seed all over Sasserfrass Hill. Caren and John Bricker gave me several Devil Tongue plants, the hummingbirds love them I hope the bees will too.

Mr. Charlie said I could buy two packages of bees from him. He is picking them up this week and will deliver them on Sunday. I lost three hives this winter and it will be good to get some new girls and have bees ready for the nectar flow.

I have a lot more plants to get in the ground....I had better get a move on.

Bee Well,

Deborah

Sasserfrass Hill talks to Garden Clubs

2011-03-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

I had one of the best days ever in the history of Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm.

I spoke to the Suburban Garden Club this afternoon. They were outside under a big tent, the weather was a perfect 72 degrees, sun peeking in and out of the clouds. The ladies were gracious, attentive and engaging, asking good questions and enjoying some laughs at the drones expense.

I had a delightful time telling everyone about my "girls". The ladies loved my photos... They told me "I was the best speaker they had ever had and my photographs were worth of National Geographic!!!" They were oh so good for the ego.!!!

I told of the benefits of eating local raw honey and of my experiences mixing up lotion bars with all natural oils, exotic butters and my wholesome beeswax. I gave out small samples lotion bars, once they felt the luscious, nourishing oils... they adored and bought them.

One of the ladies ask if I would come to Brandon Wilde to speak in May. I was excited to excepted her invitation. I look forward to spreading the word about my tiny pollinators.

I went to my Soil Sisters Garden club meeting this morning. I got a registration form for the Augusta Council of Garden Clubs Spring luncheon held at the Augusta Country Club on March 31st. Pam Beck, a freelance garden writer, lecturer and photographer from North Carolina will be the speaker. I am looking forward to meeting lots of new gardeners and making lots of valuable contacts.

A lady is coming to Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm on Thursday from Lexington, SC. She is writing a kids book on bees and beekeepers. She was given my contact information by one of the Midstate beekeepers I met last week. I am anxious to see all the possibilities this opportunity may bring.... I will let you know how that turns out.

I was on the phone with my sister and she said can you see the rainbow from your house? I grabbed my camera and ran outside... Suddenly the rain stopped and the sun broke through and out popped a beautiful rainbow...Wait ... a beautiful double rainbow. Thank you God!!!

I took all the plants out of my bee shed/greenhouse this afternoon before the rain started. They all were happy to get out and get some liquid sunshine. We are all ready to welcome the warm spring days.

I have had a long, busy as a bee, magical day.... Thank you God.!!! I am grateful. I am blessed.

Bee Bold... enough to trust your wings and fly.

Ms Deb

2011-03-09T04:56:00.000-08:00

I got a call from Mary Louise Hagler (a master Gardener and speaker) Monday afternoon, she said she was over booked for Tuesday and ask if I would speak to a garden club in her place.

I jumped at the opportunity. I love talking to women and telling them about my tiny pollinators and all the problems they are facing. I encourage everyone to stop using so many chemicals and plant wildflowers to help feed the all the pollinators bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Carol Finch gave me several plants on Monday afternoon. We had tea and a nice visit. She is always very generous with her plants and information on how to care for them. She has a beautiful yard. She is helping me choose plants for Sasserfrass Hill the bees will love. I came home and planted them. I can only hope they will grow half as well for me as they did her.

I am updating and adding more information to http://www.sasserfrasshill.com/ website. We are busy with our spring chores, feeding the bees and working in our bee yard. I am going to have a small garden this spring and hope it will flourish and be pollinated by those cute Sasserfrass Hill "girls."

I put plastic around the bee shed and made it into a little greenhouse this winter. It did the job and most of my plants over wintered without much trouble.

I am off to put in some weed block underneath the hives and start fighting the weeds early this year.

I hope my garden grows half as well as my hardy robust weeds.

Bee Well,

Deborah

Hives Inspire Competiton, Color and Creativity!

2011-03-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday I had a great time talking and presenting my photos at Mid State Beekeepers meeting in Lexington, SC. They truly loved the photographs and made me feel great with applauds and lots of compliments. It was the largest crowd I had ever talked with as of yet. I was told it was all new beekeepers but after I arrived I found out most of the members had been beekeepers far longer than I. Great!! I was almost intimidated....but I just took a deep breath, relaxed and began showing one beautiful photos after another, along with some colorful commentary.

The next day I got an email saying Mid State was inspired by my colorful hives and was throwing down the gauntlet...They would not be out done by their Georgia neighbor. They were looking for the "World most Beautiful Hives". They encouraged members to send in photos of their beautiful hives and try to out do Sasserfrass Hill, which will be hard to do, but I welcome the competition.

I have always loved my colorful bee yard and it was great to have lots of positive feedback from other beekeepers. My colorful hives inspiring a contest and competition is pretty cool!!!

Rick and I went to the North/South Carolina State Spring Beekeepers meeting in North Carolina this weekend. I took a couple of workshops on candle and ornament making. It was so much fun and very informative. Virginia Web is an excellent speaker, she gave lots of tips on marketing your bee products outside the hive. I am energized and ready to market Sasserfrass Hill this year.

The old saying, things happen for a reason...is true. I am not sure why we had the big shake up on Sasserfrass Hill last month, but, I am anxious to see what will happen next.....

Bee Creative,

Deborah

February and temperature reach almost 80 degrees!

2011-02-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

We have had some gorgeous weather the last few weeks in Augusta, Georgia. The sun is shinning and the bees are flying. Today is windy with gusts up to 25 mph. Bees antenna are very sensitive. They taste and smell, and the last segment on the antenna is like a wind sock and tells her wind speed and direction. Bee do not fly well in high winds. It can hurt their wings and blow her around and keep her from getting home safely.

I lost my pink hive a few weeks ago. It was doing very well going into the fall. It had about eight frames of honey. So, I think the girls froze during our last extended cold snap. It was sad to open the hive and see a entire (although small) hive dead. I took the frames and put in the freezer, in case, hive beetles or wax moths had lay ed eggs in any of the frames.

I have been working in my yards. I have been raking leaves out of my beds and into the garden. I run over them with the lawn mower so I can use them for mulch. Bulbs are springing up and crocus are in full bloom, daffodils and tulips are waking up.

I made a big batch of Lotion Bars on Wednesday and Thursday. I had several orders for Amaretto Coffee, Honey Almond, Sweet Vanilla Cream and Clean Cotton. The lotion bars smell wonderful and are made with all natural oils and exotic butters. They are nourishing, soothing and moisturizing to chapped dry skin.

I have talked to three local Garden clubs and have several more scheduled for March. I take my photos and encourage everyone to plant wildflowers and help save the bees.

Sasserfrass Hill has undergone some changes in the last month. I hope these changes will make us stronger and better beekeepers.

I will be taking the bees out of the small nucleus hive and put them into a regular hive next week. I am anxious to see all the colors back in the bee yard.

I am speaking to new beekeepers at Mid state in Lexington, SC on Tuesday. I am getting my Power Point presentation with lots of photos ready to go. This will be the first time I have spoken to new beekeepers and I am excited and a little anxious.

