Nearly all done in Saskatchewan!

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Today's reading time: 3 minutes

A throwback photo from fall 2020 when we loaded up the semi-trailer for the move to Vancouver Island!

What's new on the farm:

Things are winding down here in Saskatoon, and we are looking forward to the move to Vancouver Island.

First off, I'm so glad to share that we had our inspection last Friday and our bees have a clean bill of health.

Out of 40 hives they sampled, they only found 4 mites. That bodes well for the health of our bees!

We are planning to head out in one week, before the end of October.

Every season, moving the bees is stressful.

To get the bees out west, we have to drive them out there.

There are so many variables you have to think about.

How are the road conditions? Will it snow? Is the truck running well? Can we get them onto the ferry without incident?

In the first few years, Andrew would load the bees into the back of our 5-ton box truck and drive them out himself.

We'd get the truck inspected and tuned up before we leave and then...

One year, 6 hours into the drive, somewhere in Alberta, the truck would break down.

Can you imagine what the shops thought when we called around for help?

"Hey, can you come by to fix our truck? Also, it's loaded with a few million bees?"

The next year, we made it about 1300 km in, and then the truck broke down in Merritt, in the interior of British Columbia.

That year, Andrew decided to get it towed to Vancouver (about 3 hours), where he luckily found a shop that would take it in.

The next day, heavy rain fell across the whole lower mainland in BC. It caused huge floods in several cities, including Merritt!

Entire roads were washed out, and so many homes, vehicles, and businesses were flooded.

So despite the initial bad luck that year, we were lucky that we got the truck out before the floods.

Even when the drive is going well, there are other things to worry about.

When you have several hundred hives loaded into a closed truck, the heat of the bees can heat the truck up fast.

If they get overheated, they can die.

So every few hours, Andrew opened the back of the truck to let cool air in. If there was snow outside, he would shovel it on top of the hives.

After many harrowing trips and gray hairs, Andrew no longer wanted to take on the stress of driving the bees on his own.

Once we had enough hives to fill a semi-trailer, we began working with a driver who had experience moving bees for other beekeepers.

Andrew would be able to get to the island ahead of time and prepare the yards and equipment for the incoming bees.

Then me and another crew member would load the hives onto the semi-trailer.

The trailer was open, so the bees would have lots of ventilation.

We would cover the whole load with a thick double-net so the bees wouldn't fly out and get left behind.

Then the driver would take the bees across the prairies, over the mountains, on the ferry, and to the island.

Even though we can be at the mercy of his schedule and his truck, it is way less stress than taking it on ourselves.

And despite all this stress, it's so worth it.

The bees get so much extra natural food early in the spring. And the weather is much milder which is easier on them.

So like all the challenges that pop up, we just have to roll with it and move forward.

Chai Honey Cake

Fall is the season for pumpkin spice for most folks, but I'm a masala chai lover.

I found a recipe for Chai Honey Cake that would be perfect to serve with an afternoon chai latte.

I love adding our chai honey as the glaze to add some extra spiced notes.

The recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar in the main cake, but you can replace all or a portion of that with honey for a more moist, more flavorful sweetness.

Use 3/4 cup (255 grams) of honey for every 1 cup of sugar that you want to replace.

Another bonus is that if you had lots of zucchini from your garden, this is also a great way to use up some of that crop!

Don't forget to steep a cup of your favorite loose leaf tea and add a generous scoop of our chai latte when you enjoy a slice!

Check out the recipe from Food52 to make this cake!