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For some reason our Florida weather decided to get on board with the season and it actually feels a bit like fall today! I wore a long sleeve on my run this morning and didn't feel like I was melting with every step - it's the small things that matter these days! The coming of fall also brings on one of the biggest honey flows bee keepers in Florida will see all year.
I love to hate this nectar flow. Love it because it is amazing for the bees. It sets them up for the winter dearth and before our bees pop up into the mangos in late January. It also makes our largest honey pull of the year. Many beekeepers from the northern states travel to our area to "over-winter" their bees in our mild winters and this flow boost them up before winter hits. Hate it (and yes I know hate is a strong word dad!) because the nectar source is from the highly invasive and very non native Brazilian pepper blooms.
In the mid 1800's the pepper (that is native to Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay) was brought to our area as a beautiful ornamental plant. With its bright red berries and lush green foliage it seemed like a great addition, especially during the holidays. Unfortunately it becomes an aggressive and unruly weed in the blink of an eye and can outcompete native plants in record time.
Even with exhaustive eradication methods this behemoth of a tree digs in deep and shows very little motivation to permanently move out our state. So, even with my great distaste for the tree itself I am PUMPED for the sweet honey we will be welcomed with in a few short weeks.
The ladies made their last move for the season a few weeks ago leaving the dense mangroves in south Melbourne Beach, FL for a more wooded and peppery area (also our home apiary) in Micco, FL. There they are situated next to the St. Sebastian River Buffer Preserve and will have an abundance of Brazilian pepper, goldenrod and other wildflowers that are in bloom. This is also where we got the inspiration for our big logo - our hives tucked up between beautiful oaks and stately cabbage palms!
On our last trip down to the apiary the smell of ripening honey hung in the air - just a few more weeks and we will be swimming in the sweet stuff! If you have visited our online store in the past few weeks you will notice our inventory is less than impressive! As of today we have one last 16oz of our newly named Beachside Honey and a small assortment of Spring Honey. Hold tight, once the Fall Honey comes out we will get it jarred and labeled (with our amazing new labels from the amazingly talented Swanky Brush!) and up in the store. Along with the honey we will also be rolling out our gift packs - tasting packs - and honey bags! Lots of buzzing is going around to get ready for this and we can't wait!
- Moving day for the bees from south Melbourne Beach to our home apiary in Micco, FL with a super helpful Yeti!