Rick and I are going to the North Carolina/South Carolina State Beekeepers meeting on March 4th and 5th. up in Dallas, NC I hope to get some queens from a different source. To help keep my bees as diverse as possible.

I am off to feed my "girls" and clean up the bee yard.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Snow, Ice, and Sleet hit Sasserfrass Hill

2011-01-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

Last night about 11pm we got about two inches of snow. The winds blew up to 20pmh and it filled and closed all entrances to the bee hives. I went out early this afternoon and opened them up.

It was fun to be out in the snow but as the slush turns to ice...it will be a little tricky tonight. Schools and banks were closed today and have already been canceled for tomorrow also. It is big sheet of ice outside.

Bailey and I had lots of fun taking photos and walking through the snow. Rick and I rode around town checking out the icy situation. We must be patience until Wednesday when it warms up to 50 degrees... and the ice will be but a memory.

I went back out about 3pm and ice cycles were hanging off the hives... I hope my girls are strong enough to survive this frigid cold snap.

I am blessed...I have Stew Beef with lots of vegetables in the Crock Pot....it is smelling good....only four more hours to wait....

Bee Warm,

Ms Deb

Happy New Year !

2011-01-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

201o was a very good year for Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm.

We had a year full of new adventures and we had lots of learning experiences. We extracted bees from steeples, ceilings, underneath porches, in trees and inside walls. We were successful in removing and rescuing most of the colonies and they are thriving.

We went into the fall and winter with strong well fed hives. We hope they can weather these cold nights, windy days and snow storms. If they survive we will have a great spring. We have already started to feed our girls, to make sure they don't starve.

This year we spoke to girl scout troops, home schooled kids, garden clubs, schools and church groups, about the plight of the bees and what we can all do to help. One of Sasserfrass Hills main goals is to help educated the public. We hope to raise awareness of the problems facing the all pollinators, such as pests, pesticides, loss of habitat, lack of food. We can all help by planting flowers, shrubs and trees rich in nectar and pollens.

One of my photographs was chosen for the Bee Culture magazine 2011 Beekeeping Calendar.

My photo was selected for the month of May.....the caption - "The Perfect Pastel Bee Yard."

This is my second year to make their calendar. I am honored. (I have always wanted to be a calendar girl!!!!)

Mr Charlie is continuing to perform Bee Venom Therapy with many new bee-livers. Our first patient, Erika, is continuing her weekly therapy and is doing well.

We plan to add twenty more hives this spring. So, while it is cold outside . . . we are assembling frames, painting hives and ordering more bee hardware.

We plan to sell nuc's and catch lots of swarms this spring. . . We already have several nuc's sold.

We are grateful for all our good fortune this year... 2010 blessed us with honey, health and blessings too numerous to mention. We expect 2011 will be even more eventful and exciting.

We hope you all have a wonderful, prosperous and healthy New Year!

Bee Well,

Ms. Deb

Fabulous Fall on Sasserfrass Hill

2010-10-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

With temperatures cooling down it is nice to be able to go outside and enjoy the weather. I thought I was going to die with a heat stroke several times this summer, especially when I was dressed out working in the hives.

September was busy and full of wonderful experiences.

We had a Brownie/Daisey troop come over for a field trip to learn about the bees. It was fun and they bought honey, lip balm and lotion bars.

We brought half of the sixteen hives home from the country. The bees were starving. We were surprised to find they didn't have enough food, they had to eat a lot of their fall stores. So we brought them home to feed and started their fall medicines.

We took the last of our fall honey off all our hives and our girls produced wonderful honey full of personality and color.

We have been printing and designing labels for all our products.

We are excited about getting a logo designed by Lynn Forbes. She will do a wonderful job and I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

We had several speaking engagements at garden clubs and church groups.

We are hoping for a mild winter. I had several hive freeze last winter when our temperatures dropped into the teen for several long cold weeks. I hope my girls will be strong and healthy going into my third winter.

I hope everyone has a fabulous fall.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Buzzzzzy August on Sasserfrass Hill

2010-09-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

The temperatures are cooling off a bit. Fall is only a few week away... Can you believe this year is slipping away ....
We have had a very busy August.
Mr. Charlie and I were speakers at the Clark Hill Beekeepers meeting this month. The meeting was at the Columbia County Library. It was exciting and we met several people that are serious about getting bees in the spring.

We took bees from a house down the street. Wayne came over and said he had bees coming and going from the second story eve of their house. He cut a big hole in the living room sheet rock .We got all the comb out of the ceiling, but lots of bees went down inside the walls. We vacuumed a lot out of the house and put the bees into a hive. They swarmed into a nearby tree. We cut the limb and put them back into the hive as it started to rain. We rubber banded the brood into frames. When we went back to get them the next day they had swarmed again. So I am not sure what happened or why they refused to come back home.

I was on Channel 6 new noon show on August 19th talking about National Honey Bee Awareness Day. I had a delightful time and Mary Morrison was very sweet... and she bought honey.

Mr. Charlie and I also went down to the Saturday Market downtown Augusta on August 21st for National Honey Bee Day. Several other beekeepers came out and talked to people about the bees and how we all can help them survive. We sold our honey, stamped little hands with bees, we had honey for tastings and photos and posters for viewing. The observation hive was a big hit. People were very interested and asked lots of really good questions. It was a very good day. But it was way too hot. The heat index was 101 degrees..... too hot to enjoy.!!

Valerie, from the County Extension office came over and helped me make up the card that will go into the golf package. She had everything for embossing and stamping the cards. She really made them look professional and I was so impressed with what she accomplished.

I made lotion bars all day Wednesday, August 25th. for the golf package. I labeled them all day Thursday and had everything packaged and labeled for pick up on Friday morning.
Pat was happy with the 65 jars of honey, 65 lotion bars and the 65 lip balms. She said they wanted something different to give away to the golfers. I hope everyone likes our all natural products.
Mr. Charlie had his 75th birthday on the 28th. His kids threw him a big party. Lots of his family and friends came. It was a nice time had by all.

I met some organic growers. We were talking and they may be able to help me get a grant to buy a HD High speed, digital camera for making bee documentaries. I will be attending a organic growers meeting in September. I am hopeful we will be funded soon.

Mr. Charlie and I went down to Waynesboro and started getting bees from a tree. I asked why they wanted the bees out of the tree? They said "The renters were afraid of the bees." We went back and checked on the bees the next day, we had to do a little more caulking. Hopefully they will like the hive we put out for them, and we will get another strong colony.

The very last day of August was my birthday. We went over to North Augusta and brought seven of the hives home to Mr. Charlies bee yard. They were starving. Not to mention....Lots and lots of Small Hive Beetles.... I have added hive beetles to my short list .... roaches, mosquito, sand fleas and hive beetles....Creatures I hate!!

We did several extraction this month. We did not get the honey we did last year. Not enough rain at the right time I guess. The girls are working hard but the nectar flow was short.

We did our Bee Venom Therapy on our regular clients. We had several new people come and see if they could be helped by the anti-inflammatory in the venom.... Time will tell.

