We’re officially beekeepers! And we’re obsessed with our bees. Who knew these hard-working little girls could swarm around our hearts as much as they have. After a long time of wanting to dive into beekeeping, but being intimidated by everything involved, we decided to jump right in. There’s so much to learn about beekeeping that there’s no way to know everything before you begin. Watching hours upon hours of videos online helped (a little), but it wasn’t until we brought our girls home that we really started to learn the ins and outs of beekeeping.
Tabby surprised me with two hives for my birthday. They were the best presents ever!! They were even better in the best-birthday-present category than our first lawn tractor way back in April of 2012! With the help of Doug’s dad, we built the hives, set them up outside, and (impatiently) waited for our bees to come in.
bringing the honey bees home
On April 27, 2024 our Italian Carniolan hybrid bees were ready to be picked up!! Since it was a cold, slushy, blustery day (the absolute worst weather to get bees), the bees lived in their packages in the basement for a few days until the weather became friendlier for us to install them into their hives.
feeding the bees
We feed the bees a 1:1 syrup solution (one part water and one part white sugar). They go through a gallon of the syrup every couple of days. It’s become part of our routine to make a batch of syrup every day for them.
ouch!
At the beekeeping store we picked the bees up from, I got my first sting on my finger. A week later I got another sting on my arm along with a nice prescription from Urgent Care for an EpiPen for my apparent bee allergy. Two weeks after that I got stung on the top of my head. After my third sting, I learned that no matter how much I love the bees, their main focus is on protecting their hives and that job trumps all love they may have for me. I’m now suited up when I open the hives.
Of the two hives, one is docile and one isn’t. If we’re going to get stung, it’s going to be from the defensive hive. Those girls are laser-focused on protecting their queen.
dogs and bees
The dogs are super curious about the hives. Chili dog stands ten to twenty feet away from the hives growling and barking at the buzzing. Koda pup tries to put his nose in the hive entrances. Sigh. He’s never been stung, but his doctor recommended that we have Benadryl on hand just in case. Some days Kirby dog tries to eat the bees when they’re foraging in the flowers. Other days, he ignores them. We never know what mood is going to strike him.
honey
We won’t be able to collect honey this first year with our bees. They have to focus on building comb and filling it with honey so they can survive the winter months before they can share any of their bounty with us. Next year we should get a good harvest of several pounds of honey per hive.
just the beginning
Beekeeping has been such an awesome adventure that we’re already planning on getting a couple more hives for next spring. Yeah, we’re that obsessed!!
