first beeswax salves!

this is my first little hunk of beeswax melted from the cappings left over after the honey harvest. 

after the wax hardened, i re-melted it with olive and coconut oil. off the burner, i added cardamom essential oil for a warm wintery scent. i added beet root powder for the glosses for a little color. voila! the salves harden very quickly; it's satisfying to watch. more process photos.

honey's first egg

this is honey, the norwegian jeerhon. she's petite and bold. she strikes me as a no nonsense kind of chicken. she's the first of the younger chickens to approach looking for treats when i enter the chicken region of the yard. she was also the first of the young'uns to lay an egg (the little white egg); honey squawked for about three hours pre and post that first egg. loudly. i was wondering what was wrong with her that day. she was probably wondering that too.

i try to match my clothing to her speckles when possible. ;-)