One of the best things about winter is that honey sells really well during cold snaps. I imagine it's a combination of tea drinkers, bakers, winter weather pantry paranoia, and the general bounty of food that comes with the holidays and heavier meals during the winter season. While the honey section doesn't get hit as hard as the bread shelves leading into a forecasted snowfall, it is still a significant sales event.

We've always directly distributed our honey, which has been important for being invested in the process, having a secure honey market, and cultivating the relationships that make it all work. Here is our end cap display in the Downtown Hy-Vee in Des Moines just a few days ago!

In addition to keeping customers happy, we're naturally preparing for the upcoming bee season as well. We're starting to get serious about booking bee orders for April and May, and I need to get back out to California to check on our bees. That should happen within a matter of days if all goes well. Our package cages arrived out there very recently to await spring bees. A lot of folks distributing packages don't bother to reuse package cages anymore, but we still take deposits and reuse the cages whenever the logistics come together. It's a good way to be efficient with both money and materials. Here are some of the pallets bundled for their trek back to the west:

The last several months have disappeared in a flash, and I presume the next several will prove similarly fleeting. At least it is a joyful adventure!