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Posts Tagged ‘Beekeeping’

I wonder if I can wear my bee helmet and facial net to the grocery store?  I mean what if the bees are following me when I go to school to pick up the kids?  At what point will I be able to take off my bee suit and put on something fancy, like say, my bathrobe?

These are the obvious questions that are buzzing through my head as I ponder how my life will change when my three-pound clump of honeybees arrives and I station it in my suburban backyard. (Yes, this is legal.)

I don’t have a thing to wear for a life with bees. I will have to solve this problem soon, but first….

Just so you know, I am taking all necessary precautions to keep the bees safe from my neighbors.  I’m providing them their own water supply to keep them out of the nearby liquor stores. I’m setting up their hive at a high elevation. (Bees fly in a straight line to their hive so it’s best to keep their hive higher than say, nose level.) And I am filling my little bee-brain with facts about how to keep these bees merrily buzzing along.

One very fun fact is that I will be in the honey soon. But patience is the key to long-term success with bees. While their mission is to reproduce and survive winters, they need to establish their own honey stores that will last them through next winter. So, it’s best if I don’t dip into their honey this summer and let it “bee.”  I will have to stick with jam for another year.

In the meantime, the taste of the honey changes depending on where the bees collect their honey.  A hint of lavender, lemon, orange blossom…

With all this fun and excitement awaiting me, I imagine time will just fly by as I beekeep.

Even This Guy Can't Find a Bee!

To bee, or not to bee? That has been my question.

I am fascinated by insects, especially insects that help my flowers such as bees and ladybugs. And I have been feeling very sorry for the bee lately.
I said to the only bee I saw last summer, “Look, honey. Where are your friends?”

She just stood there on the cement, nectarless, and said, “I don’t know. Life stings.”

The fact is, last year was a very quiet summer as buzzing goes. At least in my backyard!  So, what’s a bumbled out girl to do?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: When all else fails, breed.

That has always been my motto. So on Saturday I took the plunge and ordered my first-ever bee colony from downtown Sacramento’s beekeeping supply store. The colony will arrive around the first weekend in April and I will go down there in a spacesuit, pick it up, bring it to my pre-assembled hive, and let the nature lessons begin.

Between now and splashdown, I am going to read all about how to do this right. Any comments? Any suggestions? Any horror stories? Please pass them along here.