It’s Official.
SunnieBelle’s Sweet Bees have made the best tasting honey in Texas for 2021! At least according to the three judges at the State Fair!
It was a last minute decision to drive down to Dallas with entries for the Polished Jar and Black Jar honey contests since I had and appointment with a new farrier for Johnny and Queso coming from south of Dallas to meet me at the farm at noon. But I figured I could drop it off by the 10:30am deadline and then head up to Pottsboro and be there in plenty of time. But after submitting my jars I couldn’t help but stay and talk to some of the other beekeeper hopefuls waiting and sneaking glances at the judges while they were tasting the entries. I lost track of my Black Jar entry early on and there was another jar on the table that was the same size and shape. I would have recognized my honey but it was covered (hence the name, Black Jar!). So as the contest went on, it was either my or the other 8oz Queenline jar that kept making the cut.
I Knew Time Was Getting short
I was running out of time but I couldn’t help but want to wait and see if it was my Sweet Bees that were getting so far in the contest! Finally, after round one we had the top 5 jars in the finalists box, with an 8oz. Queenline in the group. It was about 11am. I had to leave now or be late to meet Christina… she was going about an hour out her way to meet me and I really wanted her to trim up the donkeys (she practices the Holistic Hooves way <3)… what do I do?
I’m too far invested, I can’t leave now! I have to see what happens! Message to Christina: It’s going to be more like 2pm, is that too late? Luckily she didn’t have a super tight schedule and could give me a little leeway. Phew!
As the judges were conducting round 2, the attendant started removing the bags and coverings from the jars that didn’t make the cut. The non-placing 8oz Queenline was unwrapped… I held my breath and watched.
It may be the lighting, but that honey looks darker than mine.
Was mine that dark? I’ve spent hours looking at it during extracting, bottling and just plain appreciating how beautiful it looks in the jar. No, mine was definitely a lighter amber. Could it really be??
The top three were selected, put on a table (in no specific order) and then another 20 minutes went by while we waited for the food judging to get to a stopping point. The suspense is killing me!
Finally, the attendant picks up the mic to announce the winners! She starts with the Polished Jar placings (I should have read the description of this contest better, I was definitely not a contender for this one since I only lightly filter my honey and they want it super clear, filled to a certain point, etc, lol!). Not unexpectedly mine did not place in that contest.
It’s now about 12:30pm (by now I’m wondering if I can still get from Dallas to Pottsboro by 2pm!), she says Black Jar Third Place and picks up an 8oz. hexagonal jar. I know that one’s not mine. Second Place? She picks up the round jelly jar.. not mine!
For real, is mine the winner? The announcer speaks into the mic…
“First Place Goes to Michael Prescott, of Prosper, Texas”
Michael? Michael Prescott? I don’t care, I’ve been called worse! That’s my honey and my Blue Ribbon! SO exciting and definitely worth the wait–I’ll make it up to Christina, I’m staying for the photo op! My Sweet Bees have just been recognized for making the Best Tasting Honey at the State Fair of Texas! I’m so proud of them!
So after the congrats and photos I’m able to hit the road. Thankfully it was midday and traffic on 75 was not too bad. Christina got to the farm about 20 minutes before I did so I had messaged her to just go ahead around back and meet the donks. When I pulled up, she was sitting by the pasture gate with both donkeys right there looking for treats and scritches. Since I didn’t get there early it took a few minutes to halter them but once we did the actual trimming went very smoothly. It was, in fact, the most calm and relaxed I’ve seen them during a trim — Queso even lifted his bad leg for her without protesting! I was so proud of them both and they got lots of pets and low sugar treats for being such good boys! I’m very thankful to Christina for her patience with me that day and for taking such good care of my donks 🙂
What an exciting and happy day! I took the rest of the afternoon off to congratulate my girls, stroll around the native pasture, and groom and love on the donkeys some more. Basically just appreciating how everything seemed to go right that day as well as all the things I’m thankful for. Those days don’t happen very often so if you get one, be sure to stop and taste the honey!