August has been a great month for Sasserfrass Hill. We appreciate all our many blessings and all the people that has help, encouraged, cheered, reassured and supported us along the way.
Thank you all and Bee Well,
Ms. Deb

July brings lots of excitement to Sasserfrass Hill

2010-08-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

July was a very busy month for Sasserfrass Hill. We continued to pull queen cells even when the temperatures reached into the 100's. When you are working in the heat you must be careful, but when you put on a bee jacket, veil and gloves... Hot!... does not even describe the feeling. Sometimes, I wondered if we would even live to tell the story.

We had another first on Sasserfrass Hill this month. We had a group of mostly home schooled kids come for a field trip to learn about the bees and how important they are to the environment.

They were very well behaved kids. Many parents came along and expressed interest in getting started with some beehives. They were very attentive and ask lots of great questions. If we got one kid interested in beekeeping, we feel it was a successful day. I had lots of help getting ready for the event from my Mom, who helped stuff the gift bags with lotion bars and lip balms. Catelyn, my niece stamped the bags with bees and helped us finish up the gift bags. On Tuesday I had even more help. My sister, Vikki sold our liquid gold. and gave the kids a spoon full of our tasty treat. My niece, Charlotte stamped bees on tiny hands and was helped Ms. Vik sell honey. Mr. Charlie had the kids captivated with his information and knowledge. It was a very positive experience and we were glad it went off without a hitch.

We have had several other groups express interest in scheduling some time to come see the bees for themselves.

Mr. Charlie and I are still helping the new beekeepers get through this hot summer and hopefully get their bees ready for the fall and winter. Now is a time many new beekeepers lose their bees. With Mr. Charlies guidance we hope to keep that from happening.

Mr Charlie has also tried something new this season. We are re-queening some of the hives. But instead of queens that are artificially inseminated, He put in new queens still in the cells. They will hatch and make their mating flight for herself here. We hope to have success with this test.

People are so kind and generous. I have had several people give me canning jars. I am grateful for the thought fullness and to be able to give new life to a old jar. I always recycle every chance I get.

We are thinking about the fall and all the chores we must do to get the bees ready for the fall. Keeping bees is a full time job for me now. I am happy I was able to turn my hobby into my business....Thanks to Mr. Charlie.

Happy Birthday Ben !!! Hope you have a wonderful, prosperous and healthy year !!

Record heat hits Sasserfrass Hill

2010-07-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

It has been one of the hottest springs on record. The bees are working hard and I have put up the umbrellas over the hives to give a little relief from the blistering temperatures.. We have had our first harvests of the spring. Mr. Charlies bees, the country girls and my bees, are bringing in the nectar. We have had several extractions. We are bottling and labeling our jars of liquid gold. We have had several prosperous trips to the Augusta Saturday Market, and customers stop by to see the bees and pick up honey almost everyday.

I was invited to be the Photographer of Choice at Vintage Ooollee's shop as a part of the Summer Solstice Stroll, put on by the Augusta Downtown Merchant Assoc. for the month of June. I was in the shop on June 11th from 5pm - 9:30pm talking to people about my photos and telling anyone that would listen about the plight of the honey bee. I sold honey, lotion bars, lip balms. My sister, Vikki, along with Charlotte, April and lots of friends came by to view my photos and lend support. I sold several photos and had a great experience.

A old friend, from Virginia Beach, Sonya Anthony, came for a long weekend this month. We walked, talked, shopped and took lots of photos. We had a wonderful visit. We performed Bee Venom Therapy at my house so she could see how it was done and to meet some of my friends.

One of our most important jobs this time of year is pulling queen cells from all our hives. Putting on a veil and gloves is really hot buzz-iness. I can see why some people don't pull queen cells when the temperatures reach into the 100's, most people think it too hot to bother. But, Mr. Charlie is from the old school. "Just do it" seems to be his approach. Working his bees and doing whatever is necessary everyday no matter the weather.

All ten hives are doing well on Sasserfrass Hill at this time. The Paine College and the Hephzibah girls are making honey and flourishing. The colony I won at the South Carolina State meeting in February are building up fast and will be ready for a honey super soon.

Mr. Charlie and I are working hard. We are pulling queen cells from over seventy hives every ten days, performing Bee Venom Therapy once a week for anyone that needs it, speaking to church groups, garden clubs and school. We have a group of home school elementary kids coming to visit Sasserfrass Hill and see our bees this month. We have several colonies we are removing from homes. We are helping new beekeepers harvest their honey, check their hives, and hopefully feel more comfortable with their new fascinating hobby. We helped Manuel, of Manuel's Bread Cafe, harvest his cut comb honey from four hives of his hives. I had only harvested from plastic frames. Wax frames take a totally different procedure. It was fun and I learned a lot.

My Mama is still my biggest fan. She has helped out by washing canning jars in the dishwasher and helping me label my honey. I had a group of friends and family, come over and help label my lip balms and lotion Bars.

It is a fun time to be a part of Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farms. We are growing and encountering new opportunities everyday. We are buzzzzy and grateful. We thank God for our health, happiness and honey and ALL our many blessings.!!!

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Spring has Sprung on Sasserfrass Hill

2010-05-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring Everyone!

This spring the bees have taken us in a new direction. On April 2nd we got a call about a colony of bees in the steeple of the Chapel at Paine College. Mr Charlie and I went over to check and see if we could remove them. We could not reach the bees from the inside of the steeple. The painter had a very large lift and took Mr. Charlie up and he was able to remove the enormous colony.
We brought the brood home and put them into a weak hive and they are thriving. It was very exciting and rewarding to save the bees. Paine College did not mind the bees living in the steeple and would not have disturbed them had it not been for the repair work that had to be done. They were happy to be a part of a successful rescue and removal.

We have performed several other removals this month and have several more to do. We are excited about our new adventure and hope to have plenty more bees to rescue.

Other than removals we are buzy keeping all our bees feed, checking for hive beetles every day, helping new beekeepers install their bees, catching swarms, pulling queen cells, making and selling nuc and we are still performing our Bee Venom Therapy once a week.

I am also working in my yards. I have wonderful friends who are master gardeners. They have generously shared lots of plants with me. I am trying to get them all planted so the bees will have lots of nectar. Michael is helping me with new beds and flagstone walkways. He has helped me with the digging (I have rock hard clay) pruning, and moving heavy things around my yard. He has saved me a lot of back pain.!!!

Sarah helped me get our price list together with photos. It looks great. When you have time check out our price list at sasserfrasshill.com.

We will have honey in about five weeks. The girls are working hard and we are hoping for a bountiful harvest.
Remember... Eat lots of local honey... It will help your allergies.!!
Bee Well,
Ms Deb

Official Pricing Guide

2010-05-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

We have great news out here on Sasserfrass Hill! Our offical pricing list is posted both here on this blog entry and on our website sasserfrasshill.com. If you have any questions please contact us! Look forward to a new blog entry soon!

