Very Natural Beekeeping In Scotland

WEBVTT

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in a world brimming with complexity few creatures

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embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless

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precision she dances from bloom to bloom each

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motion guided by millennia upon millennia of

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instinct each act in service to the whole and

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then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards

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of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist,

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part poet, they move along their hives with the

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efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to

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the bee's needs as best they can comprehend,

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and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the

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Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing

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like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their

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journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Love, Be Keep

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being presented by our best friends over at Man

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Lake. Today we're going across the pond to Scotland

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to have a fun discussion with a natural beekeeper

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who's originally from Budapest. That's a combination.

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We discuss everything from propolis tinctures,

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to bee nutrition, to dealing with bee death,

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times to smoke your bees, and times to smoke

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yourself, and a whole ton more. And in our invention

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mention segment we'll be trying on Man Lake's

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new ventilated bee suit and putting it to the

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test. It's a full program, so let's jump right

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in. I'd like to welcome today our very, very

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special guest, Tita Kish. How are you this morning?

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Hello, Eric. I'm very well. Thank you very much

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for inviting me. I'm very happy to be here. All

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right. I say good morning, but I know it's evening

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for you and I appreciate you being here. Tell

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us where you are right now and where and a little

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of your background, where do you come from? So

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I live in Scotland, in southwest Scotland to

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be exact, very close to the sea. The nearest

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big town is Glasgow and Our little location is

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special because we are on an elevation of about

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200 meters above sea level and as we are very

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close to the sea and essentially to the Atlantic

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Ocean we see some interesting weather here. So

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it's a lovely area and I am absolutely in love

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with Scotland but Probably you can all pick up

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that my accent is not really native to Scotland.

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You don't sound like you grew up in Scotland.

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No, no. I grew up in Eastern Europe in a country

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called Hungary. And I was born in Budapest, so

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my mother tongue is Hungarian. And even though

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I spent over 10 years in the UK, you still can

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hear this Eastern European route. That's okay.

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Your English is very good. And I've been to Budapest

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or Budapest and a lovely city, beautiful buildings.

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bridges right on the river right there and just

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a lovely place. We really enjoyed ourselves and

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a lot of history. Yes, over a thousand years.

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So we've been in the Carpathian basin. My country

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is famous for agriculture. We do a lot of beekeeping

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in Hungary, but I am not coming from a beekeeper

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tradition. Also, it's not entirely sure because

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my grandma said that my grandfather's grandfather

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used to keep bees. So I do have some beekeeping

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history there, but none of my immediate family

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keeps bees. I think you picked up some genetics.

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was passed down to you because from our earlier

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discussion it seems to have come to you very

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naturally and something that you automatically

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love and I think some of that DNA gets passed

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down but I'm gonna just throw a little bit out

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there for our listeners as one of the things

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that got me interested in speaking with you and

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in looking at your Instagram profile and stuff

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is I don't even know how to explain this because

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you're your beekeeper and a historian and a death

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doula and I don't even know what else fill in

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some other ans. Well we all know that you know

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honey bees are so different and they they do

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so many different roles in their life in a short

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amount of lifetime and I am a little bit like

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them in that sense because yeah I've done so

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many things before beekeeping we run a restaurant

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and catering business with my chef husband and

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then the pandemic happened and we kind of had

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to reimagine our life and lifestyle and we just

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wanted to get out from hospitality and, you know,

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do something meaningful with our lives. And my

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husband started to work in forestry industry,

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so he's planting trees across the UK and I learned

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beekeeping. So it's been five years with the

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bees now. one year with my mentor who we met

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on Facebook. He just recently passed away so

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I'm still a bit tender over this loss because

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I just feel like I didn't get enough time with

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him. We met when he was turning 81 and he needed

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some help with his bees. He is A generational

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beekeeper, his father and grandfather used to

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keep bees and he still kept bees but then he

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ended up in a wheelchair with reduced mobility.

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After a very short season that we spent together,

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I ended up having his hives. He gifted me a couple

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of his hives and that's how I became very quickly

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a beekeeper. And you know, I felt it like I'm

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not ready. But the bees had other plans And none

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of us are an expert after four or five or ten

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or twenty years of beekeeping But that's okay.

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We all have something to learn from each other

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And one of the things that I love the best is

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just your attitude about bees it's all over what

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this podcast is about which is about the love

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of bees and the fun and the joy that can come

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from beekeeping and being around bees. So I'd

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like to jump into that aspect of it, but just

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one quick thing I wanted to fill in first. You

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mentioned that you're by the Atlantic Ocean.

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Yes. And I believe your word was that makes the

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weather interesting or something like that. Tell

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us what that means. Does that mean you get a

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ton of rain or ocean breezes and because weather

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so much affects our beekeeping and our bees.

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So give me a little background on that. Oh, where

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to start? You know, in the UK, weather is always

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amongst the top topics. We talk about it very

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regularly over here because it changes so quickly.

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So in a day, sometimes we see four seasons. And

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here, where I live, it is so true more intensely.

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we are one of the wettest part of the UK, so

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we see a crazy amount of rainfall and we also

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quite close to the Arctic, so we can actually

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see some Arctic storms, not often, but recent

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years I have to say it happened more frequently

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than. before and like following the Met Office

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report. So the weather is definitely getting

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a bit stranger and maybe more unpredictable.

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Yes, it makes beekeeping quite challenging in

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the sense that you constantly have to be prepared

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for anything, big storms. big, big winds that

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are coming from the ocean. I mean, I constantly

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keep blocks of things on the hives that it doesn't

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get blown off. Around February we had another

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big storm. The whole village were like upside

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down, you know, garden fence, beans, everything

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was blown all over around. So, you know, you

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just never know what to get here. We can see

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snow, we can see ice, but also we can see heat

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waves, we just had a week of really warm weather.

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It just makes me appreciate the bees even more,

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if it makes sense, because you know, they go

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out in weathers that I wouldn't. And I think

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it's down to the fact that I have mainly dark

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bees, you know, these are the native genetics

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to Scotland and to Western Europe, and they evolved

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in ways that they can just cope with big winds

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and rain. They are much fluffier than the Italian

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breed, and you know, the ones that you generally

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see. Yeah, tell us a little bit about the breed.

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Does it have a name? Yes, so it's Apis mellifera,

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mellifera. the Western European dark bee and

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they have been around since the ice age so they

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evolved in weathers that are strange and cold

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and wet and you know they've been around when

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mammoths roamed the continent and they have some

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really amazing adaptability so their wings is

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a bit longer so they can fly in strong winds.

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I find it incredible. I mean, I just filmed them,

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we had a big storm, we had weather warning out

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by the Met Office, so we were not really going

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anywhere, but I was checking on the bees and

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some foragers were out and about. You know, we

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didn't go out because it was so dangerous to

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be out on the road instead of flying debris,

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but that didn't stop the bees, they were still

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bringing in pollen. That's crazy. We had a big

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wind come through on Saturday afternoon where

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I live and I happened to be out with the bees

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when it did it was just a storm front coming

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through and Wow, I mean they hunkered down as

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fast as they could we had some 55 mile an hour

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gusts and And they can't fly in that at least

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most bees can't I don't think yours can either

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probably but what comes up what that makes me

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think of what you were just talking about is

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we're always talking about how beekeeping is

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local and that's primarily because our weather

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is so local and is different everywhere and so

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we talk about different things that we can do.

