The NEST

Dancing Bee honey is now available at a new location in Carrollton, Georgia.  The NEST,  with antiques and more, is located at 209 Alabama Street.  This brand new store is now the most fun place to shop in Carrollton.  Donna Maner and Becky Smith are the owners of The NEST and we'd like to invite everyone to stop by and visit. 

In addition to some great antiques and Dancing Bee honey, The NEST offers goat milk soap that is handmade locally and has some delicious scents.  You will find custom made tu-tu's for your little dancer by MMT Modeling Agency.  Check out the art gallery in the back, including stained glass by a local artist and greeting cards with original photography by a local photographer.

And don't forget the Gathering Place.  When you need a spot for a bridal showers, parties, office meetings and such; The Gathering Place is a room available for rent at a modest price for your get together.

If you shop so hard that you need a break, they have that covered too.  The Roost is the refreshment area with a quaint table and chairs to relax and socialize.  Enjoy cookies and tea everyday, and you can even try Dancing Bee honey in your tea while you're there.


I am very excited to be a 'nester' (that's what Donna and Becky call their dealers).  The NEST is in walking distance of the downtown square and also has parking on both sides of the building.  If you need to lay-away an item, that's available too.  Come by anytime and check out The NEST!

http://www.thenestonalabama.blogspot.com/
http://www.thenestonalabama.com/
Also find them on Facebook.

The Nest sits between Vogelberg's Bakery and the Cultural Arts Center near the intersection of Hwy 27 and Alabama Street.

See you there!

Raw Vs. Processed

What exactly is the difference between Raw and Processed honey?  First, let's understand the purpose and effects of heating honey.  Honey naturally has many many health benefits.  These benefits can be destroyed however if the honey is heated to 120 degrees or more. 

A large commercial honey producer (that you typically see in grocery stores) will heat their honey to make it easier and faster to run through their machines and bottle.  This is called processed honey.  Also, heated honey typically takes much longer to granulate than nonheated.

Most local honey is bought specifically for it's health benefits, mainly helping allergy sufferers.   As a standard rule, local honey producers do not heat their honey.  Sometimes it is necessary to warm it, but not above 90 degrees.  At this temperature, honey's healthy properties are maintained.  Since it is not 'heated', local honey can granulate between a few to several months after harvesting.  If it has granulated, it is necessary to warm it just enough to make bottling possible.  This is called raw honey because it is still in the same condition that it was harvested from the hive.

If you have a bottle of honey that has started crystallizing, it's easy to fix with a water bath.  Simply loosen the lid and and place it in pot of warm water.  If the bottle is mostly or completely crystallized,  you can reliquify it with the bottle only half covered with water.  The main thing is not to rush the process with to much heat, slower (lower heat) is better.
You can put the jar in the microwave, but it will cause the honey to get hotter faster and you risk overheating it.  If it starts boiling, it's gotten way to hot.  The simplist way I've found is to leave a bottle in my car on a very hot summer day with the windows rolled up.  That works every time with glass jars, plastic bottles - not so much.

Granulation is a natural process and does not mean the honey is spoiled.  The length of time it takes to granulate after harvesting has mostly to do with the types of flowers it comes from.  Cold temperatures also increase the speed of granulation so never put it in the fridge.  The best place to store honey is on your counter.

Enjoy your healthy honey.

Feeding Time

Today was feeding day again and since it was so warm, we were able to get into the hives and check on everybody.  The bees like to keep the inside of the hive at about 95 degrees and we won't go poking around in them if it's 55 or below.  If  we did that, it would simply take them to long to get the temperature back up again.  In the winter they regulate the temp by forming themselves into a ball shape cluster that is constantly moving.  The energy created by their body movements produces heat.  They're such clever little creatures.

Now back to feeding.  Back on August 8, we tried the ziplock bag method, but by the time we got bags in each of the hives, we knew that we'd go back the feeders we'd been using.  Danny mixed up 20 gallons of sugar water and we put 1-2 gallons in each hive that had gotten low on their honey stores.  Two hives still had capped honey, which means they haven't had to get into their stores that they had at the end of summer.  One hive actually had new honey.  This means that they are healthy hive and have been able to get out on the warm winter days and forage.

A month ago, we ordered 15 hives that will be ready for pickup in April.  At that time we will have 29 hives if the 14 we have now survive the rest of the winter.  Today we found that we had lost one hive due to starvation.  When we looked in the main hive body, we found the bees dead and in the ball shape they use to keep warm.

Our hives are located next to a fence at the edge of our property.  Our next door neighbor has a number of cows and today several of them mosied over to check out what we were doing.

Beekeeping Meetings

The GA Beekeepers Association Spring Meeting is almost here.  It is February 12-13 in Moultrie, Ga.  Some of the speakers will include, Jennifer Berry from the University of Georgia Entomology Dept, Master Beekeeper Bill Owens, Ted Dennard, and Mike Hood.  There is always a great variety of classes offered at the Ga Beekeepers meetings.  Fred and Ann Rossman of Rossman Apiaries in Moultrie will be hosting the Friday night Fish Fry and Entertainment.

To register for the Spring Meeting visit http://www.gabeekeeping.com/ for more information.

If you live in Henry county or the nearby area, you are welcome to attend the Henry County Beekeepers Club monthly meetings.  They are the first Tuesday of each month at 7pm in McDonough in the Public Safety Building Community Room.  They are also holding a Beekeeping Short Course on February 27 from 8am-5pm.  You don't have to be a member to attend the monthly meetings or short course.  Everyone is welcome.  You can find more info at http://www.henrycountybeekeepers.org/.

The Atlanta Botanical Gardens is the location for Metro Atlanta's One Day Short Course: An Introduction to Honey Bees and Beekeeping.  The cost is $95 and includes breakfast and lunch.  Enjoy presentations by educators in entomology and experienced urban beekeepers. There will be displays of beekeeping equipment and hive products, honey tasting, and educational materials related to the presentations.  A goody bag of honey bee related items, free admission to the botanical gardens and free parking. 
Visit http://www.beekeepingshortcourse.com/ for more info.

Get Ready Now

It may be 20 degrees outside and I may want to stay inside my home as much as the bees do, but there is still work to do.  January is a good time to check all my equipment.  I know I have a few supers that are showing signs of rot.  I use the ones in poor condition to store frames.  Several hives need some touch up painting.  I'm also checking the condition of the frames.  If any have turned black or are damaged, they'll be replaced. 

If you are just starting out or need to replace a queen and haven't placed your order with a supplier yet, it's time to hop to and get it done.  If bee suppliers aren't maxed out on filling orders yet, they soon will be.   

It's also time to make sure you have enough equipment.  If not, you can order anything you need from a supplier in the right hand side bar.  Get what you need now and you'll have plenty of time to get it all assembled and painted.