WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.660 in a world brimming with complexity few creatures 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:12.839 embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:17.699 precision she dances from bloom to bloom each 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:22.399 motion guided by millennia upon millennia of 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:28.800 instinct each act in service to the whole and 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:34.560 then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:40.479 of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist, 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:45.460 part poet, they move along their hives with the 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:50.560 efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.219 the bee's needs as best they can comprehend, 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:59.679 and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:05.599 Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:12.180 like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their 00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:22.640 journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Love, Be Keep 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:25.359 being presented by our best friends over at Man 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:28.890 Lake. Today we're going across the pond to Scotland 00:01:28.890 --> 00:01:31.769 to have a fun discussion with a natural beekeeper 00:01:31.769 --> 00:01:35.569 who's originally from Budapest. That's a combination. 00:01:36.109 --> 00:01:39.030 We discuss everything from propolis tinctures, 00:01:39.390 --> 00:01:42.370 to bee nutrition, to dealing with bee death, 00:01:43.209 --> 00:01:45.370 times to smoke your bees, and times to smoke 00:01:45.370 --> 00:01:49.209 yourself, and a whole ton more. And in our invention 00:01:49.209 --> 00:01:52.069 mention segment we'll be trying on Man Lake's 00:01:52.069 --> 00:01:54.890 new ventilated bee suit and putting it to the 00:01:54.890 --> 00:01:57.959 test. It's a full program, so let's jump right 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:03.480 in. I'd like to welcome today our very, very 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:07.340 special guest, Tita Kish. How are you this morning? 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:11.120 Hello, Eric. I'm very well. Thank you very much 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:15.780 for inviting me. I'm very happy to be here. All 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:17.900 right. I say good morning, but I know it's evening 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:20.939 for you and I appreciate you being here. Tell 00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:24.360 us where you are right now and where and a little 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:27.080 of your background, where do you come from? So 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:31.479 I live in Scotland, in southwest Scotland to 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:36.680 be exact, very close to the sea. The nearest 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:42.289 big town is Glasgow and Our little location is 00:02:42.289 --> 00:02:46.569 special because we are on an elevation of about 00:02:46.569 --> 00:02:50.770 200 meters above sea level and as we are very 00:02:50.770 --> 00:02:54.069 close to the sea and essentially to the Atlantic 00:02:54.069 --> 00:02:59.870 Ocean we see some interesting weather here. So 00:02:59.870 --> 00:03:05.330 it's a lovely area and I am absolutely in love 00:03:05.330 --> 00:03:08.879 with Scotland but Probably you can all pick up 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:13.759 that my accent is not really native to Scotland. 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:16.139 You don't sound like you grew up in Scotland. 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:22.000 No, no. I grew up in Eastern Europe in a country 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:26.020 called Hungary. And I was born in Budapest, so 00:03:26.020 --> 00:03:29.500 my mother tongue is Hungarian. And even though 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:34.659 I spent over 10 years in the UK, you still can 00:03:34.659 --> 00:03:39.860 hear this Eastern European route. That's okay. 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:43.840 Your English is very good. And I've been to Budapest 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:49.180 or Budapest and a lovely city, beautiful buildings. 00:03:50.469 --> 00:03:53.909 bridges right on the river right there and just 00:03:53.909 --> 00:03:57.050 a lovely place. We really enjoyed ourselves and 00:03:57.050 --> 00:04:00.830 a lot of history. Yes, over a thousand years. 00:04:00.849 --> 00:04:05.770 So we've been in the Carpathian basin. My country 00:04:05.770 --> 00:04:10.810 is famous for agriculture. We do a lot of beekeeping 00:04:10.810 --> 00:04:14.770 in Hungary, but I am not coming from a beekeeper 00:04:14.770 --> 00:04:19.399 tradition. Also, it's not entirely sure because 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:23.379 my grandma said that my grandfather's grandfather 00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:27.220 used to keep bees. So I do have some beekeeping 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:31.139 history there, but none of my immediate family 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:34.459 keeps bees. I think you picked up some genetics. 00:04:35.400 --> 00:04:39.680 was passed down to you because from our earlier 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:42.000 discussion it seems to have come to you very 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.620 naturally and something that you automatically 00:04:45.620 --> 00:04:49.600 love and I think some of that DNA gets passed 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.720 down but I'm gonna just throw a little bit out 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:57.160 there for our listeners as one of the things 00:04:57.160 --> 00:05:01.540 that got me interested in speaking with you and 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:05.839 in looking at your Instagram profile and stuff 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:11.740 is I don't even know how to explain this because 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:16.480 you're your beekeeper and a historian and a death 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:21.300 doula and I don't even know what else fill in 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:26.279 some other ans. Well we all know that you know 00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:30.579 honey bees are so different and they they do 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:33.720 so many different roles in their life in a short 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.439 amount of lifetime and I am a little bit like 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:39.680 them in that sense because yeah I've done so 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:44.959 many things before beekeeping we run a restaurant 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:48.560 and catering business with my chef husband and 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:51.060 then the pandemic happened and we kind of had 00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:57.139 to reimagine our life and lifestyle and we just 00:05:57.139 --> 00:06:00.600 wanted to get out from hospitality and, you know, 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:04.839 do something meaningful with our lives. And my 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:07.740 husband started to work in forestry industry, 00:06:08.420 --> 00:06:14.660 so he's planting trees across the UK and I learned 00:06:14.660 --> 00:06:20.000 beekeeping. So it's been five years with the 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:25.029 bees now. one year with my mentor who we met 00:06:25.029 --> 00:06:29.689 on Facebook. He just recently passed away so 00:06:29.689 --> 00:06:34.829 I'm still a bit tender over this loss because 00:06:34.829 --> 00:06:37.910 I just feel like I didn't get enough time with 00:06:37.910 --> 00:06:42.569 him. We met when he was turning 81 and he needed 00:06:42.569 --> 00:06:46.910 some help with his bees. He is A generational 00:06:46.910 --> 00:06:49.790 beekeeper, his father and grandfather used to 00:06:49.790 --> 00:06:55.990 keep bees and he still kept bees but then he 00:06:55.990 --> 00:06:58.910 ended up in a wheelchair with reduced mobility. 