Bees just don't give us great tasting honey; they are responsible for pollinating over 100 fruits and vegetables.

The production of these fruits and vegetables can be reduced as much as 90 percent if there were no honey bees for pollinating. According to many beekeepers in the region, this has been the best year for honey production in the past decade. Beekeepers have been taking off honey supers just packed with delicious locust and tulip popular honey.

Most beekeepers have already taken off at least two supers of honey from each hive and anticipate a few more before the season winds down in the fall.

If you haven't noticed the past month or two, the trees out in the woods have had blooms like I have never seen for years. The trees and shrubs that have been lending in helping create all that great honey have been locust and tulip popular that I mentioned but throw in the basswood or lynn trees, sumac, blackberry, and later on aster and goldenrod.

Notice I didn't mention clover and the many other flowering plants out there. However, if bees are located near vast acreages of clover hay and pasture fields, you can have a gold mine. I can remember talking to Bob Evans a few years ago and complimented him on their honey they serve at their restaurants. I certainly have a liking to clover honey. Bob mentioned that the restaurant chain contracts out and has pretty much control of all the clover honey they sell. Most of the time you have to ask for the honey at their restaurants but if you want a taste of real 100 percent clover honey, you have to try it.