Frayed Wings

Look at bee on the left. Notice that her wings are frayed. Lots of work has taken its toll.

Terroir – Two Honeys

Terroir is used to denote the special characteristics that geography bestows upon particular varieties. and  contributes to the unique qualities of the crop. It can be very loosely translated as “a sense of place”.

These two jars of honey were produced at about  the same time in the Summer of 2009, but  10 miles apart,  in different hives.  The  one on the left is from one of my hives in Lincoln Massachusetts and the one on the right is from one of my hives in Belmont Massachusetts. These were both Summer honey. Not only did they look very different, they tasted very different also. This the reason I bottle honey from  each bee yard separately is so each one retains its unique characteristics, its own terroir

What causes the differencet? It’s the type of nectar that the bees have been gathering.  The  different mix of plants blooming in as paricular location in a particular season producing more or less nectar depending on weather and temperature.