SWARMS ABOUND!!!

Posted on May 9, 2012 by admin

We have rescued 15 swarms so far this season…and have assisted in 3 others. Seems the warm winter sent a message to the honeybee population this year. I hope to post more photos and videos of our rescues…both in Sonoma County and Marin County. I have been stung while collecting but only because I pissed them off!

biggest swarm I ever saved


Here is a photo of the largest swarm I ever rescued. Took 3 boxes (they filled them up!) and it took two of us to move them. We never know for certain how big or how small they are…just try and take enough equipment to take care of anything!
Here is one last video of the swarm season and they are up close and personal! I will be posting more soon!IMG_2221

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Our newest Farmers Market

Posted on March 4, 2012 by admin

We recently added a new farmers market to our schedule. We have long searched for a small year round market…and it does look like we have finally succeeded! Marinwood, just minutes south of Petaluma, is the newest market for us. We have already been there now 3 weeks and have been very well welcomed by the market and community.
The food is great, artist and great stuff…the music is always great! Vegetables and meats and fruits are always there. There may be some conflicting times when Petaluma starts but we will deal with it as it arrives. Then, our other new market is
This will be a very new market for us. We have been told the locals are “begging for a honey vendor!” We are adjusting to our new markets and hope to gain new friends as well as new customers. In our crazy lifestyle the best we can hope for is to have a friend who is a customer!

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Propolis…medicine from the hive!

Posted on February 27, 2012 by admin

Propolis (uncountable)
An aromatic glue-like substance produced by honeybees from tree resin, waxes, and their own secretions, used in the construction of their hives.

Propolis is a substance made by the honeybee that provides protection against harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi. Propolis is plant resin collected by bees for use in and around the hive. In plants it is usually the sticky coating around buds that serves to protect them from the elements of weather plus from attack by bacteria, fungi, molds, and viruses. These are properties that are useful to the bees and are enhanced by the sticky properties of the propolis bee glue. Like pollen, propolis bee glue is a bee product that cannot be clearly defined and varies from sample to sample. This is a natural outcome of the collection process. Propolis collecting bees will use resins from a large variety of tree and other plant species, and these naturally will differ in their qualitative and quantitative chemical composition. Nevertheless, different bee propolis extract samples do share considerable similarity in their physical and overall general chemical nature.

Hundreds of chemical compounds have been identified from bee propolis extract. The main chemical classes present in propolis are flavonoids, phenolics, and various aromatic compounds. Bee propolis extract also contains some volatile oils, terpenes, and beeswax, but these compounds are not believed to contribute as significantly to the chemical properties and effects of propolis.

Flavonoids are well-known plant compounds that have antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties. Other properties of propolis beeglue include acting as a local anesthetic, reducing spasms, healing gastric ulcers, and strengthening capillaries.

Now that all that is down, I got a call from a woman who lived in Ohio recently. She was desperate to find some remedy for her poor dog. It has “hot spots” which being an oder dog, was literally driving the poor thing crazy! I recommended our propolis tincture Although I use both, I often recommend the tincture because of ease of application…liquid over solid.

http://www.bloomfieldbeeshoney.com/propolistincture.shtml

It is a real helper on stopping a sore throat…a few drops on the back of the tongue will simple make it go away! Using propolis is safe and effective as a natural product. Being a natural antibiotic your body doesn’t reject it. I prefer it because of it’s natural woody taste.

http://www.bloomfieldbeeshoney.com/rawpropolis.shtml

I have personally used propolis to sooth a raw throat…a mere pinch under the tongue for half an hour and the pain is gone! I lost a tooth filling several years ago…a very painful experience most of you can relate to…a small chunk in the hole and I was able to eat and drink for several days until my dental appointment! Place under a bandaid it helps heal skin abrasions. Although raw propolis WILL cause reddening of the skin, remember it IS a natural antibiotic! Treat it as such! I have never been disappointed with the “magic” of propolis. If you have questions…type it into your favorite search engine…page after page of really good reviews!

Just a follow up note to this post…I did one hour (aprox) of propolis harvesting and netted aproximately 25 grams! It is a slow and tedious activity but well worth the effort judging by how much we have sold over the last 6 months. Nature has its secrets…now you have one of the best antiseptics in the world!

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First rescue of 2012

Posted on January 13, 2012 by admin

We have been contacted by a family in Mill Valley. They have a colony in the roof of their children’s tree house. Seems they wanted some tree work done and the tree people said “Get Rid Of the Bees!” and then they contact us. Most times folks don’t even know they have a colony…all to frequently they honeybees will be just doing fine…thank you very much…with no problems…then along comes man and they want to change something.
Then it’s, “Oh, please get rid of the bees!”…and here we are again! I will say that bee rescue is quite a satisfying thing to do. I read once, years ago, that as a beekeeper, I would end up doing things and going places where ” most sane folks” would go any where near! We are going to use the trip to finish up other other Marin County extraction finished up. I will of course, have my handy cameras to take lots of photos…These new fangled things that make life comfortable can be handy to us old timers once in a while!
When we take the bees back to Sebastopol there will be a very dangerous period of adjustment for the bees. I will probably do extra to help these girls along. It is the middle of the winter after all!

