Foodie Friends, come join us on June 10 and 11 in Dallas as we participate in the Taste for Dallas event! 

The Taste of Dallas is the largest summertime food and beverage event in Dallas and focuses on foodies.  This is the 31st year for this event, which features over 250 participants and exhibitors, including:

• More than 60 restaurants, food trucks, as well as 20 craft beer breweries
  
  
• The 2017 Live Fire; bar-b-que, burgers, brews (presented by Napoleon Gourmet Grills)

• Over 50,000 square feet of indoor Family Fun Zone (presented by Direct Energy)

• An indoor Taste Marketplace for shopping, music and entertainment, and more (This is where you will find Lone Star Bee Company’s infused honeys!)

 
The Taste Marketplace showcases a unique mix of foods, cooking demonstrations, and food samplings from specialty vendors.  Wander the aisles packed with a variety of sinfully delicious and unique culinary creations and commodities.  Sample and bring home tastes from one-of-a-kind exhibitors offering handmade spices, sauces, dips, olive oils, jams and more.  Take time to peruse the exceptionally wide selection of contemporary vendors, artists and craftsmen plying their trade and selling their wares.
 
We’d love to see our foodie friends in Dallas, so join us at Fair Park, 3600 Grand Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75210.  This event benefits the North Texas Food Bank as the Charity Partner: https://www.ntfb.org/.
 
See you there!

We humans are so lucky to have air conditioning in the summertime, especially here in southeast Texas, where on average high temperatures can reach more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit several times each year.  Bees, on the other hand, have to work to keep their hives at a perfect temperature to ensure proper development of their brood; between about 91 and 97 Fahrenheit.

Honey bees are very efficient in cooling their hives. One method bees use is to position themselves along the landing board in the front of their hive and energetically fan their wings to draw air outside the hive and create air circulation within the hive.  The bees will also bring extra water into their hive to keep it cool.  They may bring up to a gallon of water in one day and distribute it around the hive to function as a coolant.

Bees also regulate the hive temperature by working as a team and clustering together on the outside of their hive.  This phenomenon is called “bearding”.  Bearding together outside the hive helps to prevent congestion inside the hive, removing extra body heat and lowering the internal hive temperature.

We beekeepers also have a role in assisting the bees in keeping their hive cool.  First, when we originally installed our hives, we strategically positioned them along a mature tree line so that the afternoon sun is blocked by shade from the trees.  Second, we use a screened inner cover instead of a solid wooden cover inside the top of the hives, which allows for inflow of air.  On steamy days, hot air has a better chance to escape.  These strategies keep the bees from having to work as hard to regulate the hive temperature.

Hive temperature regulation is very important all year long, and as we approach another hot summer, we will keep a close eye on our hives to be certain they remain healthy in the bee yard.  

Every hive of bees has only one queen.  She communicates with her colony by using pheromones.  The bees respond to her and generally the hive will work together as a single unit.

Occasionally, a hive will require a replacement queen.  Perhaps the original queen has died, or is no longer a productive egg layer.  The photo above shows a colony of bees meeting their new queen for the first time.  This queen was purchased from another beekeeper who reared her and placed her in this tiny wooden box called a queen cage.   The queen cage is hollow on one side and is covered by a screen to allow the bees to interact with the queen.   Fondant has been placed inside the cage for two reasons; as food source for the bees, and to slow down the queens progress in escaping.  Once the fondant has been completely eaten by the bees, an escape route will be presented and the queen will exit the cage and join her new colony.  This process will take a few days and it is a good thing because by then, the bees will be accustomed to her pheromones and will accept her as their new queen.

Come join the fun with our friends at BeeGoods Mercantile in Navasota, Texas!  It will be a great day full of honey bee adventures!

 
We are super excited to have our Lucky Lime & Sea Salt Clover and Fiery Sweet Mesquite honeys on the shelf at Texas Hill Country Olive Company in Dripping Springs, Texas!  Their beautiful property, just outside of Austin, makes for a great destination on a weekend road trip through the scenic Texas Hill Country.  

Cinco de Mayo is a pretty big deal in history, but do you know why?  May 5th commemorates the Mexican Army's improbable defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
 
We often have “taco night” at our house and Mark makes the best margaritas.  Here’s one of his fun recipes using our Lucky Lime & Sea Salt Clover honey…enjoy!
 
     1 oz. Don Julio Anejo Tequila
     1 oz. Cointreau
     1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
     1 oz. Lucky Lime & Sea Salt Clover Honey
 
Rim the margarita glass using the Lucky Lime & Sea Salt Clover Honey and salt.

If you are feeling adventurous, use our Fiery Sweet Mesquite Honey in place of the Lucky Lime & Sea Salt Clover Honey.  It's amazing, too!
 
Tip for using honey in cocktails: When a cocktail recipe calls for ice, it works best to use a shaker to mix honey with alcohol BEFORE adding ice into the mix.  This method incorporates the honey consistently throughout the cocktail.