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We can put up windbreaks, we can put up shade

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if it's in a place that's super hot or insulation

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in a place where it's super cold but we don't

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very often talk about bee genetics and I think

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that's because we don't most of us don't go okay

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well here's my climate so I need xyz kind of

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bee and I know where to get it and that's really

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cool that you do in that those are native to

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that area anyway which totally makes sense. Man

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if we sent you some bees that were raised in

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Houston Texas they'd probably just die where

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you are I would guess because they're just not

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climatized to it. I could be wrong but I think

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that's pretty cool. What else do you find that

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in that kind of weather that you can help the

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bees with? One of the biggest difference that

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I do in my apiary is that I completely phased

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out wooden hives. I mean I still have two but

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I'm planning to move them into a polyester hive,

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which makes me a bit, you know, natural beekeepers

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will not generally say that they use plastic

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in the bees. I don't put plastic in the hive,

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but these polyester hives have been absolutely

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amazing. You know, they are thick, they are well

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insulated, they are lightweight, they are easy

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to clean. They keep the bees mold -free, mold

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is a big issue here, you know, all that rain

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and moisture, it's really hard to keep mold out

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from the hives, but these polyester hives do

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that job, and they are great in really cold weather

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too. So apparently the side of these polyhives

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mimic 15 centimeter thickness of wood. That's

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what, four or five inches thick, something like

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that. Yeah, so like, you know, like a real trunk

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would be. Because that's also something we don't

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often think about as beekeepers, that yeah, we

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are using these wooden boxes, but they are not

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exact replicas of wooden trunks what bees genuinely,

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you know, choose when they live in the wild.

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So they're not going to be as insulated as a

00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:52.639
tree trunk would be. If you're a beekeeper like

00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:55.399
me, we're getting into that favorite time of

00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:58.519
year, honey harvest. But it can be a lot of work.

00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:01.700
That's where Mad Light comes in. They have everything

00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:04.860
you need to make the job easier, cleaner, and

00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:08.370
more efficient. Removal aids, refractometers,

00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:12.389
uncapping tools, extractors, tanks, wax melters,

00:15:12.509 --> 00:15:15.009
even the jars and labels. Plus they have free

00:15:15.009 --> 00:15:17.509
shipping on glass containers. Whether you're

00:15:17.509 --> 00:15:20.850
a hobbyist with two hives or a full -blown commercial

00:15:20.850 --> 00:15:23.950
operation, Man Lake has it all. And don't forget

00:15:23.950 --> 00:15:27.029
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00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:35.539
So in climates like my climate, it can become

00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:39.080
a serious issue straight away. As I said, I did

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have some wooden hives through the years and

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yeah, they just got really moldy and weathered

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in just like a season. So, you know, that's something

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that can stress the bees, you know, if they constantly

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have to battle mold issue on top of all the other

00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:02.299
things that they have to battle, you know, it

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just weakens the colony overall. So I kind of

00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:10.700
had to put down my philosophy in that sense about

00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:13.379
plastic and that how we should not really use

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plastic around our bees. if we are following

00:16:17.149 --> 00:16:20.450
the natural beekeeping methods, but I think what

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you are wrapping your bees into, that doesn't

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really matter in that sense, that you know, like

00:16:26.509 --> 00:16:29.230
putting plastic within the hive. If it protects

00:16:29.230 --> 00:16:33.789
the bees and keeps them healthier and safer,

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then put them in there and it worked really well.

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And from a practical beekeeper kind of standpoint,

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all that rain can bring a lot of rot and those

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hives can just fall apart pretty quickly too.

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Do you find in those poly hives that they put

00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.960
a lot of propolis in the inside? It depends on

00:16:55.960 --> 00:16:59.539
the hive. you know sometimes some hive produces

00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:02.059
a lot of propolis and you see hives that they

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barely so it really depends on the hive. There

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is always some propolis because I like to put

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the boxes into hot water and soda crystal you

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know to sanitize it and you know it always changes

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the the color and I love working with propolis,

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so I don't... Is it why you are asking? Sorry,

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Eric. Is it a good thing you think? It just seems

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like if you're concerned with the plastic or

00:17:32.029 --> 00:17:35.809
polypropylene, if they were to put a layer of

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propolis over it, that would kind of shield them

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from it. But a lot of those that I've seen they're

00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:47.960
so slick or smooth inside that the bees don't

00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.880
tend to propelize them. They tend to propelize

00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.900
rough things. Like you've probably seen some

00:17:54.900 --> 00:17:57.500
of the wood hive bodies where they've purposely

00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:00.640
roughed up the interior and they find the bees

00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:03.900
put a lot of propolis then inside, which of course

00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:07.599
we know is really good for them and sort of an

00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:11.019
antibiotic or antibacterial for them. So they

00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:14.319
do tend to put a lot of propolis on the frames

00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.339
and yes some on the side, but what I noticed

00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:21.160
that they don't really spend too much time. on

00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:24.720
the edges, like what they would do in a wooden

00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.099
box. I don't know if it's because they're constantly

00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:31.079
trying to fix the wooden box from rotting. I

00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:34.579
mean, as I say, rotting was always an issue in

00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:37.700
our apiary. Yes, I'm very grateful that it's

00:18:37.700 --> 00:18:40.259
gone away. Part of it is they're trying to fill

00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:43.180
the gaps, especially if it's windy, if there's

00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:47.480
any little gaps between boxes or crack in a box.

00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:51.380
They love to propelize that to to fill it up

00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:54.940
and make it one big secure cavity. A few minutes

00:18:54.940 --> 00:18:58.599
ago you used the term natural beekeeping. Tell

00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:01.759
us what that means to you. Natural beekeeping

00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:12.079
for me is about a lot of listening and observing

00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:19.039
and less control. So when I was doing my apprenticing

00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:26.980
with my mentor Bob, pretty soon I could see that

00:19:26.980 --> 00:19:33.900
I personally will struggle to carry out sometimes

00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:39.259
such invasive looking things with the bees. You

00:19:39.259 --> 00:19:44.160
know, I could just see that as me When I'm alone

00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:46.779
there with the bees without Bob, I will not be

00:19:46.779 --> 00:19:50.480
able to cool drones or things like that. And

00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:52.880
I even said it to my husband at the time that

00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:55.460
I just don't think I will be able to do this,

00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:57.819
Craig. And he was like, well, you will have to.

