#maple falls

[vintagecamping]

Postcard from the past...

Mount Baker, Washington, November 18th 1963

[wwuheritageresources]

Civilian Conservation Corps photographs from the Vic and Mae Olsen CCC collection at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies. Photos from top: Camp Glacier near Maple Falls, WA; Camp Skagit near Bacon Creek; Bulldozer driven by Fuller used to create roads; fish caught by Reggie; and pets in formation. All photos circa 1933.

Vic and Mae Olsen CCC collection. Center for Pacific Northwest Studies. Heritage Resources. Western Libraries. WWU

[pacificnorthwesthoney-blog]

A new barrel hoist (photos from last summer)

Well, here it is new years day, too cold for both the bees and me.  So it’s “catch up” time from last summer’s events.   A friend rigged a new barrel hoist for me that hooks to the front of my tractor, and this is its story.

Barrel Hoist On Tractor Moving Barrels At Brookfield Farm

A bit of background:  I sell honey from my own hives and from friends here in Washington who, like me, run…

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[pacificnorthwesthoney-blog]

Fireweed: a lovely plant, a delicious honey

“Fireweed, what is it?” I get asked this question quite often at my booth at the Ballard Farmers Market in Seattle. Usually when someone is holding one of the two raw fireweed honeys we have on the table: A fireweed/snowberry from northwest Washington and a fireweed/wildflower from Mt. Rainier.

Fireweed/Snowberry & Fireweed/Wildflower

Fireweed (Chamaenerion angstifolium) is a beautiful flower…

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[pacificnorthwesthoney-blog]

Beekeeping After Hip Replacement Surgery

In June of this year, I had my left hip replaced. I like to think of it as a rebuilt: my truck is on its second engine, I’m on my second hip. Now I can think of it with pleasure, but in early 2017 when the surgeon said, “total hip replacement” I thought my world of beekeeping had come to an end.

Happy Bees, Happy Beekeeper with new hip – 3 months after operation

Mind you, it had been getting…

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[mitziszereto]

Silver Lake Park in mid-September by Mitzi Szereto Via Flickr: Maple Falls, WA

[pacificnorthwesthoney-blog]

The Longest Winter

It’s been a long winter here in the mountains in the northwest corner of the lower 48 states. It started snowing the first week of December and has just recently stopped. We did have a 1 ½ week break where everything melted away – only to dump 3-4 feet on us in a matter of days.

  Snowy Hives

Now, for those of you from colder climates, say east of the Cascades to Maine in the northern lower 48…

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[pacificnorthwesthoney-blog]

Close Hives : Different Honeys

Close Hives : Different Honeys

I am labeling honey to take to the Seattle’s Ballard Farmers Market, where I have a booth every Sunday 10-3. When I got to the fabulous honey from my friend Mark at Northwest Queens, in Arlington, Washington, I realized I had a perfect time to muse about how honeys can be different from hives that are close together.

Mark takes his hives upriver on the Stillaguamish – a river that starts in the…

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