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How to Use Pollen

12/14/2015

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When you purchase pollen from us, it will always be delivered frozen. There are some companies that sell dehydrated pollen. There is nothing wrong with this pollen, but we prefer to have fresh pollen, and to maintain its freshness without it molding, it must be stored in the freezer.

So, if you purchase pollen from us, please place it in your freezer as soon as you get home.

Pollen is extremely potent. It is straight up, raw, unadulterated pollen. It comes straight from the plant, flower, or tree, and it may be the nasty little beast that causes your seasonal allergies (depending on when the pollen is harvested and what is blooming at the time).

We strongly caution anyone who purchases our pollen to start out with only 3-4 granules. Yes, I said granules.
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Do you see each of the little granules above? Yes, start out with only 3-4 of them. I know it doesn't seem like much, but there is power in those little granules. If you take too many at once when you first start taking pollen, it acts like a laxative and will clean you from the inside out. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but if you're planning on being cleaned out, then start small.

Over the next several weeks and/or months, you'll GRADUALLY increase your daily dose to 1 teaspoon a day. To do this, simply add 2-3 granules every 5-6 days so that your body can adjust to the new pollen intake.

Contact us if you have any questions when you are using pollen. We'd be happy to answer any questions!
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Gathering Pollen

12/11/2015

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When bees are gathering pollen and nectar, they store the pollen on pollen baskets on their legs. See the pollen on their hind legs in the photo below? Those are the pollen baskets. 
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When the bees fly into the hive with pollen-laden baskets, they fly into specific holes in the pollen trap (when Bubba has it turned on), and the pollen is brushed off their hind legs and deposited in a tray inside the hive. (see image below).
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About 2-3 times a week (during peak season), Bubba pulls the tray from each pollen trap, so that we can clean it. We simply clean it to remove the bee parts (much like chaffing wheat).

Once the pollen is clean, we measure it into bags, label it, and place it in the freezer.
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Our pollen must be stored in the freezer. There is a very high moisture content in raw pollen and if left out on the counter, it will mold. So, when you purchase pollen from Bubba's Beez, please store it in the freezer to maintain its freshness and to prevent mold.
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Need Stocking Stuffers?

12/6/2015

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Now is a great time to stock up on stocking stuffers. We have many to choose from:
  • ​Lip balms
  • Body balms
  • Soaps
  • Honey bears
  • Beeswax hearts

Right now we are offering a 25% discount on all of our soaps and balms. Use coupon code MERRY and save. We'll even ship to your family and friends.
​
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Christmas already?

11/29/2015

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It's hard to believe that Christmas is upon us. We are in the midst of Black Friday sales and then pretty soon it'll be time to deck the halls and then Christmas break will be here, then Christmas Eve service, and finally Christmas Day. It'll be here before you know it.

We hope that your family had an awesome Thanksgiving. We spent the day with my family in Bastrop and today we're doing a little on-line Christmas shopping...so much easier than braving the traffic, other customers, and tempers. No thanks. 

We're hosting our own little Black Friday special here at Bubba's Beez. Everything is 15% off with the coupon code THANKS. No need to face the frenzy. We have honey, soap, coobooks, body balms, and lip balms. There's plenty to go around. Make your own gift baskets, just add what you need from our store. 

If you'd rather avoid the shipping fees, send us an email and we'll figure out a good time to meet. After all, Christmas is still 30+ days away ... just don't wait too long because time flies. ;)

Blessings,
Meredith
​(aka Bubba's Mom)
Shop Black Friday Sale
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Order Your Shirt Today!

11/13/2015

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ORDER NOW
Bubba's Beez has launched a Booster campaign to help raise funds for beekeeping equipment next spring. Keeping bees can be expensive, especially as the number of hives (and therefore honey production) increases. We're talking about hive boxes, queen bees (as Bubba splits his hives), frames, an extractor, etc. All of these things help us to grow the apiary...one hive at a time.

