A living museum of bees - what a great idea!

Here is the laboratory when honey can be analysed. The next picture shows the extraction room where the honey is extracted from the combs. On the next floor down were the settling tanks. The honey flowed into these using natural gravity.

The bottling room.

A demonstration of how bees, when left alone, will build up their own comb.

The workshop - Frames with comb.

An old chestnut hive.

A cross section of a hive.

A replica of an apiary in the mountains built within a stone wall to keep the bears out. Note the use of chestnut stumps for hives

Outside apiaries.

Did the donkey get stung?

The patron saints of beekeepers.

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Bee Keepers Excursion - Cooperativa de Erica mel

We set off on our trip which was part of the organic beekeepers course organised by the local agricultural school. First stop was the honey cooperative which was an interesting insight into how honey from many different sources is managed and produced under the Miel de Galicia label.

The honey is poured into a large tank where it is heated to a specified temperature - This particular batch was mixed flower honey but both Chestnut and Eucalyptus honey were produced.

It then passess through several filters to ensure purity.

It was then passed through via pumps to be bottled and labelled.

Making Cider

Can't seem to do enough with all these apples! My Uncle's simple cider recipe came in very handy - I hope it tastes as good as his. We don't have a cider press so this recipe is ideal and neighbours have been asking for it.

Step 1 - cut the apples into quarters

Step 2 - pop them into the mixer if you have one to chop them finely if not it's a longer job by hand

Step 3 - put the apple into a large bucket and add the water, sugar, lemon juice and rind and grated root ginger if wanted

Step 4 - Stir twice daily for 3 weeks

The proportions of the recipe given to me were as follows:-

Steve's Cider Recipe

3 lbs apples

3 lemons

2 lb sugar
fresh grated ginger (optional)

Chop complete apples and put through blender

Place in bucket/ container add 6 pints water,lemon zest& juice and sugar

Stir twice daily for 3 weeks

Sieve and bottle (not too early as very lively...)

I actually multiplied it all to do 30 pounds of apples.

Will let you know how it turns out!

The grape harvest - Vendimia

I was fortunate enough to be offered some temporary work harvesting the grapes on the banks of the river Sil. Having no other income at the moment it was welcome. This is the famous Amandi region with some very steep precipices which had me wondering why I had cancelled my life assurance. The views were amazing. We were taken to different vineyards in different parts of the Amandi. I had never picked grapes before and it was hard work! We started at 8.15am and on one day finished at 8pm. We were fed four course meals with as much wine, beer and liqueurs or water as we wanted. After two and half days (I did it at the same time as the beekeeping course) I was covered in bruises and sliced my finger but the company was good and the scenery amazing. There were four different nationalities in the grape picking force which also made a nice mixture. How wine is sold so cheaply though I do not know as we scrambled over the rocky terraces and boxes of grapes were carried up and down the steep descents.