00:06:59.149 --> 00:07:02.410 After a very short season that we spent together, 00:07:02.589 --> 00:07:06.149 I ended up having his hives. He gifted me a couple 00:07:06.149 --> 00:07:10.889 of his hives and that's how I became very quickly 00:07:10.889 --> 00:07:13.110 a beekeeper. And you know, I felt it like I'm 00:07:13.110 --> 00:07:18.269 not ready. But the bees had other plans And none 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:21.470 of us are an expert after four or five or ten 00:07:21.470 --> 00:07:25.750 or twenty years of beekeeping But that's okay. 00:07:25.930 --> 00:07:27.850 We all have something to learn from each other 00:07:27.850 --> 00:07:30.430 And one of the things that I love the best is 00:07:30.430 --> 00:07:34.550 just your attitude about bees it's all over what 00:07:34.550 --> 00:07:37.029 this podcast is about which is about the love 00:07:37.029 --> 00:07:42.430 of bees and the fun and the joy that can come 00:07:42.430 --> 00:07:45.490 from beekeeping and being around bees. So I'd 00:07:45.490 --> 00:07:48.149 like to jump into that aspect of it, but just 00:07:48.149 --> 00:07:51.009 one quick thing I wanted to fill in first. You 00:07:51.009 --> 00:07:52.970 mentioned that you're by the Atlantic Ocean. 00:07:53.529 --> 00:07:57.550 Yes. And I believe your word was that makes the 00:07:57.550 --> 00:08:01.250 weather interesting or something like that. Tell 00:08:01.250 --> 00:08:04.350 us what that means. Does that mean you get a 00:08:04.350 --> 00:08:09.110 ton of rain or ocean breezes and because weather 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:13.220 so much affects our beekeeping and our bees. 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:16.800 So give me a little background on that. Oh, where 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:19.839 to start? You know, in the UK, weather is always 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:23.199 amongst the top topics. We talk about it very 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:27.399 regularly over here because it changes so quickly. 00:08:27.639 --> 00:08:32.039 So in a day, sometimes we see four seasons. And 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:35.919 here, where I live, it is so true more intensely. 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:39.720 we are one of the wettest part of the UK, so 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:46.700 we see a crazy amount of rainfall and we also 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:50.740 quite close to the Arctic, so we can actually 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:55.600 see some Arctic storms, not often, but recent 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:58.679 years I have to say it happened more frequently 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:02.330 than. before and like following the Met Office 00:09:02.330 --> 00:09:04.870 report. So the weather is definitely getting 00:09:04.870 --> 00:09:08.950 a bit stranger and maybe more unpredictable. 00:09:09.590 --> 00:09:14.690 Yes, it makes beekeeping quite challenging in 00:09:14.690 --> 00:09:17.409 the sense that you constantly have to be prepared 00:09:17.409 --> 00:09:21.690 for anything, big storms. big, big winds that 00:09:21.690 --> 00:09:25.070 are coming from the ocean. I mean, I constantly 00:09:25.070 --> 00:09:29.110 keep blocks of things on the hives that it doesn't 00:09:29.110 --> 00:09:32.789 get blown off. Around February we had another 00:09:32.789 --> 00:09:35.549 big storm. The whole village were like upside 00:09:35.549 --> 00:09:38.370 down, you know, garden fence, beans, everything 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:42.309 was blown all over around. So, you know, you 00:09:42.309 --> 00:09:44.470 just never know what to get here. We can see 00:09:44.470 --> 00:09:50.509 snow, we can see ice, but also we can see heat 00:09:50.509 --> 00:09:54.110 waves, we just had a week of really warm weather. 00:09:54.750 --> 00:09:58.169 It just makes me appreciate the bees even more, 00:09:58.169 --> 00:10:00.210 if it makes sense, because you know, they go 00:10:00.210 --> 00:10:03.950 out in weathers that I wouldn't. And I think 00:10:03.950 --> 00:10:07.620 it's down to the fact that I have mainly dark 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:11.820 bees, you know, these are the native genetics 00:10:11.820 --> 00:10:16.399 to Scotland and to Western Europe, and they evolved 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:21.120 in ways that they can just cope with big winds 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:25.259 and rain. They are much fluffier than the Italian 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:27.539 breed, and you know, the ones that you generally 00:10:27.539 --> 00:10:30.360 see. Yeah, tell us a little bit about the breed. 00:10:30.419 --> 00:10:34.519 Does it have a name? Yes, so it's Apis mellifera, 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:40.610 mellifera. the Western European dark bee and 00:10:40.610 --> 00:10:45.190 they have been around since the ice age so they 00:10:45.190 --> 00:10:50.370 evolved in weathers that are strange and cold 00:10:50.370 --> 00:10:53.610 and wet and you know they've been around when 00:10:53.610 --> 00:10:59.110 mammoths roamed the continent and they have some 00:10:59.110 --> 00:11:03.629 really amazing adaptability so their wings is 00:11:03.629 --> 00:11:08.029 a bit longer so they can fly in strong winds. 00:11:08.649 --> 00:11:11.889 I find it incredible. I mean, I just filmed them, 00:11:11.909 --> 00:11:16.169 we had a big storm, we had weather warning out 00:11:16.169 --> 00:11:18.669 by the Met Office, so we were not really going 00:11:18.669 --> 00:11:21.370 anywhere, but I was checking on the bees and 00:11:21.370 --> 00:11:25.230 some foragers were out and about. You know, we 00:11:25.230 --> 00:11:27.509 didn't go out because it was so dangerous to 00:11:27.509 --> 00:11:29.710 be out on the road instead of flying debris, 00:11:29.970 --> 00:11:32.629 but that didn't stop the bees, they were still 00:11:32.629 --> 00:11:36.360 bringing in pollen. That's crazy. We had a big 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:39.639 wind come through on Saturday afternoon where 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:42.460 I live and I happened to be out with the bees 00:11:42.460 --> 00:11:45.460 when it did it was just a storm front coming 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:49.379 through and Wow, I mean they hunkered down as 00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:52.840 fast as they could we had some 55 mile an hour 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:56.559 gusts and And they can't fly in that at least 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:59.279 most bees can't I don't think yours can either 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:04.090 probably but what comes up what that makes me 00:12:04.090 --> 00:12:06.129 think of what you were just talking about is 00:12:06.129 --> 00:12:08.509 we're always talking about how beekeeping is 00:12:08.509 --> 00:12:12.070 local and that's primarily because our weather 00:12:12.070 --> 00:12:15.230 is so local and is different everywhere and so 00:12:15.230 --> 00:12:17.649 we talk about different things that we can do. 00:12:17.649 --> 00:12:20.409 We can put up windbreaks, we can put up shade 00:12:20.409 --> 00:12:23.850 if it's in a place that's super hot or insulation 00:12:23.850 --> 00:12:26.549 in a place where it's super cold but we don't 00:12:26.549 --> 00:12:29.429 very often talk about bee genetics and I think 00:12:29.429 --> 00:12:33.620 that's because we don't most of us don't go okay 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:37.500 well here's my climate so I need xyz kind of 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:40.759 bee and I know where to get it and that's really 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:43.279 cool that you do in that those are native to 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:46.299 that area anyway which totally makes sense. Man 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:50.799 if we sent you some bees that were raised in 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:53.639 Houston Texas they'd probably just die where 00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:57.139 you are I would guess because they're just not 00:12:57.139 --> 00:13:00.409 climatized to it. I could be wrong but I think 00:13:00.409 --> 00:13:04.690 that's pretty cool. What else do you find that 00:13:04.690 --> 00:13:07.330 in that kind of weather that