Wax 101

-Posted by Isaac

This is a post to explain our new and improved wax processing. A few weeks ago Jayne was showing off some new candles and linked to an old post that covered the journey of beeswax. I actually read through that post last night, and realized that we do things a little differently now. We've learned some things! Here's the new version.

As you know, the wax is made by the bees. After the bees get the honey dried down below an 18% moisture level, they seal it off with a wax capping. This prevents the dried honey from drawing moisture. They preserve their food, so to speak.

Thank you, Vanna

And you can go right ahead and eat that wax. It won't hurt you. Comb honey, as shown above, used to be the only way honey came. But with the invention of the extractor (honey spinner), the public taste for honey evolved into a preference for liquid, not comb. We like to squeeze our honey out of bottles.

So in order to get to that liquid honey, the delicate wax capping has to be removed.

Below the uncapper pictured is a large hopper that eventually fills with a slurry of wax and honey. The slurry is then pumped up into a big "cappings spinner" which runs the entire day while we're extracting honey.

This machine filters the honey out and dries the wax.

We'll fill that big barrel approximately three times during an extracting season. (Nine or ten times total for the year.)

The wax eventually ends up in the rendering tank. This is set at 180 degrees F.

After only a day or so in the "hot pot" the wax, honey, and sludge have separated.

A little bit of burnt honey comes off the bottom. "Baker's honey."

In the middle is the sludge. After four or five rounds, this builds up to a point where it needs to be scooped out. 

We've found one really good use for this black nasty stuff. It burns like rocket fuel!

On top is what we're after-- the liquid gold.

If you read the post from 2013, and were wondering about the burlap filtering step, we've nixed that idea. It was time consuming and stupid. "KISS," right? It's much easier to simply ladle the wax off the top.

Then pour it through a bucket filter. 55 micron seems to work best... not too fast, not too slow.

Another thing we've learned.--(After years of pounding buckets and breaking buckets.) The hardened wax pops right out if you freeze the molds for a few hours.

Over the course of the season, you can build quite a castle from your bucket molds.

Naturally, we have a queen of the castle.

At this point, cleaned and hardened, you're ready for candles. (Or soaps, salves, lip balms, whatever.)

Above, you can see the many candle molds, and at the back of the table is the double boiler we use to remelt the wax and then pour.

A lot of wax means a lot of candles. Just in time for Christmas.

It ain't meanness y'all, it's just hungry is what I am.

-Posted by Isaac

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! 

Let's go kill a bird!

Last time it was The Who. This week we pay tribute to singer/songwriter Hayes Carll. But more than that, this post is going honor the greatest of American holidays. The one celebrating food, family and football. While all others have gone down the tubes, screwed up with too much religion and consumerism and drinking, during Thanksgiving we stick to what's REAL. We remember our core values. We rehearse what it means to be genuine Red White and Blue.

And by God, I'm going to celebrate!

I've been doing it for over 40 years. And it only gets better. If you are extremely mindful, or just lucky enough reach a state of food nirvana as I have, you too may realize that every day can be Thanksgiving.

But I had a distinct advantage. I grew up with food. My folks were grain farmers and cattle farmers. 

Mom, Apple Pie, and HFCS.

Four of us, myself, my brother and two younger sisters were raised in the dirt. And it seems that we didn't go very far.

We're still food people.

While our friends and classmates all scattered to become doctors, insurance agents, and tax accountants, here we are, still grinding it out on the land.

Our spouses, also raised in the dirt, have joined us.

And if our children hate real jobs as much as the four of us did, maybe they'll someday be rewarded with the same charmed predicament.

(We no longer kill chickens for meat. We kill their progeny.)

Late November is a reverent time. A time to show gratitude for Earth's bounty by filling our stomachs with it. 

"Earth's bounty," as you farm marketers can attest, will take literally hundreds of different forms.

As a business, we've fooled around with many of them. Oh so many! Some ok, some complete failures, some "break evens."

A learning experience, one and all.

The one that stuck was honey bees.

There are so many roads with bees! And we're eternally thankful for the new opportunities that bees present. For the yearly bounty that the bees provide. 

Because after all, we do like to eat.

New Beeswax Candle Designs!

-posted by Jayne

Back in 2013, Isaac wrote a blog post about how we render beeswax from hive cappings into these huge blocks pictured below, and eventually into beeswax candles.  If you missed it, you might want to check it out here.  

It gives a great overview of what becomes of the wax as a by-product of honey extraction, and the process we take to get it to the finished product.  Today, I'd like to show you 3 new candles designs available in our online store.  

I can't resist a morel mushroom.... So when I saw these new designs available from my favorite candle mold provider, I had to snatch them up.  I am an avid morel mushroom hunter in the Spring, so it seemed like a necessity to have this little reminder, year round, of good things to come in the Spring..  