00:19:57.900 --> 00:20:01.400
That will be your job. I said no. And that's

00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:04.259
when... I sat down in the computer and started

00:20:04.259 --> 00:20:07.500
to look into what are my options. I mean, Bob

00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:12.240
was the sweetest, kindest soul. He loved his

00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:16.759
bees, but he also didn't shed a tear if he squashed

00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.920
a bee. You know, I did. I was there and I slowed

00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:24.000
him down so many times. And you know, he just

00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.220
said that it's a part of it. You know, of course

00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:29.140
you're going to squash some bees, but you sometimes

00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:31.740
squash more bees when you are trying to save

00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:36.259
one. So you just have to kind of. And I know

00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:40.339
he was right, but I also knew that I had to find

00:20:40.339 --> 00:20:42.980
my own way that, you know, I am comfortable to

00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:47.839
show up for the bees. And as to say, The internet

00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:52.779
is so magical, with very little research I found

00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:56.259
beekeepers who do things differently. I actually

00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:59.960
enrolled to an online natural beekeeping course

00:20:59.960 --> 00:21:03.579
that was designed for women, so I found myself

00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:08.619
in a very nurturing community of female beekeepers,

00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:14.059
experienced beekeepers who aren't afraid to go

00:21:14.250 --> 00:21:17.230
against the flow and, you know, do things differently.

00:21:17.549 --> 00:21:22.569
I really like that and I really liked how we've

00:21:22.569 --> 00:21:25.849
been introduced straight away to the BT, you

00:21:25.849 --> 00:21:29.609
know, instead of giving chemicals to the bees,

00:21:30.670 --> 00:21:34.170
we work with herbs. It's such an, I don't know

00:21:34.170 --> 00:21:36.170
how you say it, maybe it's because I am a woman

00:21:36.170 --> 00:21:38.130
in that sense, you know, I love working with

00:21:38.130 --> 00:21:41.910
plants and flowers and the fact that I can make

00:21:41.910 --> 00:21:46.319
something for the bees. from my own garden and

00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:50.420
it's just such a nice feeling, you know, I'm

00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:55.119
making an effort with my own hand to nourish

00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:58.400
and support the bees, you know, that's something

00:21:58.400 --> 00:22:04.339
I can do for them. I think When we stop for a

00:22:04.339 --> 00:22:06.680
second, because we all love bees, right? That's

00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:08.980
why we keep them, we love to be around them.

00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:12.859
And so many times I think we just get into this

00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:16.420
autopilot mode because we learn this way and,

00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:18.220
you know, often when you are just like in an

00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:21.519
autopilot, you don't really think, you just want

00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:24.400
to like crack on because you have experience

00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:28.410
and you know what you do. But In natural beekeeping

00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:32.190
we try to let that go. This is the hardest, you

00:22:32.190 --> 00:22:36.910
know, like not stepping in. Not being in control.

00:22:37.730 --> 00:22:43.309
Yes, yes. I think even, well, in my own experience

00:22:43.309 --> 00:22:46.990
this summer, one of my hive had really high Varua

00:22:46.990 --> 00:22:51.990
count, so I was worried. You know, I was keeping

00:22:51.990 --> 00:22:57.509
a close eye on them, I was putting the tray under

00:22:57.509 --> 00:23:00.549
the hive every other, every four or five days

00:23:00.549 --> 00:23:04.750
I was checking, checking and I made the tea.

00:23:05.329 --> 00:23:09.250
But I didn't make it when the numbers were high,

00:23:09.450 --> 00:23:14.170
I thought I will wait and wait and still wait

00:23:14.170 --> 00:23:18.349
because even this herbal tea is something that

00:23:18.349 --> 00:23:20.630
other bees don't receive, you know, the native

00:23:20.630 --> 00:23:22.970
bees are not receiving, that the bombo bees,

00:23:22.990 --> 00:23:25.210
the wasps, they don't get any tea from anyone.

00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:29.269
So it is also a kind of treatment if you think

00:23:29.269 --> 00:23:33.650
about it. I was waiting and I kind of allowed

00:23:33.650 --> 00:23:37.710
myself to feel worried because the bees didn't

00:23:37.710 --> 00:23:40.329
look stressed, you know, that brood looked okay,

00:23:40.549 --> 00:23:44.450
there's lots of them, lots of bees bringing pollen

00:23:44.450 --> 00:23:48.099
in, you know. it's just another day in the beehive

00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:53.660
but for me it was hard to see but now when did

00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:56.500
I do my last count was it last I think the last

00:23:56.500 --> 00:24:01.259
time we spoke and it started to go down so it

00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:05.099
is less than it pegged and it's gone down a little

00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:07.960
bit and I'm hoping that by September it will

00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:12.220
it will go more so sometimes the bees need time

00:24:12.220 --> 00:24:16.069
and they forever show me that You know they know

00:24:16.069 --> 00:24:18.950
what they do. Tell me about this tea that you're

00:24:18.950 --> 00:24:21.349
talking about. What do you mean you make a tea

00:24:21.349 --> 00:24:26.150
for them? It's a herbal honey tea that's been

00:24:26.150 --> 00:24:30.849
created by a German natural beekeeper, Günther

00:24:30.849 --> 00:24:34.150
Hoik. I hope I pronounced his name correctly.

00:24:34.490 --> 00:24:38.410
He is quite a renewed natural beekeeper in Europe.

00:24:38.829 --> 00:24:43.650
So if anybody types his name into Google, you're

00:24:43.650 --> 00:24:46.849
going to find him. And we've been given this

00:24:46.849 --> 00:24:50.670
recipe in this natural beekeeping course. And

00:24:50.670 --> 00:24:53.509
I have to say that when I made it, my bees didn't

00:24:53.509 --> 00:24:56.170
want it. They didn't touch it. I get all offended

00:24:56.170 --> 00:24:59.029
because I am not a great cook, but I can make

00:24:59.029 --> 00:25:01.069
a tea. You know, I was like, I can make some

00:25:01.069 --> 00:25:05.619
tea. Come on. The downside with this tea is that,

00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:09.519
you know, it can ferment because you add tea,

00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:14.380
I mean you add water and herbs into raw honey.

00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:18.539
So of course it gonna start ferment. And I made

00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:21.119
a portion, I had to throw it away because the

00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:24.099
bees didn't touch it. I made another one, they

00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:26.779
left it again. So that's when my chef husband

00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:30.680
came to help and check the recipe and he said,

00:25:30.990 --> 00:25:33.869
It might work for others, it's not like that

00:25:33.869 --> 00:25:36.549
whatever you do, but I know how you could make

00:25:36.549 --> 00:25:41.049
this recipe better. I mean more desirable for

00:25:41.049 --> 00:25:45.589
the bees, because this original recipe doesn't

00:25:45.589 --> 00:25:48.549
include sugar syrup. You know, in natural beekeeping

00:25:48.549 --> 00:25:51.730
we are not giving sugar syrup to the bees, we

00:25:51.730 --> 00:25:55.230
only give them raw honey. But my husband kind

00:25:55.230 --> 00:25:59.970
of explained that I have to stop thinking about

00:25:59.970 --> 00:26:03.089
sugar syrup as something evil in this scenario,

00:26:03.910 --> 00:26:09.470
because sugar syrup can make the tea last longer,

00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:13.170
you know, it can... it can stop the fermentation

