Welcome to our farm and our blog! 

We get so busy working that we forget some of  you might like to know what it's like living on a remote Hawaiian island, collecting wild bees, then collecting their special honey, and raising a family all at the same time.  We've decided to help you see a glimpse of what our life is like.  Hopefully we'll be diligent in updating it for you.

Last evening we added another colony to our apiaries.  This one had made its hive in a small shed on an old avocado farm.  We stayed on that very farm in our early days here on Molokai, so it was nice to be back after 12 years.  It was a nice gentle hive, fairly small containing perhaps only 5,000 bees (our fully operational hives have about 60,000), but it will be nurtured along and ready to produce honey for us by Spring. 

We had to remove the outside wall of the shed to get to the hive.  We carefully transferred all the bees into a vacuum box while we cut their comb away from the wall and placed it in the frames of their new home.  When we got to our apiary, we introduced the bees to their new home.  We think they'll like it and hopefully decide to stay. 

This is how we've developed our apiaries, one hive at a time.  When people call us and complain about honey bees living where they're not wanted, we relocate them to our apiaries.  We have to be gentle with them and consider what living conditions they require to make sure they're happy enough to stay with us.  Some stay, some move on. 

Our son helped with the relocation while the girls kept the farm owner entertained with their antics.  They have all developed great communication skills and are able to communicate with people of all ages because of their interaction with our community in our bee removals.  This has been an invaluable element in our homeschool that would have been difficult to teach otherwise.

Our oldest daughter decided to finally put some of her beeswax candles in the online store, so look for them as soon as they're approved.  Her beeswax is certified organic, and she uses cotton wicks.  This is her own little business.

As Decmeber comes to a close, we're greeted daily with the whales outside our dining room window.  They'll be here for us to watch until  Spring.  We're having a cold spell where it doesn't get much above 70F in the days.  We've also been blessed with an additional kiawe bloom this year.  Usually the blooms go on and off from March to October.  Here it is December with kiawe blossoms.  More honey will be on its way!