"Pursue, keep up with, circle round and round your life,
as a dog does his master’s chaise. Do what you love.
Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it,
and gnaw it still." --Thoreau
I love this quote. It is the mantra for my life. Call it passion, interest, curiosity or neuroticism, I don't care. For me, it's a thirst for life. For everything. For the things that make my heart sing and the things I dream in the dark and the light.
This is one of those things.
One of those things you talk about, you think about, you might read a bit here and there. And then one day you just simply DO the thing. It feels so good. I say there is a magic in the action, in the doing, in the trusting yourself to just do what you can and know the next step will unfold even if you can't see it right this moment.
Here are a few of the steps we've taken towards the "thing" of beekeeping...
It starts with attending the beekeeping club's meetings for a few months, purchasing some bees (and by golly you'd better get the hives ready if you know bees are coming!) and then purchasing a couple of hive bodies from K&K right up the road. You take this knowledge that bees are coming, the hive bodies and throw a couple of interested kids into the mix...
Mum adds some nails (is that a wee rattie watching from the background?)
Turn the aforementioned children loose with a gallon of exterior paint and the assembled hive bodies,
drag the husband into the party for help building a stand for the hives,
and Voila! You have a home for some tired and hungry bees, a couple of proud and smiling children and a husband that is thinking this might be an awful lot of work for the raw honey he loves in his tea mug.:)
More to come soon (I have three stings to share....but they came from MY bees by garsh!)
4 comments:
I'm SSOOOOOOO excited for you!! It's so very awesome, after hearing you talk about it for so long, to see your dream come true!! I can't wait to have a cuppa tea when I come visit:)
Too cool! I can't believe you already have your bees. There's narry a bloom up here to feed one. Did you get package bees or nucs?
It'll be mid-May before I get my nucs, but I'm still biting my nails whether the hives will arrive in time to get them ready. Parts are backordered until April 1st.
I thought I had reserved nuc's but I had actually ordered two 3# packages. We were putting our hives together the DAY before the bees arrived. I did leave them in the package for one extra day because it was a bit on the cold side the day they got here (light snow and all).
Because we got an early start, I may be able to rob a bit of honey this year. Depends on how well they do.
You'd be surprised at how much they can forage right now! It looks like hardly anything is blooming yet but they find it ALL. They're coming back with pollens sacs stuffed full! I am feeding them to encourage brood comb building, so they get a quart jar of sugar syrup plus a bit of "Honey B Healthy" swirled in.
Yeah, I'm feeding them herbs already.;)
You're going to love them. I can sit and watch them for hours. There is something very satisfying about working in the garden and seeing my bees all over the place.
Oh, and have you checked with Brushy Mountain Farms? I believe they could get your order out in two weeks or so. Dadant said they could get my stuff here within the week but I ended up purchasing from the local beekeepers.
Hey! Did I see a pet rat in one of those pics?! I miss my old pet rats, and I'm just waiting until my oldest asks for a pet to get another few.
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