00:26:13.170 --> 00:26:16.769
process. So I have to think about it as a substance

00:26:16.769 --> 00:26:22.390
that I need to prevent spoilage in my tea. So

00:26:22.390 --> 00:26:25.970
we started to add equal amount of sugar syrup

00:26:25.970 --> 00:26:30.710
to the raw honey and to the tea, to this watery

00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:35.599
substance and the bees absolutely loved it. So

00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:38.460
ever since we've been using it this way but we're

00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:42.500
still using the same herbs that is written down

00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:46.900
in the original recipe and last year was special

00:26:46.900 --> 00:26:51.000
because that when I started to add mushroom extract

00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:56.119
to this tea following Paul Stamets research,

00:26:56.220 --> 00:27:00.349
I don't know if you heard what what he's been

00:27:00.349 --> 00:27:03.690
doing on his bees and with his mushrooms. It's

00:27:03.690 --> 00:27:06.750
also on the internet. Check it out, it's amazing,

00:27:06.910 --> 00:27:10.750
it's very promising. So on that note, I started

00:27:10.750 --> 00:27:16.750
to get some human -grade mushroom extract and

00:27:16.750 --> 00:27:21.809
with the help of my chef husband we managed to

00:27:21.809 --> 00:27:26.970
make that mushroom powder suitable to go into

00:27:26.970 --> 00:27:30.240
the tea. so that the bees can drink that. So

00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:34.940
it's like, yeah, it has 10 different herbs, mushrooms,

00:27:35.319 --> 00:27:39.579
and I also add hive alive, you know, these algae

00:27:39.579 --> 00:27:44.460
syrup things as a bonus. Yeah, I'm familiar with

00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:47.400
it. So this is how you make your sugar syrup

00:27:47.400 --> 00:27:50.519
into the next level, when it's not just a sugar

00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:53.160
syrup, it's not just something that's going to

00:27:53.559 --> 00:27:56.700
keep the bees alive from starvation you know

00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:59.380
it's something that they will really enjoy eating

00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:04.180
because it's full with honey which is their food,

00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:06.720
it's full with nutrition that the bees need,

00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:09.880
and then you have all these herbs that we are

00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:13.460
all familiar and we are not allowed to call them

00:28:13.460 --> 00:28:17.619
anything, but these are the herbs that our ancestors

00:28:17.619 --> 00:28:20.759
would have been keeping in the garden, right?

00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:23.880
These are plants that the bees are familiar with

00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:27.880
and forage on, and these are herbs that are familiar

00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:33.500
for us humans because we've been using them for

00:28:33.500 --> 00:28:36.220
certain things through history. Can we share

00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:43.099
the recipe? Yes, the recipe is on my Ko -fi page

00:28:43.099 --> 00:28:47.599
so I can send a link. We'll stick a link in the

00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:50.519
show notes and you ask a small donation for that

00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:53.130
too. I don't have a problem with that. This is

00:28:53.130 --> 00:28:55.930
so funny because I'm just picturing. First of

00:28:55.930 --> 00:28:57.650
all, you're trying to throw a tea party with

00:28:57.650 --> 00:29:00.369
the bees, right? So I imagine they're little

00:29:00.369 --> 00:29:04.109
tea cups and then you've got your husband, the

00:29:04.109 --> 00:29:08.390
chef making it taste better for them. And then

00:29:08.390 --> 00:29:10.710
you've got some kind of Mary Poppins going on

00:29:10.710 --> 00:29:13.130
with a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go

00:29:13.130 --> 00:29:18.490
down for him. tonic, herbal tonic for the bees.

00:29:18.690 --> 00:29:23.470
But it's part of your IPM. So your belief is,

00:29:24.569 --> 00:29:28.289
I can't really do anything to kill the mites.

00:29:28.450 --> 00:29:30.630
I'm going to make the bees as strong, as healthy

00:29:30.630 --> 00:29:32.769
as possible, and they'll take care of it. Am

00:29:32.769 --> 00:29:35.250
I reading that right? Yes, you know, the mites

00:29:35.250 --> 00:29:38.049
are here. You can't keep them out from the hives.

00:29:38.390 --> 00:29:43.150
They are in the hives. We like it or not. they're

00:29:43.150 --> 00:29:47.269
going to get into your bees' hives. It's sad,

00:29:47.630 --> 00:29:53.930
it's what it is, but that's our reality. Hey,

00:29:53.990 --> 00:29:55.950
if you're worried about whether a new bee suit

00:29:55.950 --> 00:29:58.710
will actually keep you safe from being stung,

00:29:59.049 --> 00:30:00.769
might as well let someone else try it first,

00:30:00.890 --> 00:30:04.170
right? Just kidding, of course. Actually, I was

00:30:04.170 --> 00:30:07.509
doing my son Will a favor recently, letting him

00:30:07.509 --> 00:30:10.849
be the first one to wear my new Man Lake vented

00:30:10.849 --> 00:30:13.869
suit on a hot day that the bees were going to

00:30:13.869 --> 00:30:17.930
be upset while I wore something much less impressive.

00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:21.099
I have the new Man Lake bee suit on today. We're

00:30:21.099 --> 00:30:23.319
headed out to harvest some honey. Last time we

00:30:23.319 --> 00:30:26.200
were doing this last year, I had the very first

00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:28.960
bee suit that he owned on. It had mice holes

00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:33.440
in it, duct taped. It was hot. Oh my gosh, I

00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:36.400
was so sweaty coming out of it. The veil, I had

00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:38.619
to wear a hat under it so it wasn't falling down

00:30:38.619 --> 00:30:41.579
on my eyes and on my face. This Man Lake suit

00:30:41.579 --> 00:30:45.660
is amazing. This is an extra large. I'm, I don't

00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:48.569
know, 5 '10", so I'm not the tallest. But it

00:30:48.569 --> 00:30:51.269
covers the ankles well, it's nice and versatile,

00:30:52.130 --> 00:30:54.890
super breathable, lightweight. It's really amazing.

00:30:55.009 --> 00:30:57.190
I'm excited to go put it to the test, see what

00:30:57.190 --> 00:31:00.490
it's got. Since harvest day, I've also worn the

00:31:00.490 --> 00:31:03.069
suit a few times and can tell you it is super

00:31:03.069 --> 00:31:06.509
well made. If you're beekeeping in warm weather

00:31:06.509 --> 00:31:09.190
and you've never had a ventilated suit, oh my

00:31:09.190 --> 00:31:11.150
gosh, you don't know what you're missing. And

00:31:11.150 --> 00:31:13.970
I've never seen one quite like this. The designers

00:31:13.970 --> 00:31:17.390
put a layer of rubberized netting between two

00:31:17.390 --> 00:31:20.609
layers of finely woven mesh. And I absolutely

00:31:20.609 --> 00:31:25.130
love the clear view veil. No wrinkles, no sagging.