We have a goal of selling 50 shirts between now and December 11th. It's a very short window (only 29 days left) to meet our goal and deadline. If we can sell at least 13 shirts the order will be printed. We have sold 6 so far as of today so any and all help we can get is greatly appreciated! (If you can post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and elsewhere with a link to our campaign that would be A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.).

We have 5 different styles available - either in black or heather gray. Youth sizes all the way up to 4XL for adults. 

ORDER TODAY. Deliver is scheduled for December 30th. Your shirts will be mailed to you. OR, purchase as a gift and have the shirt delivered to your friend or family!

Thank you in advance for your help. We greatly appreciate it. The shirts have a cool design and you'll be the envy of all your friends.

Thank you!
ORDER NOW!
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Body Balm on Leather?

11/1/2015

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 Our Bubba's Beez Body Balm has many uses, but one of the things that I really love about it (other than how soft it makes my hands), is that it really amazing on leather products. Since our body balms only contain two ingredients (with no preservatives), they generally last for a year before they get a little gummy. However, this is when they are perfect for buffing leather products.

Below are my favorite lace-up boots. I think I've had them for about 10 years and they are really worn in and loved. The boot on the left has been buffed with the Bubba's Beez Body Balm and the one on the right has not. As you can see, there's a big difference in the overall look of the shoe. 

Normally I'll take a cloth and a dollop of body balm, rub it into the shoe, and then I buff it off with a clean rag. The beeswax protects the leather and the grapeseed oil helps to moisturize the leather. It's a win-win for me! My boots last longer and I can use all of the body balm without it going to waste.

You can use older body balm on any leather product:
  • Belts
  • Shoes
  • Boots
  • Purses
  • Couch
  • Gun holder
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How to Clean Beeswax

7/16/2015

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There are several ways to clean beeswax. If you have access to a solar wax melter then that makes the process a bit easier, but we don't have one. I use a somewhat different method that works quite well and has since we started cleaning our own beeswax in 2011. And the beautiful part is that anyone with raw, dirty beeswax can do this from home without any special equipment.

We use beeswax in all of our lip balms and body balms so cleaning the beeswax makes it usable for our products (no stray bee legs or dirtiness from the hive).

So, how do you go from this (beeswax cappings):
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to this:
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Before I explain the steps involved, here are a few key tips to remember:

  • Use a pot or utensils that you don’t need any longer.  Beeswax is very difficult to remove and it’s just easier to part with a pot you no longer want or need than to use one of your good ones.
  • Do not leave the beeswax unattended.  It can easily catch on fire (as any wax can).
  • Melt the wax on a lower setting, not high.
  • Be patient with this process, it takes awhile.

Okay, now that I’ve said those things, let’s move on to cleaning the wax.
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  • Fill your pot with water to about halfway and add the unclean comb.  Don’t stuff the pot though.
  • Turn the heat to medium or medium-low and let it melt.  When the beeswax has melted and is boiling with the water, then turn off the heat.  Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool down completely.  This takes some time, so don’t hover over it.  I’ll even allow mine to cool overnight.  As the beeswax cools, it’ll separate from the water and the dirty particles that were in the comb.  The beeswax floats on the top and the other particles and water settle underneath it. 
  • Once you’ve removed the melted wax, set it on paper towels to drain. On the bottom of the wax there will still be lots of particles, etc.  Cut these away with a sharp knife so that all you’re left with is a slab of wax.  It’ll still be somewhat dirty, but that’s okay for now.
  • Throw out the dirty water (but not down the sink as any particles and beeswax will clog your drain).
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  • When you’ve removed all the major particles you can, the final step involves melting the wax without the water.  
  • Clean the pot as best you can to remove any of the dirty particles and wax.  To be safe, you’ll want to do this in a double-broiler or at least put your smaller pot in a larger pot of water so that your pot with the wax does not sit directly on the burner.  If the wax gets too hot it can ignite.  
  • Add your semi-clean wax to the pot, turn the burner on low.
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  • While the wax is melting, cut up an old, but clean, pair of stockings. I simply cut the feet off of them and stretch them over the openings of a clean containers (i.e. smaller margarine tubs, yogurt cups, or even milk cartons – not the plastic kind). Or, you can even use cheesecloth or another fabric that has larger holes for the wax to pour them (but small enough that the larger particles won't fall through).
  • Once the wax is completely melted, pour the wax over the stockings which filter out the bee particles and dirt so that you end up with clean wax.
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  • Allow the wax to cool completely (depending on the size of the container and how deep the wax is, this could take overnight).
  • Once it’s completely cool, you can cut away the container and store your beeswax until you’re ready to use it!
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Or, you could purchase your beeswax or beeswax products from us!
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Pesticides? I don't think so.

