[Carol]

2/5/10

Well today was amazing. I actually learned how to use a smoker in this incredible bee keeping course taught by someone who makes the most healthful delicious honey. At first, when I was stuffing pine needles into the smoker I was worried about getting it started and keeping it going. Inwardly, I was thinking 'I'm going to flunk getting the smoker going 101'. However, once it was going it worked great. Of course my husband had removed my boots from the truck so with clogs, socks and ties around ankles of the bee keeping suit, wide brim netted hat, and gloves that go up to the elbows ! we all trekked out to the hives for our lesson on how to open it up, use the smoker, lift out panels filled with bees to check for honey and such. We saw a baby bee being born as she crawled out of her little space and start to work.

Bees vibrate at a really high frequency and are very sensitive. As we had the top off of their hive they were getting agitated so it was time for more smoke to help calm them down. When bees smell smoke they think there is a fire so they tend to go down into the hive to suck up honey to take out to a safe place. Weighted down with honey makes the bees heavy and slow.

This was really the first day the 10 of us were out working the hives and there is so much to learn... yet so worthwhile. Everyone likes something sweet. With honey one can also make mead. With the wax make candles and replace the honeycomb panels inside the hive. One can also collect pollen to eat or save later to give back to the bees. Bees truly are fascinating creatures.

Our group is in the process of forming a little collective of about 20 of us who will be doing beekeeping so that we share expenses and costs by shipping our orders together.

And those folks who are doing this are also very interesting because it takes a certain type of person to go beyond fear of being stung to do something like this.