00:31:25.369 --> 00:31:28.839
I can literally see the bees better. I wear a

00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:31.900
size large in most clothes, but usually get an

00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:34.619
XL in bee suits just because I like them to be

00:31:34.619 --> 00:31:38.519
a little oversized. I would say that an XL is

00:31:38.519 --> 00:31:42.000
plenty big. In fact, I may size down to a large

00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:44.980
next time around. There are beekeeping days where

00:31:44.980 --> 00:31:47.579
I only wear a jacket or veil, but if I were a

00:31:47.579 --> 00:31:51.140
new beekeeper, had aggressive bees, or just knew

00:31:51.140 --> 00:31:53.339
that that particular day they were going to be

00:31:53.339 --> 00:31:57.559
angry, this is the max protection, max ventilation

00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:02.000
suit I'm putting on, period. What I do believe,

00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:06.380
I do believe that if we give space to the bees,

00:32:06.660 --> 00:32:09.519
they will find ways to cope with it, because

00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:13.180
the native species of Asia, where this mite is

00:32:13.180 --> 00:32:16.740
originated from, the Episcarana, the Chinese

00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:21.079
honeybee, they evolved together and this bee

00:32:21.079 --> 00:32:24.900
species is very successful at keeping the mite

00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:29.220
count in check. you know, it shows that the species

00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:34.380
itself can learn coping mechanism, but if we're

00:32:34.380 --> 00:32:38.559
constantly interfering and propping them up with

00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:43.160
these chemicals, we are taking away the option

00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:46.039
for them to naturally find ways. And you know,

00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:49.680
I know it means that, maybe that's how we can

00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:54.640
actually tie in my death doula thing, that, you

00:32:54.640 --> 00:32:59.670
know, we don't like as our modern society, we

00:32:59.670 --> 00:33:02.069
are very uncomfortable with the concept of death

00:33:02.069 --> 00:33:05.089
and dying, you know, it's a human problem. But

00:33:05.089 --> 00:33:09.730
the bees are not scared to die, you know, they

00:33:09.730 --> 00:33:15.250
reborn so fast, you know, they reproduce really

00:33:15.250 --> 00:33:20.309
fast. And if we want Darwinian evolution to continue

00:33:20.309 --> 00:33:25.089
to take place in the bees' life, we have to let

00:33:25.089 --> 00:33:30.210
the weak colonies die. And it sounds really hard

00:33:30.210 --> 00:33:33.269
and harsh and it's really difficult watching

00:33:33.269 --> 00:33:37.890
bees perish. I do get that. But we also have

00:33:37.890 --> 00:33:42.869
to give them space and honor their dying. Because

00:33:42.869 --> 00:33:45.970
in the long term, in the bigger picture, that

00:33:45.970 --> 00:33:50.289
will help the bees to be strong to thrive and

00:33:50.289 --> 00:33:53.210
take over the place of the weak. So let me make

00:33:53.210 --> 00:33:56.009
sure I understand. so you believe in natural

00:33:56.009 --> 00:34:00.690
selection and Even though you're a natural beekeeper

00:34:00.690 --> 00:34:04.630
you do believe in IPM in some kind of intervention

00:34:04.630 --> 00:34:08.170
Just with natural types of substances, right

00:34:08.170 --> 00:34:12.289
versus harsh chemicals. Yeah Because I think

00:34:12.289 --> 00:34:14.929
everybody out there is trying to find their way

00:34:14.929 --> 00:34:18.190
through this maze Not only what they're comfortable

00:34:18.190 --> 00:34:21.429
with but what will work for their bees and your

00:34:21.429 --> 00:34:24.409
bees are different than my bees and somebody

00:34:24.409 --> 00:34:26.289
and somewhere else, their bees are different

00:34:26.289 --> 00:34:28.750
than that. And so it's just, it's part of the

00:34:28.750 --> 00:34:30.610
journey. It's part of what we need to figure

00:34:30.610 --> 00:34:35.230
out, experiment with, hopefully do it wisely.

00:34:35.909 --> 00:34:38.929
But I don't think natural beekeeping ever means

00:34:38.929 --> 00:34:42.090
just stand back and do nothing. Yes, I think

00:34:42.090 --> 00:34:45.449
that's a misconception that we think that's what

00:34:45.449 --> 00:34:50.719
it is when it's not, you know. I am around my

00:34:50.719 --> 00:34:57.059
bees a lot. I spend hours with them. I make the

00:34:57.059 --> 00:34:59.699
tea for them, you know, so I made so much teas

00:34:59.699 --> 00:35:01.980
in these last three years. It's unbelievable.

00:35:02.239 --> 00:35:04.699
I think last year I added up and it was over

00:35:04.699 --> 00:35:09.659
50 litre in these months and, you know, that's

00:35:09.659 --> 00:35:13.239
not nothing. As bee tenders, of course we want

00:35:13.239 --> 00:35:17.559
to be there and support our bees wherever we

00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:21.039
can, but we also have to, you know, to realize

00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:24.179
that there is a point when you just kind of have

00:35:24.179 --> 00:35:27.260
to let go. And I think that's the scary thing

00:35:27.260 --> 00:35:31.500
for us. And we don't want our bees die, but sometimes

00:35:31.500 --> 00:35:35.679
they have to die, sadly. That's the sad part.

00:35:35.880 --> 00:35:40.139
I had my first loss. this year, after three years

00:35:40.139 --> 00:35:43.820
of beekeeping this spring, I lost a hive. And

00:35:43.820 --> 00:35:48.639
it was not down to Varoa, it was a late swarm,

00:35:48.699 --> 00:35:51.860
they swarmed early August, they didn't really

00:35:51.860 --> 00:35:56.260
build out as much, and they just didn't come

00:35:56.260 --> 00:36:02.019
out from the winter. And I had the chance to

00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:05.380
give them a new queen, and I decided not to,

00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:12.590
because that swarm was too weak to overwinter.

00:36:12.730 --> 00:36:15.530
Even with my help, you know, they received help.

00:36:15.590 --> 00:36:19.550
I gave them honey from other colonies, and I

00:36:19.550 --> 00:36:25.389
gave them the tea, and they did not manage. In

00:36:25.389 --> 00:36:28.489
my eye, that was the sign that they are not suitable

00:36:28.489 --> 00:36:33.510
for my Scottish landscape. So I was there when

00:36:33.510 --> 00:36:37.349
they died. It was really it was really deep.