This next one is called "Woodland Bliss" Pillar.  Isn't she a beauty?

And last, we have a set of 3 pinecones.  My fourth style of pinecone candle.  You can never have enough pinecones....  

We've already seen an increase in candle sales, as customers are buying them for hostess gifts, Thanksgiving centerpieces, and early Holiday shopping.  Candle making is one of my favorite jobs here at Honeyrun Farm, so I'd like to offer up a huge "thank-you" to all the customers who keep me busy pouring wax and creating new candles for you to enjoy!  

Thank God, it's finally over!

-Posted by Isaac

We're done! Last of the fall honey! Done!

What's that? Oh, you thought I meant the election? Well, true, thank God that rotten thing is over also. But let's please stick to more important matters.

Like pulling the last of the goldenrod honey:

Yesterday, bright and sunny, I finished up with the last two yards by mid-afternoon.

Today the last frames are run through. The last of the honey is spun out.

The last drums are filled. The last of the wax is rendered.

The last supers are stacked and stored.

This week marked the end of the liquid feeding.

And the last of the pollination hives came out of the pumpkins.

At Lohstroh Family Farms the bees did a great job... producing cattle feed.

This week capped off the productive part of the year. But as you may know, bee work never ends, it only changes.

And oh yes, now back to that other big event.

We were not so busy that we couldn't get out to preform our civic duties.

As Bridger is indicating, I tend to throw my vote to the Green Party. (Throw away my vote...?)

But this year, things were different. It was nasty. It was rotten. It was divisive. It was hard fought. I kept hearing that the future of our nation hinged on my decision.

So... being male, being white... being uneducated and living in the Midwest, I elected to cast my support to a proven winner.

Hey, 3.2% ain't bad!     (If you're playing Powerball.)

Boom! That's right! The Libertarian Party- cleaning up with over three times the Green vote! Go back to your twigs! Go back to your straw houses, Green Girl!

And now here we are. The aftermath. Picking up the pieces in a brave new world. Backward or forward, we continue to climb that step stool of social justice.

In some ways, life seems just the slightest bit more interesting.

And in other ways, I'm reminded of my favorite Who song- Because there's nothing in the street... looks any different to me...

I'll pick up my guitar (hive tool) and play.

Just like yesterday.

Then I'll get on my knees and pray...

We don't get fooled again!

Promoting Local Honey

-Posted by Isaac

This week, amidst the honey pulling, soap making, honey extracting, feeding, treating and winterizing of bees, amidst the trick-or-treating, parent-teacher conferencing, boy scouting, basketballing, piano lessons and library run-around of kids... we were invited to do something special. We got a sneak preview of a new honey store!

THE HONEY HOUSE has a grand opening this weekend. It's an artsy little place in downtown Grove City right across from the new library. Jim and Cindy, long time beekeeping friends took the leap.

Jim North has been a bee mentor of mine for years. He still runs bees for bulk honey production and pollination here in central Ohio, but I guess he's decided to get a taste of the retail side of things. 

CIRCLE BEE APIARIES is his honey business, and of course takes center stage in the new store.

I counted a least four shades of honey. Which, as you know, can happen right here in Ohio- Spring, summer, fall seasons, and just south in the woodsy part of the state, Jim has yards producing tulip poplar and blackberry honey.

There was also some nice looking fall pollen on display, along with a lot of artwork. (For sale, I assume.) What would you give for that awesome self portrait?

Some bee garb, and HONEY HOUSE garb...

And of course, the fancier stuff-- some bee-themed pottery, comb honey, chunk honey, and our very own infused and cinnamon honey.

Looks like they're going make a go of selling Jayne's soap!

And one of the coolest things- do-it-yourself bottling tanks! Light, medium and dark honey available, truly LOCAL honey. Use the quart or pint jars provided, or simply bring your own container and load up on as much as you want. They've got a scale to price it.

THE HONEY HOUSE in the old part of Grove City. Come check it out!

Ok, enough about Jim North. 

Back to Honeyrun Farm. I thought I would add a little more to this post-- show you another store doing an awesome job of promoting local honey.

This is the grand honey display in the Giant Eagle Market District on 3rd Ave:

Look at that! Wow! Talk about selling honey!

Very awesome display...

And that's just the honey. There are other displays for other local products scattered throughout the store. This store is truly doing something special.

Even before you walk in, you're greeted with a Wall of Local-- 

David and Chris, managers at this Market District, took me out to show off their wall. I was flattered and happily surprised. There we were, Honeyrun Farm, sandwiched between the famous Warren Taylor of Snowville and the beautiful, charismatic Dara Schwartz of Darista Dips. (To whom we sell honey.) What a treat! What an honor!

Promoting local- Come check it out!