Fellow beekeeper Steven McNair visits Olly's Farm

Fellow beekeeper Steven McNair from Illinois in the US visited Olly's Farm recently. Stephen keeps bees and produces beautiful honey in a few bee yards in Illinois. He also runs a charity Salem4Youth where himself and his wife use beekeeping to help young men that are going through a rough time. Its always fascinating to talk and learn how other people do things. As a beekeeper you never ever know everything. Its a craft that takes a lifetime to master, so meeting others is always a pleasure.

 

Really enjoyed showing Steven and his family around the farm. We spent a while talking about #bees and #honey. It was a pretty cold day but we managed to open the covers on a few beehives. Some of the colonies were smaller that I would have liked but it was cold and they were tightly clustered. It was my first time having another beekeeper visit and see my setup. It's constantly evolving and when I eventually build my new honey house it will all come together.

 

He brought me a lovely gift of two bottles of his different honeys from Illinois. Both taste wonderful but only a taste as I want to add them to my collection of honeys 🐝💤💤💤🍯

Check out his blog post on the visit here www.beeyekind.com/beekeepers-have-a-special-bond/

 

Isn't the color difference amazing between the two bottles pretty amazing 💤

It always surprises me when I do a market and customers say ''why are there so many types of honey, I thought honey was just honey''. I love to see how they become fascinated when I explain the difference. It's all to do with the different nectar sources. It's the plant a bee collects nectar from that decides the taste and color of the honey.

Looking forward to meeting again, maybe next time I'm stateside.