00:36:37.590 --> 00:36:40.070
I had the queen in my hand, there was still like

00:36:40.070 --> 00:36:42.869
a handful of bees and they were still tending

00:36:42.869 --> 00:36:45.309
to her and you know in a couple of days they

00:36:45.309 --> 00:36:48.590
all died and it was very sad. I was crying, I

00:36:48.590 --> 00:36:52.429
was you know it was very emotional but in the

00:36:52.429 --> 00:36:57.789
same way as a death doula whose job is to to

00:36:57.789 --> 00:37:00.590
teach about death, you know, it was an honor

00:37:00.590 --> 00:37:03.769
to witness that, that I could actually be there,

00:37:04.110 --> 00:37:08.030
support that handful of bees with my presence,

00:37:08.170 --> 00:37:10.349
with my warmth, you know, I moved them into a

00:37:10.349 --> 00:37:13.949
small hive on a, you know, I cleared out all

00:37:13.949 --> 00:37:15.829
the, because there was a lot of like dead bees

00:37:15.829 --> 00:37:19.670
under, you know, it looked so sad. So I moved

00:37:19.670 --> 00:37:23.289
these survivor bees into a little hive on one

00:37:23.289 --> 00:37:27.320
comb, so that, you know, they had a nice last

00:37:27.320 --> 00:37:31.599
couple of days in a clean space, and yeah, it

00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:34.860
was very sad, but I also know that it was the

00:37:34.860 --> 00:37:38.059
right thing to do. I didn't see the point of

00:37:38.059 --> 00:37:41.599
getting them an artificial queen from somewhere,

00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:45.300
that Anna, born on my little hill with my weird,

00:37:45.639 --> 00:37:48.219
strange weather, you know, like, I could get

00:37:48.219 --> 00:37:50.380
another queen, but what if they would perish

00:37:50.380 --> 00:37:56.050
again next season? Yeah. So but you did it with

00:37:56.050 --> 00:38:01.949
respect yeah and honor for them Wow, it was really

00:38:01.949 --> 00:38:06.309
moving and bees even when they die They teach

00:38:06.309 --> 00:38:09.210
us and show us something. I know the commercial

00:38:09.210 --> 00:38:11.489
beekeepers listening or just thinking we're a

00:38:11.489 --> 00:38:15.349
little bit crazy, but For those of us that do

00:38:15.349 --> 00:38:18.289
beekeeping on a smaller scale We can take that

00:38:18.289 --> 00:38:21.630
time and we can invest that emotion and that's

00:38:21.630 --> 00:38:25.380
an okay thing. Yeah, do you use smoke? I do use

00:38:25.380 --> 00:38:30.480
smoke, but that's for my own benefit. rather

00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:33.659
than the bees, I believe that whenever I go to

00:38:33.659 --> 00:38:36.960
the bees I put on my suit and I handle that as

00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:39.719
you know that this is how I start my ceremony

00:38:39.719 --> 00:38:43.179
with the bees. So the the suit and the smoker

00:38:43.179 --> 00:38:46.239
puts me into that mental space that I am coming

00:38:46.239 --> 00:38:49.820
into the apiary. It's time to forget about my

00:38:49.820 --> 00:38:52.480
shopping list, that what we gonna eat tonight

00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:56.119
and so this is now me suiting up for the bees.

00:38:56.119 --> 00:39:00.119
So I use herbs from my garden and and sticks

00:39:00.119 --> 00:39:03.380
and pinecones from the forest that we have just

00:39:03.380 --> 00:39:09.280
nearby and I start to smoke myself, cleanse my

00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:12.579
aura, you know, I'm walking in with my intention

00:39:12.579 --> 00:39:17.880
to see the bees and learn from them and I also

00:39:17.880 --> 00:39:23.070
use the smoke when I close the hive because I

00:39:23.070 --> 00:39:25.989
don't like to squash bees and that's the only

00:39:25.989 --> 00:39:29.829
thing that makes them go away from these edges.

00:39:30.349 --> 00:39:33.090
That's, I didn't find any other way, so if you

00:39:33.090 --> 00:39:36.750
have any method to keep them away from the the

00:39:36.750 --> 00:39:39.730
edges, please tell me, because it was just the

00:39:39.730 --> 00:39:42.849
smoke that I can move them away. Just the wet

00:39:42.849 --> 00:39:45.329
towel method, which I've recently heard about.

00:39:45.670 --> 00:39:49.449
Okay. I take a towel like a beach towel, get

00:39:49.449 --> 00:39:52.809
it all wet, wring it out. And then when you,

00:39:52.829 --> 00:39:54.730
as soon as you take the lid off your hive, you

00:39:54.730 --> 00:39:57.849
put this wet towel on top and the bees tend to

00:39:57.849 --> 00:39:59.909
go down a little bit like they do with smoke.

00:40:00.150 --> 00:40:02.489
And then you just peel back like a frame at a

00:40:02.489 --> 00:40:04.710
time that you're going to work on and then cover

00:40:04.710 --> 00:40:08.239
it back up. That's so interesting. Something

00:40:08.239 --> 00:40:11.079
worth trying. I had not heard of that before

00:40:11.079 --> 00:40:14.300
until a couple of friends, new friends of mine

00:40:14.300 --> 00:40:16.400
from Denmark that were on the show recently,

00:40:17.099 --> 00:40:18.679
they were saying that that's how they do it,

00:40:18.679 --> 00:40:20.940
they've gotten away from using smoke by doing

00:40:20.940 --> 00:40:24.099
that. Anyway, I'm gonna try it, see how it works.

00:40:24.360 --> 00:40:28.460
Because I do use like a cotton, well it's more

00:40:28.460 --> 00:40:32.039
of like a tea towel that I cover the hive when

00:40:32.039 --> 00:40:35.480
I am inspecting frame so that you know the whole

00:40:35.480 --> 00:40:39.480
hive is not exposed to the light and so but I

00:40:39.480 --> 00:40:42.380
never heard of the making it wet would actually

00:40:42.380 --> 00:40:45.159
make them go down so I will try that. So you're

00:40:45.159 --> 00:40:47.199
halfway doing it so just get it a little bit

00:40:47.199 --> 00:40:48.940
wet not dripping you don't want to get the bees

00:40:48.940 --> 00:40:51.699
wet yeah that's why you wring it out so it's

00:40:51.699 --> 00:40:54.380
just damp and probably it makes it just a little

00:40:54.380 --> 00:40:57.320
bit cooler too I don't know if that's why they're

00:40:57.320 --> 00:40:59.900
moving down or something else but interesting

00:40:59.900 --> 00:41:03.989
idea So lastly, I wanted to ask you about have

00:41:03.989 --> 00:41:08.050
you gotten into the medicinal uses of honey bees

00:41:08.050 --> 00:41:12.070
and their products yet? You mean beyond the beyond

00:41:12.070 --> 00:41:16.650
honey? Yeah, for yourself. Have you used honey

00:41:16.650 --> 00:41:19.909
or propolis or bee venom or something else for

00:41:19.909 --> 00:41:24.769
your own health? Yes. So I'm a big advocate for

00:41:24.769 --> 00:41:29.000
for raw honey. I eat it every day. with intention.

00:41:29.139 --> 00:41:32.519
I put it in my fruit smoothie, you know. Yes,

00:41:32.579 --> 00:41:36.199
I love it. I know beekeepers who don't. I don't

00:41:36.199 --> 00:41:38.079
know if you ever met beekeepers who don't like

00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:42.679
honey. I actually know a couple. Yes, I love

00:41:42.679 --> 00:41:45.880
honey. And the other thing I really just got

00:41:45.880 --> 00:41:50.599
into this year is making propolis tincture. So,

00:41:50.699 --> 00:41:53.119
you know, the propolis that I scrape off from

00:41:53.119 --> 00:41:56.119
the frames, I collected them in this past years

00:41:56.119 --> 00:42:01.079
and finally I had enough to mix it with alcohol.

