Red Bay man has honey of a hobby
By Staff
Melissa Cason, Franklin County Times
RED BAY – Honey is a natural sugar source and can be used as a medicine to treat certain ailments, including allergies or to treat wounds because bacteria won't grow in honey.
But, for one Red Bay man honey meanings work, at least work for a hobby.
Larry Hill is a beekeeper and has had an interest in honeybees since childhood.
"My grandfather was a beekeeper and I got interested in bees as a child," Hill remembered.
While he once had bee hives from Newburg to Red Bay, Hill now only has about 30 hives from which he collects his honey.
Honey is made in the hives between April and July but he tries to wait until July to harvest it.
However, the amount of honey that is made determines if the honey is harvested sooner.
"I have had one hive to produce as much as 22 gallons of honey, one drop at a time," Hill said.
Hill's hives can be found inside white boxes. When its time to replace the honeycomb, Hill places a screen over it to prevent the queen bee from entering the comb to lay eggs so that only honey producers enter the comb.
There is always a risk when working with honeybees. Hill has been stung many, many times, but he admits that he'd rather be stung by a bee than to be bitten by a mosquito.
"I have had bee stings everywhere, but they never swell up or anything…I keep a shot nearby just in case I need it because you never know when you'll run into that one bee that you are allergic to," Hill said.
When it's time to harvest, Hill strains all the honey from each comb and places it outside for the bees to eat the excess. Once all the honey is gone, the honeycomb is dried and placed in storage to be used again the following year.
"If you reuse the combs, it cuts the bees' work in half," Hill said.
Honey facts:
