What a finely crafted, informative article you wrote! You've had a busy day! It was great to see Ken's outdoor workshop and the turkeys I heard earlier today. The lovely, natural hives must be so enticing to the bee colonies.
I mostly read non-fiction these days, but in decades past, I discovered Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees. Its writing style, mystical themes, and incredible storytelling blew me away. I read several more after that.
I avoided bee-keeping on the farm. We had a neighbor within a mile who raised them. I was so afraid of killing them, and I tried to keep sugar consumption low.
I worked on this piece for a couple weeks & finally felt it was good enough to release this week.
In recent years I’ve mostly been reading non-fiction as well with a few fiction selections here or there…The Woods of Fannin County, Demon Copperfield, to name a couple. After this week’s meeting, I looked up some more of Kingsolver’s books & I’m now listening to Prodigal Summer. I’ve also been introduced to the fiction work of Richard Powers and WOW! His book Overstory is next on my fiction reading list.
How interesting! I tried my hand at tending European honeybees for three years, but the colony died each year.The second year, they swarmed and I called a beekeeper who would only help capture them if she could take them. I couldn't find a mentor so I followed books and internet advice. Finally gave away my hives and equipment. I love the idea of supporting native bees.
Beekeeping is so hard, I gave up referring to myself as a “beekeeper”! I’m now a bee-tender, hive keeper, or apiarist. It is also very hard without a local mentor. Bees are very place sensitive & “keeping” them depends on so many different local factors. I have a hard time finding anyone local who keeps bees naturally. I’m told it can’t be done, which is really sad. I hope to keep proving them wrong since we’ve kept them naturally since 2017.
Give him LOTS of books to read about them. Getting to know the bees & their fascinating lifecycles before getting hives helps so much. You’re in or near Appalachia right? There’s GOT to still be bee trees in those old stands of woods. Research natural beekeepers in your area. Get permission to set some traps. You can catch swarms on small acreage in people’s yards as well.
Love this. I went to buy honey and discovered a 22 oz bottle of locally grown (fairly local) was $18.99. I remember when it was $6.99. If I weren't living in a homeowner's association community, I would be tempted to learn how to keep bees.
I'm so happy to see others getting into this, for the bee's sake, for the planet, and for us.
I’m sure the cost of honey will be high this year. Another toll from industrialized agriculture. Mono-culture crops & shipping bees all over the country is not normal & definitely not bee-centric. I hope they can wake up to this before it’s too late for us all.
In my utopian society, all small communities, subdivisions, HOA’s would have a central community garden with chicken coops & natural bee hives.
What a finely crafted, informative article you wrote! You've had a busy day! It was great to see Ken's outdoor workshop and the turkeys I heard earlier today. The lovely, natural hives must be so enticing to the bee colonies.
I mostly read non-fiction these days, but in decades past, I discovered Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees. Its writing style, mystical themes, and incredible storytelling blew me away. I read several more after that.
I avoided bee-keeping on the farm. We had a neighbor within a mile who raised them. I was so afraid of killing them, and I tried to keep sugar consumption low.
I worked on this piece for a couple weeks & finally felt it was good enough to release this week.
In recent years I’ve mostly been reading non-fiction as well with a few fiction selections here or there…The Woods of Fannin County, Demon Copperfield, to name a couple. After this week’s meeting, I looked up some more of Kingsolver’s books & I’m now listening to Prodigal Summer. I’ve also been introduced to the fiction work of Richard Powers and WOW! His book Overstory is next on my fiction reading list.
Thanks for reading & commenting on my offering.
How interesting! I tried my hand at tending European honeybees for three years, but the colony died each year.The second year, they swarmed and I called a beekeeper who would only help capture them if she could take them. I couldn't find a mentor so I followed books and internet advice. Finally gave away my hives and equipment. I love the idea of supporting native bees.
Beekeeping is so hard, I gave up referring to myself as a “beekeeper”! I’m now a bee-tender, hive keeper, or apiarist. It is also very hard without a local mentor. Bees are very place sensitive & “keeping” them depends on so many different local factors. I have a hard time finding anyone local who keeps bees naturally. I’m told it can’t be done, which is really sad. I hope to keep proving them wrong since we’ve kept them naturally since 2017.
Wow- this is so interesting! My son wants us to get bees and I can't quite get my head around it. I wish you the best with your new method. <3
Give him LOTS of books to read about them. Getting to know the bees & their fascinating lifecycles before getting hives helps so much. You’re in or near Appalachia right? There’s GOT to still be bee trees in those old stands of woods. Research natural beekeepers in your area. Get permission to set some traps. You can catch swarms on small acreage in people’s yards as well.
Thanks for the tips! Yes, we're in the mountains in Virginia. I think there's a local group- I'll reach out to them!
Love this. I went to buy honey and discovered a 22 oz bottle of locally grown (fairly local) was $18.99. I remember when it was $6.99. If I weren't living in a homeowner's association community, I would be tempted to learn how to keep bees.
I'm so happy to see others getting into this, for the bee's sake, for the planet, and for us.
Yes, bees are not doing well this year at all as you can read by this article:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/25/honeybees-deaths-record-high
I’m sure the cost of honey will be high this year. Another toll from industrialized agriculture. Mono-culture crops & shipping bees all over the country is not normal & definitely not bee-centric. I hope they can wake up to this before it’s too late for us all.
In my utopian society, all small communities, subdivisions, HOA’s would have a central community garden with chicken coops & natural bee hives.
I love your vision!