00:42:01.579 --> 00:42:03.719
It's like a high grade alcohol. It's from my

00:42:03.719 --> 00:42:06.840
village. We do very strong alcohol in Hungary.

00:42:06.920 --> 00:42:10.559
I don't know if you had the chance to taste any

00:42:10.559 --> 00:42:13.239
of them when you were visiting. We have some

00:42:13.239 --> 00:42:15.820
really strong alcohol in Hungary. One of them

00:42:15.820 --> 00:42:19.619
is called pálinka, which is like a fruit schnapps,

00:42:19.780 --> 00:42:23.889
essentially. But when they made in villages at

00:42:23.889 --> 00:42:27.469
home they are very strong like over 70 percent.

00:42:27.630 --> 00:42:29.989
So anyway we've been gifted a bottle from our

00:42:29.989 --> 00:42:33.309
village and we knew that we will not be able

00:42:33.309 --> 00:42:38.889
to drink it ever. So I put the propolis into,

00:42:39.210 --> 00:42:41.920
again my husband have. work out the measures.

00:42:42.400 --> 00:42:45.679
But yeah, it is just getting ready. So you need

00:42:45.679 --> 00:42:49.980
to mix it and then shake the bottle every day

00:42:49.980 --> 00:42:53.179
while the propolis and the alcohol dissolves.

00:42:53.300 --> 00:42:56.980
And I think you're going to get a really nice

00:42:56.980 --> 00:43:02.039
tincture in about three, four weeks. And we all

00:43:02.039 --> 00:43:05.900
know propolis is a wonderful thing to have at

00:43:05.900 --> 00:43:09.679
home. How much propolis do you use per alcohol?

00:43:09.900 --> 00:43:13.030
Is it like two to one, two times alcohol to one

00:43:13.030 --> 00:43:16.050
propolis or something along those lines? What

00:43:16.050 --> 00:43:22.690
was the measure? I think we had about, we had

00:43:22.690 --> 00:43:28.570
about 50 gram of propolis and we infused it with

00:43:28.570 --> 00:43:35.989
about 200 milliliter alcohol. And then how do

00:43:35.989 --> 00:43:38.670
you like to use it? For sore throats and things

00:43:38.670 --> 00:43:43.480
like that? Anytime you feel a bit off, I would,

00:43:43.559 --> 00:43:47.179
and it's also great for if you have any cuts,

00:43:47.380 --> 00:43:49.639
you know, you want to sterilize, heal something

00:43:49.639 --> 00:43:53.320
on your skin, and yeah, anytime you feel a bit

00:43:53.320 --> 00:43:56.539
off, you have a cold, recovering from something,

00:43:56.699 --> 00:44:00.719
couple of drops under the tongue. But I also

00:44:00.719 --> 00:44:05.480
heard that actually the most effective way of

00:44:06.240 --> 00:44:09.900
using propolis is actually breathing it. So inhaling

00:44:09.900 --> 00:44:13.860
it to your lungs and that's where it gets the

00:44:13.860 --> 00:44:17.300
best observation from your body. But tincture

00:44:17.300 --> 00:44:20.380
will work too. But if you have the chance to

00:44:20.380 --> 00:44:23.079
just sniff it, because I keep it because it just

00:44:23.079 --> 00:44:26.239
smells lovely. You just breathe it? Mm -hmm.

00:44:26.380 --> 00:44:29.099
So I try to have a sniff before I go to sleep

00:44:29.099 --> 00:44:32.360
and when I wake up. Speaking of that, if you've

00:44:32.360 --> 00:44:34.480
never done this, and I'm just talking to people

00:44:34.480 --> 00:44:37.590
out there, If you've never taken off the lid

00:44:37.590 --> 00:44:40.429
of a hive and before you do anything, just kind

00:44:40.429 --> 00:44:43.989
of bend down and take a nice breath and just

00:44:43.989 --> 00:44:48.010
smell it. It can be a great experience. It is.

00:44:48.190 --> 00:44:50.610
And sounds like a healthy one too, from what

00:44:50.610 --> 00:44:53.369
you're saying. Even if you walk into the apiary

00:44:53.369 --> 00:44:57.110
without opening them on a nice warm sunny day,

00:44:57.449 --> 00:45:00.889
you do have that sweet honey scent in the air,

00:45:00.889 --> 00:45:06.369
I think. It is just so warm and lovely and you

00:45:06.369 --> 00:45:09.469
just feel home instantly. Yeah, someone told

00:45:09.469 --> 00:45:13.230
me recently that the best smell there is in the

00:45:13.230 --> 00:45:16.230
world, the most like heaven, is in their honey

00:45:16.230 --> 00:45:19.630
house when they're processing honey. Yeah, I

00:45:19.630 --> 00:45:22.110
completely agree with that. Well, we can't give

00:45:22.110 --> 00:45:24.550
medical advice on this show and anything we talked

00:45:24.550 --> 00:45:27.409
about is not medical advice. We are not doctors.

00:45:28.050 --> 00:45:31.050
But it's fun to experiment with some of this.

00:45:31.070 --> 00:45:34.250
We've talked about some other apotherapy things.

00:45:34.619 --> 00:45:37.739
Previously on the show I had an experience with

00:45:37.739 --> 00:45:41.800
something just recently I got a burn on my hand

00:45:41.800 --> 00:45:45.639
just taking something out of the oven I had read

00:45:45.639 --> 00:45:48.800
and talked to someone about the medicinal uses

00:45:48.800 --> 00:45:52.579
of honey for burns and I thought I'm just gonna

00:45:52.579 --> 00:45:57.960
try it and I Painted a little honey on this thing

00:45:57.960 --> 00:46:01.400
put a band -aid on it to keep the honey on it

00:46:01.400 --> 00:46:04.940
Shocked at how fast it healed It's amazing. I

00:46:04.940 --> 00:46:07.980
mean, I could not believe it. It was a bad burn

00:46:07.980 --> 00:46:10.800
and it healed so fast, it was crazy. Well, we

00:46:10.800 --> 00:46:14.519
healed a sunburn with it when we were just down

00:46:14.519 --> 00:46:18.179
in... Really? Yeah, so we had a raw honey from

00:46:18.179 --> 00:46:21.619
the island where we stayed and well, we got a

00:46:21.619 --> 00:46:25.579
bad sunburn. Even though we weren't out in the

00:46:25.579 --> 00:46:27.920
heat, you know, we just, yeah, we got a face

00:46:27.920 --> 00:46:31.039
and shoulders and... I was telling my husband

00:46:31.039 --> 00:46:34.079
that we have this honey now and it will work,

00:46:34.119 --> 00:46:37.000
it will work. So we kept putting it on us and

00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:41.980
we never peeled at all, you know, it just healed

00:46:41.980 --> 00:46:44.360
it. i don't know how you do it on a big area

00:46:44.360 --> 00:46:46.980
though because you're all sticky now yeah you're

00:46:46.980 --> 00:46:49.519
gonna get very sticky so just be prepared you

00:46:49.519 --> 00:46:51.739
have to have a towel and put your hands up if

00:46:51.739 --> 00:46:56.119
you have long hair uh you only need 15 20 minutes

00:46:56.119 --> 00:46:58.480
and then you can go to shower this is what i

00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:02.360
we did 15 20 minutes just sitting still and trying

00:47:02.360 --> 00:47:05.760
not to make your furniture or covered in honey

00:47:05.760 --> 00:47:10.889
but it does work and We actually, I have to tell

00:47:10.889 --> 00:47:14.690
you this as well, last year my cat Gimli, he

00:47:14.690 --> 00:47:19.730
came home with a big scar just under the ear.