2010-02-21T13:51:00.000-08:00

February Snow on SasserFrass Hill

2010-02-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

Here in Augusta we had our first snow of 2010... actually, the first snow in many years on February 12th.
We got about six inches on SasserFrass Hill. It was the most gorgeous snow. Powder, it was light and fluffy with no ice sticking to the roads. It melted the next day but, gave everyone a chance to build snowmen, snow angles and lots of snowball fights all over town. It was just lovely.

We are very excited about the Sacred Hearts Garden Festival coming up April 23rd, 24th and 25th. I will be speaking at two Columbia County Gardens. "Bee Friendly Gardens" is the topic. I will share my photographs and have handout of native shrubs, trees and perennials.
I will sell Honey, Lotion Bars and Lip Balm and I hope to have some pure Beeswax Candles ready to sell also.

Hopefully it will warm up soon and the bees can come out, and welcome a warm spring with lots of flowers full of nectar and pollens.
The girls are getting restless and ready for spring... and frankly, so am I.
Bee Well,
Deborah

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us on Sasserfrass Hill!

2009-12-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite songs by John Lennon is "Happy Christmas"

"So, this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over and a new one just begun.... " Well, we have done a lot, and things have been very interesting on Sasserfrass Hill, it has been a incredible, crazy productive year, and it flew by at the speed of light. It has been a year of great transition.

After being laid off from my job of twenty years as a video producer, I was in shock and really frightened as to what the future may hold. But like they say... God doesn't close a door without opening a window.... I do believe that, and we started the year with great wonder and anticipation. I hoped for a great adventure and I got that and much more.

I love spending time in my yards. I put in stacked stone flower beds. It was hard, back breaking work, but the results were very gratifying.

We doubled the number of hives from five to ten. We captured five swarms this spring. We gave each hive it's own beautiful pastel color. Sometimes it seems, the bees think they are on rainbow row in Charleston.
We had a bumper crop of honey as well. We harvested over 250 pounds. Mr. Charlie's guidance and advice made the harvesting process much easier and very productive. His experience is invaluable and his skill in the bee yard is exceptional. We call him a bee whisperer.... He truly is.

We have continued with our Bee Venom Therapy. Helping anyone with aliments from Arthritis to Multiple Sclerosis. Mr. Charlie has also made BVT look easy and almost painless.

We also whipped up some incredible lotion bars and lip balms. Made with all natural exotic butters, beeswax and botanical oils. We have some delicious essential oils, that smell delightful and fresh.
We made votive and tea light candles of pure beeswax. Which emit negative ions that actually clean the air and burn longer and brighter than other candles.

Sarah and Erika helped with all our computer needs. They helped with design and packaging, and also helped get our web site up and running. Check out sasserfrasshill.com when you have a chance.

Mr Charlie's wife has been battling cancer this year and he has devoted himself to her care. We wish her . . . Bright Blessings.

The big highlight this fall was one of my photographs making the cover of Bee Culture. Which is a national beekeeping magazine. It all happened rather quickly. We asked if they accepted freelance photography in September and we made the cover in October. I was stoked and as proud as I could bee to see a SasserFrass Hill girl on the cover.

I also joined a couple of garden clubs and met several master gardeners. Generous knowledgeable women that gave me many plants and are going to help get my yard "bee friendly" with lots of perennials the bees can feast on all year.

It has been a busy and rewarding year. I count my blessing everyday. I thank God for my health, family and friends. I want to thank everyone that believed in me and helped me make Sasserfrass Hill a great place to be this year. We are planning to add more hives in the spring, and with a little luck and lots of hard work we expect to have even a better year in 2010.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Let's hope it's a good one without any fear. (Don't forget to pray for all our troops in Afghanistan.)

Bee Merry,
Ms Deb

SasserFrass Hill Get Ready for Winter!

2009-11-30T16:42:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day of November. Only thirty days till we issue in another new year. This year has zipped pasted at light speed.

I have been feeding my bees 1 x 1 sugar water for several weeks. They are drinking it up as fast as they can. They have polished off 100 pounds of sugar so far and I will feed them another 50 pounds this week and see how their food stores measures up.

I will insulate the hives on SasserFrass Hill when the temperature drop. I want to save my girls as much energy as possible. Each little cell of honey can figuratively be compared to a miniature barrel of oil or a few sticks of firewood. Each bee consumes honey, metabolizes it (burns it) at the cellular level and produces heat and muscular energy. Each individual bee's heat is contributed to the cluster and communal heat is produced.

We have had many blessings this year. One of our biggest is Mr. Charlie, guiding us and sharing his thirty years of beekeeping experience. He tirelessly helps everyone with our bees, he answer's all our questions and makes you feel everything is going to be alright.

We Thank you GOD for all our Many Blessing. We are grateful.

Bee Well my tiny friends.

Ms Deb

2009-11-30T16:04:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day of November. Only 30 days left till the new year. This year has passed very quickly for me. Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm has taken lots of my time and energy. I have enjoyed working in my yards. Building stone beds borders and planting lots of perennials. I have met several master Gardeners who are willing to help me get my yard planted with flowers and plants that are bee friendly all seasons of the year.

I have been feeding my bees sugar water 1 x 1 and the are busy drinking it up as fast as they can. We have had very mind fall with temperatures only in the high thirties a few nights. I still have morning glories blooming and even tiny yellow blooms on my tomato plants.

I hope my girls will make it through our second winter together. I will wrap the hives with a nice insulation when temperture drop. I want to help the girls save as much energy as possible. Each bee consumes honey, metabolizes it, at the cellular level and produces heat and muscular energy. Each individual bee's heat is contributed to the cluster and communal heat is produced.

I am going to fed my bees and hope for the best.

Charlotte, my niece, said I have the luckest bees in the world.... just to be on SasserFrass Hill...I hope my ten hives come out of winter feeling the same.

Bee Well my tiny friends.

Ms Deb

Things are well on Sasserfrass Hill

2009-11-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

Our family had a great weekend. Justin flew in from Hawaii for a visit. He will be deployed to Afghanistan in a few weeks. So, say a little prayer for him and all his comrades fighting for our freedom. Mama cooked a feast and we had lots of hugs, laughs and fellowship.

The ladies Vikki teaches with gave her a Grandmother shower. It was at Dee Trevor's house. Everyone brought a dish and a drink. It was so much fun. But the icing on the cake was Olivia's first family outing. It was exciting. Most of the family had not met her yet. She was so sweet and let everyone get some baby sugar. She is an adorable baby.

The bees are doing great also. All is well on Sasserfrass Hill. We are working to get some lotion bars and beeswax candles ready for the holiday season.

I will post an update soon.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Lotion Bars, Candles, lip Balm ....Ohooo My!

2009-10-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween Everyone.!!!

It was a beautiful day with lots of blue sky and white puffy clouds. I worked in my yards all day. Then it turned gray and rainy.

I have only had two trick or treaters tonight. I have never had very many kids because the street is not well lit, and the houses are far apart.

I closed on my house nine years ago today. I can hardly believe it has been that long. . . . Time flies....

I am working on lotion bars and pure beeswax candles. I got lots of new exotic oils and yummy butters. I hope to make several new batches of lotion bars next week.