6/25/2015

3 Comments

 
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It's been asked if we use pesticides in our hives. The answer is absolutely not! We do not use chemicals in or or around the hives, let alone on our property. We are very particular about what we use so that the bees are not exposed to anything harmful. In particular, when we treat problems in the hive it's with natural methods. For example, to treat for varroa mites we simply use powdered sugar. This is such a simple technique. 

Powdered Sugar Varroa Mite Treatment

Tools:
Sifter (plain ol' kitchen sifter)
Powdered Sugar

Fill the sifter with powdered sugar. Open the hive. Sift sugar over the top of the hive so that it covers the bees. The sugar sticks to the bees, the mites fall off and can't re-enter the hive.

Voila! A simple, economical and pesticide-free way to manage your hive.
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New Body Balms!

6/20/2015

2 Comments

 
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We have recently re-vamped and added to our hand balm line. We have just launched a new label, new sizes, and a new scent! Our original hand balm is now Bubba's Body Balm and comes in a 2 ounce size. And, you can now purchase The Queen's Balm, which has a very subtle chamomile and lavender scent.

You can use either balm from head to toe. Brighten tats, soften skin, use as a pomade, or simply put it on your hands and feet. It's a beautiful product in its simplicity.

Never tested on animals (although with the few natural ingredients that are in these balms it wouldn't harm an animal). 

You can purchase one or both of them here!
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A Little Bit of Honey Trivia

5/11/2015

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How about a little honey trivia today? We won't take a test on it at the end of the day, but it's interesting little bits of "fun facts" for your Wednesday. Enjoy!

1. How many flowers must honey bees tap to make one pound of honey?
    Two million.

2. How far does a hive of bees fly to bring you one pound of honey?
    Over 55,000 miles.

3. How much honey does the average worker honey bee make in her lifetime?
    1/12 teaspoon.

4. How fast does a honey bee fly?
    About 15 miles per hour.

5. How much honey would it take to fuel a bee’s flight around the world?
  About one ounce.

6. What is mead?
  Honey wine.

7. How long have bees been producing honey from flowering plants?
Since God created the bees during the creation of the world.

8. What Scottish liqueur is made with honey?
  Drambuie

9. How many sides does each honeycomb cell have?
  Six

10. What is the U.S. per capita consumption of honey?
  On average, each person consumes about 1.3 pounds per year.

11. What state is known as the beehive state?
  Utah

12. How many wings does a honey bee have?
  Four

13. How many beekeepers are there in the United States?
  USDA has estimated that there are between 139,600 and 212,000 beekeepers in the United States.  Most are hobbyists with less than 25 hives.

14. How many honey-producing colonies of bees are there in the United States?
  The USDA estimates that there are approximately 2.68 million honey producing colonies.  This estimate is based on beekeepers who managed five or more colonies in 2010.

15. How many flowers does a honey bee visit during one collection trip?
  50-100.

16. How do honey bees communicate with one another?
  “Dancing.”  Honey bees do a dance which alerts other bees where nectar and pollen was located.  The dance explains direction and distance.  Bees also communicate with pheromones.

17. What does “super” mean to a beekeeper?
  The super is the hive box in which honey is stored. 
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