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9642 Randle Rd
Williamsport, OH, 43164

Honeyrun Farm produces pure raw, honey, handcrafted soap, and beeswax candles in Williamsport, Ohio

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Birthdays

Jayne Barnes

-Posted by Isaac

The first week of March is special for this family.

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And we make sure the extended family shares in its specialness.

This year, Mason the elder turned ten. Eden the baby turned four. They both got skates.

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During this special week we all step into our respective roles. Mason and Eden: entitled, openers of gifts. Maizy and Bridger: loud, eaters of cake and ice cream. Dad: present, eater of cake and ice cream. Mom: 100% of everything else- party planner, gift buyer, food preparer, gracious host, etc...

Mom is the reason we have birthdays. She's also the reason we have a thriving business and can afford to throw these lavish parties with such decadent desserts. But lest we forget what this blog is about, let's get back to Dad. The present one. The eater of said desserts. And the beekeeper. That's right. For better or worse, Dad is the reason we have bees. 

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The girls are building up and looking strong. It's time to think about splits. Bees are explosive in their spring growth... we will soon be celebrating four to five hundred more birthdays. 

And we need nursery boxes for all these new births. This week I traveled to Mansfield to pick up the first batch of 300 custom nuc boxes, compliments of Ohio Bee Box Co.

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We then did a little customizing of our own.

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And we put all the replacement frames where they belong.

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As part of the Mansfield trip, I killed two birds. The first week of March is time for the big Tri County workshop at ATI. I made it over to Wooster and joined about a thousand other beekeepers in this annual event. This year they brought in the big hitters- Randy Oliver and Jamie Ellis. For two days, I mostly followed Randy Oliver.

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Any of you who have had the distinct pleasure of talking to Randy Oliver know he can be somewhat abrasive in person. But sitting back and just soaking it in is a much better experience. He's a fountain of knowledge. I went to four of his talks and I must admit, I've got a crush on him. A bee crush. Just look at him strutting across that stage!

Randy filled my head with lots of bee thoughts. Management ideas. Queen rearing ideas. Varroa treatment options. Nutrition basics...

Oh yeah... nutrition. To make lots of bees, you need lots of protein. That's the gist of it.

And during the first 10 days of March, Mann Lake (We Know Bees!) runs a huge sale. Mann Lake Madness. Dry Ultrabee protein is part of it. But the deal is, you have to go and pick it up. I punched some numbers and figured that if we bought the year's protein needs now, we'd be saving over $1000. Thing is, the closest Mann Lake store is about an eight hour drive. One way. Was it worth it? Of course! You know I'm a sucker for a road trip.

Old wipers. Busted windshield. Yes, preparation is key!

Old wipers. Busted windshield. Yes, preparation is key!

In the mountains of Pennsylvania, as my eight hour trip turned into 10 hours, I began to have second thoughts. I was catching the western end of that big nor'easter that slammed the east coast and shut everything down for about three days.

 Eventually, after much white knuckled driving, I made it and got my 1500 pounds of dry powder. The things we do for our babies.

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The crew knew I was coming, and thankfully they waited patiently. Immediately following my departure, they shut the plant down and everyone went home to cuddle with their families.

However, my cuddling would have to wait. I probably should have been thinking hotel, but about half way across Pennsylvania the clouds parted and the late day skies turned beautiful. By then, I was lost in my birthday thoughts and I just kept driving.

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Without a birthday marker amid all the chaos, it would be easy to forget that your baby, your kid is actually growing up. 

With bees it's a little different. Here we have a quiet and orderly explosion.

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As soon as that first extended flush of spring pollen starts rolling in, you can almost mark the calendar. In about a month, we'll be making splits, placing queens, and we'll be celebrating hundreds of birthdays.

Haikus confuse me

Jayne Barnes

-Posted by Isaac

 

Haikus confuse me.

So often they make no sense.

Please pass the honey.

