It's almost a week since I started my newest batch.  I keep an occasional eye on the batch as well as my other containers.  To bide my time, I break out my resource books now and then and take a peek online for items I can find on mead and production.  I ran into a little meadery back east.  It is called The Saphouse Meadery and is a little production shop that is well worth looking at.  Here is the blog link which will get you to their other sections: http://saphousemeadery.com/Blogs.php The big downside to this wonderful mead making joint is that it does not appear that they ship to Washington State at this time!  I am going to shoot them a quick note to advise them that there are a few people holed up on the west coast that might want to sample their wares.

A really nice part of the blog is that these folks recently started their shop and have included some of their notes on how they went about doing it as well as providing some cool shots of their outfit.  They used a lot of reclaimed items and the business is a tidy little affair that has panache.  A place worth envy and I am a bit green over what they have accomplished.  I'll be keeping an eye on this site.

I've been doing some reading up on the aging process of my mead and it must have tickled one of my grey cells as to why I have gone over to the non-heating method of brewing.  From what I have read, the non-heat method becomes more drinkable in less time than the heated counterpart.  In around 6 months, you should be able to get some of the tasty goodness out of your brew and most efforts really come out within a year.

It is not my aim to put out something really fast, rather it is my personal goal to find a recipe that treats the honey as delicately as I am able and to keep it from bringing out any harsh resiny tastes that I feel boiling would cause.

Another item I noticed was mention of Ph balance.  I am not sure at the moment if I even want to mess with this at this time, but for later consistency I may start keeping notes.  The Ph balance can help with the brewing process from what I see and it seems to be dependent on the type of honey being used.  I am currently sticking with clover honey but up here, there is an abundance of blackberry honey that is actually a bit less expensive (today) than clover.

Okay, the root cellar: Robin and I have talked this over several times.  The thought of moving a mass of dirt around is not my idea of the most fun I can have over a couple weeks, but I am beginning to be resigned to the fact that if I want an inexpensive temperature controlled area, I am going to have to break out my shovel and pick.  My plan is to start moving stuff out of the area we have chosen and then I will start with my dirt mining operation.

The floor may be dirt for the time being, but I am pretty sure the walls will be cinder block with either a stair at one end or a ladder if we use a floor above.  The spot is in a section of our RV barn so I think a floor for a roof is the way to go.  If all goes to plan, the operation should start in a week or so and I will post some pics of the dig.

Just as an FYI, our bees are moving upstairs in their hive.  The combs are being drawn out and there is honey being stored there as well.  This is an excellent sign and there is a lot more larva in the hive.  With Robin planting stuff all over, we should have a lot of food for the bees to snack on as well.


And finally, yesterday, after a brief downpour, we got a beautiful rainbow:

Yes, there is a hint of a double-rainbow.  What can it mean???  You can't see it from the picture, but this one had some of the most brilliant green that I have seen on a rainbow to date.  Even a rainy day have something of interest.