Welcome Back Ladies!

The ladies of The Yellow House Apiary have returned! We purchased three pounds of Italian honeybees and installed them on Sunday afternoon.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed having them in the yard. It's peaceful to watch them work and fun to share what we've learned with anyone interested. They are truly fascinating.

This year there will be honey. We are so lucky.

Whatever would we do without them?

A Honey of a Cookie

I spend a lot of time baking cookies for my kids' lunch boxes. I ask for requests and it goes something like this:

Me: "What kind of cookies do you want in your lunch boxes this week?"

Ella: "Chocolate chips, extra chips"
Henry: "Chocolate chip, lots of chips."
Doug: "Chocolate chip, few chips"
Max "Chocolate chip"
Jake: "Chocolate chip, no chips"

Last week, getting a little crazy in a stay-at-home-mom way, I went against the grain and resurrected one of my favorites. Honey-Oatmeal.

Honey is as near and dear to my heart as are the dear bees producing it. I have always wanted to be a beekeeper and long story short, after one good year, my inexperienced eye sent my bees to a new neighborhood in search of  more living space. I am not yet ready to throw in my veil but until it's time to harvest yellow house honey, I'll buy from the locals.

It's good for our environment, our food system and our personal health. Honey is a great source of antioxidants and a beneficial antiseptic. Think of local honey is an allergy shot increasing your body's ability to fight allergens most prevalent in your neck of the woods. Preventative medicine in a cookie. I always knew it was possible.

By the way, this cheap kitchen gadget is the only way to measure sticky ingredients. Get one.

The recipe is easy and offers stellar results. It can be made without thinking or while talking on the phone, adding to the every growing/never diminishing to-do list or listening to what seems like the 100th time Lance Armstrong visits Elwood City.

If I were a better food blogger, I'd have step-by-step photos illustrating a properly softened stick of sweet cream butter.  Documentation of the technique to utilize for exquisitely creaming said butter and notations on the virtues of weighing flour.

I am not though.

I am just a mom making lots and lots of cookies.

Honey-Oat Cookies
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
2/3 c. honey, preferably local
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 c. rolled oats
2 c. all-purpose flour
1. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk dry ingredients together.

In the bowl of stand mixer beat butter, sugar and honey together until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well.

Stir in dry ingredients til combined.

Scoop balls of dough about 2 T. in size onto a cookie sheet about 3" apart.

Bake 9-11 minutes. (watch Francine ride her bike)

Cool on sheet pan several minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.

Syrup Saves The Day!

I like to serve a special cocktail to special people at special events.

In September, I needed a cocktail/mocktail to celebrate the impending arrival of an itty-bitty someone. (itty- bitties are super special) I had requirements: sparkles, seasonality and herbaceous but where to go?

I decide my flavors would include apple, fresh ginger and some of my Little-Shop-of-Horrors-esque  rosemary.  So, what's a girl to do with said ingredients? Duh. Make syrup. Isn't that what I always do?

Heat, steep, strain, chill.

Add 2-3 tablespoons per serving, top sparkling wine or water. What the hell - maybe a good splash of Cognac if you aren't delivering.

Welcome Fall.

Welcome Lilly Sophia!


Apple-Rosemary Syrup
2 cups apple juice
1 cup sugar
5 or 6 nice sprigs of fresh rosemary

Over medium to medium-high bring the apple juice, sugar and rosemary sprigs just to boiling.

Remove from heat, cover and allow to steep 15-20 minutes.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a jar and chill.

Delicious for a cocktail but also try it as a finishing glaze on a still-warm pound cake or drizzled on baked apples.

What's New?

What's new in the yellow house? Nothing - and everything.

Out of commission oven reaches crisis level. It's a Thermidor. I love it but their customer service is awful. That's a kind description.


Our girls are growing. Who knew I would fall head over heels in love with chickens.


6 dozen eggs were boiled in anticipation of hunting.


Hasslman's Farm Pork Shoulder marinated with fennel and citrus. Braised in the slow cooker, (did I mention my oven is broken?) served with potato-fennel puree and fresh asparagus. Delish.


A peek into the hive full of busy, busy bees.


A hand-me-down baby pool becomes a play pen.....and the chicks grow.


The oven saga continues...


A beautiful, blue hyacinth perfumed the house for days.


The chicks learn to perch and grow some more.


An egg dying event of enormous proportion...


...including photo ops with yellow Easter chick.


The chicks grow....


...and enter their gawky teens.

However will I feed Jake and 5 hungry teenage girls?

Good Night, Ladies!

