Robert and I are newcomers to bees. Sure, we have been gardener neighbors for years, sort of aware of the winged insects poking about our yards.

But the Amazon Bee Co-op encouraged us to jump into beekeeping together. We helped build our hives, attended a demonstration at Glory Bee on how to introduce bees to a hive, and picked up our two boxes of bees, each with its own queen.

Now that most of the blossoming is over and our bees have been carrying home nectar and pollen, we have seen enlargement of the colonies and will soon open the hives to see what kind of food stores have been put aside for surviving the winter months. It will be next year about this time that we will be opening the hives to remove some comb for the honey that will sweeten our winter days.

In the meantime, we are learning more about the gentle art of beekeeping, as well as enjoying looking at our hives, watching bee activity, and doing the few chores needed to keep our population healthy and productive.

We expect to check in at this page and add more reportage. Please let us know about your interest in bees and work with them.