honey bees Archives - Archie's Acres

We hope you’re having a warmer Spring than we are. At this very moment it’s alternating between hail and snow outside and all the animals are upset about it. Goats wonder, "where is Spring?"

Even the cats and Archie are mad…at us, as if this weather is our fault. But Spring in the Midwest can be like this so there’s no point in complaining about it. Cold weather is a great excuse to take some time to read a book, cleanup your house, watching a movie or just relax. It’s actually a pleasant excuse to just take a break! And that’s awesome… unless you have crops to plant. We currently have 100+ potted seedlings hanging out in front of every South, East & West facing window in our home. Plus usually by this time we would have planted potatoes, onions, leafy greens, and peas in the garden but the ground is too frozen to get the potatoes in and too wet for the others.

Seedlings want to get outside — Plants congregating in front of our kitchen window

Getting a little stressful at this point…

It’s a major bummer. Time seems like it’s flying by and farmer’s market season is getting closer and closer. It’s stressful to feel so far behind so early in the season! We’re hoping to get these little plants in the ground at the end of next week. All that stress aside, the plants are happy in their current situation, but would be happier if they were outside getting pollinated by honey bees instead of an electric toothbrush. Oh which reminds me…we’re very worried about what this weather is doing to our bee hives. The cold Spring/extended winter could be disastrous and it’s too cold open up the hives to check on them. We don’t want to release any remaining heat in their hives and endanger them further. We’re staying hopeful though.

Our CSA signup has gone great. We still have 3 spots remaining so get one while you can! https://www.archiesacres.com/sign-up-now-for-our-csa/

Hoping to have a post detailing prepping the garden and planting very soon!

Honey Bees are Awesome!!

Most people think of only honey when they think of bees (obviously), but our honey bees provide us with another excellent product, beeswax!

Obviously we love that our bees give us honey. We plan to keep expanding and adding more bee colonies every year, and this means we’ll get to do even more fun things with the honey (think Bourbon Infused Honey). In addition to being yummy, the honey is also great in soaps, shampoos, moisturizers, natural cough syrups and lip balm. Plus it’s antibacterial properties make it great for cuts and burns.

But the other excellent thing our bees give us is beeswax! Beeswax is often forgotten about or it’s thought of as just a byproduct of getting that tasty honey. But we have really been embracing it. You can make so many things with beeswax. Like candles, cuticle creams and lip balm! If you want to make your own lip balm, check out the instructions below. We’ve included our special lip balm recipe.

But for anyone who doesn’t want to make their own or doesn’t have the supplies, you can always purchase some from Our Etsy Store. If you don’t see the flavor you want, just message us, we can whip up a custom order for you in no time.

For holding the tubes we use this handy pouring tray. You don’t need the tray though if you have great aim. Either way, I would recommend putting some waxed/parchment paper under the tubes to keep any spills off your counter top.

Awesome Beeswax Lip Balm

Course Personal Care

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 13 .15 ounce tubes

Ingredients

4 tbsp Beeswax
2 tbsp Shea Butter
1.5 tbsp Coconut Oil
~30 drops Essential Oil/Flavor extract of choice

Instructions

Using a double boiler, melt the Beeswax, Shea Butter and Coconut Oil.
Remove mixture from heat and add Essential Oils and/or flavoring of your choice. Add small amounts at a time until you achieve the desired potency.
Check consistency (optional); adjust as needed
Pour into lip balm tubes
Allow to cool completely before capping

Recipe Notes

If you're not sure the consistency is what you're looking for or want to check the scent/flavor, pour a small amount of the mixture onto a piece of waxed paper and put it in the fridge and put the pot with the rest of the mixture back into the double boiler to keep it warm. After a few minutes, take the sample out of the fridge and test it out. If it's good to go, simply pour the rest of the mixture into the waiting tubes.

If you need to adjust, do so in small amounts and check again until you find the perfect blend.

Tag: honey bees

We Thought it was Spring??