A REAL honey-bee farm!

Vecmamma's (our grandmother's) neighbours in the garden have a number of bee-hives in their garden and are actively involved in honey-bee farming. Mom told us that they used to do this ever since she can remember. She told us about her earliest childhood memories of running around in the garden barefoot and stepping on a bee, which stung her foot.

Neighbouring lady was kind enough to pose for a picture of her honey-bee farming equipment. She is wearing a hat with broad edges, from which hangs down a net, covering her entire head from back and front. When she goes to check the bees, she has to wear long and heavy clothing, so that the bees don't get any place for reaching her skin and stinging her. In this photo, she is not wearing gloves, which also is part of her 'equipment'.

The bees of our neighbours live in these wodden bee-hives. The top of the wodden box can be removed, so that the bee-farmers can check the situation of the honey inside the bee-hive. Bees come out from their house through a little slot-type of opening right at the top of the little 'slide' attached to the bee-hive. The active working part of the day for the bees is during bright sunlight. You cannot see them running in the mornings and in the evenings. Bees are very hard-wroking insects! They spend all day flying from flower to flower and never get tired! In Latvian, there is even an expression, which people say, if somebody is working hard: "You are hard-working like a bee!"

We were lucky to observe from the distance, how our neighbours were checking the honey in the bee-hives to see, if it is 'ripe' enough for taking out. How do they know, if the honey is ripe? It turns out that the bees seal the honey-combs, when they are full of honey. In the below pictures, you can see that they have removed the tops of the bee-hives and are lifting out from the inside there wodden frames, in which bees build their honey-combs. Bees are not very happy about the intruders, of course, so the bee-farmers have with them a device, which produces smoke, for scaring away the bees, if necessary. If you look closely enough, you will see this black device attached to the side of the bee-hive and some smoke coming out of it.

Our vecmamma is always among the first to taste the first honey of the year! This time, we had the chance to taste it with her. It was so thick and so very delicious! We just kept putting our little spoons under the flowing honey again and again!


Allah (swt) says in the Quran: "And the lord inspired the bee, saying: Take your habitations in the mountains and in the trees and in what they erect. Then, eat of all fruits and follow the ways of your Lord made easy (for you)'. There comes forth from their bellies a drink of varying colour wherein is healing for men. Verily in this is indeed a sign for people who think." (16:68-69)