At the beginning…
It all begin with me and my big ideas. I seem to be the driver behind projects and my husband get’s behind them wondering when I will have time to do one.more.thing.
This time, it was bees. I had wanted bees for years and never pulled the trigger. This year it was going to be different. I bought the books and I watched the videos. We took the winter to build the hives and then we waited. I knew everything I needed to know because I had done the research and I was ready.
April came, and so did the call from Red Belly Bee Farm. We loaded up in the van and drove to pick up our livestock. Before pulling away I was asked, “Do you have any questions?” No! I thought in my head, how hard can this really be?
We got home and pulled off the screen to let them loose and that was when I got stung…the first time. My kids ran into the house screaming. This wasn’t how I thought people would react. This was supposed to be a family adventure, why was everyone running away? Then the dogs got stung and ran off with their tales tucked between their legs. No worries, I got this!
The next day, I got to transfer the frames into the permanent hives and got to see the marked queens and all the bees up close and personal. It was great! I felt so cool. I also got stung…again.
Fast forward a year. I am no longer the main caregiver of the bees. Turns out that books and videos can’t really teach you about bees, only the bees can. Our original bees all came to a sad end after we poured bucket loads of money into caring for them. My husband likes to joke that if you want to make a million dollars from bees, you start with 2 million!
He is now the bee keeper and I am his assistant. He is logical and I am emotional. He has poured hours into research and loves to observe the bees. We aren’t without bees, thanks to his wisdom. We have captured swarms and have ordered more bees to join our apiary.
We invite you on this journey so you can laugh, cry and learn alongside us. Welcome to the hive!
The day our first bees arrived!
April 2024
