Wax for My Figurines — and Honey as a Bonus

For the final treatment of wooden figurines, wax is essential. Back when my father was alive, he kept a small apiary out at our place in the countryside – about 18 or so bee colonies – so we never had a shortage of wax. In the years that followed, there was no one left to tend to the bees, so I sold them off, and most of the old hives eventually ended up as firewood.

But this spring, a young swarm of bees settled on a tree right next to my house! To be honest, I wasn’t keen on getting back into beekeeping, but the greedy, pragmatic side of me won. I found an old, still-assembled hive lying around and simply shook the swarm into it. Over the course of the summer, the colony grew with almost no intervention on my part. Now I can once again treat myself to homegrown honey – harvested right in the city – and more importantly, I have my own supply of natural wax for my work again.