Obviously, the production chart at the bottom of the page indicates, notwithstanding my complaints, that we had a positive year at the Farm (better than state average, even with the hives lost to pesticides). Our best hive, which was about equal to the one that was poisoned, was the champion: four full supers of surplus from the spring. The late Mr. Jim Herndon (Florida Apiary Inspector) would have described this hive as "boiling over" (right, taken June 03, 2012). Just seconds after pushing the bees down with smoke, they would re-emerge from the brood nest and cover the top bars. I was exceedingly fortunate to have the few hours that Mr. Herndon and I spent together, and wish there could have been more--we shared an interest in gardening and I was enthralled with his accounts of beekeeping along the Apalachicola River in the old days. Regrettably, that was not to be as he succumbed to prostate cancer.

a

We are in our 14th straight year of bottling honey, and from time-to-time, we have also made cut comb, chunk, and creamed honey. None has ever spoiled. The key, of course, is to keep the water content low (honeys with a water content ≤18.6% qualify for U.S. Grade A and are considered safe). In other words, we have merely replicated the work of innumerable beekeepers around the world over the past few millennia. No bragging rights there. Notwithstanding, I am always concerned about moisture, living as we do in the very humid south. I hesitate, though, to make an extended comment. I do have a tendency to not let well enough alone (about my writing, Shuqiu Zhang once said, "You draw a good snake, but then don't stop without adding legs."). My writing has always had a tedious quality, I think, an effort to immunize myself against criticism over facts. In this regard, one Saturday morning stands out. I was working on a paper with my fourth and final academic mentor, Oliver Lowry, at his home in Ladue, MO. I presented with a paragraph of reservations, caveats, denials and doubts. After studying it for a moment, he looked at me and said, "You mean, in broad terms, . . . ." He had captured my lengthy convoluted construction in one brief sentence of small words and I immediately realized he was right. Looking back, I am further humbled to recall that I myself was by then an anonymous peer reviewer, receiving manuscripts from my senior colleague Joe Varner. I was not up to task, and, really, young reviewers should be mentored, too. I hope I improved in writing reviews over the years and regret any harm my earlier reviews might have caused authors. So, trying to learn from my mistakes, here I will stick with basic general notions, though a little unhappily and dismayed that I skip details (even conceptual concerns). Water deserves more, but for another day.

The basic observation is that bees fan dilute nectar, drying it hopefully until the osmotic potential is too negative for spoilage organisms to grow. Of course, water will only move from the nascent honey to the atmosphere if the event is spontaneous, i.e., ∆G˂0. Similarly, water can move from a moist atomosphere into the honey. An equilibrium chart is shown here (developed, I think, for 80F). In broad terms (thanks Dr. Lowry!), at RH<60%, the driving force will be for water to move from sufficiently dry honey to the air. Calculations of the rates of water movement into or from bulk honey would be prohibitively complicated and probably would provide little specific insight (e.g., the results would be different for thick frames than for thin frames). Suffice it to note that honey in ventilated supers can lose 1% moisture in 24 hours in a warm dry honey house. There are two take-home messages for me. The first is, when possible, harvest the honey after a day or so of low dewpoints. As an example, I selected a harvest time when the forecast was for low dewpoints and high temperatures (chart below, from the NWS). In fact, the dewpoint reached 50F mid-day June 02 and was 60F (RH~40%) when I harvested 3-5 pm the following day. (For reference, a dewpoint of 70F is typical this time of year here.) Thus, the honey could not have gained moisture during harvest. And, I expect the honey lost moisture during the 36 or so hours before harvest (screened bottom boards and hive covers propped open for ventilation). Anyhow, selecting a period of low dewpoints to harvest won't hurt and might help. <continued>

Our bottling station consists of a second-hand stainless steel work bench, which I bought at a farm auction. I was not alone in wanting it and shuddered at the thought of such a nice table having a bloody deer draped across it. It became rather pricey. I made up for it though by obtaining the wall cabinet essentially by "dumpster diving." With elbow grease, Nedra's painting, and updated pulls (a gift from daughter Elizabeth), it serves to hold miscellaneous supplies, such as caps. (I can't buy the caps in bulk, but I inspect each, wipe out the inside, and store in ziploc bags.). The bottler (left bucket) is a standard item, and I made the final straining bucket (right) by replacing the bottom of a food-grade bucket with a stainless-steel sieve, which supports a nylon straining bag into which the honey is poured. The strainer sits on the bottler (upper, right) as I cut the center of a top out and slid the remnant up around the bottom of the strainer (best seen in the upper left). Usually, I let the honey sit in the bottler for several days and remove the bubbles and tiny bits of wax that rise to the top of the honey. With so many different small lots, that care wasn't practical, so some of the bottles, like those in the markets, have suface "debris."

I do not sell honey (because of the litigious nature of our society). Still, I like to meet the goals of my "customers." Most commercial honey is heated (to facilitate handling, to inhibit crystalization, to reduce the risk of botulism). Most commercial honey is also filtered (to inhibit crystalization and to make a brilliantly clear product). The downside is that pollen is removed by filtration, and flavor is affected by heating. Heating (and prolonged storage) also markedly increase the HMF content. I will leave it at that. There are some very rude people with unsubstantiated opinions on both sides of the raw vs. processed honey argument. The opinions often seem to line up with pocketbook issues as much as anything. Anyway, I am on the "granola and Birkenstock" side, i.e. I prefer and only make raw honey and leave the next fellow to do as he pleases.