Honey season in full swing.

Yes, its that time of year again. Time for honey harvesting! Sounds like great fun but after the 10th kilo of honey it becomes a bit sickening. It started last week with an easy harvest of about 40kg from the hives on the farm. No stings and a beautiful golden red tinged honey, a mixture of fynbos and eucalyptus we think. It had the MOST fruity taste, completely different from any other honey we've extracted from the farm bees so far.

Then earlier this week a lady asked us if we could help her move a couple of her hives as she doesn't have a bee keeping suit any more. Of course she was willing to pay us in honey! So off we went at dusk to plug up the entrances of the hives, load them into our bakkie, and hopefully move them to our farm for a couple weeks until they forget the old spot then move them back to the new designated area. The first 2 went well, quick and easy. The 3rd hive was a different matter. The hive was so full of bees that they couldn't all fit inside, clustering in a huge ball outside the entrance. We smoked them in the hope that they would go inside, and after a while decided we'd just have to forfeit the bees that remained outside. Within seconds the bees found a hold in my suit that i didn't know existed and i felt the unmistakable panicky searing pain that comes with a sting on the inside of my wrist, followed by another 2 stings on my forearm, and 3 or 4 on my knee! It being after dark, it was impossible to see where the bees got in and all i could do was smoke the stings to disguise the sting pheromones and run away. Alex didn't get away unscathed either, a few stings on each ankle resulting in some sexy "cankles" the next morning.

Eventually we worked up the courage to go back and remove the honey first, then move the hive at a later stage which was much more pleasant and manageable. About another 40Kg of honey from the 3 hives we moved. We kept our share of about 10Kg. Enough to keep us going for a few weeks!

Now to clean up, i don't think there is one utensil or one inch of kitchen floor that hasn't been in contact with honey in the last few days. Even the dogs are a bit sticky.

Last Piglet Sold!

Well thats a relief! I have just sold our last 2 piglets. Now if we could only catch that little bugger who keeps escaping castration! We tried last night and failed miserably. They are just way too smart. Everyone now knows the routine and as soon as we even think about catching one of them they bolt to all points of the compass!

So far all the others have been a success, although 1 we have decided not to do because he has a hernia and if we were to castrate all kinds of goodies might fall out. So we are keeping him for monitoring for the time being.

Do you know how to catch a pig? Let me explain: Firstly you have to clear your head of all pig catching thoughts, they are telepathic and its been proven. Then to lure with food. NB: this only works once or twice if you're lucky. When the pig is enthralled in eating you grab it by a hind leg, very quickly scooping it up into your arms and run away from the mother (Beauty) as fast as you can. Its a good idea to cover the face with a cloth or something to calm the pig down. BE PREPARED FOR SQUEALING!!! Its the most high pitched, nerve wracking, spine chilling noise you will ever hear, ever! It makes your heart beat at double the speed and a cold fear run through your body. Pigs do not like being picked up! Oh and lock the dogs up first because they will interfere in the process. What you will do with the pig once you've caught it is up to you. Next week we will have to catch 7 piglets all going to loving homes and have been saved the trip to the slaughter house this time. Lucky pigs!