The bees are eating from the feeders and still bringing in pollen. All seems to be going well at this time.

I got lots of plants and cuttings from Carol Finch, a master gardener this week. She gave me some perennials I hope the girls will like. The spring will tell. I am going to meet some other master gardeners in the next week or so for more ideas how to make Sasserfrass Hill more bee friendly.

Bee Spooky,

Ms Deb

A Beautiful Fall Day for Bee Venom Therapy

2009-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

October 23, 2009 is a beautiful fall day with sunshine peeping in and out of the clouds. The bees are flying and the yellow jackets are on the prowl. I got stung by a yellow jacket yesterday while I was cleaning the feeders. The yellow jackets will not live through the winter but they are eating as much protein (bees) as possible now. They are lurking outside the hive looking for the sick and weak bees. When people say they got stung by a bee, usually they got stung by a bad old yellow jacket.

Today we had two new Bee Venom Therapy patients. Natalie is 84 years old and as cute as a button. She and her daughter came to try to get relief from arthritis. They had gone to the chiropractor and had physical therapy and wanted to try BVT as a complimentary treatment. I hope they get great relief from their arthritis pain. I was happy they were open minded and willing to try something new.

Erika came over also, she is suffering from MS, and has had a lot of relief from her aches and pains. Sarah came by to help with the web site. We are getting our products ready to post in time for Christmas. We hope to have lots of stocking stuffers to choose from.

We got a new baby girl in our family yesterday. Olivia was born at 5:58am and weighed 7lbs. 1oz

Vicky and Reese (my nephew) are doing fine. Vikki and Laurice and proud grandparents for the first time. They are over the moon for this little girl. We welcome her into the family.

I am off to Sam's to buy another 50 pounds of sugar... I will feed the girls for a while till they get plenty of food stored up for the winter.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

The Girls cleaning up the harvested supers

2009-10-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not it is the middle of October. I can not believe how this year has buzzed by.

Mr Charlie and I went through all the hives last week. All were strong but the Peach hive. Mr Charlie said they may have swarmed while I was not looking.

He brought a nuc over ( A nuc is a small hive with only five frames.) It is half the space for them to keep warm as the temperatures fall. I hope the peach girls will prosper. With so few sisters to keep themselves warm it may be tough.

The Girls...the Worker bees, will kick the drones out of the hive during the fall and winter. The drones contribute nothing to the hive. They don't even collect their own nectar...They make several flights each day looking for a virgin queen. Which odds are NOT good they will ever be successful.

Sarah and Erika are coming over on Thursday. We are going to update the website and put up some product photos.

The year is buzzing away at light speed....... So the Girls and I will hold on tight.... it's going to be a fun filled fall.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

2009-10-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

We have had a prosperous spring and summer at Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm. We have moved into fall will a bountiful harvest. We extracted our last three honey supers last week and got almost 50 pounds.

We had a lot of fun and talked to many many people at Mule Day up in Washington, Georgia on Saturday. The weather was calling for 50% rain but it was a perfect day with lots of sunshine.

We are giving our girls their fall medicine to treat for mites and Honey B Healthy, a Feeding Stimulant with Essential Oils... ..... ...... it Helps Your Hives to Thrive!

We will treat for hive beetles and wax moths also.

I am going into the fall with 10 healthy hives. I hope I come out of winter with the same number.

We are going to add about 30 more hives this spring. We need more honey to meet the demands of the local market. Thanks to everyone who purchased honey and lotion bars from us. We hope to have lots more products in the near future like pure beeswax candles, soaps, lip balms, lotions and lots more.

We are Grateful. I am Blessed.!!!!

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

We have a Cover Girl on SasserFrass Hill

2009-09-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know already... But I will tell you again.
A few weeks ago I took a spoonful of honey and went into my bee yard. I chased bees around until I got one of the girls to stop for a taste.

I started taking photos, lots and lots of photos... I downloaded them into my computer. I had one that caught my eye so I decided to send it over to Kim Flottum, the editor of Bee Culture magazine.

I ask if they accepted freelance photography, adding, jokingly, that I'd always wanted to be on the cover of the Rolling Stone…(an old 70s song by Dr Hook)… . If not The Rolling Stone, I would love to make the cover of Bee Culture magazine.

He emailed back saying "Nice photo"…. But for the cover the image need more headroom for the title and a more vertical shot. If I could take a shot that good, with the format he needed maybe even Rolling Stone would want it.
Soooooo… I went back into PhotoShop. I re-cropped the shot; I even added the magazine title and sent it back and ask…what about this?
He answered; can you have it back to me by tomorrow? I want to use it on the October cover. I was so excited! This October? was my response. I had no idea in just a few week I would see a Sasserfrass Hill girl on the cover of a National magazine !

He gave me the format he needed. I got the photo to him in a few hours. The production coordinator- Kathy Summers emailed and said my photo had made their deadline and would defiantly be on the October 2009 cover of Bee Culture.
So keep your eye out for the Sasserfrass Hill cover girl making her debut on the cover of October issue of Bee Culture magazine.

Check out my mock up of the cover....I also believe in positive affirmations....

Bee Well,

Ms. Deb

Sasserfrass Hill Cover Girl

2009-09-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

I can hardly bee-lieve it, I sent in a photograph of one of my girls drinking honey from a spoon to Bee Culture magazine. They are a national Bee Keepers publication. They are going to use my photograph for the cover of their magazine in October 2009. I am beyond stoked.!!!

I took lots and lots of photos before I got this shot.... but it turned out so beautiful..... I love it..

Bee Creative,

Ms Deb

A Spoonful of Honey

2009-08-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

I have had lots of hive beetles in all my hives. It seems the lime and the blue hives have lots more than the rest. Thanks to Mr. Charlie's idea to use the plastic on top I have managed to kill beetles everyday. I can see how people lose hives to these awful pests. If I didn't check and kill them everyday they would surely over run and take my hives.

Sunday morning I got a spoonful of honey and took it into the bee yard. I chased bees around till I got one to taste it. She drank and drank till her little honey stomach was full and bulging. I took lots of photographs and finally got this one. I absolutely love it. You can see her little tongue slurping up the honey.

Things are going well on Sasserfrass Hill. We got a supply of Shea Butter, Jojoba oil, Cocoa Butter and lanolin in and we are making lotion bars this week. We will see how that goes.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

We extracted 112 pounds of Honey today!

2009-08-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

We are buzzing along on Sasserfrass Hill. Today I extracted a super from the Blue, purple and pink hives. Mr. Charlie came by yesterday and helped me put the escape boards on. Rick took the three supers off late yesterday and blew out most of the bees. He put the supers into the trunk of my car so I could take over to Mr. Charlies Honey House to extract.
Mr. Charlie also confirmed I have no queen in the Aqua and Peach hives. The queens we got from Wilbanks Apiaries and installed on June 17, did not take!!!!! Not sure why???? We are going back down to Wilbanks in Claxton on Thursday and pick up four more queens. (Mr Charlie needs two also.) This will be the third queen for the Aqua hive and the second for the Peach. The Clipped and Marked queens cost $20 each. I thinks these hives may be costing me just to keep them. But that's O.K.