you can help the 00:13:07.330 --> 00:13:10.830 bees with? One of the biggest difference that 00:13:10.830 --> 00:13:15.730 I do in my apiary is that I completely phased 00:13:15.730 --> 00:13:19.909 out wooden hives. I mean I still have two but 00:13:20.190 --> 00:13:24.330 I'm planning to move them into a polyester hive, 00:13:24.789 --> 00:13:27.809 which makes me a bit, you know, natural beekeepers 00:13:27.809 --> 00:13:31.149 will not generally say that they use plastic 00:13:31.149 --> 00:13:34.690 in the bees. I don't put plastic in the hive, 00:13:34.750 --> 00:13:39.190 but these polyester hives have been absolutely 00:13:39.190 --> 00:13:46.970 amazing. You know, they are thick, they are well 00:13:46.970 --> 00:13:50.169 insulated, they are lightweight, they are easy 00:13:50.169 --> 00:13:55.259 to clean. They keep the bees mold -free, mold 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:57.580 is a big issue here, you know, all that rain 00:13:57.580 --> 00:14:01.220 and moisture, it's really hard to keep mold out 00:14:01.220 --> 00:14:05.299 from the hives, but these polyester hives do 00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:08.940 that job, and they are great in really cold weather 00:14:08.940 --> 00:14:14.840 too. So apparently the side of these polyhives 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:20.200 mimic 15 centimeter thickness of wood. That's 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:22.360 what, four or five inches thick, something like 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:25.500 that. Yeah, so like, you know, like a real trunk 00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:29.500 would be. Because that's also something we don't 00:14:29.500 --> 00:14:32.940 often think about as beekeepers, that yeah, we 00:14:32.940 --> 00:14:37.259 are using these wooden boxes, but they are not 00:14:37.259 --> 00:14:42.200 exact replicas of wooden trunks what bees genuinely, 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:44.740 you know, choose when they live in the wild. 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:49.279 So they're not going to be as insulated as a 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:52.639 tree trunk would be. If you're a beekeeper like 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:55.399 me, we're getting into that favorite time of 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:58.519 year, honey harvest. But it can be a lot of work. 00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:01.700 That's where Mad Light comes in. They have everything 00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:04.860 you need to make the job easier, cleaner, and 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:08.370 more efficient. Removal aids, refractometers, 00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:12.389 uncapping tools, extractors, tanks, wax melters, 00:15:12.509 --> 00:15:15.009 even the jars and labels. Plus they have free 00:15:15.009 --> 00:15:17.509 shipping on glass containers. Whether you're 00:15:17.509 --> 00:15:20.850 a hobbyist with two hives or a full -blown commercial 00:15:20.850 --> 00:15:23.950 operation, Man Lake has it all. And don't forget 00:15:23.950 --> 00:15:27.029 your discount code MLBlove10. It's in the show 00:15:27.029 --> 00:15:30.730 notes. For $10 off your first $100 purchase. 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:35.539 So in climates like my climate, it can become 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:39.080 a serious issue straight away. As I said, I did 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:44.139 have some wooden hives through the years and 00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:48.360 yeah, they just got really moldy and weathered 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:52.379 in just like a season. So, you know, that's something 00:15:52.379 --> 00:15:55.519 that can stress the bees, you know, if they constantly 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:59.639 have to battle mold issue on top of all the other 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:02.299 things that they have to battle, you know, it 00:16:02.299 --> 00:16:06.720 just weakens the colony overall. So I kind of 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:10.700 had to put down my philosophy in that sense about 00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:13.379 plastic and that how we should not really use 00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:17.149 plastic around our bees. if we are following 00:16:17.149 --> 00:16:20.450 the natural beekeeping methods, but I think what 00:16:20.450 --> 00:16:24.409 you are wrapping your bees into, that doesn't 00:16:24.409 --> 00:16:26.509 really matter in that sense, that you know, like 00:16:26.509 --> 00:16:29.230 putting plastic within the hive. If it protects 00:16:29.230 --> 00:16:33.789 the bees and keeps them healthier and safer, 00:16:34.029 --> 00:16:38.370 then put them in there and it worked really well. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:42.559 And from a practical beekeeper kind of standpoint, 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:46.320 all that rain can bring a lot of rot and those 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:48.860 hives can just fall apart pretty quickly too. 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:52.200 Do you find in those poly hives that they put 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.960 a lot of propolis in the inside? It depends on 00:16:55.960 --> 00:16:59.539 the hive. you know sometimes some hive produces 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:02.059 a lot of propolis and you see hives that they 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:04.980 barely so it really depends on the hive. There 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:07.700 is always some propolis because I like to put 00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:12.819 the boxes into hot water and soda crystal you 00:17:12.819 --> 00:17:15.680 know to sanitize it and you know it always changes 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:21.230 the the color and I love working with propolis, 00:17:21.289 --> 00:17:24.170 so I don't... Is it why you are asking? Sorry, 00:17:24.349 --> 00:17:28.210 Eric. Is it a good thing you think? It just seems 00:17:28.210 --> 00:17:32.029 like if you're concerned with the plastic or 00:17:32.029 --> 00:17:35.809 polypropylene, if they were to put a layer of 00:17:35.809 --> 00:17:38.609 propolis over it, that would kind of shield them 00:17:38.609 --> 00:17:43.720 from it. But a lot of those that I've seen they're 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:47.960 so slick or smooth inside that the bees don't 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.880 tend to propelize them. They tend to propelize 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.900 rough things. Like you've probably seen some 00:17:54.900 --> 00:17:57.500 of the wood hive bodies where they've purposely 00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:00.640 roughed up the interior and they find the bees 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:03.900 put a lot of propolis then inside, which of course 00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:07.599 we know is really good for them and sort of an 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:11.019 antibiotic or antibacterial for them. So they 00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:14.319 do tend to put a lot of propolis on the frames 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.339 and yes some on the side, but what I noticed 00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:21.160 that they don't really spend too much time. on 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:24.720 the edges, like what they would do in a wooden 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.099 box. I don't know if it's because they're constantly 00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:31.079 trying to fix the wooden box from rotting. I 00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:34.579 mean, as I say, rotting was always an issue in 00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:37.700 our apiary. Yes, I'm very grateful that it's 00:18:37.700 --> 00:18:40.259 gone away. Part of it is they're trying to fill 00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:43.180 the gaps, especially if it's windy, if there's 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:47.480 any little gaps between boxes or crack in a box. 00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:51.380 They love to propelize that to to fill it