I've wanted to keep bees ever since my neighbor gave us a taste of the honey from his beehives when I was a kid. Josh and I have been talking about beekeeping for a few years now, and for one reason or another it didn't happen. One wintry evening this March I had visions of blueberry blossoms dancing in my head, and it occurred to me: we live on a berry farm now, we simply must get bees! So a few weeks ago, we took the plunge and got two nucs (small colonies.) Two colonies isn't really a lot in terms of commercial beekeeping; we are hoping to get enough honey for ourselves and family & friends.
They are remarkably gentle. You might think that having hundreds of bees buzzing around your head would get freaky, but, they just aren't aggressive. They are busy. They have places to go, flowers to pollinate. The last thing they want to deal with is some guy in a big white suit.So we have been checking on them periodically. One colony is definitely more active than the other, but both seem healthy. The more active colony has already begun to make honey. And now that the sun is out and things are blooming, I have seen them foraging all over the farm.