It's that time of year. Time to take apart the garden and begin discussing, "Next year, when we....". Pull the sad plants of summer past, put away the pots, split the hostas and begin the arduous task of raking all the leaves to the curb. Then beginning again, raking still more leaves to the curb.

This year, with all the rest, I have to put the ladies to bed. One of the many things I've learned in my first season of beekeeping is that I am a poor (at best) fire maker. Getting this smoker to smoke is the bane of beekeeping for this beekeeper.

Once the smoke was working, I went in for one last check. Most of the hive activity had moved below into the two hive bodies where they would spend the winter. Look what they have done! Even capped comb - can you hear the pride in my writing? I was able to snitch a little taste, sweet honey with tiny bits of chewy comb. I only added one super box this year, the box(es) from which any harvest would come. Since we have one shallow super full of honey, I've decided to let it sit. Harvesting one very small box, seemed like a lot of work and most important is a strong hive going into winter.

I've put the entrance reducer back to keep out draft and squatting mice. Some beekeepers in cold winter areas, will cover the bee hive with roofing paper. The black paper absorbs warmth the limited sun of winter offers. I would assume it protects from some draft, too. I was able to cover 3 sides before everyone got upset. I'll go back out and finish the front in the next day or two.

It's sad to tuck them in. I am proud to have gotten through our first summer albeit without honey for me. I'll miss stepping into the weedy corner where their home sits and just watching them work. I'll worry about them in cold, windy and sunless days. I'll look forward to spring in a new way. I'll be anxious to check on the brood and God-willing, happy to see them once again.

Good night, ladies. We're going to leave us now.

For The Bees

Today was a busy day. Between finishing many food projects and a trip to Whole Foods, I took some time with my bees. While I am sure they weren't pleased to see me, I love nothing better than taking a quick peak when needed to check out what's going on.

With summer's end around the corner, I wanted to be sure the girls had a well stocked pantry. This was the first year for my hive so there was much work to be done early on. That coupled with weird summer weather, I decided to focus on getting them through the first year and not worry so much about a harvest.

All seems to be well - but let's be honest - do I really know what I am doing? The frames were full and capped which is all a girl can ask. I think. They've begun to hang out on the "porch" lately so the addition of a super box was probably timely. Many honey blooming plants are past prime but perhaps the goldenrod and other fall flowers will allow the girls to fill up a box or two for me.

Keep your fingers crossed for us and maybe there will be mulled mead this winter after all.

My Busy Bees

Last week I checked on my girls to see what they were up to. I have resigned myself to the fact that the shingle will not be hung for the Yellow House Apiary until next year. As a fledgling beekeeper, I am not sure but feel it's been a tough year to start a new hive. The comb had to be drawn out of all the frames so there was tons of work for these industrious ladies to get the homestead ready. That, coupled with the kooky weather, many rainy and overcast days, has made it quite a challenge.

The most important thing is keeping them healthy and getting them through the winter. My hope is that they'll be able to stock the pantry well and we'll try again next year.

Perhaps besides a reminder of the virtues of hard work they are teaching me patience, too.

Hello Ladies....

Today was a day to check on the bees. Their jar of sugar syrup has a bit in it so I left them to finish and alleviate some of the work they have drawing out the comb. I had hoped to fill the second brood box with the rest of the frames but his will have to wait until the syrup snacking is through.

I took the opportunity to flip the entrance reducer. I think they are getting organized enough that a larger opening is a good idea. I inadvertently flipped their entrance to the opposite side. It caused a bit of confusion as you can see.

Once the larger entrance was positioned where the original entrance was all seemed to be right with the hive.

Aren't they amazing?

Hive Sweet Hive

After following a master and receiving information only years of experience can impart, I arrived home with my bees. The ladies noisily arrived surrounding the queen tucked inside in her own little box within. Here the feeding can is pried from the box.


After a quick spray of simple syrup and a tap on the ground the queen is removed and the girls are delicately "dumped" into the brood box. I think my technique needs work but they seemed to have landed safely.


The little wooden box in the middle is the queen. It has a candy plug that she and her ladies in waiting eat through to free her. The others are gently brushed in before covering and setting in a feeding jar to get them started.

I am now the proud mother of another brood. I must admit that I do feel a bit giddy like a new mom. I am constantly looking out the window just to see the hive sitting in the corner of my garden. Anticipating. While I am grateful I won't be awakened every two hours as with a new baby, I do want to constantly check on them.

I have to wait a week before disturbing them. Until then, I'll enjoy looking out the window and knowing they are busy at work.

Thanks to Jake for acting as photographer. I think these are the first pictures of me since I delivered him. Ha,ha,ha!

No, seriously.