A Sweet Present

August 26, 2014 by afrenchgarden 39 Comments

I got a present from my bee keeper friend Michel today. He knows I like honeycomb so he gave me some “miel en brèche” as it is known in French.

It was up to me to cut it avoiding the metal strips running through it which serve as guides for the bees to build the comb on.

I think I managed quite well, for a beginner.

Morning coffee with fresh bread and honeycomb.

I thoroughly scraped around the frame so I would not waste any of the honey and then I put it outside for the bees to clear up the rest.

However, so far, they do not seem interested in my leftovers but this bumble bee is not going to pass over some easy pickings.

Earlier this morning I had read Emily’s post, “All about the hunny”, in Adventures in Beeland’s Blog, explaining that she and Emma had difficulty extracting their honey. I wonder if this could be a solution in areas where the honey was difficult to extract. However, I am not a bee keeper (not yet). I also love honeycomb and if some pieces of the comb mix in, it does not bother me, in fact I like it. I always remember honeycomb being something extra special and it was a particular favourite of my grandfather. I wonder whether this is an unusual taste or not?

Just as an update – some honey bees did come.

And the odd honey bee deserted the Nepeta underneath to sample the honey.

Author: afrenchgarden

Born in Scotland I have lived in England, Iran, USA and Greece. The house and land was bought twelve years ago in fulfilment of the dream of living in France that my Francophile husband nurtured. We had spent frequent holidays in France touring the more northerly parts and enjoying the food, scenery, architecture and of course gardens. However, we felt that to retire in France and enjoy a more clement climate than we currently had in Aberdeen we would need to find somewhere south of the river Loire but not too south to make returning to visit the UK onerous. The year 2000 saw us buying our house and setting it up to receive us and the family on holidays. The garden was more a field and we were helped by my son to remove the fencing that had separated the previous owners’ goats, sheep and chickens. We did inherit some lovely old trees and decided to plant more fruit trees that would survive and mature with the minimum of care until we took up permanent residence. The move took place in 2006 and the love hate relation with the “garden” started. There was so much to do in the house that there was little energy left for the hard tasks in the garden. It was very much a slow process and a steep learning curve. Expenditures have been kept to a minimum. The majority of the plants have been cuttings and I try to gather seeds wherever I can. The fruit trees have all been bought but we have tender hearts and cannot resist the little unloved shrub at a discount price and take it as a matter of honour to nurse it back to health. This year I have launched my Blog hoping to reach out to other gardeners in other countries. My aim is to make a garden for people to enjoy, providing shady and sunny spots with plants that enjoy living in this area with its limestone based subsoil and low rainfall in a warm summer. Exchanging ideas and exploring mutual problems will enrich my experience trying to form my French garden.