Beekeeping has been a rich and rewarding undertaking. While our initial reasons for getting a beehive (notice I said "a" beehive!) had to do with making and harvesting our own honey,  it has turned into so much more. Just learning about beekeeping has been awesome with the many wonderful people we've met and worked with for several years now. 

Most people don't understand how working with thousands of stinging insects could be an enjoyable activity.  Trust me, if you're not suited properly and try it after having bananas on your cereal and petting the dog, it isn't. You'll get lit up in a hurry.  But done right, insect husbandry is fun, though still a lot of work.  Honeybees are really gentle creatures that have no desire to interact with humans or any other species for that matter.  Beekeeping is not what it was thirty years ago though. You can't just put a swarm in a box, leave it alone and harvest honey the following year. The increase in hive pests, parasites and disease has forced beekeepers to inspect and manage hives in order to keep their bees at optimum health and still produce a pure product.  IPM, Integrated Pest Management, has become a standard industry phrase.

We invite you to nose around here, check out the articles and links and come back often.  We're still "under construction", but trust you'll find something of value.