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Redemption comes sweet

to rushed and lousy cooking.

A touch of magic.

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Something so divine

could never be created

by the hands of man.

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Bright honey bees fly

in joyful abandonment.

A moment of gold.

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Rushing homeward bound,

bearing treasures from afar.

Rejoice and commune!

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Dew on the beehive.

Early May apple blossom.

Nothing more truthful.

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We shall overcome.

We shall overcome some day.

Yes, I do believe.

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Company founder

Executive manager

Chief business partner

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Purple deadnettle

springtime pollen, new promise,

feeding the future.

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To live with the land,

to breath sweet and lucid air.

To sow, to harvest.

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Haikus confuse me.

Short, thoughtful meditations

making too much sense.

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End of Winter?

Jayne Barnes

-Posted by Isaac

Is it over? Is that all she wrote?

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Goodbye and good riddance?

Technically we've still got another month of winter, but it sure has been warm lately. Unfortunately we're not yet donning the sunglasses. Rainy season has reared its ugly head.

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Yesterday I did a little mitigating. And today, once again the rains fall steady. I think they said four inches this week. And that's just here. South of here, it gets really bad.

Oh well. Back to the shop. Back to the projects. The wet weather gives us a chance to finalize some winter jobs. Like piecing together the last of two thousand frames.

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And finishing up 150 new lids.

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Yes, we're going up in numbers.

But to do this, you need your bees alive in April.

More than anything, our late winter project has been keeping the girls fat and happy. They are now multiple frames into brooding and they're hungry!

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Round three on the feeding took place two weeks ago. I had Mason's help on one of the days.

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The kids were out of school with a snow day. Perhaps the last of the year?

Since I had a cameraman available, Jayne asked me to take some videos for Instagram. The clip below is one of the attempts that landed in the reject pile. 

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It didn't make the cut because it was longer than six seconds. Apparently the Instagram folks have extremely short attention spans. Not so with you pensive blog readers... setting aside your Tolstoy for a few reflective moments of Honeyrun Farm.

As you no doubt noticed, it was warming up that day. The bees were flying and Mason didn't have his veil on. I thought we'd better cut the video short rather than have a freak out. We're trying to project an air of professionalism here.

And I mentioned that the smoker was in the other truck. There is a reason for that. The previous evening I had buried the bee truck. It was the last yard of the day and I had to call Dad to come pick me up in the dark. 

I had actually thought about fording the river and running the five miles back home, giving you a heroic winter beekeeping tale. Plus, Dad was right in the middle of Fox News and I really didn't want to pull him away. But I still had a little charge on my phone...  Eventually logic and Apple and Direct TV recording won out. No heroics. 

The next morning, instead of taking the time to pull the bee truck out (and possibly burying the other truck) we just transferred all the feed and hit the road.

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Forgetting the smoker in the process.

Our girls were waiting and the show must go on. Round three was completed by week's end. The muddy bee truck made it home a day or so later.

Now I'm mixing feed for round four. In March, the bees need a bit more protein. And protein is expensive, especially in patty form. To lesson the impact, I'm mixing it myself this year. The only casualties: a little more time and a couple burnt drills.

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The maples have just now started to bloom. We've got a little warmth, but the rain is preventing the girls from making it out for any length of time. You can see they're desperate for protein. I put out some pollen dust a few days ago and this was the scene:

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So hopefully, if we eventually dry out, they'll find those maples. Warm days and happy times ahead!

And think of all the fun we'll have! Beaches, boats, barbecues... Bye bye winter!

It's truly a joyous time for a consummate optimist like myself.

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Oh, the things we'll do!

Buckwheat is for lovers

Jayne Barnes

-Posted by Isaac

Happy Valentine's everybody!

This year I got my lover an entire field of flowers.

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Buckwheat flowers!

And I put them all around the house.

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It worked out just fine. She was very happy. Fortunately and conveniently, my lover doubles as my spouse.

