Yippee!

Our Loess Hills Honey Company Brand of honey has been accepted by HyVee in Council Bluffs. They will start carrying it as soon as we can get them product! Lots to do, but very excited about this opportunity to share local honey and educate the public on the hobby of apiary.

Honey and Ginger Remedy

Honey ginger is an ancient tonic particularly popular in Asian, Indian, and Arabic herbal traditions and cultures whereby honey water is used as a medium for transmitting the benefits of the ginger root to the body. Read below for its many medicinal benefits without all the side-effects of synthetic medicines.

All you would need are:

1 tablespoon of freshly grated/finely chopped ginger

1 tablespoon honey

1 cup of hot water/tea

Ready to go in just a few simple steps:

1. Prepare the grated ginger in a cup and pour hot boiling water/tea.

2. Let it steep for 5-10 minutes and remove the ginger with a strainer.

3. Add honey when the drink has cooled down to some extent.

Many Health Benefits:

The honey and ginger tonic is best known as a remedy for digestive issues. Like a natural herbal antibiotic, the spicy mixture, with its inherent antioxidant properties, volatile oils and phenol compounds, stimulates the body immunity of those with a weak digestion system, fights toxins, aids in moving food through the stomach and digestive tract, and treats stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating sensation and colic conditions.

The honey ginger combination is also a popular cold regiment for many people as it effectively deals with common cold and flu symptoms. With a squeeze of fresh lemon juice added, this tangy drink soothes scratchy throat, acts as an excellent expectorant for cough, helps clear sinuses, and provides good relief from headache, and runny nose.

Another frequently cited benefit of this old school concoction is its usefulness as a natural pain killer. Reducing inflammation, it alleviates swelling and pain in arthritis case, and brings relief to migraines and discomfort from menstrual cramps.

Let me know if you try it, how well it works.

Yummie with honey

A little work but worth it.
Homemade Yogurt with Butter Toasted Walnuts and Honey

50 degree day

Was able to visit the Bees today as it was 50° with no wind. Multiple dead bees on outside of supers but that's to be expected. Lots of sign of the bees taking their cleansing flights which they will do when it warms up during the winter. I didn't smoke them before I opened the lid and some did come out and attach themselves to my suit. The main reason I visited them today is to make sure that they were still living and to give them supplemental feed.

Honey and Cinnamon

The combination of honey and cinnamon has been used for centuries in both traditional Chinese and Ayurveda, a system of healing founded 5000 years ago in India. The two ingredients with unique healing abilities have a long history as a home remedy. Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known to mankind and honey's popularity has continued throughout history. Cinnamon's essential oils and honey's enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide qualify the two "anti-microbial" foods with the ability to help stop the growth of bacteria as well as fungi. Both are used not just as a beverage flavoring and medicine, but also as an embalming agent and are used as alternatives to traditional food preservatives due to their effective antimicrobial properties.

Also, it is worth mentioning that in Ayurvedic medicine, honey is known as 'Yogavahi', which means "the carrier of the healing values of the herbs to the cells and tissues". It is believed that when combined with another substance (eg a herb or spice) in a formulation, the special quality of honey enhances the medicinal qualities of that formulation and helps them reach the deeper tissues in the body more effectively. And honey and cinnamon, which is one of the best-known mixtures, has been reported to be a natural cure for many diseases and a formula for many health benefits:

1) HEART DISEASES: Apply honey and cinnamon powder on bread instead of using jam or butter and eat it regularly for breakfast.

2) ARTHRITIS: Apply a paste made of the two ingredients on the affected part of the body and massage slowly.

3) HAIR LOSS: Apply a paste of hot olive oil, a tablespoon of honey, a teaspoon of cinnamon powder before bath, leave it for 15 min and wash.

4) BLADDER INFECTIONS: Mix cinnamon powder and honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink.

5) TOOTHACHE: Apply a paste of cinnamon powder and honey and on the aching tooth.

6) CHOLESTEROL: Add honey to cinnamon powder mixed in boiled water or green tea and drink.

7) COLDS: Make a glass of lukewarm honey water mixed with cinnamon powder to help boost your immune system during the cold season. It may also help to clear your sinuses.

8) INDIGESTION: Cinnamon powder sprinkled on a spoonful of honey taken before food relieves acidity.

9) LONGEVITY: Regularly take tea made with honey and a little cinnamon powder.

10) PIMPLES: Mix honey with cinnamon powder and apply paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash away the next morning.

11) OBESITY: To reduce weight, daily drink a mixture of a teaspoon of honey with half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder boiled in water with an empty stomach in the morning about half an hour before breakfast. Read: Cinnamon and Honey Recipe.

Cinnamon has an insulin boosting property (water soluble compounds called polyphenol type A polymers) which have the ability to boost insulin activity about 20 fold and can benefit people who have high sugar levels (obese people, pre-diabetics and diabetics). Also, read the honey hibernation diet theory to find out how honey contributes to the metabolizing of undesirable cholesterol and fatty acid, provides a fuelling mechanism for the body, keep blood sugar levels balanced, and let our recovery hormones get on with burning body fat stores.

12) BAD BREATH: Gargle with honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water so that breath stays fresh throughout the day. 

Courtesy BuzzStop #119

Indian Summer

Visited colony today on this 76 degree day. Looking good and certainly had good energy as they swarmed me without smoking them as I opened the top lid. Supplemented their honey with sugar water. Looks like weather will be changing. Could be awhile until the next time I open the supers.

Winter Ready

Wrapped the colony last weekend before the cold spell. Used Tyvek because I couldn't find my tar paper that I thought I had. Oh, and got my first sting. It only took 7 months. Surprised that one got me through my jeans, but I was bending down and they were taught on my thigh. Also added a top spacer board so when I need to add supplemental sugar I could without an extra larger space of another super.