Here we are and we did save the colony. Turns out the bees moved in during the summer so although they were established at least they didn’t have a lot of comb. I had more trouble ripping up the rotted roofing material than with the bees themselves. Once I set up I fairly quickly vacuumed the bees into a screened box.
Here I am standing on the ladder and working the roof. I worked about 30 minutes and then with Jackie’s help, brought down the comb section by section to be placed in our transport box. Although Jackie got stung once handling the comb, I did not get stung until we finished and had reboxed the girls back at Bloomfield. I am waiting to see if the queen survived…warmer weather.

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Introduction of new package for holiday season

Posted on November 10, 2011 by admin

Mix season gift pack


Here is one of our older gift packs brought back by popular demand! We offer a nice selection of “mix and match” and the attractive wooden crate for a perfect gift! Under $20 is a great idea for anybody these days. Contact us through the web or by email for special service on this limited gift idea!
bloombee@sonic.net
These unique 2 ounce bottles of liquid delight put together with love in mind for a gift that will spark memories of “how honey used to taste like!“. We try hard to have the best bees to give us the best honey. Raw and pure with only the taste in mind for our customers. Any mix that is currently available for this package. Remember some of our honeys are very seasonal, thus we only have a limited amount. Please allow us to substitute if not what you want.
We are currently offering tastings at Petaluma and Sebastopol and at all three of our December markets. Saturday, December 3rd, at “Mobile Home Estates” on the Old Redwood Highway north of Fulton. We will be sampling and selling all our products.
Our next sale will be in “Occidental Community Center” on December 10th and 11th. Again we will be selling our full line of products. Our soaps and skin products are stocking stuffers of a different type…one long appreciated over traditional candy!
Finally this year we are trying a new venue in Berkley, CA. The Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair. A 6 day annual event, we will be there on December 17th and 18th. We are hoping to introduce our “honey tasting” as a new way to gifting this year. What we have done for years now becoming a new/perfect gift all over again! The old timers in beekeeping would be amazed!

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Why do honeys taste so different?

Posted on November 1, 2011 by admin

Now here is a common question that is often asked at the farmers markets Bloomfield Bees Honey sells its products. A lot of folks assume we “flavor” our honey…not true! We are very selective about where we place our hives. Most of our apiaries are in Sonoma County, CA…most near Sebastopol, where Bloomfield Bees started. When we began working with Kathy Cox she taught us the basics of beekeeping.
Placement of colonies is very important to the basic health of the apiary and to honey collection! As a beekeeper we look for a good blooming area that has a wide mix of flowers and plants to support honeybees. This assures us that our colonies will have a wide mix of pollens as well as nectars.
The colonies begin to expand in early spring, each queen laying thousands of eggs to allow the colony to expand and prepare for the coming nectar flow. Each colony will expand on a different time schedule. Personally I like to watch the bees as they search for nectar in the surrounding areas. As the new flowers bloom, the girls will find each and then go back to tell their sisters. More and more bees from the colony find the source and begin to bring back that nectar.
As the nectar of the one flower begins to fill the cells, more cells are allocated and more nectar is brought back. Once the amount of nectar is sufficient the workers begin to change the nectar into honey! Since the source is all the same (or mostly) it will all taste alike! This is when we begin collecting honey from the hives! Now you can have a stack of frames from different colonies that have the same type honey.
One of my favorites is blackberry honey…it has a rather “tangy” taste…that is to say the sweetness is quickly followed by the tangy taste. At our farmers markets we offer a unique “honey tasting” that allows our customers to compare the different tastes for themselves. When most new customers taste they frequently purchase the first honey they taste.
I like to let them try our raspberry first…it has a light texture and a nice flavor. Unlike clover, which is mild and sweet, I prefer a flavorful honey. I am aware that several of our honeys are not available on the website so if you would like one of our specialty honeys…contact us directly! That way I can direct you to order specific honey
Let me describe our honeys for you…starting with clover
Clover a mild and sweet honey
Raspberrylight with a nice flavor…perfect for tea
Starthistlelight with a slight flavor of eucalyptus
Wildflowervery flavorful and floral tasting…great for allergy relief!
Blackberrysweet with a tangy aftertaste!
Orange Blossomsweet with a citrus aftertaste “great for tea
Apple Blossomcreamy and buttery tasting
Lavenderstrong and very flavorful perfect for a cheese and honey tasting
Blackberry chocolateThat nice tangy flavor with dark cocoa bean chocolate infused! What a treat!
Orange Blossom Sweet citrus with chocolate added to give a wonderful taste…great for a Christmas gift!

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Tree with honeybees to be extracted

Posted on October 22, 2011 by admin

I have been contacted about removing bees from a tree in Marin County. I will photograph and link to this new project as it develops. A friend has offered to help set it up and to help monitor as we begin the new project. Keep watching!