up 00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:54.940 and make it one big secure cavity. A few minutes 00:18:54.940 --> 00:18:58.599 ago you used the term natural beekeeping. Tell 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:01.759 us what that means to you. Natural beekeeping 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:12.079 for me is about a lot of listening and observing 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:19.039 and less control. So when I was doing my apprenticing 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:26.980 with my mentor Bob, pretty soon I could see that 00:19:26.980 --> 00:19:33.900 I personally will struggle to carry out sometimes 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:39.259 such invasive looking things with the bees. You 00:19:39.259 --> 00:19:44.160 know, I could just see that as me When I'm alone 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:46.779 there with the bees without Bob, I will not be 00:19:46.779 --> 00:19:50.480 able to cool drones or things like that. And 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:52.880 I even said it to my husband at the time that 00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:55.460 I just don't think I will be able to do this, 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:57.819 Craig. And he was like, well, you will have to. 00:19:57.900 --> 00:20:01.400 That will be your job. I said no. And that's 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:04.259 when... I sat down in the computer and started 00:20:04.259 --> 00:20:07.500 to look into what are my options. I mean, Bob 00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:12.240 was the sweetest, kindest soul. He loved his 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:16.759 bees, but he also didn't shed a tear if he squashed 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.920 a bee. You know, I did. I was there and I slowed 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:24.000 him down so many times. And you know, he just 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.220 said that it's a part of it. You know, of course 00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:29.140 you're going to squash some bees, but you sometimes 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:31.740 squash more bees when you are trying to save 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:36.259 one. So you just have to kind of. And I know 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:40.339 he was right, but I also knew that I had to find 00:20:40.339 --> 00:20:42.980 my own way that, you know, I am comfortable to 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:47.839 show up for the bees. And as to say, The internet 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:52.779 is so magical, with very little research I found 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:56.259 beekeepers who do things differently. I actually 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:59.960 enrolled to an online natural beekeeping course 00:20:59.960 --> 00:21:03.579 that was designed for women, so I found myself 00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:08.619 in a very nurturing community of female beekeepers, 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:14.059 experienced beekeepers who aren't afraid to go 00:21:14.250 --> 00:21:17.230 against the flow and, you know, do things differently. 00:21:17.549 --> 00:21:22.569 I really like that and I really liked how we've 00:21:22.569 --> 00:21:25.849 been introduced straight away to the BT, you 00:21:25.849 --> 00:21:29.609 know, instead of giving chemicals to the bees, 00:21:30.670 --> 00:21:34.170 we work with herbs. It's such an, I don't know 00:21:34.170 --> 00:21:36.170 how you say it, maybe it's because I am a woman 00:21:36.170 --> 00:21:38.130 in that sense, you know, I love working with 00:21:38.130 --> 00:21:41.910 plants and flowers and the fact that I can make 00:21:41.910 --> 00:21:46.319 something for the bees. from my own garden and 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:50.420 it's just such a nice feeling, you know, I'm 00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:55.119 making an effort with my own hand to nourish 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:58.400 and support the bees, you know, that's something 00:21:58.400 --> 00:22:04.339 I can do for them. I think When we stop for a 00:22:04.339 --> 00:22:06.680 second, because we all love bees, right? That's 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:08.980 why we keep them, we love to be around them. 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:12.859 And so many times I think we just get into this 00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:16.420 autopilot mode because we learn this way and, 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:18.220 you know, often when you are just like in an 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:21.519 autopilot, you don't really think, you just want 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:24.400 to like crack on because you have experience 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:28.410 and you know what you do. But In natural beekeeping 00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:32.190 we try to let that go. This is the hardest, you 00:22:32.190 --> 00:22:36.910 know, like not stepping in. Not being in control. 00:22:37.730 --> 00:22:43.309 Yes, yes. I think even, well, in my own experience 00:22:43.309 --> 00:22:46.990 this summer, one of my hive had really high Varua 00:22:46.990 --> 00:22:51.990 count, so I was worried. You know, I was keeping 00:22:51.990 --> 00:22:57.509 a close eye on them, I was putting the tray under 00:22:57.509 --> 00:23:00.549 the hive every other, every four or five days 00:23:00.549 --> 00:23:04.750 I was checking, checking and I made the tea. 00:23:05.329 --> 00:23:09.250 But I didn't make it when the numbers were high, 00:23:09.450 --> 00:23:14.170 I thought I will wait and wait and still wait 00:23:14.170 --> 00:23:18.349 because even this herbal tea is something that 00:23:18.349 --> 00:23:20.630 other bees don't receive, you know, the native 00:23:20.630 --> 00:23:22.970 bees are not receiving, that the bombo bees, 00:23:22.990 --> 00:23:25.210 the wasps, they don't get any tea from anyone. 00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:29.269 So it is also a kind of treatment if you think 00:23:29.269 --> 00:23:33.650 about it. I was waiting and I kind of allowed 00:23:33.650 --> 00:23:37.710 myself to feel worried because the bees didn't 00:23:37.710 --> 00:23:40.329 look stressed, you know, that brood looked okay, 00:23:40.549 --> 00:23:44.450 there's lots of them, lots of bees bringing pollen 00:23:44.450 --> 00:23:48.099 in, you know. it's just another day in the beehive 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:53.660 but for me it was hard to see but now when did 00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:56.500 I do my last count was it last I think the last 00:23:56.500 --> 00:24:01.259 time we spoke and it started to go down so it 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:05.099 is less than it pegged and it's gone down a little 00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:07.960 bit and I'm hoping that by September it will 00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:12.220 it will go more so sometimes the bees need time 00:24:12.220 --> 00:24:16.069 and they forever show me that You know they know 00:24:16.069 --> 00:24:18.950 what they do. Tell me about this tea that you're 00:24:18.950 --> 00:24:21.349 talking about. What do you mean you make a tea 00:24:21.349 --> 00:24:26.150 for them? It's a herbal honey tea that's been 00:24:26.150 --> 00:24:30.849 created by a German natural beekeeper, Günther 00:24:30.849 --> 00:24:34.150 Hoik. I hope I pronounced his name correctly. 00:24:34.490 --> 00:24:38.410 He is quite a renewed natural beekeeper in Europe. 00:24:38.829 --> 00:24:43.650 So if anybody types his name into Google, you're 00:24:43.650 --> 00:24:46.849 going to find him. And we've been given this 00:24:46.849 --> 00:24:50.670 recipe in this natural beekeeping course. And 00:24:50.670 --> 00:24:53.509 I have to say that when I made it, my bees didn't 00:24:53.509 --> 00:24:56.170 want it. They didn't touch it. I get all offended 00:24:56.170 --> 00:24:59.029 because I am not a great cook, but I can make 00:24:59.029 --> 00:25:01.069 a tea. You know, I was like, I can make some 00:25:01.069 --> 00:25:05.619 tea. Come on. The downside with this tea is that, 00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:09.519 you know, it can ferment because you add tea, 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:14.380 I mean you add water and herbs into raw honey. 