00:47:20.530 --> 00:47:25.510
It looked awful, it was... oozing, it smelled,

00:47:25.590 --> 00:47:28.190
so I was waiting for an appointment from the

00:47:28.190 --> 00:47:30.530
vet but in the meantime I was like I'm gonna

00:47:30.530 --> 00:47:33.489
put some honey on it and I had some chamomile

00:47:33.489 --> 00:47:37.309
from the garden so my granny said that just put

00:47:37.309 --> 00:47:40.530
honey on it and wipe it with chamomile water

00:47:40.530 --> 00:47:46.570
and in two days the cat healed it looked absolutely

00:47:46.570 --> 00:47:50.920
disgusting that thing you know it was oh And

00:47:50.920 --> 00:47:55.579
yes, two days later, it all closed up, all the

00:47:55.579 --> 00:47:58.940
stuff came out from it, and that was solely down

00:47:58.940 --> 00:48:02.699
to raw honey from the bees and some chamomile

00:48:02.699 --> 00:48:05.940
from the garden. We didn't need to go to the

00:48:05.940 --> 00:48:10.699
vet. He did say that if it doesn't fully close

00:48:10.699 --> 00:48:13.519
in three, four days, I will need to take him

00:48:13.519 --> 00:48:17.559
in, but it fully closed the wound. You just saved

00:48:17.559 --> 00:48:19.800
a couple hundred dollars on a vet bill, too.

00:48:19.949 --> 00:48:24.110
Yeah. Nice job. All right. We are totally running

00:48:24.110 --> 00:48:26.949
out of time. Do you have a wild and crazy beekeeping

00:48:26.949 --> 00:48:34.190
story for us? I did have a swarm this year. It

00:48:34.190 --> 00:48:38.579
was very shocking, you know, swarm usually happens,

00:48:38.679 --> 00:48:41.159
this is what is in the book at least, that it

00:48:41.159 --> 00:48:43.219
happens on a nice sunny day when the weather

00:48:43.219 --> 00:48:46.500
is just dry. Now, not with these dark bees, you

00:48:46.500 --> 00:48:49.679
know, they can just go in storm. This hive, they

00:48:49.679 --> 00:48:54.889
swarmed on a day that was cold. it was cloudy

00:48:54.889 --> 00:48:59.030
and it was big wind and they got scattered all

00:48:59.030 --> 00:49:03.289
over my garden fence. It took me about five hours

00:49:03.289 --> 00:49:07.289
to collect them and hive them and they anyway

00:49:07.289 --> 00:49:11.329
just flew out and gone back home you know to

00:49:11.329 --> 00:49:15.599
the original hive that they came out from. And

00:49:15.599 --> 00:49:18.099
I was like, well, that was a waste, wasted five

00:49:18.099 --> 00:49:20.639
hours that I will never get back, you know, because

00:49:20.639 --> 00:49:22.420
they will just swarm again. But anyway, there

00:49:22.420 --> 00:49:25.780
were still bees all over that hive. So I kept

00:49:25.780 --> 00:49:30.460
bending down and picking up the bees. And suddenly

00:49:30.460 --> 00:49:35.500
what I picked up was the queen herself. So there

00:49:35.500 --> 00:49:39.599
was this queen bee in my hand who got lost and

00:49:39.599 --> 00:49:44.159
separated from her bees. So I guess that's why

00:49:44.159 --> 00:49:47.699
the bees decided to go back home anyway, so I

00:49:47.699 --> 00:49:51.559
reunited them after like a couple of hours and

00:49:51.559 --> 00:49:55.219
I put the queen bee back to the original hive

00:49:55.219 --> 00:49:57.739
and the bees were so delighted, you know, you

00:49:57.739 --> 00:50:01.860
could just hear the sound of the hive change.

00:50:02.159 --> 00:50:07.320
So it made my wasted afternoon not wasted, you

00:50:07.320 --> 00:50:11.559
know, I still managed to save the queen, so that

00:50:11.559 --> 00:50:14.760
was quite cool. That's fun. And by the way if

00:50:14.760 --> 00:50:17.059
you want to learn more about swarming behavior

00:50:17.059 --> 00:50:21.619
we recently had Tom Seeley on the show. Episodes

00:50:21.619 --> 00:50:27.039
232 and 233 they are very well worth listening

00:50:27.039 --> 00:50:31.079
to as he knows more than anybody on this planet

00:50:31.079 --> 00:50:35.500
about swarming behavior. All right any last words

00:50:35.500 --> 00:50:37.619
you can teach us today Tija and then we'll let

00:50:37.619 --> 00:50:41.190
you go. I just want to say that thank you for

00:50:41.190 --> 00:50:45.650
everyone who keeps bees and loves the bees and

00:50:45.650 --> 00:50:48.829
you know willing to willing to listen them I

00:50:48.829 --> 00:50:52.650
think that's cool. All right thanks a ton have

00:50:52.650 --> 00:50:56.230
a great afternoon in Scotland and I need your

00:50:56.230 --> 00:50:59.510
husband to make me a meal sometime. Okay I think

00:50:59.510 --> 00:51:02.610
he will be very happy to do that. Thank you very

00:51:02.610 --> 00:51:07.219
much for having me Eric. Thanks for joining us

00:51:07.219 --> 00:51:10.019
on Be Love Beekeeping presented by Man Lake.

00:51:10.460 --> 00:51:12.539
If you like this content I hope you'll share

00:51:12.539 --> 00:51:15.420
it with a friend, follow and subscribe to this

00:51:15.420 --> 00:51:18.780
podcast and even sign up for our newsletter at

00:51:18.780 --> 00:51:21.840
BeLoveBeekeeping .com Also, just a shout out

00:51:21.840 --> 00:51:24.400
to Vita B Health for their support, we appreciate

00:51:24.400 --> 00:51:27.420
them. Vita's Varroa Control range of products

00:51:27.420 --> 00:51:31.039
includes Apistan, Apigard, and now Varroxan,

00:51:31.360 --> 00:51:34.940
Extended Release Oxalic Acid Strips. Thanks guys,

00:51:35.440 --> 00:51:37.840
and remember, if you're not just in it for the

00:51:37.840 --> 00:51:40.380
honey or the money, you're in it for the love.

00:51:40.800 --> 00:51:41.820
See you next week.