Picture Dump

Been spending more time behind the camera than in front of it. Thought I would dump a few pics of what we've been up to for your viewing pleasure.

“Busy, busy, busy, is what we Bokononists whisper whenever we think of how complicated and unpredictable
the machinery of life really is.”

― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle

Olivia, inspecting.

Kim, copying.

Queen, crawling.

Worker, carrying.

Bees, festooning.

Neighbors, onlooking.

Frames, foundationless.

Ladies, curious.

Shelly, educating.

Plant, pollinating.

Nurses, caring.

Honey, dripping.

I feel like my photography has improved since I started the blog. My equipment has, at least. Wish I could say the same about my writing!

Boo...

It's raining, it's pouring, the public hive inspections are canceled. 

You get the idea. No bees in the rain. Individual bees have less thermal mass than a raindrop. When a worker gets caught in the rain outside the hive, she will do her best to take shelter. If she gets wet, it is likely that she will lose so much heat that her wing muscles will cease to function. Without those muscles, she can't warm herself and she will die. 

I think there is a Death Cab For Cutie song along those lines....

Highline Honey Day

Hey All,

I'm bringing the observation hive to the High Line Honey day, along with some raw honey for sale. We'll be in the Artisanal Honey Market, just south of the 14th street entrance from 2-7PM. Hot damn!

Taste your way through New York City’s first artisanal honey market. Friends of The High Line and the Brooklyn Grange Farm invite you to meet beekeepers from all five boroughs at this pop-up gathering of spectacular, sustainable, hyper-local food producers.
Meet the beekeepers and take home a jar of your favorite borough’s honey.
Get an up-close-and-personal look at the inside of a beehive through a glass-paned demonstration hive. Sharpen your eyes to spot the queen bee, or catch a glimpse of the nuanced “waggle dance” that bees use to communicate the location of nectar hot spots. Learn which High Line plants these pollinators love to snack on.

VIEW & DOWNLOAD a guide to High Line Honey Day

LOCATION
14 Street Passage
On the High Line at 14th Street

Here is my blurb, for anyone interested:

Timothy ONeal of BoroughBees.com is a New York City public school biology teacher who maintains and consults on hives throughout New York City. He has kept bees for almost 20 years and got his first two hives in middle school. He was as popular as that implies.

He and a team of beekeepers from BoroughBees will join the High Line Honey Day festivities with an observation hive containing several thousand workers, a few hundred drones, and a single queen bee. See if you can spot her!

He will also be selling a limited quantity of seasonal foundationless comb honey, ethically harvested from treatment-free hives located in Fort Greene, Gowanus, and Prospect Heights.

I will have LINDEN honey from Prospect Heights and Fort Greene, as well as a very limited amount of FOUNDATIONLESS COMB HONEY. Maui wowie!

See you there!

c. Alex Brown Photography 2014

Extraction Update

Hey all! Remember that the extraction happening at the Brooklyn Kitchen this Sunday (July 27th) is totally open to the public! If you just want to come watch, buy honey, or ask questions, show up any time! You don't even need to sign up! We'll be in the Brooklyn Kitchen lab/classroom in the back!

If you are bringing honey to extract, please make sure you pick up an appropriate number of time slots on the schedule (http://doodle.com/adrga5q276zd9b9r) and EMAIL ME the number of supers you are going to bring so I can make sure everyone will have enough time! Hit me up at info+extraction@boroughbees.com .

Yes, that email is correct. Plus sign and everything.

Extraction Day!

Join us for a FREE Honey Extraction Event, hosted by BoroughBees, NYC Beekeeping, and The Brooklyn Kitchen.

Ever wonder how honey gets from the hive to your table? Feel free to come watch the honey flow and ask all the honey-related questions you've been dying to ask! Tim and Shelly from BoroughBees.com will be on hand with answers!

Got a bumper crop of Linden honey that you're just itching to extract and sell? NYC Beekeeping has provided the use of their new uncapping machine and motorized extractor! Sign up at http://www.facebook.com/NYCBeekeeping/events for a FREE extraction time slot! You'll even have the chance to sell your honey on site at the Brooklyn Kitchen! BYO Bottles or buy them direct from The Brooklyn Kitchen!

Sunday, July 27th, 12-6PM
The Brooklyn Kitchen, 100 Frost Street

BUG DAY

Hey All,

We'll be at the NY Hall of Science today with a fancy new Ulster observation hive. If you have any kids, or haven't killed off your own sense of wonder with carefully sculpted New York City cynicism, come on out and eat a cricket or something. Here's their blurb:

Celebrate bugs with entomologists and bee keepers at this one-day event. Activities include bug eating, hissing cockroaches from NYSCI and the New York City Entomological Society, a local beekeeper with honey, a lady bug release, carnivorous plant workshops, the BioBus and much more. Free with NYSCI admission. http://nysci.org/event/bug-day/

It's happening at the NY Hall of Science today between Noon and 4 PM!

Brower Park Butterfly Garden

Hi All,

We'll have our observation hive out in Brower Park today to celebrate the creation of a new "Pollinator Garden"! Come out any time today between 11-4 to see the bees, some Monarch caterpillars, and possibly snag some kettle corn (while it lasts.) If you want, you can even get your hands dirty, planting some tasty, tasty flowers!