Basking Bee Farm and Apiary is a small farm producing honey, eggs, and limited quantities of bee pac
Operating as usual
The Loudoun Beekeepers Association has a booth at the Purcellville Holiday Market and Basking Bee honey is available. Todd will be at the booth so feel free to ask questions as you shop. The Holiday Market is today from 1 to 6 pm at Bush Tabernacle at 250 South Nursery Avenue.
While visions of muth jars danced in their heads…
Muth jars make great stocking stuffers for those who love honey or are looking for something a little different. We have them in 1 lb, 8 oz, and 4 oz sizes.
Come see us at Vanish’s Holiday Sip and Shop. We’re here from 11 am to 5 pm today!
Wondering what to do with your pumpkins now that Halloween is over? Consider giving them to a farm! Our cows and chickens LOVE pumpkins and we’re happy to give your pumpkins a purpose.
We have seasonal shapes and mugs available at Vanish in Lucketts today.
It’s a gorgeous day out at Vanish Brewery in Lucketts. Come out and see us and support Loudoun Community Cat Coalition!
We are set up at 550 E Main St, Purcellville today. Hope to see you.
Tomorrow, Basking Bee will have a table set up at the Purcellville Tag Sale. We will be set up by the red barn by Doopio Bunny Coffee at 550 E Main Street. Stop by and say hi! We will have lots of honey available for you to buy.
Our honey harvest is in and it’s delicious! This year’s honey is a pale amber with a green undertone. The green is from a high percentage of Autumn Olive which was blooming heavily earlier this year. Please keep us in mind if you need honey!
Bees are fascinating! https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/07/29/bee-cognition-insect-intelligence-research/?fbclid=IwAR3VeJd7fLiw66WFmBjY3VFJP41ra4j-95mGDoim9Fz53wrQr0jVBAvUaKo
Experiments indicate that bees have surprisingly rich inner worlds.
It’s girl! Fern delivered her first calf overnight and we have named her Fennel.
It’s swarm season. After several cold, rainy days, I glanced out my office window to see the telltale tornado of swarming bees. We went out to investigate and found three swarms; one in an Autumn Olive tree right next to the apiary, one on a hive in the apiary, and one settling in on our hay feeder. The Autumn Olive is a favorite resting spot for swarms which makes the swarms that go there easy to catch. Todd has captured the queen of the swarm on the box. He has installed her and some prepared frames into a box. Her swarm will join her shortly. He swept the ones from the tree into a bucket and will transfer them to a box. After that, he will address the swarm on the hay feeder.
We are set up at Vanish and ready for you! So bring your Mom, treat her to a beer and visit the vendors!
Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. If you’re taking your Mom to Vanish brewery, we will be there, selling honey. It may be a rainy day but the hospitality at Vanish is always welcoming.
Come see us at the Loudoun United game at the Philip K Bolen Park. We’re set up and ready for you.
Basking Bee Farm and Apiary closes at noon today. We need time to set up a sales table at the Loudoun United soccer game at Segra Field located in the Philip K Bolen park. Please join us for this Loudoun Made, Loudoun Grown event. Doors open at 4:45. Game starts at 5:45. Please stop by and see us!
We are excited to announce that Maple has given birth to a heifer calf we have named Marigold.
We have been able to sell some mics of bees to customers this year. If a customer wants their queen marked, we are able to do so. The International Color for 2022 queens is yellow.
Pictured below is a nuc being prepared for a customer. The nuc includes 5 frames of drawn comb with brood and food stores, about 3 lbs of bees and a bred queen who is already laying. While mics are more expensive than packages of bees, they tend to be more successful getting established because the frames of drawn comb with resources helps the hive get started. Comb is expensive in terms of energy to produce.
Dandelions are blooming and will continue to bloom through the upcoming warm months. Dandelions are an important source of nectar for honey bees. If you’re used to spraying them to get rid of them, consider switching to a dandelion weeding fork. By not spraying herbicides, you’re reducing the amount of poisons the bees are exposed to which helps keep the hive healthy. By using the dandelion weeding fork, you can let the bees collect the nectar before you pluck the dandelion from the ground. As you can see here, the fork leaves a very small hole in the ground which is easy to press closed after you remove the faded dandelion.
