July brings lots of excitement to Sasserfrass Hill

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

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

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

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!

February Snow on SasserFrass Hill

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!

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