Fall Roundup 2026
We were busy as bees and somehow the summer slipped away… All the honey is off the hives, and it’s almost time to bring the bees south.
Hive health and management has been a priority. It has been a banner summer for our bees. The flowers kept blooming all season, and we have the fattest, healthiest hives we’ve seen in years! Last season the rain came early, but late July through August turned into a drought in my area. This year there was consistent rain, and therefore flower nectar for the bees to gather and grow on, and that has made all the difference. Now even the occasional hive where the queen stopped laying for the last few weeks of cold nights still has full boxes of bees, and lots of honey stored up for their own use. Strong hive populations will pick up where they left off, raising some last brood for the year as I reduce the size of the hives and bring some to Texas. I accelerated my natural treatments for Varroa mites this year by a couple weeks as well (treating earlier In August) and that helped them keep virus levels in check to raise lots of healthy bees in September.
We welcomed a new baby into the family this year, so our attention was a little split at times. The website suffered, but we have inventory back online!
Other challenges included a mid-season breakdown for my ’98 Chevrolet k2500 diesel, which I rely on for moving bees and honey between my yards, and I am still in the process of rebuilding the engine, learning as I go. In the meantime I purchased an even older ’86 Chevy pickup with plenty of character, which has an indestructible inline six engine, a full eight foot bed, and a manual transmission someone swapped in from a late ‘60s Chevy Nova. With some new suspension and spark plugs, “Patches” has been a reliable bee truck, a sort of rat-rod classic work truck.
Our Farmer’s markets in Mound, Waconia, and the Nokomis neighborhood were great successes this year. Many thanks for everyone who stopped by the stand, we hope you enjoyed the honey!
Look for us at the Christkindlmarkt at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Loretto, MN, The Delano Old Fashioned Christmas Festival, and the Holiday Boutique at the Gillespie Center in Mound! We have lots of candles and creamed honey this season.