Taking a few weeks away from the cold Ohio winter has given me some time to think and look-back on the events of 2021. The activities during the spring, summer and fall months of 2021 left Tami and I little time to get away. Seems the beekeeping and honey season slipped by so quickly! Now, with the beehives winterized, and the bees tucked away for the winter, this was a great time to travel and find some warm weather.
To describe 2021 in a few words, I think of phrases like; “that was quick,” “that’s new for us,” “where did the months go,” and “thanks for the help.” We credit our workers and friends who helped Tami and I along in 2021 with all the tasks like tending to the honeybees, buying and picking-up supplies, opening and running our new brick and mortar store, extracting loads of honey, selling at farmers markets, winterizing the bee yards for the winter, and preparing the business for the Christmas season.
We’re humbled and amazed by all the support and positive feedback received from our customers. Our online orders are often from repeat customers who leave us encouraging comments, and other more local customers offered us so many encouraging words and thanked us for opening the store.
Bellevue and local area surrounding towns have been very supportive of our new store. We’ve also met families stopping by after their trip to Cedar Point and many others such as a couple from central Ohio who travels to Bellevue to buy a quart of our delicious buckwheat honey. Tami and I want to thank our friends, neighbors, and customers for all their support!
2021 was truly a year of change at Cherry City Honey. In addition to building and opening a new location, we also added a great selection of handmade soaps, made by Appalachia Sunshine, a company owned and operated by a family member. We also added elderberry syrup kits, which has become very popular. Several products made locally in Ohio were also added, such as organic teas, essential oils, essential oil diffusers, glassware, coffee mugs, handmade jewelry, and greeting cards.
The honeybees and our beekeeping practices was also a little different during 2021. We tried some new practices that will hopefully improve our winter honeybee losses. Over the last two years, our hive losses have increased to about 50%. We set a goal to reduce this number to below 25%.
First, we increased the monitoring and treatments of our hives for varroa mites, which is impacting honeybee health across the USA. Excessive numbers of mites within a hive weakens the bees and makes them less likely to survive.
We also sought advice from Linda Miller, a very experienced beekeeper from Clyde, Ohio. Linda has had very few losses of beehives in her apiary over the last few winters. Since we wanted to improve our success, we implemented several practices that Linda uses to overwinter bees, such as better hive ventilation, wrapping hives with Epilay roofing underlayment, and using solid bottom boards. We’re excited to see the results of our 2021 winter bee losses!
We ended the year with such a fun, but busy, Christmas season. It was so exciting talking and sharing the spirit of the season with our customers. We had so much fun helping others select that special gift for friends and loved ones.
We added several new gift boxes for the Christmas season. Customers were very satisfied with our new selection of gifts. Many of these gift boxes were shipped to family and friends.
And last, our Christmas was special this year because our granddaughter Raina, from Portland, traveled to Ohio for a visit. Time with family and friends left Tami and I feeling really blessed
Gary & Tami Wylie – Cherry City Honey
Welcome, honey enthusiasts and baking aficionados, to our delightful celebration of Pi Day! At Cherry City Honey, we believe in the magic of combining nature’s golden elixir with the joy of homemade pies. In honor of the mathematical marvel that is Pi Day (3/14), we present to you a mouthwatering Honey Pie recipe that will surely add a sweet twist to your festivities.
Date Dive into the sweet and savory world of Cherry City Honey with our latest culinary masterpiece: Honey-Glazed Balsamic Chicken! 🍯✨ Elevate your home cooking
Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm
Sat. 9am-2pm
Phone: (419) 271-2720
Email: shop@cherrycityhoney.com
Address: 1000 CR 312, Bellevue, OH 44811