How I Got into Beekeeping

The general concept of beekeeping has fascinated me ever since I was a child. We knew people who were beekeepers in the small town where we lived. They would always give us honey, and I would get to chew on the wax. Nonprocessed honey has the best taste and can’t be compared to anything. Sue Bee honey doesn’t cut it!

I was about 8 years old and wished I could learn how to do that.

My dad always dreamed of having bees, and so did my grandfather, so I wasn’t the only one with bee fever. However, they didn’t know how to get the bees or equipment. We didn’t know anyone we could get anything or information from, so the years passed.

About five years ago, my grandfather died, and my dad had an epiphany and a regret. He and my grandfather did want to do this together and never did.  Dad wanted to keep bees and learn and do the task  with me. I was more than happy to. Learning something new and the reward of fresh honey just topped it off.

The next spring we began gathering equipment and bees. We didn’t get every single thing at once. We are still collecting equipment. The learning curve is huge. The bees seem to throw their own curves. Every book that’s out there doesn’t teach you every curve they can throw out you. You can spend a lifetime and not learn everything, and that is part of the fun of it.

Over the past five years we have done many activities including catching swarms, getting bees out of a house, etc. It’s hard work, but very rewarding.

Of course we now can get some yummy tasty honey and sell some to others. Pure, raw honey sells itself, definitely after someone tastes it or has tasted it.

Many people are now learning how to keep bees, and there are still some wild colonies out there. Being able to work with others and share the knowledge is just wonderful! It’s also funny to see people stare at us when they drive down the road when we are dressed in out bee suits as if we were aliens!