Geof preparing the tree for the extraction


OUCH!!!! I got nailed 10 to 12 times just looking at the opening! I quickly retreated and got my suit on while lighting up my handy smoker! Wow! Honeybees don’t usually go for stinging unless they are unhappy. I must have upset them as I was clearing away the vines that covered the hole. It was about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide.
I cut a piece to make a funnel and began to smoke the heck out of them while I measured the hole and prepared the area. The girls were definitely not happy with me messing around their home. I stood on a steep bank overlooking a creek below.
After much smoke and I am sure nasty fussing by the girls, I began stapling the funnel over their hole. They buzzed me, bounced off the suit and in general tried to make my life miserable. I managed to staple the cone over their hole and began taping the area to prevent any girls from getting back inside. That is the idea of a trap hive, to prevent the bees from returning.
The box (with a small colony) is placed next to them allowing any loose bees a place to go after they exhaust themselves trying to return to their own colony in the tree. The hope is to get so many bees pulled away that the remaining bees panic and leave the tree…hopefully going into the box I have left for them…and yes they two queens will have to fight it out. Actually the workers will decide by concessional agreement which queen they prefer.
I had quite a time getting up and down to do the work. I am fairly sure I got the hole well sealed by I have a friend who will monitor the site for the next few weeks to see how it goes. I might mention now that this process does not always work. Sometimes the bees just keep finding ways back into the tree. New holes, old cracks, openings we didn’t find…just luck sometimes!

Geof carrying box to use for trapping bees

Here is the colony we took with us to use for the bait box. I wedged it into the tree and taped it to hold it securely. Any bee left outside will eventually have to go into this box if they can’t get into the tree.
Remember honeybees are very communal and any feral bees or ones trapped outside will be accepted into this colony. Eventually the two queens will have to be dealt with but not for several weeks I feel.

Trap box


I will be updating this post and letting everyone know how it works. Twice this year I have trapped out bees from inside a tree…lets hope this is successful also!

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Robbing between hives!

Posted on October 19, 2011 by admin

If you think bees are hungry this time of year, you are right! When the late fall arrives and there is very little for the girls to forage on…the robbers are sent out to find other colonies to rob…not a nice thought but it’s nature! Perhaps a better way to explain it is a robber bee is one who exclusively looks for honey or pollen or whatever is available. When she finds it, she returns to tell the others and many, many more then come to see what they can find!
When bees are robbing it can look very active in front of a colony. But beware! Robbers are very easily provoked! I have been stung repeatedly when bees are in this frantic mode of feeding! I have seen a weak colony overrun in a matter of hours! One beekeeper friend swears the robbers actually kill the weaker colony queen to cause the colony to collapse. I would tend to agree because of how fast I have seen one die off!
If you suspect robbing the best and quickest thing to do is throw a sheet over the box and wet it with water. This disguises the sent and prevents the robbers from getting into the box. It calms the colony and tends to discourage the robbers. Setting food out well away from the apiary is another trick but this in itself can trigger robbing so be careful.
Check this link out to verify robbing http://www.answers.com/topic/robbing

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Farmers markets and Christmas venues

Posted on October 7, 2011 by admin

This is the ending of our farmers markets in Sonoma county…although as of this week we have been unable to locate a year round market we approve of, we are still looking. On December 3rd, 2011 in our trailer park, we are having a one day sale. On December 10 and 11th in Occidental Community Center we are there for a 2 day Christmas Sale…please consider attending this annual event for a treat! And now there is a possibility that we will be in the Telegraph Ave Holiday Street Faire We are not positive yet as to our acceptance but it looks good and we will keep a link open for all to follow us!
Don’t forget our weekly markets are still open…Occidental Bohemian Farmers Market on Friday afternoon…Petaluma Farmers Market on Saturday afternoon…and Sebastopol Farmers Market on Sunday mornings! These are annual markets and well attended…hope you can attend one and find us!
We are creaming a whole new batch of honey for the holidays…hope you can stop by and have a taste…they make really nice gifts!

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Raining, have you prepared?

Posted on October 3, 2011 by admin

It’s started raining here in Sonoma county…we have checked on many of our girls, have you? As a way of explaining what you should at least consider doing, I will go over some of the things we do and encourage. Old tents do a great job of protecting new or weak hives. Although it may sound crazy to some, this is an excellent way to use old tents! Recycle and reuse is a phrase we know…try your own ideas.
We have a friend who uses hay bales to build a wall to protect his girls…sound silly? Think about it, wouldn’t you like a protection from the cold, hard nights? When it gets to rain, especially cold rain, you must do as much as you can to protect your girls! We use whatever we can find to help our girls in the rain…remember they need to get out regularly to “potty”, even when it’s cold and rainy!
I have seen sheets of plywood used, I have seen roofing material used, almost anything that you can think of to keep the rain off of the hives is a good thing. When a honeybee has a place to fly out and do a bit of exercise, it is definitely a good thing! I will be trying to get some photographs to give you ideas of how, what and why you should be doing for your girls…or at the least, pass the information on to any beekeepers you know.

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