It's great! I'm a lucky one, I'll tell ya. It really saves you a lot of running around.

But unfortunately, I was about eight months too early with the flowers. So for Valentines Day my lover and I just dressed up and went out. I even wore a tie. Fancy, but I still couldn't compete with the fancy mixed drinks.

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But back to those flowers...

I want to tell you about our 2017 buckwheat endeavors. I can say it went much better than our 2016 debacle

For one, I didn't burn up the tractor. Probably because I had an experienced crew.

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The 14 acres (This year, surrounding our house!) were planted in mid May, bloomed in late June, and the honey came off the thirty some hives in August. 

My experienced crew taste tested.

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Not bad, but we can do better. The honey did have that robust molasses buckwheat taste, but the color wasn't quite right. It was a brownish, instead of the thick black we were expecting. I think it was just a matter of the bees mixing in other nectars.

All total, the first round tallied to about 600 pounds.

Time for round two. This time it was a succession planting. I mowed half the field in early August and the other half three weeks later.

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Replanting buckwheat is pretty easy. Just wait until the seeds are mature and hard, then mow it. After a couple rains, it comes right up.

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It was a good idea to spread it out. With the succession bloom, we had bees foraging on buckwheat from early September through late October. 

The honey came off in November. Just under 700 pounds this time. Not bad. 

And round two got the color right:

Wow! Is that motor oil going up that tube?

Wow! Is that motor oil going up that tube?

So all in all, it was a successful buckwheat year. No disasters, and over a thousand pounds of this dark speciality honey. Unlike last year, we'll actually be in the black. By my rough estimates, it takes around 600 lbs for us to at least break even on 14 acres. That's paying for land rent, seed, farming equipment, and my very expensive crew. Of course I'm not including my own cheap labor.

An accountant would look at our years of buckwheat records and tell us that we'd do better if we just planted corn. Thank God we're not accountants.

Because buckwheat honey production has hidden intrinsic value. For one, we get to look at flowers all summer. And we get to watch bees working those flowers. And when you have a million flowers out the back door, you're never short on bouquets and smiles. But most of all, and this is a biggie, we end up with an awesome and very unique product.

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A product that never fails to raise eyebrows in the sampling line.

"C'mon Mom! Show them the buckwheat!"

"C'mon Mom! Show them the buckwheat!"

So if you haven't had a chance to try this Guinness of honeys, come on out to the Worthington Market. My lover will greet you with a smile and a sample bottle. If you like it, take home a bottle for your own lover. If you don't like it, well, we've got an entire octave of honeys to chose from. Buckwheat being at the bottom. Our low B.

I can't think of a better way of saying 'I love you.' A bottle of honey, any honey, says it all. Sweet and sexy. Please just make sure it was produced in the US.

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If not for your country, then for the sake of your lover.

Sweet Reminiscence

Jayne Barnes

-Posted by Isaac

Some of you laughed at that last post. Some of you did not.

And many of you were just plain confused. (Not my intent at all. That post was meant to offend, not confuse.)

Kidding. Kidding. But rest assured, I have been asked to dial it back a bit. Sorry about the spoofing.    

Anyway, some of you thought, 'What is this?' Semi trucks? Forklifts? Feeding America? Isn't this supposed to be about beekeeping? Or at the very least about Honeyrun Farm? Nope, not always. Sometimes, especially this time of year, I like to think about the industry of beekeeping. The commercial way- the way most of the hives in this country are kept-- migratory. Maybe you've heard that honey bees are directly responsible for about one third of everything you eat. To make this impossible feat a reality, there are some logistics to overcome. It's a little more involved than keeping a few boxes in the backyard.

Over a million hives are headed to California right now. This is because the year's first great monoculture bloom is about to commence. The almonds!  Back in 2006 I got to be a part of it. And now I sometimes like to reminisce.

So... to hopefully clear up some of that confusion, hit the link below and let's go play in the big leagues:

The Super Bowl of Beekeeping