We are now officially the proud owners of one bee hive. My family has had a couple for the past several years, and when my dad was ordering new bees, he ordered an extra and asked if I wanted it, so here we are. Not really on the schedule for this year, but most things around here don’t go by any kind of artificial schedule I have planned. And I’m okay with that… mostly.
If you’re looking to get started with apiaries, the book Beekeeping for Dummies is a great reference, and where I got most of my initial information. Based on what I’ve read, this isn’t an overly time or labor-intensive hobby, and should be fun. I’ll have extra pollinators for the gardens, and maybe even get some honey in the fall.
If you haven’t dealt with large quantities of bees before, it can be a little intimidating. Though honeybees are relatively docile (unlike yellow jackets and hornets), it’ll still get your heart pumping when you’re dumping out a box containing several thousand bees, and instinct is naturally telling you to keep them in the box where they’re (you’re) safe. It did end up being fun though, and getting to see inside the hive after they’ve been settled in for a couple weeks is pretty cool. Quite interesting little creatures.
Look for more updates as the summer goes on!
This is what they’re shipped in. Funny to see the mailman’s face…
That’s a lot of bees.
Starting to dump them into the hive.
At home. Time to get to work.
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