I am a very happy beekeeper this year. I had a very successful harvest, almost finished bottling my crop of lovely amber honey. Sean Bonney has kept one of his hives in my apiary and helped me immensely with the heavy lifting and I shared the fun with him of harvesting his first honey. There is nothing like the look in the face of the first time beekeeper as they see that golden stream emerging from the extractor. Last weekend we took off the empty, cleaned out supers and rearranged and checked the hives for the winter. Today I put on some feeders and tidied up the shed and stored the supers. Now I have to start making my cosmetics and other crafts to get ready for the sales and gift giving season of the beekeeper.

I am looking forward to the Hive tour on SATURDAY and the PIG ROAST!!!! I was organizing some old bee club papers and found old issues of Beeline. An issue from 1995 had the front page predominately taken up with a huge pig to advertise Miguel Valentin’s Annual Pig Roast. How many years have you been hosting this wonderful event Miguel? We can expect a veritable feast of the roast pig and accompanying Puerto Rican dishes. Please bring a dish as well, whatever your specialty is. Since some of us will be coming directly from the hive tour, we may need to plan something that needs no refrigeration or bring a cooler with plenty of ice! Miguel has had exceptional entertainment the last few years, Spanish dancers and musicians. He is really hoping that we have a large turnout to help him celebrate the life of his late wife Ellie, who loved this affair and cooked the best peas and rice I ever had. Bring a chair, a dish, your appetite and look forward to a great afternoon and evening of friendship, good food, and bee talk!

Directions to Miguel Valentin:
Location is 6 Waterview Ave, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
Directions are: LIE to Exit 59. Go north to Rosevale Ave. Left turn to Parr Drive. Right turn to Waterview Ave.

Sean Bonney’s First Honey Harvest!


Some beautifully drawn drone comb.