I had to wait for Rick to get home from work to help me get the two 5 gallon buckets out of my car. They are too heavy for me to pick up. I am proud to announce I extracted 112 pounds of honey today. I am very excited about another big harvest from the girls on Sasserfrass Hill.

Mama put another case of half pint jars into the dishwasher. I have sold more half pints than any other size this season. I will bottle today's honey on Friday morning. Just in time for the Brickyard Market in North Augusta, Friday afternoon from 4 - 8pm. This will be our fourth Friday at the Brickyard and we have really enjoyed being one of the vendors. If you have not been over to the Brickyard Market on Friday afternoon come by and see us and all the vendors. They sell fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, jams and jellies, jewelry, candles, wooden bowls and much more. Don't forget to pick up a few jars of liquid gold. Start eating your honey now to build up your immunities to help fight your fall allergies. Hope to see you soon.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

August 3, 2009 Happy Birthday Julian

2009-08-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday, August 3, 2009. Today is my youngest brother Julian's birthday. I called him today to wish him many blessings. We have had several nice showers on Sasserfrass Hill this past week. My grass is still green and my flowers are still blooming. The bees seem to be doing well. My peach hive is not bringing in pollen like I think it should. I may go into it this week and see if I can see any problems. I have been persistent at killing many hive beetles in all my hives. I wonder what other beekeepers do that don't kill them everyday. I can see how you could loose a hive to this pest. If I could sell hive beetles... I would be a wealthy woman.

Tonight is the monthly meeting of the Clark Hill Beekeepers. I hope we have a good turnout. I love to hear about other people bees and how they are doing. Thank you God for another beautiful day on Sasserfrass Hill.

Another Beautiful Day on Sasserfrass Hill

2009-07-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

I have been going to the local flea market to sell honey on the weekends. I am going to try the Friday Brickyard Market in North Augusta this week. Mr Charlie and I are going to see if it will be worth our while to try this new venue.

I have sold almost half of my first 109 pound harvest. Mr Charlie has three times the honey and hives that I have, so he has a lot more to sell. We enjoy talking to people and educating them about the bees. We encourage anyone interested in keeping bees to jump in and help save this incredible creatures.

Bees are in trouble from loss of habit, starvation and all the chemicals we are pouring into the environment. It is really scary to think... what if the bees go away ? ..... What will happen to our food supply??? Every third bite you take is due to a bee. Did you know that? The only thing not pollinated by a bee is corn and wheat (They are wind pollinated). So if you like gruel you should be fine but if you like fruits and vegetables you are going to bee in big trouble. So.... Help protect the bees and remember to plant wildflowers and don't use chemicals in your yard.

North Augusta girls cross the mighty Savannah

2009-07-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

CCD ?? I am still puzzled. My green hive disappeared. I really don't know what happened to it. It was a very strong hive. The bees could have swarmed while I was away, I am not sure , but I wish I knew. Rick and I took the entire green hive out of the bee yard. It had been robbed of all honey and most of the pollen and hive beetle larva had moved in. I put the frames into the freezer to kill all the bugs...

Mr Charlie had four hives at his sons house in North Augusta. A brush fire had killed all but one hive. He brought over one super with lots of brood to replaced my green hive. The North Augusta girls were hungry and feisty. He said I should feed them for a few weeks. I took them fresh sugar water and one of the pugnacious guards stung me on the finger. I guess no one told her of the old saying "don't sting the hand that feeds you". Mr Charlie has a queen cell he is going to transfer into this hive. We hope the new queen will make it a more gentle hive and we hope it will bounce back and become even stronger than before. To welcome the North Augusta girls to the Georgia side of the river, I mixed up a enormous supply of sugar water with Honey B Healthy feeding stimulant . . . Who's slogan is "Helps your Hives to Thrive! I will keep the feeders full and hope they love it here on Sasserfrass Hill and flourish.

2009-07-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

Time is flying by. Only 182 days left till 2010. It is extremely hot and extremely dry. We have had no rain in two weeks. With little chance of any moisture for many more days. My girls are hot and a little cranky. Mr. Charlie and I went through the hives July 1 and I had three more hives with no queen and no brood. I am exasperated. We found one capped off queen cell in the pumpkin hive. Mr Charlie shook most of the bee off the frame and put the entire frame into the lime green hive that had no brood or queen. The green and the aqua hives are struggling and have no queens or brood again.

I have one giant sunflower. It is beautiful. It opened up fully yesterday. Some bug is munching down on the petals. All the bees seem to love it. I have taken a few great shots of this glowing beauty.
I am posting a few of my favorite shots.
Everyone at Sasserfrass Hill hopes you have a happy and safe 4th of July.

Bee Safe,

Deborah

First Honey Harvest of 2009

2009-06-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

Good News Everyone!!!

We are over the moon on Sasserfrass Hill. Mr. Charlie and I extracted the first of my honey today. We put a bee escape screen on three hives yesterday. Mr. Charlie came over this morning at 10am. He picked up the three supers ( they are too heavy for me to pick up) and took them to his honey house. Mr. Charlie has a 9 frame power radial extractor and a air conditioned honey house. I have a four frame hand crank extractor and no air conditioning in my bee shed. So needless to say I was fortunate when he offered to let me use his well equipped facility.

I drove over to his house so he would not have to drive back across town. When I got to his honey house he had the supers unloaded and the hot knife plugged in. He asked if I would like him to do the honors or do it myself. Of course I was happy to watch a master work. He had all three supers uncapped and ready to return to the box they came from (The bees like to get there own frames back) in less than an hour. It would have taken me twice as long to get the job done.

I brought along three five gallon buckets or holding tanks as they are called in the catalogs to bring the honey from his extractor back to Sasserfrass Hill. I ended up with a little over 100 pounds of sweet golden honey. I had to replace eight queens this spring. I was afraid I may not have much honey to harvest this season. I was delighted with the quality and quantity of my honey.
I will let the honey sit in the holding tanks for a few days before putting it into jars. The bubbles will rise to the top. Mr. Charlie says.... You should skim it off and feed it back to the bees.

We are very grateful on Sasserfrass Hill tonight for all our many blessings and our bountiful harvest.

Thank you Mr. Charlie for making this harvest smooth and easy.

Bee Well and Stay Cool,

Deborah

Happy Summer !

2009-06-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the first official day of Summer. It is the hottest day of the year with temperatures racing near 104 degrees. It is going to be a super hot few days. I don't think we can expect anything but more hot smoldering days. The bees seem to take it in stride. I did put up their colorful umbrellas to help shade them from the scorching afternoon sun. I also put out some ice cream salt. Mr Charlie said....the salt will provide some of the minerals they made need in this heat.

Happy Birthday Sarah!!!! Hope you have a wonderful day and many many more!!!

Try to stay cool and we will do the same.

