Remembrance Day November 11, 2019

      It seemed only fitting that today was the day i found a box that hadn't been unpacked for years. When opening it i discovered 2 bottles i hadnt been able to find for a few years now. As i gazed down it brought back the memories of the day i got them.

     Grama and Poppa Forrest had put their farm up for sale and were having a big garage sale. It was an emotional day for me as that was where i spent many happy years growing up and helping them on the farm. Wood cutting, haying and just spending time exploring the fields. I remembered out in one of the fields the rock with fossils in it and the little skull with movable lower jaw that hung off a keychain, which was always kept in the glove box of the red Farm All Tractor. But one of my favorite things was  the old wooden cupboard that hung on the wall in the barn and kept all the cow medicines and teat cream. It had been built out of Dynamite crates. During the garage sale, Poppa asked me if i would like that old cupboard. We walked to the barn and took it off the wall. It is one of my prized possessions.

Also that day, he found a case of what i thought was canning jars, but on further inspection they were glass jars in the shape of bee skeps. Each jar still held honey, which at that time was close to 50 years old. He gave me a couple of those jars and also a bag full of old beeswax.
My Grampa and Great Grampa owned a commercial nursery when my Mum was a child. They also kept bees. Each summer they would attend the local fairs and the PNE and set up displays of their flowers, honey and wax. My Mum and her siblings were in charge of melting the wax and pouring it into little decorative molds. The molded wax was used as part of their displays at the fairs.

Grampa and Great Grampa's honey jars

     Anyways, today i found those 2 little jars. I removed the lids hoping to still be able to smell the golden honey that once filled it. But the scent of honey was gone. I filled the sink with hot soapy water and when dry i decided those cute little bottles would once again hold honey.  I am not sure if it was allergies or if i got soap in my eye, but i felt a tear run down my cheek. I miss my Grampa, but i think  he would of been happy that i put some of my honey in his jars


A little about the jars:
The Hazel-Atlas Glass Company of Wheeling, West Virginia started out at Washington, PA and later plants included Clarksburg, WV; Zanesville, OH; Ada, Oklahoma; Montgomery, Alabama; Oakland, California; Pomona, California and other locations (1902 – 1964).  Hazel-Atlas made the Beehive Jars and listed them in 1935 Bee Culture magazine. They were made in three sizes from ½ pound to two pounds.

Prepping for winter

Frosty leaves

    Well here it is October 31, and i have to ask myself...where has this year gone. I had always heard that the older you get the faster the time goes....but enough already! I am having trouble keeping up.
    Over the last month, we have been working hard getting ready for winter. I have been canning, James has been hunting and we are trying to get the insulation put  in here and there around the basement ceiling area.

Cold room is filling up

    The hunting so far has been unsuccessful but we are hoping that will change soon. We both enjoy game and its so rewarding to look down at your plate and most of the food on it is food you harvested yourself. So hopefully in the next week or so he will get us a moose or deer.
    We had no garden this year as there wasn't enough time, but this winter we will be planning out the new greenhouse. I did manage to buy fruit and was given some vegis out of our neighbors garden so I was able to put away a few things for the winter.
     Last week James moved a lot of the "stuff" that was laying around the yard, stuff that hadnt been put away since we got home. So we can rest knowing we won't be hitting anything while plowing the driveway this winter.  At the same time I worked on getting the bees ready for winter. I got them moved down into 2 boxes and gave them some Apipasta fondant as a treat. I had also made them 8lb candy boards for each hive. So along with their 2 boxes of honey, they should have more than enough food for winter.

Ready for winter

     So this winter, we will be keeping busy putting in the shower and vanity then organizing the basement more. Then on those real cold days we will be sitting with a steaming hot cuppa and drawing up plans for the new greenhouse. So this winter i will be updating you on whats going on inside the house, new plans for next year, how the bees are doing and the new batch of mead i plan on making.and maybe a few honey based recipes.
But for now....bee warm and have a safe winter.
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