To Bottle Honey

This represents the main purpose in keeping bees. That is to obtain honey. This is the first harvest this year. From the way the season is going I hope there will be much more honey to come in.

The large stainless steel container is called a "Ripener" After the honey has been extracted from the combs and put through a straining cloth, it is then allowed to rest in this tank to allow the air bubbles to rise to the surface of the honey. Or at least that is the theory. However this spring honey has such a thick consistency that the bubbles will not rise. This gives the honey a rather unattractive cloudy appearance.

A trick of the trade will be required to sort that out.

It is then bottled using the gate valve at the bottom of the tank.

Oh the other purpose in keeping bees is to obtain excellent pollination of one's apples and gooseberries etcetera. The world is now having to wake up to the fact that a mess has been made of that by the use of insecticides.