Wednesday, April 24, 2013

The Bees Are Here!

After months of researching, planning, and waiting, we finally have bees on our property!


For the past few weeks, I have been in contact with our mentor, Greg, from the local beekeepers' club about picking up our nuc, and last night I got word that the queen had been introduced successfully and our hive was ready to go! We drove out to his place right away to pick up our nuc.

When we arrived, Greg was suiting up and getting the smoker ready. He went out behind his garage to retrieve our hive and bring it out to the car for us while we made small talk with another beekeeper who was there to pick up some bees as well. When Greg returned with our hive, we reminded him again that we were a little apprehensive about our hour long drive home with thousands of bees in the car with us, so he made sure to close off the entrance with a piece of paper towel. We were still a little worried about the bees escaping through the outer cover, so he rearranged it slightly to make sure they couldn't get out. But when doing so, a few bees did escape and we had to wait for them to exit the car. David went around to get into the driver's seat and noticed there was a bee stuck in his hair. He tried to calmly get it out, but the bee ended up stinging him right on the top of his head! I joked that at least he got his first sting out of the way already. He didn't see the humor at the time, but now I think he's coming around. At least we know he's not allergic!


After David had carefully moved the hive to the prepared spot behind the house, he made sure everything was secure and in place before removing the stopper in the entrance. As soon as the paper towel was gone, bees started pouring out of the tiny hole, eager to check out their new surroundings.


And with that, we decided to call it a night. It was getting dark, so we went inside to congratulate ourselves for a successful bee delivery and make some sugar water to feed them (we just boiled water and added sugar at a 1:1 ratio, stirring until the sugar dissolved, then let the mixture cool and it was ready to go).

This morning we woke up before the sun to suit up and get the bees fed. We moved quickly, but carefully, since it was chilly and drizzling (it's not ideal to mess with the hive under these circumstances, but we really needed to get the food in there for the bees). Luckily David got the smoker going really well straight away and we were able to get in and out with no stings and only a minimal disturbance to the hive.


It's so funny to think back to several years ago when I read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and fell in love with the book. It is one of my all-time favorites. Little did I know that I would be keeping bees myself one day. My favorite part of the book is when the main character describes her first lesson in tending to the bees from an experienced beekeeper -

“I hadn't been out to the hives before, so to start off she gave me a lesson in what she called 'bee yard etiquette.' She reminded me that the world was really one bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places. Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don't be an idiot; wear long sleeves and pants. Don't swat. Don't even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates while whistling melts a bee's temper. Act like you know what you're doing, even if you don't. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved.”

For some reason, that passage really stuck with me throughout the years. Now I understand why. It's so humbling to look back and know that in some small way, I was being prepared for my future even though I didn't realize it at the time.

I'm so glad the bees are finally here and now we can jump head first into learning all there is about them. I hope you'll follow along with us on our beekeeping journey!

~Tammy

Shared with Down Home Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday  

57 comments:

  1. To bee, or not to bee...

    Sorry I could not resist :-)

    Very interesting post!! I must say I've never known anyone who's had bees before so I find this rather fascinating and I look forward to reading future posts dedicated to it!

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  2. How exciting for you! I can't wait to hear more about your bee keeping adventures! (My dad was a beekeeper and I used to help him at his hives) The honey is so worth all the effort and work.

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  3. Oh, how awesome! I love this post, and congrats on starting your own beehive! I would love to have some, but my hubby is allergic to bees. :( I will have to live through your posts Tammy! Keep them coming! :)

    Mary
    www.homegrownonthehill.blogspot.com

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  4. Wonderful!!! My husband and I have discussed bees lately. We've got plenty of research to do first but it sounds exciting!

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  5. How exciting!!!!! It will be so rewarding when you get that first jar of fresh honey :)

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  6. I will be taking notes on your progress, with my nose pressed to the screen.... and there's a very good chance I will have to find me a copy of The Secret life of bees too. :)))) Congrats on your new hive!

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  7. Of course, I will be here for your bee keeping adventures. It sounds as if you are off to a great start. I know honey will be much easier and more rewarding than the "maple syrup"...lol. So happy to get to visit. Have a great day. May your bee hive be successful and your honey be sweet. Blessings!

