Bees!
Oh yeah! My partner and I have gotten into something different!I honestly never thought I'd have honey bees.
It all started with going to the Stark County Beekeepers Association meeting. Tom (my partner) and I went to the meeting out of curiosity, and we had no idea what to expect from this meeting. There were several people in the group, all ranging from children to grandparents. It seemed that most of the children had the know-how of beekeeping, which I found quite fascinating!
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| (We bought our supplies from this company) |
The meeting went over the basics of beekeeping, from what the supplies were (smoker, boxes, foundation for bees to build on within the box, ect.), where you could store the bees (near fields of clover or gardens), and how to go about buying the supplies needed. The meeting also went over what the risks were (if you're allergic to bee stings, you should have an epipen around).
The people of the group made the meeting more fun, because we were able to ask questions and get some helpful insight into the world of beekeeping. One woman told me that she finds the use of unscented shampoos and conditioners (or just not using flowery scents in general) useful, because the bees are attracted to her when she does, and she ends up with bees in her hair...which sounds very unpleasant.
Beekeeping seems to be more of a hobby/trade, and not something to live solely off of. Most beekeepers I run into give their honey away as gifts, and give the comb and wax away to anyone who may use it to make candles or balms. You can see that grocery stores sell honey from companies who own large farms specifically for bees, like clover, orange blossom, and almond blossoms.
I don't plan on having a large amount of bees, but so far, Tom and I have two hives. Both of these hive boxes have two foundation layers now, but a couple of weeks ago, we only had one layer, and the one layer was overflowing with bees! This wasn't any good, especially when the bees were building comb in every space (which isn't supposed to happen, but we are learning to keep an eye on them).
The bees seem to have calmed down now, and giving them more foundation will yield more honey! You can see Tom in the photo above and below, and how much comb they were building (it wasn't supposed to be built on this lid...)!
The picture below shows what our boxes are looking like now. You can see that the bees are not pouring out of the box, and they are still very active in pollinating the surrounding area.
The images I used are from the following websites, where you can also review more information on beekeeping and ordering supplies. The Stark County Beekeepers Association also has monthly meetings if you wish to visit :).
http://www.starkbeekeepers.org/ <---goes to the Beekeepers Association
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/ <---goes to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm for supplies
Have an awesome day! :)
The people of the group made the meeting more fun, because we were able to ask questions and get some helpful insight into the world of beekeeping. One woman told me that she finds the use of unscented shampoos and conditioners (or just not using flowery scents in general) useful, because the bees are attracted to her when she does, and she ends up with bees in her hair...which sounds very unpleasant.
The bees seem to have calmed down now, and giving them more foundation will yield more honey! You can see Tom in the photo above and below, and how much comb they were building (it wasn't supposed to be built on this lid...)!
The picture below shows what our boxes are looking like now. You can see that the bees are not pouring out of the box, and they are still very active in pollinating the surrounding area.
The images I used are from the following websites, where you can also review more information on beekeeping and ordering supplies. The Stark County Beekeepers Association also has monthly meetings if you wish to visit :).
http://www.starkbeekeepers.org/ <---goes to the Beekeepers Association
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/ <---goes to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm for supplies
Have an awesome day! :)
