What To Do If You Get Stung

Yes, it does seem unlikely that you will be stung in the winter months. But it can happen as you take advantage of a warm day to quickly check the hive and add a candy board. Whether winter or summer, make sure that you are prepared in the event of a sting.

Go to the bee yard with a plan. Keep something in your tool kit that will remove a stinger from skin. Ideally, this will be an object similar in size to a credit card. Perhaps an old rewards card is lurking about your wallet and can be converted for this use. A tube of antihistamine gel will also offer quick relief. You can add additional treatment as needed when you get back to the house.

If something does go awry and you get stung, don’t panic. This will alarm the other bees and you may end up being stung more than once. Walk slowly away from the hive and remove the the stinger. Your goal is to scrape the stinger out against the direction of the sting. When the bee leaves her stinger in you, there is a small bulb of venom at the end of the stinger. Place the edge of the card (in a pinch you could use the edge of your hive tool) between the venom bulb and the insertion point of the stinger. Scrape toward the bulb end of the stinger with a firm flick of the card. This should remove the stinger from your skin and stop the flow of venom. It is beneficial to do this as quickly as possible after being stung.

It is good to know if you are truly allergic to honey bee stings or merely have an allergic reaction. What’s the difference?

An allergic reaction will cause localized swelling, warmth and itching around the sting. This will last 2 or 3 days and cause relatively minor discomfort. Reactions of this nature can be treated with home remedies.

A true allergic reaction is quite a different matter. This type of immediate systemic reaction will cause a person’s airway to swell and impede the ability to breathe. Anyone who has this type of reaction to a bee sting must carry an Epi-pen (a portable means of injecting epinephrine in an emergency) and use it immediately after a sting. This is a serious medical emergency and should be treated in an emergency room even after the use of an Epi-pen.

Let’s say you are in the majority and only have a localized reaction to honeybee venom. You have removed the stinger. Now what?

Gain some immediate relief with topical antihistamines and ice. You can also take a systemic antihistamine such as Benadryl if necessary. Recently we have discovered that smearing a bit of honey over the area then covering with a bit of gauze is soothing. Honey has antiseptic properties and seems to reduce the itch.

Remember honeybees will rarely sting while foraging away from the hive. They are focused on gathering pollen and nectar with no concern about much else. Foraging bees are not in a position to defend the hive or the queen. Unless aggravated, squeezed or stepped on, they are not likely to sting.

For more ways to avoid being stung in the first place, check out this link: How To Not Get Stung

And if you haven’t already, sign up for our email list and get your free copy of Wisdom of the Bees.

Winter Preppers

Yes we are prepping.

Not the kind of long term stockpiling that most people think of as prepping. Not building bunkers anticipating a nuclear holocaust.

We are prepping for winter.

There are things that you must consider living in the country. Each year we learn another lesson. We may or may not have power. The road to town may be impassable. So, we need to be prepared. That’s what prepping is after all. A state of preparedness for whatever life or the elements may throw at you.

Winter 2015 Prep List

1. Power

At Five Feline Farm we have upgraded a few things to help us through the winter. First and foremost was installing a whole house generator. Winter storms taught us that power is a critical element. It has been frightfully cold when the power has been out for hours or days at a time.

We have no plans to go off grid, but we do now have a back up plan for power outages. Even though the generator and 500 gallon propane tank should keep things fully functional for a week, we will still go into conservation mode. A few lights. The refrigerator and freezers. Water heater. Lower the thermostat. Doing all of this will extend the tank of propane for as long as possible. The supplier states they can get us a refill within two days of calling, but if the road is drifted shut, that may be an optimistic estimate.

2. Food

Summer’s bounty plus a few items from the store are stocked. The pantry is loaded with canned goods. The freezers are packed with meat and vegetables. We may need to get creative with meals, but we could easily manage a month or more of keeping body and soul united.

3. Outside Chores

Set up the Christmas decorations. Yes, you read correctly. It is much nicer to set up the outside decorations in early November before the weather gets brutal. There is no need to turn everything on, but at least it is ready at the flip of a switch. This isn’t rushing the season. It is being planful.