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  8. Congrats on the new family additions. You're going to "bee" great parents! (sorry, couldn't resist the groaner) :)

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  9. Oh Tammy you can bet I will be following along I truly always wanted to have bees but my daughter is allergic so I will live precariously through you. YEAH Bees can't wait to hear more. Congrats. B

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  10. Ohhh Tammy,
    How exciting for you both!! That would have be a bit unnerving to ride in a car with scared bees for an hour! It looks like you have a nice little set up for your bees. You two are going to "bee" great with your new bees!! I look forward to learning through you!! Yeahhhh!

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  11. How exciting! You guys have a great set up for them. I can't wait to hear more about your bees!

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  12. I'm so excited for you! Can't wait to read your stories and learn more about this amazing creatures!

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  13. Oh, how exciting!! We've been wanting to get bees for ever so long now.

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  14. Hi Tammy, what fun you two are going to have with your bees! My sister keeps bees in the middle of Christchurch city, she started with 1 hive but now has 3! She also gets called out by the neighbours whenever there are swarms, and off she goes with a cardboard box and catches the swarm! While I am interested (I did study entomology at university)I can't see us getting some myself, I'm too scared of getting stung! S:)

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  15. Congrats!
    My husband has talked about getting bees but I get really nervous around them so he hasn't been able to talk me into it.
    It will fun to see how your bee adventure goes!
    Good Luck!

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  16. How exciting! I would love to have bees, but I don't know how well they would do through our cold winters...then again we have always had bees in the garden, so they must stay somewhere in the winter :-)

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  17. Tammy, I am excited for you! I enjoyed reading about your bee keeping adventure so far and will look forward to learning more about your bees. Have a great evening!

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  18. I'll be following. Congrats to you! I can't wait to learn about the process of taking care of bees, even if it will only be vicariously. :)

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  19. i hope they'll be happy with you and flourish!

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  20. Hmmm...I can taste the homemade honey already! So glad you've got your hive and your on your way to a great learning experience!

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  21. Wow beekeeping too!? You are one amazing lady!

    This is so exciting! I look forward to hearing more about your bees... I'm so glad I get to read about your journey!

    Wishing you a lovely day.
    xoxo

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  22. This is an exciting new adventure! I'll be interested to see how thing progress. Best of luck!

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  23. Squeee!!!! I'm excited for you! (And a tad jealous!) :)

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  24. This is awesome, gal! You guys are braver than I am - no way would I ride in a vehicle with thousands of bees. I'm looking forward to keeping up with how everything's going in the hive!

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  25. I've always wanted bees. How exciting.
    I too fell in love with that book. After I read it I started making a honey cake once a year. I will have to send you the recipe.

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  26. How exciting! Heck of a way for your husband to find out of he is allergic to bees of not! :) It will be interesting to follow along, best of luck on your beekeeping adventure.

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  27. How cool, we had couple hives while growing up. I hope you got regular honey bees, not the africanized ones we have here in the southwest. Good luck :)

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  28. Congrats! I had my first year of successful beekeeping last year and this spring they swarmed! Anyway, I have two more hives and pick up my new ladies on May 11th! We can share stories!

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  29. Good luck with your new venture! You're far more intrepid that I.

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  30. How exciting! I can't wait to read more about your adventures with your bees!

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  31. Tammy this is so awesome!! I have to say I'm pretty jealous. We're probably going to have to wait to get bees until we leave the city because we don't have enough room on our property to put them somewhere out of the way. I will definitely be following along on your adventures and learning through you! I'm sure we'll have lots of questions for you in a few years, when you guys are experts at this!

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  32. Yay! Very exciting! We still have. Few more weeks of patient waiting...
    Was that his first time ever being stunk? Be careful if so, they say its not the first one, bu the second or third that will trigger a reaction if your allergic.
    Have fun with your new family members!

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  33. How fun! Best of luck on your beekeeping adventures. I will live vicariously through your reports :) I have been intrigued with the idea of keeping bees for years, but have never taken the plunge . . .

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  34. I've always wanted my own apiary! As major honey consumers, I've given it more & more thought in recent years. This post is so awesome. Congratulations!

