a beehive flood, lopsided candle and coconut treats

after feeding the bees heavily, we've started fully inspecting the hives again and this particular hive was flooded out due to a faulty roof, we had to wedge a knife between the floor board and the end piece to drain out the water. the bees were doing great despite the puddle in their home.

a roll of wick

candle mold and dog nose

melting down that golden piece of wax we twice-rendered yesterday

pouring the liquid into the tightly bound candle mold with the tip of the wick wrapped around a spoon

we have a candle! 

a lovely lopsided candle

after the boys went to bed, kwao and agape shredded up some coconut and threw it in a skillet with honey  

after the honey-coconut caramelized beautifully, agape dropped the balls on a plantain leaf (a sustainable substitute for wax paper) 

words cannot explain how mouth-wateringly scrumptious this treat was

rendering beeswax

the two black plastic bags in the freezer were swollen with old and burr comb that were collected from the hives over time

the combs were thrown in a tall pot with water over the blue flame, no double boilers here! (use extreme caution) 

molten wax with the black cocoons (left behind in the cell after each baby bee is born) floating around

our preferred tool for stirring / playing with the hot wax ended up being the spatula 

to strain and filter the hot wax, all you need is a bucket with a small hole on the bottom, a big bowl (preferably with a large, steady base) and a pillowcase 

pouring the molten wax-cocoon mess into pillowcase covering the bucket

get yr plunger and get plunging!

the plunger will be covered in wax afterwards, we just scraped it off and threw it back in the bowl of liquid wax

placing the bowl on a flat surface, away from kids and dogs and covered so bees won't drown (the scent of wax attracts them from all over) 

two bees still managed to sneak under the bucket, only to be embalmed

dirty bottoms will have to be washed and scraped off

rendering a second time is a good idea if you want clean wax for a good candle. 

break up the wax into small pieces and place in a pot of water

let the water boil until the wax is melted

remove from heat and allow to cool

a twice-rendered and kofi-approved block of golden beeswax!p.s. - thanks to Agape for taking these pictures!