Adventure #3 - Learning about Bee Keeping

Driving home from Bee Keeping class the other night I finally figured out why I feel so daunted by this project. Learning how to keep bees is a lot like learning how to drive a car for the first time.

Imagine you have taken Driver's Ed and then go to take the test - in a real moving vehicle. But you never did the in-car practice driving.

Scary right? You have the information but not the practical hands on experience.

That's how I imagine my first hives. I've learned a lot but now I own a colony of bees to take care of, nurture, learn from, inspect, assure their health and vitality but I've never seen up close a box full of bees.

I haven't actually bought my nuc (nucleolus/colony) of bees yet. I'm stuck in the fear-zone about owning and taking care of the bees. Especially since I will need to paying pretty close attention to them later this summer when I'm having a baby. Regardless, if I'm going to do it, I need to get in gear soon as spring will be here (really, it will be, I promise, even though it is snowing across much of the United States right now) spring will come! And with spring comes the "nectar flow" all of those beautiful plants start blooming. The bees come out of the hive looking for food.

So I will keep you posted. If it doesn't happen this year it will happen next year. Bees are in danger and CRITICAL to our crops. Do you know in some countries (China and Mexico) where there are not enough bees they are HAND-POLLINATING crops? Think about that for a minute.

If you want to be informed and inspired about potentially keeping bees watch this 16 minute TEDTalk featuring Dr. Marla Spivak - she is passionate about bees and ensuring their survival.