Show me the honey.....

I started keeping bees in the spring of 2021 with just a single hive that over-wintered well, adding a second hive early in  2022.  The learning curve for this second-year beekeeper was steep however, and neither of the hives made it through the year.  The more you learn, the less you know they say. Despite losing both these colonies, I harvested my first 25 pounds of honey along the way.

Each year brings new "learning opportunities", and I started 2023 by investing in two 5-frame nucs. After much head-scratching, some minor problem solving and the occasional bee sting or six, I ended the year with one strong and one weak hive, which I combined into one colony at year end. 26 pounds of honey came my way through the summer. (Bottling that last, additional pound was such a positive moment.....progress).

So as I reflect on my ventures to date, I know that while I have learned much since 2021, I have barely begun to accumulate the bank of knowledge and skills needed to make this hobby of mine sustainable. Sustainable in this context means both self-funding and environmentally sound . I plan to use only natural products as part of my IPM (Integrated Pest Management) protocol, and will be developing an eco-friendly pollinator garden in the vacinity of the hives during 2024.

The purpose of this site is to capture my ongoing journey as a beekeeper via videos, still images and the documented inspections of current and future colonies.