Welcome to Sun Mountain Apiary
Looking up the hill behind store and apiary 11/29/24 - Photo B. Muller
It looks like winter is upon us as we head into the Christmas Season. Fortunately, the bees are clustered snuggly in their hives for winter. More on this below....
Bee trivia: Could you hold it? In the winter bees cluster in a ball ranging in size from a softball to basketball size in strong hives. Winter bees are somewhat chubbier and longer lived than summer bees in order to make it through the winter. Some of these serve as “heater bees” by vibrating to generate heat to keep the cluster warm. Although the inside of the hive is warmer than the outside temperature, they aren’t trying to heat the hive, just the cluster. The center of the cluster where the queen is will be 97 degrees most of the winter! Bees can even survive in temperatures close to 50F BELOW ZERO – as long as they have food and don’t get wet from condensation. With weeks spent in the cluster though the bees need to hold their excrement. They will rarely if ever defecate in the hive. So, on the first warm day (50F +/-) they will fly out and take care of business. The snow in front of the hives will be covered with little yellow dots left by very relieved bees! Bee well, bee safe and bee kind. Bob PS. Thanks too to those that gave us Google Reviews! You still can at https://g.page/r/CfCJvoWkPQbTEAI/review and help others find our honey of a store! 
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While candles are in more limited supply this year, we still have a good supply and they are very popular gifts for your office gifts or bowling club!
Speaking of items that are popular this time of year, if you get chapped hands and finger “splits,” then you should try Linda’s very popular lotion bars. These all natural beeswax based bars will heal your hands faster than most over-the-counter remedies. They are available in both unscented and lavender. I keep one in my pickup and one on my nightstand and use them regularly. They make great stocking stuffers too at only $6 each.
Family Farm Day was a huge success. The weather was beautiful and we had 74 folks attend to learn more about bees, our operation and visit our store. Folks of all ages had lots of fun seeing our displays, visiting hives, and seeing our extracting operation. It was great to meet many of our customers in person! Many thanks to all our helpers - beekeepers Mike Hammond and Mick Bello and welcome desk volunteers Jeane Hay and Luanne Mancheffer. Linda was even able to make an appearance for a bit in the afternoon. Thanks also to our neighbors and friends Ray & Sara Luhrman of Fox Creek Farms CSA (foxcreekfarmcsa.com). People asked if you had to go to their farm to get produce. It is easier than that! They deliver throughout the Capital Region including Albany, Schenectady, Rotterdam, Clifton Park, Ballston Spa, Delmar, and Altamont. Delivery days are on their website or reach out to them for more information. We are now about half way through our honey harvest and it is proving to be a very good one. We recently added a 200 liter (53 gallon/~ 636 lbs) settling tank. which has been extremely beneficial. The additional tank allows me to pull honey supers from the hives on nice days and extract and bottle whenever I can to keep the process moving. The new tank and our bottling tank are stainless steel with silicone seals so they can sit with honey in them without fear of the honey absorbing ambient moisture or off flavors. The fall honey is just a bit darker than the spring honey. Still quite light in taste but a bit stronger than the spring honey. Stop by the store and try some! Thanks, and bee kind, Bob 
"I tried absolutely everything to help with my chronic chapped fingers. Your lotion bars have been the BEST BY FAR and one of the few products which actually helps! Thank you!" - K. Abbate, Colonie
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In 2020 we went through the testing and inspection process to become a “NY Grown and Certified Honey Producer.” While all claim their honey is pure, and bees are the best, we decided to back the claims up with the documentation and inspections that prove we have healthy hives, excellent sanitation in extraction, and nothing but pure, raw NY local honey.
Pure - Natural- Raw |
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