Deborah
and the "Girls" on Sasserfrass Hill

2009-06-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

Greetings Everyone,

With temperatures heating up well into the upper 90'ies, it has slowed the production on Sasserfrass Hill down a bit. I am trying to keep the plants watered. The tomatoes and peppers are producing very nicely. The wildflowers in the garden are beautiful and after being staked they are standing up and showing their faces. We have the intense Georgia afternoon sun with no shade to help with the broiling heat. I bought umbrellas last year to help shade my girls. With summer fast approaching I think it is time to put the umbrellas up over the hives again. (My neighbor says it looks like a roadside stand when the umbrella go up.)

We have had a bit of a setback. On Saturday Rick and I went through seven of the hives, to check for queen cells and to check for brood and pests. To our disappointment we found four MORE hives with NO brood. Four hive with NO babies and no Queen. Remember we had to put three queens and brood from Mr. Charlies hives in last week. To find we have four more queen less hive is a big set back to us on Sasserfrass Hill. This will slow honey production down to a crawl.

Mr Charlie ordered more queens and we are going to pick them up from Wilbanks Apiaries in Claxton on Wednesday. I hope these queens are strong good layers, so we can make it through the summer and get busy making honey for Sasserfrass Hill. I am learning many new things everyday about the bees. This is a hard lesson but, a part of beekeeping.

I will keep you posted on our progress.

Bee Cool,

Deborah

2009-06-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

Mr. Charlie (my mentor) and I went through my ten hives last week. We expected to be harvesting honey this week, but to my chagrin I will not be harvesting this week. We found three hives with no queens. I have no idea what happened to them. Yesterday Mr. Charlie brought frames over with queen cells and lots of brood. (babies) to replace a frame in all three hives. We are hoping the queen cell will emerge about the same time as the baby bees, so the queen will have bees to care of her and get the hives working and productive again.

When there is no queen in the hive the bees chill out and don't do much work. Spring is the most plentiful time of the year. They should be bringing in lots of pollen and nectar. This is a set back and I will miss out on lots of honey production, but as Mr. Charlie says... This is a learning experience and a part of beekeeping.

I met a fabulous lady, Carla Grayson a few weeks ago at a holistic fair. She linked my sasserfrasshill.com website onto her becomeonewithspirit.com site. She is a renowned web designer and has an interesting and informative website. I am very grateful she added sasserfrasshill.com to her site. Check it out.

Mr. Charlie and I will go through my hives again soon to see how the queens are progressing. I hope we will be back in full production in just a few weeks.

Bee Well,

Deborah

No Honey yet!

2009-06-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Mr. Charlie (my mentor) and I went through my hives last week. We were expecting to start harvesting honey this week, but to my chagrin I found I was not ready to harvest honey and even more disappointing was three of my hives did not have a queen. I am not sure what happened. The purple, green and aqua hives had no brood (babies) at all. Mr. Charlie came over yesterday and brought frames with queen cells and lots of brood from his hives. He replaced one of my frames with one of his, in each of the three queen less hives. We hope the brood will hatch around the same time as the queen, so they can take care of her and get the hive working and productive again.

The spring is the busiest time for the bees. This is down time for these three hives, when they should be working the hardest. When there is no queen the hive slows production instead of going like gang busters. This is disappointing but as Mr. Charlie says.... It is a learning experience and part of being a beekeeper.

Also I met a fabulous lady, Carla Grayson at the holistic fair a few weeks ago. She put our web site sasserfrasshill.com on her site becomeonewithspirit.com (We are under the news letter portion of her site). She is a renowned web designer and has a creative and very interesting website.

I really appreciate her adding Sasserfrasshill.com to her site. Check it out.

Bee Well,

Deborah

Harvest Time

2009-05-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

It is almost time to pull my first honey of the season. 2009 has been a wonderful spring. With temperatures cooler than normal and lots of rain. The nectar and pollen flow has been plentiful. The bees have been very busy. Every trip the forging bees make yields lots of protein and carbohydrates.

Mr. Charlie is coming over tomorrow and we are going to check all the hives for queen cells again and see which hives need escape board (the bees can get out of the honey super but they can not get back in). We will be ready to harvest honey on Tuesday or Wednesday. I am anxious to see how much liquid gold my girls will produce this spring.

We met beekeepers Sue and Jim Gertis while on vacation last week. They were wonderful friendly people that told us a lot about how they keep bees. Their honey and beeswax was used on several recovering turtles at The Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island. They gave us a jar of their Jekyll Island honey and it is fabulous.
I will let you know how many pounds of honey we harvest.
Bee Well,
Deborah

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy week on Sasserfrass Hill. We have been planting lots of plants and seeds. I planted more Black Eye Susan Vines, Hummingbird (Cypress) Vines and lots of multicolored morning Glory vines along all the fences in my yard and garden. We transplanted cuttings from April's Lady Banks Rose and pulled lots of weeds. (I am not using any chemicals on my lawn) We got about an inch of rain this week. Everything is lush and green and looks so nice. It will be hot and dry soon enough.....

April (my sister in law) and I rescued lots of Easter Lillie's from the dumpster.

We believe in recycling, reusing and reducing land fill waste. I must plant them in my garden next week. I will also share some of the bulbs with my sister.

I found lots and lots of ants in the Aqua Hive yesterday. The most I have ever had in a hive at one time. The ants were into the frames taking out the honey. This indicates a weak hive...A strong hive would keep them out. I hate killing ants but they CAN NOT be in my hives. It took almost all day ... I squished a million ants, wait an hour and go back and squish more. Today when I checked there were only a few ants in the hive.

Mr Charlie administered Bee Venom Therapy to our Multiple Sclerosis Patient today. She had about fifteen stings.

I have two nephews graduating from college in the morning. We are having a family get together at my brothers in Millen to celebrate their accomplishments in the afternoon. We will enjoy our family and friends. We will give thanks to God for blessing our family with these two fine young men, that I am sure will make the world a better place. We will also celebrate Mother's Day, while we are all together. All my siblings will be together. Our mother, has seven kids...she loves nothing more than having all her chicks in one place. She is a wonderful mother and my biggest fan.

Happy Mothers Day to mine and all mothers out there....I wonder if the bees think about their mother? The queen be can lay 1000 to 2000 eggs in a day. You thought you had a lot of kids to keep up with!!

We will be taking a break on Sasserfrass Hill for the weekend. We will look for and pull queen cells again on Monday, until then...
Bee Well,

Deborah

Sasserfrass Hill adds a Stag !

2009-05-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday I went to a local plant swap. It was buzzing with lots of plants and plant lovers. I loved to feel the energy put out by live plants. I did swap a few plants, but I bought more than I swapped. I got some very cool plants. My number one question to all the vendors.... "do the bees like it?" I got lots of plants my girls will enjoy. I also bought a big beautiful Stag Horn Fern.

I hung it in the pecan tree on the east side of my yard. It looks gorgeous!!! It gets morning light but not the brutal afternoon sun. It looks great with the peach and lime green hives.