Today, we added apple and serviceberry trees to the orchard we planted in the Fall. The plums, peaches, and pears were all in bloom, having survived the winter.
Come out to Vanish Brewery in Lucketts today for their Sip and Shop event featuring local vendors. Basking Bee has a table set up! We look forward to seeing you here today. Doors open at 11 am.
Spring returns to Basking Bee which means we have opened our front pasture to the herd. They love spending the days in the front pasture when the weather is mild.
In July, we shared that our hives were inspected and samples were taken to participate in the APIS Survey. We just got our results and are very pleased. At the time of testing, our hives had very low viral and parasite loads. Overall hive health was excellent and our results were ranked in the top 10% of hives tested. ❤️🐝❤️
If you’re planning to stop by Basking Bee this weekend, please factor in the weather. Come either today or tomorrow morning. We don’t want you to get stuck on Tankerville once the storm starts. Stay safe and warm.
Need some beautiful, big eggs for breakfast? Swing by Basking Bee. Our hens are working overtime and we have about 12 dozen available to purchase. Our hens free range daily. While you’re here, we can fill your honey order too.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays from all of us at Basking Bee Farm and Apiary!
The MADE Artisan Market opens today! Stop in for your locally made holiday gifts. Basking Bee honey is available at the market. https://www.madeloudoun.com/
We are participating at the Made Artisan Market through the holiday season. So if you’re in Leesburg and want some Basking Bee honey or access to other locally crafted goods, stop by the market. There will be paintings, jewelry, pottery, and much more. It’s at 1609 Village Market Blvd and is open Thursdays through Sundays. https://www.madeloudoun.com/
Topaz delivered her first baby today! We’re so excited to have this baby in the herd.
Congratulations to R & S on their marriage! They contacted us to see if we could help with their wedding favors. Here’s the sample that we put together for them. They selected the 3 oz skep jar, personalized labels, bee charms, and the mini honey dipper.
We wish them a marriage filled with love and laughter.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to help make your celebration special!
Today, we’re spreading 5,600 lbs of lime on the main pasture to sweeten the ground and reduce weeds.
The Bluemont Fair is this weekend and we will be CLOSED on Saturday as a result. The Loudoun Beekeepers Association has a booth selling honey. The booth is staffed by wonderful LBA volunteers who are happy to speak with you about bees and honey. The demonstration hive that will be on display is one of our hives.
So, if you need honey this weekend and are going to the fair, there will be plenty available. If you’re not going to the fair and plan to come to Basking Bee, we will be happy to serve you on Sunday.
https://www.bluemontfair.org/
A country fair in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains We will see you on September 18 & 19, 2021 (10 am – 5 pm each day) for the 51st Bluemont Fair! Admission: $10, Children 9 and Under are Free. Sorry, no pets. Welcome to the Bluemont Fair! Bring your family and friends to the annual Blu....
If you ever visit Basking Bee on a sunny afternoon and wonder where our herd is, they’re just cooling themselves in the stream.
A honeybee forages on a Wingstem bloom.
After three years of talking about it, we have started the orchard. Todd and his father are planting pear, plum, cherry, and peach trees. In the future, we will add apricot and apple trees. The blooms will provide resources for our honeybees as well as the many native pollinators.
A French bee keeper has invented a trap for the murder hornets. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-beekeeper-tackling-murder-hornet-invasion-with-home-made-trap-2021-08-26/
Faced with the loss of 35 hives to the invasive Asian hornet, French beekeeper Denis Jaffré knew he had to act quickly to save his bees.
Our bottle babies had a great time after dinner tonight. Our rooster was not impressed.
Today, the Reston Bike Club is having their annual Century ride which involves nearly 1,000 bicyclists riding 100 miles. The map we originally saw showed the ride going along both roads that connect to ours. This morning, the route looks different. So, Basking Bee is open for our normal hours today. However, if you come, PLEASE use extra caution and patience as you may encounter hundreds of bicyclists on our narrow country roads. We hope the ride is a success and that everyone is safe and healthy today.
https://restonbikeclub.org/event-4295276
Reston Bicycle Club
40738 Tankerville Road
Lovettsville, VA
20180
| Saturday | 10am - 4pm |
| Sunday | 10am - 4pm |
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Our bottle babies had a great time after dinner tonight. Our rooster was not impressed.
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