00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:18.539 So of course it gonna start ferment. And I made 00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:21.119 a portion, I had to throw it away because the 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:24.099 bees didn't touch it. I made another one, they 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:26.779 left it again. So that's when my chef husband 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:30.680 came to help and check the recipe and he said, 00:25:30.990 --> 00:25:33.869 It might work for others, it's not like that 00:25:33.869 --> 00:25:36.549 whatever you do, but I know how you could make 00:25:36.549 --> 00:25:41.049 this recipe better. I mean more desirable for 00:25:41.049 --> 00:25:45.589 the bees, because this original recipe doesn't 00:25:45.589 --> 00:25:48.549 include sugar syrup. You know, in natural beekeeping 00:25:48.549 --> 00:25:51.730 we are not giving sugar syrup to the bees, we 00:25:51.730 --> 00:25:55.230 only give them raw honey. But my husband kind 00:25:55.230 --> 00:25:59.970 of explained that I have to stop thinking about 00:25:59.970 --> 00:26:03.089 sugar syrup as something evil in this scenario, 00:26:03.910 --> 00:26:09.470 because sugar syrup can make the tea last longer, 00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:13.170 you know, it can... it can stop the fermentation 00:26:13.170 --> 00:26:16.769 process. So I have to think about it as a substance 00:26:16.769 --> 00:26:22.390 that I need to prevent spoilage in my tea. So 00:26:22.390 --> 00:26:25.970 we started to add equal amount of sugar syrup 00:26:25.970 --> 00:26:30.710 to the raw honey and to the tea, to this watery 00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:35.599 substance and the bees absolutely loved it. So 00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:38.460 ever since we've been using it this way but we're 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:42.500 still using the same herbs that is written down 00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:46.900 in the original recipe and last year was special 00:26:46.900 --> 00:26:51.000 because that when I started to add mushroom extract 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:56.119 to this tea following Paul Stamets research, 00:26:56.220 --> 00:27:00.349 I don't know if you heard what what he's been 00:27:00.349 --> 00:27:03.690 doing on his bees and with his mushrooms. It's 00:27:03.690 --> 00:27:06.750 also on the internet. Check it out, it's amazing, 00:27:06.910 --> 00:27:10.750 it's very promising. So on that note, I started 00:27:10.750 --> 00:27:16.750 to get some human -grade mushroom extract and 00:27:16.750 --> 00:27:21.809 with the help of my chef husband we managed to 00:27:21.809 --> 00:27:26.970 make that mushroom powder suitable to go into 00:27:26.970 --> 00:27:30.240 the tea. so that the bees can drink that. So 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:34.940 it's like, yeah, it has 10 different herbs, mushrooms, 00:27:35.319 --> 00:27:39.579 and I also add hive alive, you know, these algae 00:27:39.579 --> 00:27:44.460 syrup things as a bonus. Yeah, I'm familiar with 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:47.400 it. So this is how you make your sugar syrup 00:27:47.400 --> 00:27:50.519 into the next level, when it's not just a sugar 00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:53.160 syrup, it's not just something that's going to 00:27:53.559 --> 00:27:56.700 keep the bees alive from starvation you know 00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:59.380 it's something that they will really enjoy eating 00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:04.180 because it's full with honey which is their food, 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:06.720 it's full with nutrition that the bees need, 00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:09.880 and then you have all these herbs that we are 00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:13.460 all familiar and we are not allowed to call them 00:28:13.460 --> 00:28:17.619 anything, but these are the herbs that our ancestors 00:28:17.619 --> 00:28:20.759 would have been keeping in the garden, right? 00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:23.880 These are plants that the bees are familiar with 00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:27.880 and forage on, and these are herbs that are familiar 00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:33.500 for us humans because we've been using them for 00:28:33.500 --> 00:28:36.220 certain things through history. Can we share 00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:43.099 the recipe? Yes, the recipe is on my Ko -fi page 00:28:43.099 --> 00:28:47.599 so I can send a link. We'll stick a link in the 00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:50.519 show notes and you ask a small donation for that 00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:53.130 too. I don't have a problem with that. This is 00:28:53.130 --> 00:28:55.930 so funny because I'm just picturing. First of 00:28:55.930 --> 00:28:57.650 all, you're trying to throw a tea party with 00:28:57.650 --> 00:29:00.369 the bees, right? So I imagine they're little 00:29:00.369 --> 00:29:04.109 tea cups and then you've got your husband, the 00:29:04.109 --> 00:29:08.390 chef making it taste better for them. And then 00:29:08.390 --> 00:29:10.710 you've got some kind of Mary Poppins going on 00:29:10.710 --> 00:29:13.130 with a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go 00:29:13.130 --> 00:29:18.490 down for him. tonic, herbal tonic for the bees. 00:29:18.690 --> 00:29:23.470 But it's part of your IPM. So your belief is, 00:29:24.569 --> 00:29:28.289 I can't really do anything to kill the mites. 00:29:28.450 --> 00:29:30.630 I'm going to make the bees as strong, as healthy 00:29:30.630 --> 00:29:32.769 as possible, and they'll take care of it. Am 00:29:32.769 --> 00:29:35.250 I reading that right? Yes, you know, the mites 00:29:35.250 --> 00:29:38.049 are here. You can't keep them out from the hives. 00:29:38.390 --> 00:29:43.150 They are in the hives. We like it or not. they're 00:29:43.150 --> 00:29:47.269 going to get into your bees' hives. It's sad, 00:29:47.630 --> 00:29:53.930 it's what it is, but that's our reality. Hey, 00:29:53.990 --> 00:29:55.950 if you're worried about whether a new bee suit 00:29:55.950 --> 00:29:58.710 will actually keep you safe from being stung, 00:29:59.049 --> 00:30:00.769 might as well let someone else try it first, 00:30:00.890 --> 00:30:04.170 right? Just kidding, of course. Actually, I was 00:30:04.170 --> 00:30:07.509 doing my son Will a favor recently, letting him 00:30:07.509 --> 00:30:10.849 be the first one to wear my new Man Lake vented 00:30:10.849 --> 00:30:13.869 suit on a hot day that the bees were going to 00:30:13.869 --> 00:30:17.930 be upset while I wore something much less impressive. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:21.099 I have the new Man Lake bee suit on today. We're 00:30:21.099 --> 00:30:23.319 headed out to harvest some honey. Last time we 00:30:23.319 --> 00:30:26.200 were doing this last year, I had the very first 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:28.960 bee suit that he owned on. It had mice holes 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:33.440 in it, duct taped. It was hot. Oh my gosh, I 00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:36.400 was so sweaty coming out of it. The veil, I had 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:38.619 to wear a hat under it so it wasn't falling down 00:30:38.619 --> 00:30:41.579 on my eyes and on my face. This Man Lake suit 00:30:41.579 --> 00:30:45.660 is amazing. This is an extra large. I'm, I don't 00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:48.569 know, 5 '10", so I'm not the tallest. But it 00:30:48.569 --> 00:30:51.269 covers the ankles well, it's nice and versatile, 00:30:52.130 --> 00:30:54.890 super breathable, lightweight. It's really amazing. 00:30:55.009 --> 00:30:57.190 I'm excited to go put it to the test, see what 00:30:57.190 --> 00:31:00.490 it's got. Since harvest day, I've also worn the 00:31:00.490 --> 00:31:03.069 suit a few times and can tell you it is super 00:31:03.069 --> 00:31:06.509 well made. If you're beekeeping in warm weather 00:31:06.509 --> 00:31:09.190 and you've never had a ventilated suit, oh my 00:31:09.190 --> 00:31:11.150 gosh, you don't know what you're missing. And 00:31:11.150 --> 00:31:13.970 I've never seen one quite like this. The designers 00:31:13.970 --> 00:31:17.390 put a layer of rubberized netting between two 00:31:17.390 --> 00:31:20.609 layers of finely woven mesh. And I absolutely 00:31:20.609 --> 00:31:25.130 love the clear view veil. No wrinkles, no sagging. 