The Girls cleaning up the harvested supers

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.