Local honey from Southern Vermont in 2012

Here is the bottled honey crop this first beekeeping season.  I had been saving jars for some number of months and I thought I had plenty but used them all up quick enough. My grandson helped me bottle the honey and he was pulling them away and adding new ones pretty fast when that honey was flowing into them. Nice job T!  Then I pulled out canning jars too.

I guess I should start saving jars for next year's crop...thinking optimistically.

Next, I need to order beekeeping labels that indicate where the local honey was produced. I'll do this before giving as gifts. I have that order almost ready to place.

Local honey from southern Vermont in 2012

I also need to find more recipes that use honey in place of sugar, or just start by experimenting.  I did read that honey is sweeter than sugar by about 50 percent. So if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar, I would try using 1/4 cup of honey and see how that works out.  I'll keep this blog informed as I try out some recipes over the coming fall/winter months.

Naturally the blog will change somewhat over these months but I will keep you up to date on bees too but there will be less activity with the bees.  But there is beeswax candles to make and get ready for gift-giving and food to prepare and lotion to make. I also have in mind to use some of my lavender flowers to make a few sachets from drawers...if I ever get to that. We'll see.  Stay tuned.