In the woods today.....

[Fishbonker]

This is sorta off topic. The neighbor had his timber logged of a few weeks ago. He has given me the OK to cut up some of the tops for firewood. I went over there today to start scouting and clearing the trails the loggers make so my trusty Oliver 88 can get in to skid some of the bigger tops. Came accross an Oak that had some honey comb in one of the limbs. I'd never seen that before. Some of the comb still had honey in it. I debated wether to taste it or not, it looked kinda slimey but I thought humans and animals alike have been eatng raw honey since bees evolved. Ok, so I dip my finger in the comb, get a glob on the tip and....not bad! The wax from the comb sticks to your teeth (or in Arkansaw "tooth") and its got a real wild/raw flavor. Almost tastes like whiskey. Suppose the taste comes from the wood? I stood there and ate quite a bit of it. Thought about bringing some home but the comb was very soft when it warmed up in my hand.

Anyway, just thoguht I'd share what I felt was a neat experience. I did see a couple of deer over there and couldn't take a step without seeing deer droppings and I was looking for sheds too, so it's not too far off topic.

The 'Bonker

 

[Greywolf]

Sounds like you didn't find any live bees in that hive. I'd guess they probably escaped from a beekeeper last summer, built up some honey stores and then got killed off by mites. Varroa mites are so common now that any "wild" bees like those don't last much more than a season. The mites hit them hard in the fall and the few bees that are left by winter can't keep it warm enough in the hive and they all freeze to death. Of course, honey stays good enough to eat for hundreds of years, so it might have been in there awhile...