Bee Charming 101

My interest in bees has grown over the years. My first influence, of course, was Pooh. There's just something so yummy about having honey in the tummy. One of my most recent influences has been meeting an apiarist in Wewahitchka, which happens to be where the film Ulee's Gold was made. There's also Idgie in Fried Green Tomatoes. She was quite the bee charmer. Actually, I'm fascinated with the life of bees and am very excited by the thought of raising my own honey and beeswax.

With so much inspiration, my plan was to set up a couple hives this year. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about beekeeping for the last several months and have learned that I have a whole lot more to learn. With that, I've decided to devote the rest of this year to increasing my knowledge and will set next spring as my start target. I'm going to join the local beekeepers' association and network to gain more insight. Many new beekeepers are able to pair up with a mentor and that's exactly what I'll do so I can be an apprentice of sorts. The experience of hands-on will far exceed anything I can learn from reading. Both forms of education combined should insure me a safe and successful start to beekeeping.

On Saturday, I observed the splitting of a hive. Calvin shared some of his fall harvest honey and damn! was it tasty! Liquid gold, I tell ya.

The Clay County Extension Agent points out the queen of the colony.

Tools of the trade. Bee smokers.