Bee Natural honey is 100% raw, strained not filtered honey. The honey bees are never fed sugar or syrups, nor is it ever added to our honey. We use no antibiotics or synthetic chemicals of any kind. Our hives and frames are all natural and contain no plastics. Our honey is in glass jars.
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Bees and the natural world have always been a big part of our work and play. We love honey and were looking for some that was all natural and came from a place where the honey bees were worked with in respectful ways. Through a series of synchronistic events, we found ourselves with some honey bees. They came dancing into our world. Just as we approach everything else, we wanted to support and tend the bees as naturally and respectfully as possible.
The internet is inundated with information about bees and honey, therefor we won't repeat all that here. You can find or already know most of that. We will share with you below how we work with the bees, along with some of what we have seen and learned. Our viewpoints can differ from that of the mainstream beekeeper world and societal imprints. The honeybees, along with the other wild life at HBH, have taught us many things about life and continue to remind us of how far humans have removed themselves from the natural world.
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If you are interested in learning more about our hives, how we work with the bees or plants and habitat, contact us and we are happy to speak with you.
Visit our Bee Natural Products page to see the gifts from the hive we have available.
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Honey Bees
Life in all the forms it is created is amazing! All beings, great and small, have a purpose and reason for being. Honey bees have this magical way of taking what they gather from the world around them and turning it into this liquid life. Just like humans, everything they ingest or is in their environment affects what they create and how they feel. What they harvest goes into their bodies, their food, their brood, their wax and the honey. It can affect their temperament and their health. Here at HBH we want bees, pure honey and wax that isn't tainted by sugar, pesticides, plastics or synthetic chemicals of any kind. So do they. We find they are happier, healthier and produce the most amazing flavored honey when they are given the natural resources to do what honey bees were created to do.
Environment
When the honey bees came dancing into our world, we made sure before agreeing to their invitation, that what they require for their lives was here. Learning what they need at certain times of the year was vital to offer them a way to live and thrive naturally. We were thrilled to find that the land was already filled with the things they love and need.
There is some concern about honey bees taking over and the native bees not having enough resources and becoming endangered. This can be true in some areas with limited resources, lack of thriving environment and knowledge of what that is. We have found that with enough of all the things each one uses, they live together quite harmoniously. This image of the poppy has 5 different kinds of bees in it gathering pollen at the same time! We continue to expand, provide and support plants and our ecosystems that help all life thrive in a healthy natural state.
Our Hives
We love the kind of hives we decided to use for the honey bees. Looking into the ways honey bees like to live, and being as natural as you can without them being in a tree, we chose to use the Layens style horizontal hive. They are super bee friendly and allow for tending them with very little interference, along with ease of use and no heavy lifting for us.
We make our hives out of natural local white pine that is 2 inches thick. This allows the hive to be well insulated for both summer heat and winter cold. Winter prep is super easy, and we don't have to disturb the brood chamber or bees. The deep frames are also made from locally sourced natural wood. There are no plastics or synthetic materials of any kind.
Bees Naturally
Like most of the creatures we share this planet with, honey bees have natural tendencies. The horizontal hive and deep frames allow for them to create their comb in a way that is more similar to a natural cavity. They do not have to climb from one box to another to feed themselves or their brood. The larger frames give them the space to have everything they need to take care of each other on each frame. When we need to add foundation to a frame, we only use a foundation that is all beeswax and comes from a very pristine mountaintop in Spain.
Beyond the brood area is where they make and store more honey. This is their food supply. When we harvest honey, we only take the extra. If the extra is left in the hive, it creates too large a space for them to have to heat in the Winter months. The size of the colony and resources available affects how much honey they are able to make, which determines how much we can harvest. We always make sure to leave them plenty and have some extra on hand in case Winter is long or we have a cold, wet Spring.
Flowers & Bees
There is a magical symbiotic relationship between bees and flowers. As the bees come around, the flowers respond to the buzz and actually sweeten their nectar for them.
The natural world is so amazing. All the different beings know how to be in relationship with the other life forms around them. There are connections that exist in support of life that have been there since the beginning. The bees will fly right past a field of clover because they know it will be in bloom all season. They also know those locust trees will only be in bloom for a week or two. That is where they are going.
When allowed to, the natural world can take care of itself.
Without the bees, pollinators and bugs there is no life.
This is part of why we choose to let the bees be bees. We don't manipulate them to make them create products for us. We don't mess with the Mother Bees (the original name now turned to queen). The bees themselves know what is needed within their individual colony. Each colony has its own energy, rhythm and requirements. We observe, listen and talk to the bees. In this way, we gain a better understanding of what is going on within each colony. There have been times that in our heads we wanted to step in, however, they have shown us that if we let them, they do know what to do.
Gifts
There is always a lot happening for the life of a hive. They are busy making comb, tending the eggs and larva, gathering pollen and nectar, keeping the hive clean and caring for their Mother bee. They get everything they require from the natural world around them. Then they work their magic and turn these ingredients into what they need to live.
Anything harvested from the hives is treated as a gift. We use the surplus they produce and take only what they do not need.
We don't put any pollen collectors on our hives. We make propolis tincture and salve, because there is always plenty of this in any hive. The comb is used for candles and more. Bee bread, which is a mixture of pollen and honey or nectar used as the main source of food for honey bee workers and larvae, is a product so packed with nutrients that only small amounts need be consumed by humans. When there is some in the frames we harvest, it is always a special treat.
And of course, there is the honey!
Hum & Buzz
The sound of a bee is something that can either stir the soul or create fear. Most bees will only come at you if they feel threatened. If one is about and you 'freak out' they will respond to that energy. Stay calm and so will they.
If you listen, you can tell the difference between kinds of bees. Bumblebees have a specific tone and sound. The smaller native bees have their own buzz. The hornets and wasps definitely have a different, more menacing, tone to their sound. Honey bees ring in with a sound that is soothing and special in the harmonics it puts out. When we do go into the hives, the symphony of all the ladies singing away as they do their work is music to our ears and energizes our senses. Sitting by the hive, listening to the hum and buzz as they go about their day, is soothing, relaxing and healing. The harmonics of a respected and well tended hive are magical...and happy bees make great honey.
Life with Honey Bees
The modern world expects a lot and pushes to change it to it's benefit, regardless of the results. What is happening to honey bees and their struggles in this modern world is a great example of how disconnected humans have become. At HBH we have always lived connected to the land and continue to find ways that have a less harmful impact. We had no idea of how things would go with honey bees. It was something we had little experience with. It is such a pleasure to have them here, along with all the other bees, pollinators and bugs that are so vital to life.
The honey bees have added to the natural essence and beauty of HBH. They have touched our lives in ways that couldn't be foreseen. The honey bees have taught us about their community. How it lives, works and supports life. They have opened us more to how we want to work, live and be in community with the natural world. For us, it was never about the money. It was a way to have good, pure, raw honey, regeneration and helping life thrive. Life with honey bees has grown into promoting and supporting reconnection.
It is about bee-ing the change.