Becoming a Beekeeper!

I’m not sure when my fascination with bees and beekeeping began. There’s been so much alarm raised about colony collapse disorder (CCD) in the news, that I just naturally thought that when I finally owned a country property, I would have hives. I’ve had books like ‘Beekeeping for Dummies’ lying around my house for years, even when I lived in a condo!

I tend to dive into things without thoroughly thinking them through. Once I owned Stonewell Farm and was connected to beekeeper Jeremy Piper, I blithely ordered two hives and the accompanying bee suit and accessories. Only upon donning the bee suit and heading out to assist Jeremy, did I suddenly remember that I was afraid of bees...

Since I’m not one to admit defeat easily, I carried on and was surprised and relieved to discover that the bee suit really does do its job at protecting you and, even more importantly, realized that the bees are very busy and focused on doing their jobs, and not really interested in me.

Jeremy introduced me to a world of wonder inside a beehive. It’s truly a marvel how everything works. Napoleon adopted the bee as his insignia out of appreciation for the orderliness of a hive, and restructured his armies to reflect the individual roles the bees have.

I’ve learned about pollen and nectar, ordering and introducing new queens, harvesting and extracting honey, and so much more which I am going to share with you in the following posts. Stay tuned!