Winterize the camper. Bring in the pond pumps. Drain the water hoses. Mow down the garden. Put the snowplow on the Mule. These are just a few of the outside tasks that need to be completed before a freeze.

At this writing, the first flakes of winter snow are falling. It is good to have the winter prepping completed. We can sit back and enjoy the beauty of winter without worry.

What winter prepping have you done? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section.

Don’t forget to get your free copy of “Wisdom of the Bees”, an ebook exclusive to members of our email list. Sign up is easy and we’ll never spam you. Just great content and special offers from Five Feline Farm.

Toasted Almond Honey Ice Cream

Five Feline Farm is a blend of old and new. We maintain a respect for history and the skills of our ancestors, but definitely appreciate the new approaches.

For example, ice cream.

People have been making ice cream since 200 B.C. with fruit, cream, nuts and various sweeteners frozen together. There is ice cream, sorbet, gelato, frozen yogurt and sherbet just to name a few. No matter the name, all required some method of freezing ingredients into a refreshing dessert treat.

Most families recall hot summer days with a hand cranked churn, layers of salt and ice around the center urn of sweet flavored cream. People took turns cranking the handle until the mixture was frozen stiff and could no longer be moved. A few hours packed in a fresh bed of salted ice, then out came the spoons.

Eventually someone invented an electric ice cream churn to eliminate the hard work of turning the crank.

Even better came the invention of a counter top, electric compressor small batch ice cream maker. In just about an hour, with minimal preparation, a quart of ice cream is ready to eat.

We’ve come a long way.

Now here on the Farm we experiment with flavors. An hour and a quart is a perfect match to try out new flavor combinations. The latest favorite is Toasted Almond Honey. Simple straightforward ingredients. Cream, milk, honey, sliced almonds, a pinch of salt. No preservatives. Nothing included that can’t be pronounced.

Toasted Almond Honey Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart

2 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup raw honey
pinch salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Stir together cream, milk, honey and salt until thoroughly blended. Add to 1 quart tabletop ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer directions. Toast almonds in small skillet over low heat, stirring frequently until lightly browned and fragrant. Add almonds during the last 15 minutes of freezing or when machine indicates additional ingredients can be added.

Yes this is a high fat dessert. It is a treat to be enjoyed in moderation and well worth the calories.

If this type of experimenting in the kitchen suits you, stay tuned. There is more to come from the Five Feline Farm kitchen.

Sugar Cane in Illinois?

Do you remember the old commercial for C&H sugar?

C&H. Pure cane sugar. From Hawaii. Growing in the sun.

Did you know you can grow sugar cane in Illinois too?

Ok, maybe not as a cash crop or in the quantities needed to process granulated sugar. But you can grow it.

This past summer, on Five Feline Farm, Tohono O’odham “Sugar Cane” was one of the experimental crops. Tall slender canes topped with a red seed head. The cane looks similar to bamboo although not as fast growing and not quite as tough.

Sugar cane is different from sorghum which is a much more common plant in this area. Sorghum looks like its cousin sugar cane, but the sap of the sorghum plant boils down into a thick dark syrup with a distinctly different flavor. Sorghum molasses is an acquired taste, but full of healthy minerals. Sugar cane is filled with a sweet juice that when grown commercially is processed and refined into granulated sugar.

Shaving off the hard outer layer without cutting into the sweet heart of the cane is an art. Most of the time I had a nice section skinned and the next cut went completely through the sweet center. There was enough though to sample. Chewing on the middle of the cane gives a burst of sweetness and a desire for more. It was more than just that short experience. It was a rocket ride down memory lane to Hawaii. Roadside vendors in Hawaii sell short sections of peeled sugar cane ready to chew. Warm sweet cane juice washes through your mouth as you watch tropical waves spill over the beach. There’s a reason the place is referred to as paradise.

Back to Illinois.

Sugar cane will never be a commercial crop in Illinois but it is a fun plant to grow. After chewing a sweet sample, the extra canes will be used like bamboo and seeds saved for next year.

A renewable source of fun.