The lime green hive I installed last Wednesday is looking good. I gave them another half gallon of food today.(sugar water) The peach hive is also thriving. She is a great little queen. (Pearl bought the paint and picked out the color. Thanks Again Pearl. I will give you a jar of honey from that hive in just a few weeks.) I painted another peach honey super today and I have it ready for next week. Mr Charlie says, we will have to add another honey super to the peach hive this week, when we go into each hive, pull every frame and check for queen cells and pests.

The girls are really taking advantage of the nectar flow. They are also bringing in legs full of pollen. Which means lots of protein for the baby brood. Did you know the bees mix pollen and honey together and feed it to the baby bees. They call it a bee bisquit or bee bread.... How cute is that????

I also finished up the stacked stone in the beds in front of my house. It turned out very well. I really love the way it looks.

The weather is perfect now. God has kept the rain coming and the plants are plentiful. We will have a bountiful harvest this spring. Thank You God!!! We are very grateful for all our many blessings on Sasserfrass Hill.

Light Speed

2009-05-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! It is the first day of May. This year is flying by....at light speed.

I have been very busy on Sasserfrasshill. I have finished the stone work (stackstones in the beds and lamp post) in the front of my house. It turned out very good. I am happy with the results. David Mazul came by to check on a date for us to finish the flagstone at the end of the carport. It will look great when we finish that project. Then we may build a pergola. The hot afternoon sun really parches all the plants on the west side of the house. I am in need of more shade.

I have been planting flowers, vines and vegetables. The Bees have been busy collecting nectar, pollen and water. I have several very strong hives. Mr Charlie says...I will have honey in just a few weeks.

I installed a new package of Bees on Wednesday. I put them in a lime green hive on the east side of my house. I have two hives on the east side making a total of ten hives. The new bees seem to be doing great and learning the lay of the land.

I have a lot of seeds to plant.... but we need rain before I can plant.... I hope we get rain this weekend. Thank you God!!!.... in advance.

Before I forget.......Plant some wildflowers for the bees they will appreciate it.!

Hope to see you all soon.

Bee Well,

Deborah

2009-04-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

It has been raining for two days at Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farms. The bees get a little grump having to stay couped up in the hive for days at a time. Late in the afternoon the rain turned into a sprinkle and a few of the older girls were gathering pollen. I saw and took this gorgeous shot of one of my "girls" on my wisteria.

Bees are such hardworking little creatures. I think they can teach us a lot about working together at this critical time on the planet.

Into the Wild

2009-03-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

I had another swarm Sunday morning around 11am. The swarm went back to the same neighbor who was less than thrilled to see them coming. It is a little scary to see the sky fill with thousands of stinging insects. This time I was not so lucky. The bees went high into their oak tree. It was a beautiful sunny morning, about 68 degrees. But inside the hive was a comfortable 90 degrees. The temperature dipped into the low 40' ties Sunday night and I worried if "the girls" would survive the cold. As the temperatures dropped I bet they were wondering... who's bright idea was this anyway.

Monday morning I checked on them and they seemed have weathered the cold with no causalities. I kept an eye on the bees all morning. I kept watching until about 2:30pm when I went into the bee shed to paint a hive and when I came out they were gone. I was very disappointed. I wanted to see which direction they went. I want to know where my "girls" are tonight. Are they safe? Are they warm enough? I guess I will have to have faith my "girls" are fine. Bees have been taking care of themselves for millions of years. But I have only been a beekeeper for a year....I have got to get use to them doing their own thing.

Neighbor Finds Bees on Swing !

2009-03-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning I went to the dentist and upon my return found my purple hive was swarming again for the third time this season. This time they decided to visit my neighbor, who was less than excited about the social call. It was about 11:30 am, a beautiful day with temperatures in the 70'es. I ran in and grabbed my camera confident I could see where they settled. I was trusting they would not go to the top of an oak tree again. To my delight they chose Ms Billies swing and soon the arm of the swing was covered with bees.

I got my last painted (peach) hive body, sprayed the ten frames with sugar water, loaded it onto my red wagon and pulled it down into Bobby and Billies backyard. I maneuvered the hive as close to the bees as possible. I sprayed the bees with the sugar water. I could feel the vibration of their buzzing up my arm as I gently scooped them into the hive. I got an adrenal rush as I realized I was only inches way from thousand of stinging insects with no hive between us.

I was glad Rick came home for lunch, but he had no time for a sandwich. He put on his veil and helped me wrangle the girls. He took down one side of the swing and gave it one sharp whack...the bees fell into the hive.

I covered them with a sheet of plastic and put the lid on. I gently pulled them up the hill to my backyard and now we have a total of nine hive. I hope the bees on Sasserfrass Hill will stop swarming for a while, at least until I can get another hive put together and painted.

Another swarm Friday Afternoon!!

2009-03-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

I ran a few errands Friday afternoon and when I got home I had another swarm on the lantern in the dogwood tree. I was taking photos when a friend, Pearl dropped by to see the bees. She took a few photos as I was getting the new yellow hive ready. While I was getting the things set up the bees started to return to the pumpkin colored hive they had swarmed from. After they settled down I went and checked and found the clipped and marked queen on the ground underneath the hive. I put her in a jar and ran in and called Mr. Charlie (the bee whisperer). He told me to kill the queen. I ask for option two, since she had been a prolific queen and she was only one year old. I was not going to kill her. He told me to take three frames from the hive they swarmed from and put them into the new hive making sure I had no queen cells on any of the frames. I gave them just a little puff of smoke and gingerly took three frames out, checking for queen cells. I replaced the frames for empty ones. The bees were very gentle and I did not get stung. I had the new hive on my wagon and pulled it over to the other end of the new hive stand and it took its place beside the new aqua hive that was set up on Wednesday. I am running out of hive bodies. The girls need to stop swarming for a while and give me time to catch up.

Girls Gone Wild !!

2009-03-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

Things are really buzzing along on Sasserfrass Hill.

Yesterday I found a swarm of bees on a lantern in my dogwood tree about three feet off the ground. I balanced a new hive on my wagon and pulled it over to the swarm. I called Mr. Charlie (my mentor) he came over and laid the lantern inside the hive. He covered it with a black plastic bag (to keep it dark) and we waited for the girls to settle down and go down into the hive from the lantern. Rick leveled another hive stand in the garden and late yesterday we gingerly put the hive on the stand. I was really happy I found the swarm and was able to get the bees safely inside a new hive This makes seven hives for Sasserfrass Hill. Last week I lost a large swarm after they settled in the top of a giant oak.

I have been painting and assembling hives so hopefully next time the girls swarm I will be ready.

The Launch of My New Blog

2009-03-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

Today my niece helped me create this blog. I am a new beekeeper and blogger.

I am enjoying learning about the bees. It is a wonderful hobby and I hope to turn Sasserfrass Hill in to a full time business. I hope to use this blog to share information about the bees.

I have recently began learning and practicing Bee Venom Therapy along with my mentor Mr. Charles Lynn. We are reading and learning more about Bee Venom Therapy everyday. We met a woman with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) She has helped us delve into a area of the bees we may not have explored on our own. She is experiencing wonderful benefits from the therapy.

We hope to expand and help many more people.

If you would like more information on Bee Venom Therapy email dsasser3@comcast.net