00:31:25.369 --> 00:31:28.839 I can literally see the bees better. I wear a 00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:31.900 size large in most clothes, but usually get an 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:34.619 XL in bee suits just because I like them to be 00:31:34.619 --> 00:31:38.519 a little oversized. I would say that an XL is 00:31:38.519 --> 00:31:42.000 plenty big. In fact, I may size down to a large 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:44.980 next time around. There are beekeeping days where 00:31:44.980 --> 00:31:47.579 I only wear a jacket or veil, but if I were a 00:31:47.579 --> 00:31:51.140 new beekeeper, had aggressive bees, or just knew 00:31:51.140 --> 00:31:53.339 that that particular day they were going to be 00:31:53.339 --> 00:31:57.559 angry, this is the max protection, max ventilation 00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:02.000 suit I'm putting on, period. What I do believe, 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:06.380 I do believe that if we give space to the bees, 00:32:06.660 --> 00:32:09.519 they will find ways to cope with it, because 00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:13.180 the native species of Asia, where this mite is 00:32:13.180 --> 00:32:16.740 originated from, the Episcarana, the Chinese 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:21.079 honeybee, they evolved together and this bee 00:32:21.079 --> 00:32:24.900 species is very successful at keeping the mite 00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:29.220 count in check. you know, it shows that the species 00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:34.380 itself can learn coping mechanism, but if we're 00:32:34.380 --> 00:32:38.559 constantly interfering and propping them up with 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:43.160 these chemicals, we are taking away the option 00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:46.039 for them to naturally find ways. And you know, 00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:49.680 I know it means that, maybe that's how we can 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:54.640 actually tie in my death doula thing, that, you 00:32:54.640 --> 00:32:59.670 know, we don't like as our modern society, we 00:32:59.670 --> 00:33:02.069 are very uncomfortable with the concept of death 00:33:02.069 --> 00:33:05.089 and dying, you know, it's a human problem. But 00:33:05.089 --> 00:33:09.730 the bees are not scared to die, you know, they 00:33:09.730 --> 00:33:15.250 reborn so fast, you know, they reproduce really 00:33:15.250 --> 00:33:20.309 fast. And if we want Darwinian evolution to continue 00:33:20.309 --> 00:33:25.089 to take place in the bees' life, we have to let 00:33:25.089 --> 00:33:30.210 the weak colonies die. And it sounds really hard 00:33:30.210 --> 00:33:33.269 and harsh and it's really difficult watching 00:33:33.269 --> 00:33:37.890 bees perish. I do get that. But we also have 00:33:37.890 --> 00:33:42.869 to give them space and honor their dying. Because 00:33:42.869 --> 00:33:45.970 in the long term, in the bigger picture, that 00:33:45.970 --> 00:33:50.289 will help the bees to be strong to thrive and 00:33:50.289 --> 00:33:53.210 take over the place of the weak. So let me make 00:33:53.210 --> 00:33:56.009 sure I understand. so you believe in natural 00:33:56.009 --> 00:34:00.690 selection and Even though you're a natural beekeeper 00:34:00.690 --> 00:34:04.630 you do believe in IPM in some kind of intervention 00:34:04.630 --> 00:34:08.170 Just with natural types of substances, right 00:34:08.170 --> 00:34:12.289 versus harsh chemicals. Yeah Because I think 00:34:12.289 --> 00:34:14.929 everybody out there is trying to find their way 00:34:14.929 --> 00:34:18.190 through this maze Not only what they're comfortable 00:34:18.190 --> 00:34:21.429 with but what will work for their bees and your 00:34:21.429 --> 00:34:24.409 bees are different than my bees and somebody 00:34:24.409 --> 00:34:26.289 and somewhere else, their bees are different 00:34:26.289 --> 00:34:28.750 than that. And so it's just, it's part of the 00:34:28.750 --> 00:34:30.610 journey. It's part of what we need to figure 00:34:30.610 --> 00:34:35.230 out, experiment with, hopefully do it wisely. 00:34:35.909 --> 00:34:38.929 But I don't think natural beekeeping ever means 00:34:38.929 --> 00:34:42.090 just stand back and do nothing. Yes, I think 00:34:42.090 --> 00:34:45.449 that's a misconception that we think that's what 00:34:45.449 --> 00:34:50.719 it is when it's not, you know. I am around my 00:34:50.719 --> 00:34:57.059 bees a lot. I spend hours with them. I make the 00:34:57.059 --> 00:34:59.699 tea for them, you know, so I made so much teas 00:34:59.699 --> 00:35:01.980 in these last three years. It's unbelievable. 00:35:02.239 --> 00:35:04.699 I think last year I added up and it was over 00:35:04.699 --> 00:35:09.659 50 litre in these months and, you know, that's 00:35:09.659 --> 00:35:13.239 not nothing. As bee tenders, of course we want 00:35:13.239 --> 00:35:17.559 to be there and support our bees wherever we 00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:21.039 can, but we also have to, you know, to realize 00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:24.179 that there is a point when you just kind of have 00:35:24.179 --> 00:35:27.260 to let go. And I think that's the scary thing 00:35:27.260 --> 00:35:31.500 for us. And we don't want our bees die, but sometimes 00:35:31.500 --> 00:35:35.679 they have to die, sadly. That's the sad part. 00:35:35.880 --> 00:35:40.139 I had my first loss. this year, after three years 00:35:40.139 --> 00:35:43.820 of beekeeping this spring, I lost a hive. And 00:35:43.820 --> 00:35:48.639 it was not down to Varoa, it was a late swarm, 00:35:48.699 --> 00:35:51.860 they swarmed early August, they didn't really 00:35:51.860 --> 00:35:56.260 build out as much, and they just didn't come 00:35:56.260 --> 00:36:02.019 out from the winter. And I had the chance to 00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:05.380 give them a new queen, and I decided not to, 00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:12.590 because that swarm was too weak to overwinter. 00:36:12.730 --> 00:36:15.530 Even with my help, you know, they received help. 00:36:15.590 --> 00:36:19.550 I gave them honey from other colonies, and I 00:36:19.550 --> 00:36:25.389 gave them the tea, and they did not manage. In 00:36:25.389 --> 00:36:28.489 my eye, that was the sign that they are not suitable 00:36:28.489 --> 00:36:33.510 for my Scottish landscape. So I was there when 00:36:33.510 --> 00:36:37.349 they died. It was really it was really deep. 00:36:37.590 --> 00:36:40.070 I had the queen in my hand, there was still like 00:36:40.070 --> 00:36:42.869 a handful of bees and they were still tending 00:36:42.869 --> 00:36:45.309 to her and you know in a couple of days they 00:36:45.309 --> 00:36:48.590 all died and it was very sad. I was crying, I 00:36:48.590 --> 00:36:52.429 was you know it was very emotional but in the 00:36:52.429 --> 00:36:57.789 same way as a death doula whose job is to to 00:36:57.789 --> 00:37:00.590 teach about death, you know, it was an honor 00:37:00.590 --> 00:37:03.769 to witness that, that I could actually be there, 00:37:04.110 --> 00:37:08.030 support that handful of bees with my presence, 00:37:08.170 --> 00:37:10.349 with my warmth, you know, I moved them into a 00:37:10.349 --> 00:37:13.949 small hive on a, you know, I cleared out all 00:37:13.949 --> 00:37:15.829 the, because there was a lot of like dead bees 00:37:15.829 --> 00:37:19.670 under, you know, it looked so sad. So I moved 00:37:19.670 --> 00:37:23.289 these survivor bees into a little hive on one 00:37:23.289 --> 00:37:27.320 comb, so that, you know, they had a nice last 00:37:27.320 --> 00:37:31.599 couple of days in a clean space, and yeah, it 00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:34.860 was very sad, but I also know that it was the 00:37:34.860 --> 00:37:38.059 right thing to do. I didn't see the point of 00:37:38.059 --> 00:37:41.599 getting them an artificial queen from somewhere, 00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:45.300 that Anna, born on my little hill with my weird, 00:37:45.639 --> 00:37:48.219 strange weather, you know, like, I could get 00:37:48.219 --> 00:37:50.380 another queen, but what if they would perish 00:37:50.380 --> 00:37:56.050 again next season? Yeah. So but you did it with 00:37:56.050 --> 00:38:01.949 respect yeah and honor for them Wow, it was really 00:38:01.949 --> 00:38:06.309 moving and bees even when they die They teach 00:38:06.309 --> 00:38:09.210 us and show us something. I know the