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  35. Oh yay Tammy ~ you are now an official bee keeper. Cool uniforms for the job :)) Love the section you quoted from THE SECRET LIFEE OF BEES.

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  36. I am excited for you. I've wanted bees and chickens for a while. I always thought I'd have bees before chickens but it didn't turn out that way. Can't wait to hear about your adventures!

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  37. How exciting Tammy! I can't wait to read about your adventures in beekeeping.

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  38. Just send the bees love...works in any area of your life!
    So happy for y'all. Can't wait to learn from you.

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    Replies
    1. BTW-That's one of my favorite movies. I could watch it over and over...

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  39. Oh how wonderful so excited for you hope you enjoy your experience with those lovely Bees. They need so much help here across the Pond a lot more people are taking up bee keeping.
    Lovely post look forward to your up-dates.

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  40. Tammy-what an exciting journey, and I can't wait to see where it takes you guys! I've read a lot recently that bee populations are diminishing, and I find that very sad. I'm glad you two are doing something to help bring bees back:) I'm wishing you the very best of luck!!!

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  41. Awesome! I got my beehive two weeks ago, but I have yet to blog about it. I'm so busy that I have no time to write!

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  42. Oh i so want Bees! Maybe next spring. Our neighbors started bees this year and the post office accidentally smashed open the box when the bees arrived and they got out into the post office- An exterminator had to be called! It was crazyness!

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  43. Congrats! I'm scared of bees but do love honey.

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  44. How exciting! We have tons of bees in our yard all the time...I am allergic, but very respectful of them and they go on their merry way when I am trimming things they are buzzing around...I talk to them and thank them for the wonderful work they do in my yard...but now you get the honey too...wonderful!!Have fun with this new adventure...I look forward to hearing about it!!

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  45. How fun but sorry your hubby got stung already! I love, love bees and all they do for us. We don't have a hive but we do have lots of "wild" bees here and I always talk to them when I'm outside and they are around. We usually always see a swarm come through every spring too, they hang out for a day or so and then move on.

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  46. Congrats on getting your bees! But sorry to hear David got stung on the head - ouch, that must hurt. Looking forward to hearing/seeing more about your bees and of course the honey you'll be harvesting.

    I'm so intrigued by the secret life of bees book now. I'll have a look for it at the shops!

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  47. I do hope your bee keeping adventure is a success Tammy -- sorry about your husband's sting -- but I'm sure it wasn't one of YOUR bees but rather an interloper that snuck into your car. :) Have fun.

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  48. This is amazing! I'm eager to learn more about bees - and am so excited that the new "pets" have arrived. Poor David! Next time, he'll have to make sure he's in full gear before he visits them! Can't wait to read about your new journey, quite exciting!

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  49. How wonderful and exciting!! We have been thinking about adding bees and I am so excited to read about your adventures with them! :)

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  50. This is awesome! Thanks for sharing all of this!

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  51. How exciting! I can't wait to read more about your adventures!

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  52. Congratulations on your bees! We're opening our hive this weekend to see if they survived the winter. It's been such a cold spring we didn't want to disturb them yet.

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  53. Oh how I wish...but, for now I'll enjoy your beekeeping journey. Congrats!
    Farmhouse hugs,
    Cindy

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  54. So very interesting! The couple that I work with is going to start raising bee's this year. I shared this post with them :)

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  55. Wooohhooooo they made it over! Congratulation I am SO very excited for you guys. We are waiting for the day we can bring bees home as well. They are amazing creatures and so so good for the garden, not to mention that delicious gold they give us.
    I loved that book to, such a great read.

    Have fun sure looks like great stuff going on over in your hood. I am getting more chicks this week :)finally

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  56. Glad your bees are here!! Sometimes you have to go in when it's not optimal, but I've found my girls to be pretty good about that stuff. I didn't get stung until my second year of beekeeping, if you can believe that. I think it's because I was so painfully slow in all movements. I still don't get stung often but it happens. I hate it when they get into your hair! I just try to run and let them get themselves out when that happens. I seem to get stung otherwise! :)

    You are going to have lots of fun on your adventure and I hope soon you will have two hives!

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