There is something especially satisfying about the end-of-summer honey harvest. Opening the hives, lifting out heavy frames and smelling the warm mix of honey and beeswax is one of the highlights of the beekeeping year.
You never quite know how good the harvest will be until the frames come out. The weight of each one gives the first real clue.
Once the frames are removed, the honey is taken to a local community kitchen where there is plenty of space to work safely and hygienically.
The wax cappings are removed first and saved for uses such as candle making and cosmetics. The frames then go into the extractor, where they are spun so the honey can be collected from the comb.
The honey is then passed through a simple double sieve before being transferred into a holding vessel ready for bottling.
Before filling, the jars are thoroughly cleaned and sterilised, while the lids are boiled and allowed to cool.
Once filled, every jar is labelled and recorded with the correct batch information and dates.
It is a lot of work, but seeing the finished jars lined up at the end makes it all worthwhile.
Of course, harvest day is never completely finished until the sticky honey and wax have been cleaned from absolutely everything.
That part is slightly less glamorous.