commercial 00:38:09.210 --> 00:38:11.489 beekeepers listening or just thinking we're a 00:38:11.489 --> 00:38:15.349 little bit crazy, but For those of us that do 00:38:15.349 --> 00:38:18.289 beekeeping on a smaller scale We can take that 00:38:18.289 --> 00:38:21.630 time and we can invest that emotion and that's 00:38:21.630 --> 00:38:25.380 an okay thing. Yeah, do you use smoke? I do use 00:38:25.380 --> 00:38:30.480 smoke, but that's for my own benefit. rather 00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:33.659 than the bees, I believe that whenever I go to 00:38:33.659 --> 00:38:36.960 the bees I put on my suit and I handle that as 00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:39.719 you know that this is how I start my ceremony 00:38:39.719 --> 00:38:43.179 with the bees. So the the suit and the smoker 00:38:43.179 --> 00:38:46.239 puts me into that mental space that I am coming 00:38:46.239 --> 00:38:49.820 into the apiary. It's time to forget about my 00:38:49.820 --> 00:38:52.480 shopping list, that what we gonna eat tonight 00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:56.119 and so this is now me suiting up for the bees. 00:38:56.119 --> 00:39:00.119 So I use herbs from my garden and and sticks 00:39:00.119 --> 00:39:03.380 and pinecones from the forest that we have just 00:39:03.380 --> 00:39:09.280 nearby and I start to smoke myself, cleanse my 00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:12.579 aura, you know, I'm walking in with my intention 00:39:12.579 --> 00:39:17.880 to see the bees and learn from them and I also 00:39:17.880 --> 00:39:23.070 use the smoke when I close the hive because I 00:39:23.070 --> 00:39:25.989 don't like to squash bees and that's the only 00:39:25.989 --> 00:39:29.829 thing that makes them go away from these edges. 00:39:30.349 --> 00:39:33.090 That's, I didn't find any other way, so if you 00:39:33.090 --> 00:39:36.750 have any method to keep them away from the the 00:39:36.750 --> 00:39:39.730 edges, please tell me, because it was just the 00:39:39.730 --> 00:39:42.849 smoke that I can move them away. Just the wet 00:39:42.849 --> 00:39:45.329 towel method, which I've recently heard about. 00:39:45.670 --> 00:39:49.449 Okay. I take a towel like a beach towel, get 00:39:49.449 --> 00:39:52.809 it all wet, wring it out. And then when you, 00:39:52.829 --> 00:39:54.730 as soon as you take the lid off your hive, you 00:39:54.730 --> 00:39:57.849 put this wet towel on top and the bees tend to 00:39:57.849 --> 00:39:59.909 go down a little bit like they do with smoke. 00:40:00.150 --> 00:40:02.489 And then you just peel back like a frame at a 00:40:02.489 --> 00:40:04.710 time that you're going to work on and then cover 00:40:04.710 --> 00:40:08.239 it back up. That's so interesting. Something 00:40:08.239 --> 00:40:11.079 worth trying. I had not heard of that before 00:40:11.079 --> 00:40:14.300 until a couple of friends, new friends of mine 00:40:14.300 --> 00:40:16.400 from Denmark that were on the show recently, 00:40:17.099 --> 00:40:18.679 they were saying that that's how they do it, 00:40:18.679 --> 00:40:20.940 they've gotten away from using smoke by doing 00:40:20.940 --> 00:40:24.099 that. Anyway, I'm gonna try it, see how it works. 00:40:24.360 --> 00:40:28.460 Because I do use like a cotton, well it's more 00:40:28.460 --> 00:40:32.039 of like a tea towel that I cover the hive when 00:40:32.039 --> 00:40:35.480 I am inspecting frame so that you know the whole 00:40:35.480 --> 00:40:39.480 hive is not exposed to the light and so but I 00:40:39.480 --> 00:40:42.380 never heard of the making it wet would actually 00:40:42.380 --> 00:40:45.159 make them go down so I will try that. So you're 00:40:45.159 --> 00:40:47.199 halfway doing it so just get it a little bit 00:40:47.199 --> 00:40:48.940 wet not dripping you don't want to get the bees 00:40:48.940 --> 00:40:51.699 wet yeah that's why you wring it out so it's 00:40:51.699 --> 00:40:54.380 just damp and probably it makes it just a little 00:40:54.380 --> 00:40:57.320 bit cooler too I don't know if that's why they're 00:40:57.320 --> 00:40:59.900 moving down or something else but interesting 00:40:59.900 --> 00:41:03.989 idea So lastly, I wanted to ask you about have 00:41:03.989 --> 00:41:08.050 you gotten into the medicinal uses of honey bees 00:41:08.050 --> 00:41:12.070 and their products yet? You mean beyond the beyond 00:41:12.070 --> 00:41:16.650 honey? Yeah, for yourself. Have you used honey 00:41:16.650 --> 00:41:19.909 or propolis or bee venom or something else for 00:41:19.909 --> 00:41:24.769 your own health? Yes. So I'm a big advocate for 00:41:24.769 --> 00:41:29.000 for raw honey. I eat it every day. with intention. 00:41:29.139 --> 00:41:32.519 I put it in my fruit smoothie, you know. Yes, 00:41:32.579 --> 00:41:36.199 I love it. I know beekeepers who don't. I don't 00:41:36.199 --> 00:41:38.079 know if you ever met beekeepers who don't like 00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:42.679 honey. I actually know a couple. Yes, I love 00:41:42.679 --> 00:41:45.880 honey. And the other thing I really just got 00:41:45.880 --> 00:41:50.599 into this year is making propolis tincture. So, 00:41:50.699 --> 00:41:53.119 you know, the propolis that I scrape off from 00:41:53.119 --> 00:41:56.119 the frames, I collected them in this past years 00:41:56.119 --> 00:42:01.079 and finally I had enough to mix it with alcohol. 00:42:01.579 --> 00:42:03.719 It's like a high grade alcohol. It's from my 00:42:03.719 --> 00:42:06.840 village. We do very strong alcohol in Hungary. 00:42:06.920 --> 00:42:10.559 I don't know if you had the chance to taste any 00:42:10.559 --> 00:42:13.239 of them when you were visiting. We have some 00:42:13.239 --> 00:42:15.820 really strong alcohol in Hungary. One of them 00:42:15.820 --> 00:42:19.619 is called pálinka, which is like a fruit schnapps, 00:42:19.780 --> 00:42:23.889 essentially. But when they made in villages at 00:42:23.889 --> 00:42:27.469 home they are very strong like over 70 percent. 00:42:27.630 --> 00:42:29.989 So anyway we've been gifted a bottle from our 00:42:29.989 --> 00:42:33.309 village and we knew that we will not be able 00:42:33.309 --> 00:42:38.889 to drink it ever. So I put the propolis into, 00:42:39.210 --> 00:42:41.920 again my husband have. work out the measures. 00:42:42.400 --> 00:42:45.679 But yeah, it is just getting ready. So you need 00:42:45.679 --> 00:42:49.980 to mix it and then shake the bottle every day 00:42:49.980 --> 00:42:53.179 while the propolis and the alcohol dissolves. 00:42:53.300 --> 00:42:56.980 And I think you're going to get a really nice 00:42:56.980 --> 00:43:02.039 tincture in about three, four weeks. And we all 00:43:02.039 --> 00:43:05.900 know propolis is a wonderful thing to have at 00:43:05.900 --> 00:43:09.679 home. How much propolis do you use per alcohol? 00:43:09.900 --> 00:43:13.030 Is it like two to one, two times alcohol to one 00:43:13.030 --> 00:43:16.050 propolis or something along those lines? What 00:43:16.050 --> 00:43:22.690 was the measure? I think we had about, we had 00:43:22.690 --> 00:43:28.570 about 50 gram of propolis and we infused it with 00:43:28.570 --> 00:43:35.989 about 200 milliliter alcohol. And then how do 00:43:35.989 --> 00:43:38.670 you like to use it? For sore throats and things 00:43:38.670 --> 00:43:43.480 like that? Anytime you feel a bit off, I would, 00:43:43.559 --> 00:43:47.179 and it's also great for if you have any cuts, 00:43:47.380 --> 00:43:49.639 you know, you want to sterilize, heal something 00:43:49.639 --> 00:43:53.320 on your skin, and yeah, anytime you feel a bit 00:43:53.320 --> 00:43:56.539 off, you have a cold, recovering from something, 00:43:56.699 --> 00:44:00.719 couple of drops under the tongue. But I also 00:44:00.719 --> 00:44:05.480 heard that actually the most effective way of 00:44:06.240 --> 00:44:09.900 using propolis is actually breathing it. So inhaling 00:44:09.900 --> 00:44:13.860 it to your lungs and that's where it gets the 00:44:13.860 --> 00:44:17.300 best observation from your body. But tincture 00:44:17.300 --> 00:44:20.380 will work too. But if you have the chance to 00:44:20.380 --> 00:44:23.079 just sniff it, because I keep it because it just 00:44:23.079 --> 00:44:26.239 smells lovely. You just breathe it? Mm -hmm. 00:44:26.380 --> 00:44:29.099 So I try to have a sniff before I go to sleep 00:44:29.099 --> 00:44:32.360 and when I wake up. Speaking of that, if you've 00:44:32.360 --> 00:44:34.480 never done this, and I'm just talking to people 00:44:34.480 --> 00:44:37.590 out there, If you've never taken off the lid 00:44:37.590 --> 00:44:40.429 of a hive and before you do anything, just kind 00:44:40.429 --> 00:44:43.989 of bend down and take a nice breath and just 00:44:43.989 --> 00:44:48.010 smell it. It can be a great experience. It is. 00:44:48.190 --> 00:44:50.610 And sounds like a healthy one too, from what 00:44:50.610 --> 00:44:53.369 you're saying. Even if you walk into the apiary 00:44:53.369 --> 00:44:57.110 without opening them on a nice warm sunny day, 00:44:57.449 --> 00:45:00.889 you do have that sweet honey scent in the air, 00:45:00.889 --> 00:45:06.369 I think. It is just so warm and lovely and you 00:45:06.369 --> 00:45:09.469 just feel home instantly. Yeah, someone told 00:45:09.469 --> 00:45:13.230 me recently that the best smell there is in the 00:45:13.230 --> 00:45:16.230 world, the most like heaven, is in their honey 00:45:16.230 --> 00:45:19.630 house when they're processing honey. Yeah, I 00:45:19.630 --> 00:45:22.110 completely agree with that. Well, we can't give 00:45:22.110 --> 00:45:24.550 medical advice on this show and anything we talked 00:45:24.550 --> 00:45:27.409 about is not medical advice. We are not doctors. 