Just a little about our animals, family and what we do.

26/12/2007

Most Enjoyable.

What a pleasant Christmas that was, and there are still a few days left of our holiday to make the best of. We have made and eaten some of the most enjoyable Christmas food I've ever sat down to, I'm sure I've put a stone on already. It's about time I started on the seasonal tasks. I have to make some more hives, the bees need some attention to check for any problems and that they have enough food until they can gather nectar in the early spring. I will have to make up more frames; some as replacements, some for extra hives.
An on going task of course is the making of our preserves. We have to replace some of the sold out items and we are always experimenting with new recipes and ideas. For instance, we've just made a batch of ginger cordial for ourselves but if we put it up for sale it would have to sell at five or more pounds per 750ml bottle to make it worthwhile. I don't think people would pay that much.
A very well received concoction was the damson gin Gail made as a Christmas present for the older members of our extended family. This was started months ago by steeping the fruit (from our own trees) and liquor together, checking it periodically and finally filtering and bottling it Absolutely superb.

23/12/2007

Making a Start.

I've been an apiarist (beekeeper) for three years now and it's something I have wanted to do for many, many years. We are very lucky here to be in a very rural area and our immediate farming neighbours are organic.
We also make a wide assortment of Jams, Pickles, Marmalades and Preserves with home grown or 'in season' fruit and vegetables as well as our very popular Honeys.