Are you looking to brighten and sweeten up your holiday season? Be sure to stop by or shop online our selection of #handmade #beeswax things and raw #NorthCountry #honey. If you’re looking to put some buzz into your holidays this year, we can help you do that.

The beeswax studio is ready for the holidays. Are you? Stop by to find handmade gifts to place under the tree or extra stocking stuffers. 🐝🎁 Saturdays 10a-4p

Yesterday was the final day of winter preparations for our bees. This year I decided to try something different than what I’ve done in past winters. Normally I would set the bees up with a vented hive and quilt box. This year I’m doing a condensing hive. Here’s how I set them up.

Using Pysanky to decorate Brown Bag Cookie molds.

It’s harvest day! 🐝🍯

It’s a finger swarm! 👑🐝

Here’s a look at our 2025 honeybee progress. The colonies are growing fast and honey harvest is only a few weeks away. Stay tuned for something sweet from the North Country!🍯

Got this sweet little thank you card in the mail today from the Canton Central Green Team. The kids even included some self-made seed packets. Too cute! 🥰

It’s a scorcher here in the North Country today @ 89F. Here is one of this year’s honey producers with a small beard hanging off of the front porch. Bearding is one way that bees prevent the hive from getting too hot on days like today.🥵 🐝

Musk’s Direct-to-Cell constellation and the U.S. election. Background: This began in 2022 as “digging,” when Musk launched his bid to purchase Twitter at $20B over value, just 49 days after Putin invaded Ukraine. A convo re NATO considering Article 5 over Cyber attacks prompted the original post.

I made some white beeswax lanterns this week. They sure do make the studio glow at night. 🐝🕯️

The queen mating yard is setup and ready for the 🐝 orgy to commence. Each small box is a nucleus (nuc) colony that is busy raising new queens. Once the queens hatch it will be time for mating flights. If all goes well, each nuc will have a newly mated queen by the first week of June.

My house is buzzing 🐝🐝🐝 Yesterday, I made this year’s spring nucs. These bees will be locked up for 3 days. After that they will go to the queen mating yard.

Wow, today was a full day of North Country beekeeping. It all started @ 6:30a with a text about a hive damaged by a bear 🧸. Then @ 10:30a off to @sln_grow to unwrap the hives and inspect. Everything looks good btw👌. Finally @ 2p, unwrapping and inspecting @wisersuny bees with this summer’s interns.

The view from my window this morning. #NorthCountry #wildlife

It feels good to see the bees flying, especially after such a long North Country winter.

It’s becoming clear to me that the quality of bee food 🌻🌸🌺 is declining. Causing the bees to be unfit for surviving overwintering conditions. Global CO2, 433ppm and climbing.

From 1860-2000 global CO2 levels 287-370ppm. Same time goldenrod pollen protein content ⬇️ 1/3. Todays CO2 is 433 ppm. At that rate, todays g’rod protein has ⬇️another 26%. Making g’rod pollen about 60% less nutritious for 🐝 today than pre American Industrial Revolution. www.purdue.edu/newsroom/arc...

First flowers of the year at the home apiary! The bees are battling wind and rain today, but they’re not gonna miss out on these blooming Crocus flowers.

With the temperature around 55F the bees are all over the snow today. ❄️🐝

The bees are emerging from a long winter here in the #NorthCountry.

❤️ ADK

In response to J.D. Vance’s visit to VT, I have to wonder… Would you sell your goods & services to the oligarchs and far-right figures that are reshaping our country? Not that it’s likely to happen to me, but if it did I would say, “Fake politicians deserve fake honey. Go to the grocery store!”

I ❤️ my neighbors in VT!

Zelenskyy knows what it is to fight for something bigger than yourself. Trump does not.

Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦 ✊

Who needs candles for the #Blackout? We are a small #NorthCountry business. All #candles are #handmade. If you want to support a small #LocalBusniss during the #EconomicBlackout, we would be honored to have your support. #Resist ✊

Oh, the snow did fall… Our driveway is cleared, and the studio is open. The hives are partially buried, but the bees are still buzzing away inside. So, if you’ve got the winter blues and need an escape from the cold, our beeswax candles will bring a warm glow to your home on a cold winter’s night.🕯️❄️

Yes!

Yes!

Yes!

I’m the dairy farmer running to replace Elise Stefanik in New York’s 21st Congressional District. Can you repost this, give me a follow, and help spread the word?

✊Resist

Art

Each batch of honey 🍯 is unique. #bees #honey

Open on❤️Valentine’s Day❤️! DYK- St. Valentine was the patron saint of lovers & beekeeping. #NoCo folks, stop by to pick out a Valentine’s Day gift 💝 that Cupid would approve of 💘. Fri & Sat 10a-4p 230 Orebed Rd Colton, NY 13625 #Adirondacks #NorthCountry #beeswax #candles #Valentine’sDay #NY

Waxxidents Happen 🤷‍♂️ I started a discount bin. Sometimes the end product just doesn’t look as pretty as the rest of the lot. These candles are perfectly functional and deserve to shine too. So, customers visiting the studio will now have the option to shop our ugly candle collection/discount bin.

It’s a powder day at our home apiary. Days like today are the reason why I install breathable lids on every hive. These lids allow the hives to be covered by snow for days or weeks on end, but allows the bees inside to breathe freely. ❄️🐝

Our handmade beeswax candles are now available online. Visit www.bmdooney.com to shop from home or you can stop by our studio tomorrow 10a-4p. ❤️🐝🕯️

Who likes beeswax pillar candles? This week in the beeswax studio we have been pouring these 1lb beauties. Soon to be available online, but if you’re local you can stop in this Saturday 10a-4p to shop our selection of pillars, votives, tealights, and more. ❤️🕯️🐝🕯️

The most effective treatment for Varroa mites in honey bees is appropriately timed oxalic acid vapors. This has been my integrated pest management plan for years. Don’t treat too much to allow bees to develop grooming behavior, but don’t let mites dominate. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Here’s a peek at what’s been happening in the beeswax studio this week…votives! A lot of votives. Stop by this Saturday 10a-4p to pick up some of these clean burning 14+hr candles. ❤️🐝🕯️

These little skep votives are the perfect gift for the visitors to my wax studio. ❤️🐝🕯️

Today in the beeswax studio we started making hand-rolled honeycomb candles.❤️🐝🕯️

A cold winter sunrise over the apiary.❄️☀️🐝

Today I decorated some of the bee yards for the holidays. A few of the hives even have solar Christmas lights too.

“That’s A Wrap”- Today I finished winterizing the beehives by wrapping each hive with roofing paper. Today also marks the end of the 2024 beekeeping season for me.