00:45:28.050 --> 00:45:31.050 But it's fun to experiment with some of this. 00:45:31.070 --> 00:45:34.250 We've talked about some other apotherapy things. 00:45:34.619 --> 00:45:37.739 Previously on the show I had an experience with 00:45:37.739 --> 00:45:41.800 something just recently I got a burn on my hand 00:45:41.800 --> 00:45:45.639 just taking something out of the oven I had read 00:45:45.639 --> 00:45:48.800 and talked to someone about the medicinal uses 00:45:48.800 --> 00:45:52.579 of honey for burns and I thought I'm just gonna 00:45:52.579 --> 00:45:57.960 try it and I Painted a little honey on this thing 00:45:57.960 --> 00:46:01.400 put a band -aid on it to keep the honey on it 00:46:01.400 --> 00:46:04.940 Shocked at how fast it healed It's amazing. I 00:46:04.940 --> 00:46:07.980 mean, I could not believe it. It was a bad burn 00:46:07.980 --> 00:46:10.800 and it healed so fast, it was crazy. Well, we 00:46:10.800 --> 00:46:14.519 healed a sunburn with it when we were just down 00:46:14.519 --> 00:46:18.179 in... Really? Yeah, so we had a raw honey from 00:46:18.179 --> 00:46:21.619 the island where we stayed and well, we got a 00:46:21.619 --> 00:46:25.579 bad sunburn. Even though we weren't out in the 00:46:25.579 --> 00:46:27.920 heat, you know, we just, yeah, we got a face 00:46:27.920 --> 00:46:31.039 and shoulders and... I was telling my husband 00:46:31.039 --> 00:46:34.079 that we have this honey now and it will work, 00:46:34.119 --> 00:46:37.000 it will work. So we kept putting it on us and 00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:41.980 we never peeled at all, you know, it just healed 00:46:41.980 --> 00:46:44.360 it. i don't know how you do it on a big area 00:46:44.360 --> 00:46:46.980 though because you're all sticky now yeah you're 00:46:46.980 --> 00:46:49.519 gonna get very sticky so just be prepared you 00:46:49.519 --> 00:46:51.739 have to have a towel and put your hands up if 00:46:51.739 --> 00:46:56.119 you have long hair uh you only need 15 20 minutes 00:46:56.119 --> 00:46:58.480 and then you can go to shower this is what i 00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:02.360 we did 15 20 minutes just sitting still and trying 00:47:02.360 --> 00:47:05.760 not to make your furniture or covered in honey 00:47:05.760 --> 00:47:10.889 but it does work and We actually, I have to tell 00:47:10.889 --> 00:47:14.690 you this as well, last year my cat Gimli, he 00:47:14.690 --> 00:47:19.730 came home with a big scar just under the ear. 00:47:20.530 --> 00:47:25.510 It looked awful, it was... oozing, it smelled, 00:47:25.590 --> 00:47:28.190 so I was waiting for an appointment from the 00:47:28.190 --> 00:47:30.530 vet but in the meantime I was like I'm gonna 00:47:30.530 --> 00:47:33.489 put some honey on it and I had some chamomile 00:47:33.489 --> 00:47:37.309 from the garden so my granny said that just put 00:47:37.309 --> 00:47:40.530 honey on it and wipe it with chamomile water 00:47:40.530 --> 00:47:46.570 and in two days the cat healed it looked absolutely 00:47:46.570 --> 00:47:50.920 disgusting that thing you know it was oh And 00:47:50.920 --> 00:47:55.579 yes, two days later, it all closed up, all the 00:47:55.579 --> 00:47:58.940 stuff came out from it, and that was solely down 00:47:58.940 --> 00:48:02.699 to raw honey from the bees and some chamomile 00:48:02.699 --> 00:48:05.940 from the garden. We didn't need to go to the 00:48:05.940 --> 00:48:10.699 vet. He did say that if it doesn't fully close 00:48:10.699 --> 00:48:13.519 in three, four days, I will need to take him 00:48:13.519 --> 00:48:17.559 in, but it fully closed the wound. You just saved 00:48:17.559 --> 00:48:19.800 a couple hundred dollars on a vet bill, too. 00:48:19.949 --> 00:48:24.110 Yeah. Nice job. All right. We are totally running 00:48:24.110 --> 00:48:26.949 out of time. Do you have a wild and crazy beekeeping 00:48:26.949 --> 00:48:34.190 story for us? I did have a swarm this year. It 00:48:34.190 --> 00:48:38.579 was very shocking, you know, swarm usually happens, 00:48:38.679 --> 00:48:41.159 this is what is in the book at least, that it 00:48:41.159 --> 00:48:43.219 happens on a nice sunny day when the weather 00:48:43.219 --> 00:48:46.500 is just dry. Now, not with these dark bees, you 00:48:46.500 --> 00:48:49.679 know, they can just go in storm. This hive, they 00:48:49.679 --> 00:48:54.889 swarmed on a day that was cold. it was cloudy 00:48:54.889 --> 00:48:59.030 and it was big wind and they got scattered all 00:48:59.030 --> 00:49:03.289 over my garden fence. It took me about five hours 00:49:03.289 --> 00:49:07.289 to collect them and hive them and they anyway 00:49:07.289 --> 00:49:11.329 just flew out and gone back home you know to 00:49:11.329 --> 00:49:15.599 the original hive that they came out from. And 00:49:15.599 --> 00:49:18.099 I was like, well, that was a waste, wasted five 00:49:18.099 --> 00:49:20.639 hours that I will never get back, you know, because 00:49:20.639 --> 00:49:22.420 they will just swarm again. But anyway, there 00:49:22.420 --> 00:49:25.780 were still bees all over that hive. So I kept 00:49:25.780 --> 00:49:30.460 bending down and picking up the bees. And suddenly 00:49:30.460 --> 00:49:35.500 what I picked up was the queen herself. So there 00:49:35.500 --> 00:49:39.599 was this queen bee in my hand who got lost and 00:49:39.599 --> 00:49:44.159 separated from her bees. So I guess that's why 00:49:44.159 --> 00:49:47.699 the bees decided to go back home anyway, so I 00:49:47.699 --> 00:49:51.559 reunited them after like a couple of hours and 00:49:51.559 --> 00:49:55.219 I put the queen bee back to the original hive 00:49:55.219 --> 00:49:57.739 and the bees were so delighted, you know, you 00:49:57.739 --> 00:50:01.860 could just hear the sound of the hive change. 00:50:02.159 --> 00:50:07.320 So it made my wasted afternoon not wasted, you 00:50:07.320 --> 00:50:11.559 know, I still managed to save the queen, so that 00:50:11.559 --> 00:50:14.760 was quite cool. That's fun. And by the way if 00:50:14.760 --> 00:50:17.059 you want to learn more about swarming behavior 00:50:17.059 --> 00:50:21.619 we recently had Tom Seeley on the show. Episodes 00:50:21.619 --> 00:50:27.039 232 and 233 they are very well worth listening 00:50:27.039 --> 00:50:31.079 to as he knows more than anybody on this planet 00:50:31.079 --> 00:50:35.500 about swarming behavior. All right any last words 00:50:35.500 --> 00:50:37.619 you can teach us today Tija and then we'll let 00:50:37.619 --> 00:50:41.190 you go. I just want to say that thank you for 00:50:41.190 --> 00:50:45.650 everyone who keeps bees and loves the bees and 00:50:45.650 --> 00:50:48.829 you know willing to willing to listen them I 00:50:48.829 --> 00:50:52.650 think that's cool. All right thanks a ton have 00:50:52.650 --> 00:50:56.230 a great afternoon in Scotland and I need your 00:50:56.230 --> 00:50:59.510 husband to make me a meal sometime. Okay I think 00:50:59.510 --> 00:51:02.610 he will be very happy to do that. Thank you very 00:51:02.610 --> 00:51:07.219 much for having me Eric. Thanks for joining us 00:51:07.219 --> 00:51:10.019 on Be Love Beekeeping presented by Man Lake. 00:51:10.460 --> 00:51:12.539 If you like this content I hope you'll share 00:51:12.539 --> 00:51:15.420 it with a friend, follow and subscribe to this 00:51:15.420 --> 00:51:18.780 podcast and even sign up for our newsletter at 00:51:18.780 --> 00:51:21.840 BeLoveBeekeeping .com Also, just a shout out 00:51:21.840 --> 00:51:24.400 to Vita B Health for their support, we appreciate 00:51:24.400 --> 00:51:27.420 them. Vita's Varroa Control range of products 00:51:27.420 --> 00:51:31.039 includes Apistan, Apigard, and now Varroxan, 00:51:31.360 --> 00:51:34.940 Extended Release Oxalic Acid Strips. Thanks guys, 00:51:35.440 --> 00:51:37.840 and remember, if you're not just in it for the 00:51:37.840 --> 00:51:40.380 honey or the money, you're in it for the love. 00:51:40.800 --> 00:51:41.820 See you next week.