STORY BY JOANNA GAINES
PHOTOGRAPHY BY COREY O’CONNELL
BEEKEEPING CONSULTANT TIMOTHY TITTLEY
PHOTOGRAPH (PAPER) BY KATJABAKUROVA / ADOBE STOCK
WHAT THE BEES TEACH US ABOUT CARING AND BEING CARED FOR IN RETURN.
“I tried to say hello to as many bees as possible.” These are often my youngest son’s first words to me each morning. It’s an admission I know already. When I hear the bottom kitchen cupboard open, the clink of porcelain bowls being pushed aside until he finds the one, blue-and-white and the size of his palm, I know to make my way to the window, where I’ll watch Crew march out to the garden and pull the pollen from a handful of flowers, place it in the bowl, and wait for the bees to find their breakfast.
Crew was only 3 years old when we welcomed our first family of bees to the farm. Four years ago, it was mostly an experiment. I’d become intrigued by the process of beekeeping, and of course, swooned at photos of honey dripping from the hive frames, overflowing in jars.
We set up the bees in their new homes and got to the work of caring for them, but within six months, three of our six hives completely failed. That first year passed without a single drop of golden goodness.
Year two was our first true harvest. That day, honey spilled out in every direction. I was amazed, surprised, and grateful all at once. Really, I couldn’t believe it had worked. We’d put in two years’ worth of effort, and the reward was far sweeter than I’d imagined.
Our family has continued to tend to our hives ever since, with my son Duke leading the harvest every fall and Crew taking on the role of caretaker of the bees (recently he built a beeline from the hives to a nearby fence to “make it easier for the bees to get around”). I couldn’t have anticipated my kids falling in love with beekeeping the way they have. But to witness it grow their reverence for nature, their belief in wonder, their willingness to be nurturers for the good of nature and the bees, which in turn, becomes the good of us all, has made me more convinced than ever that this is how I want my kids to witness the world at work—hand in hand with us.
When it came time to harvest this year’s honey, I invited the magazine team out to the farm to capture honey harvest day and how the process unfolds. Every fall, one lesson continues to ring true: Honey is a gift, whether harvested in your backyard or bottled and shelved at the grocery store. It is nature making good on its promise: Care for me, and I will care for you.
Time to Harvest
When the worker bees come back from gathering nectar in the gardens, they store it in hexagonal cells in the honeycomb. The bees then beat their wings to circulate air through the hive, evaporating the excess water until the nectar turns to honey. Once the nectar reaches 16–18 percent water, the bees cap the cell with a thin layer of beeswax, keeping the honey from going bad. Once you see a frame of honeycomb that’s at least three-quarters capped, you know it’s time to harvest!
Here’s a step-by-step look at what it takes to harvest honey from our hives.
Step One: Using a smoker, we first spray a few gentle puffs into the entrance of the hive to help calm the bees before opening it.
Step Two: Once we’ve removed the frames from the hives, we use a hot knife to melt and scrape the wax caps off the frames. We like to save the beeswax. It’s a great natural product you can use for lots of things, like candles or cosmetics.
Step Three: We place the frames into a centrifugal extractor, which will spin and pull the honey out of the cells and let it fall to the base.
Step Four: This is my favorite step! Using a spout and a strainer to sift out any beeswax bits or other debris, we collect the honey in a large bucket. We’re left with pure golden honey!
Step Five: We pour the strained honey into a new, clean bucket that has a tap.
Step Six: We use the tap to pour honey into jars to save, display, or give away.
P.S. I’ve learned the value of keeping your honey sealed tight and in a dark space. It can last hundreds or even thousands of years!
Honey Harvest Day
“This is how I want my kids to witness the world at work—hand in hand with us.”
“This is how I want my kids to witness the world at work—hand in hand with us.”
Harvesting the honey is something we’ve always done as a family. My boys Duke and Crew especially love the process—even the full-body bee suits. I think it’s the thrill of what we’ll discover that keeps them coming back.
FROM THE BEEKEEPERS: Q&A with Jo and Crew
One morning after Crew came in from checking on the bees, I asked him a few questions about what he loves most about being a beekeeper.
Jo: What is your favorite thing about the bees?
Crew: I love how they pollinate flowers and then bring it back to their hive to make honey.
Jo: Do you think the bees like living here at the farm?
Crew: Yes, because of the flowers that we plant.
Jo: What do you think the bees’ favorite time of the year is?
Crew: Summer! Because that’s when they’re so busy.
Jo: What’s your favorite part of honey harvest day?
Crew: Spinning the machine really hard.
Jo: Why do you say hello to the bees every morning?
Crew: I want to tell them to have a good day and thank you. And I like to give them a head start on collecting the pollen.
Jo: Do you know which ones are the worker bees?
Crew: The girls.
Jo: What do you tell your friends about bees?
Crew: Don’t kill them. They are a gift to us!
Jo: How many spoonfuls of honey could you eat?
Crew: 12
This story has been adapted from the fall 2025 issue of Magnolia Journal. To see it in print, pick up your copy here or on a newsstand near you. Then, start a subscription for inspiration year-round.
