I am wondering if any of you are beekeepers...Larry began this hobby a few months ago and I'm enjoying them as well. Hopefully, we'll have honey next year...with hopefully, more hives.
What's been the most incredible thing to come out of all this is that my Uncle, who lives in Montgomery (he's in his 80's), LOVES bee's and the annual beekeeping association is going to be held in Montgomery in October...I did some research for Uncle Norman and one of the women who formed the Montgomery county group owns a nursery less than 2 miles from Uncle N's home...he's going to meet her this afternoon...she's going to let him babysit one of her hives and help him get involved with the group. I wish I lived closer to Uncle N where we could tend to the hives together. He and I have spoken on the phone 3 times today and it's all about bee's...he's such a hoot and I can only hope that I'm a go-getter like him when I'm his age.

This is so cool, Dee! The bees need all the help they can get these days.

DH was a beekeeper years ago. We still have his honey in jars (that I am not allowed to open). His kids were very small and they helped.

He's even gotten calls to remove hives when animal control would not touch them.

It's a cool hobby but VERY demanding. yet challenging.

Di...so cool about DH keeping bees and that you still have honey. How many hives did he have?
Yonuh...yes the bees do need our help...I am so conscious about insect sprays and freak out every time the mosquito sprayer drives through our neighborhood. We called the county and registered our address as beekeepers and the sprayer is supposed to only come by after the bees are in the hive for the night...it still makes me nervous.

Well I am allergic to bee venom so can't be near bees. The Mormons at the foot of one of our mountains have bee hives by the dozen and also raise pigmy goats, they are so cute. Anyway a couple years ago the Killer Bees from California infiltrated their hives, killed most of the honey bees and had to be eraticated after attacking some of the hives keepers too. It was a real tragedy I'm told by some drom here who bought honey there. I am not sure what the situation is now but your post makes me want to inquire. Good beeing you two...

I have had a notion to have bees for a long time.Indeed a beekeeper promised to leave hives here for a season and start me off.Alas he died very suddenly so that never happened.A nearby village has many hives and keepers..The orchards and heather being the source of pollen.
Beekeepers are said to live long...(my friend didn't)and a
one tradition is that each evening at sundown the keeper tells the bees all the news from the area..
Honey is anticeptic..great for wounds ..ulcers and healing inwardly..
Trials of NZ manuka honey show great results but beekeepers believe their honey also would test well..but trials are costly..
one type of honey is said to aid cancer care...this is from bees kept in a valley in semi captivity and these bees visit certain plants only...hope for a natural cure for cancer may lie in our small friends the bees..
I am never afraid of bees and can catch a bee in my greenhouse in my clapsed hands much to my familys' amazement
without bees our food source would diminish...

what a great hobby for Larry..

Oops...we have small-hive beetles and have to order some equipment to help get rid of them...they can do real damage to a hive...I never realized how much bee's have going against them in this world.
I found a street sign that says BEEKEEPER Lane that I'm going to order for Larry to put at the end of our drive...won't that be cute?
Yes, MA honey is so good in so many ways...I'm just scratching the surface (no pun intended) in learning the medicinal purposes of honey.
what I find fascinating is to just sit nearby and watch them...I can get about 6 feet from the hive and they do not bother me and won't as long as I don't do something that makes them think I'm attacking them.
How in the world do you catch a bee in your hands without getting stung? Wow...we should nick name you the Bee Whisperer! Very, very cool!

These bees come into my green house and I hear them bumping their heads trying to get out..first time I did it I was only concerned with helping a distraut bee..after that I just thought "Well he didn't hurt me last time"
note this I have an epipen for severe reaction to certain things..but bee sting was not mentioned by the consultant..
I do have a few bee mementoes..a paperweight bookmark and a brooch..my friends know I like bees,,
the order within the hive is clever..and I believe they can communicate as to how far their wee friends have to fly to get nectar..they do a "bee dance" so they are social creatures.

bee whisperer would be fine Dee...

I'm not a beekeeper, but I know several local women who are and I delight in buying my honey from them. Especially since they have educated me to the concept that honey from LOCAL bees is healthier for us - especially if we are prone to pollen-related allergies. So that is one more medicinal use for honey...

My grandfather, an MD, first educated me as a child to the many wonderful benefits of and uses for honey, so I say, "You go Girl," to you, Dee!

And I love Mountain Ash's suggestion that you adopt the title of "bee whisperer."

So delicious!

Anne

My sister had MS for many years and when it would act up, one of her specialists had her come into his office where she was stung on the upper arm by a bee. Honest injun, and then for weeks she would be fine, no tremors, dizziness, no paralisis, or other MS types of misery. I found that amazing!!! I read up on the bee sting prodedure and it is a logical and often used remedy to help people with this disease...

Yesterday was another 'first' for me. Hive Beetles are a problem for bee hives and we've seen then so Larry ordered items to put within the hive to help combat the nasty little suckers. That meant we had to dismantle the hive and disrupt our bees. I suited up (white shirt, white jeans, socks, sneakers (elastic bands around wrists and ankles and a mesh hood and rubber gloves...I wasn't taking any chances..Larry's so comfortable he just wore gloves and his hood. We got everything ready and the smoking began...inside you could hear them buzzing away...they start trying to clear the hive of smoke so it keeps them too busy to string...before I knew it the hive was dismantled and we were surrounded by bees...all of them non-aggressive. Not one landed on me or tried to sting me and I was in their face close. We had to work quickly and the top feeding tray (heavy sugar water) had bees fall into it...poor darlings were stuck so Larry and I were trying to lift them out...it's as if they knew we were helping...they' try and climb up onto my gloved finger and then I'd put them near the hive...I can see where one falls in love with these little creatures. Not once did any of them try to string nor did they become agressive as a group. Larry put the hive back together after putting in anti-beetle stuff and by the evening all were back in the hive making honey. This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen and what fun Larry and I are doing this together...I told Larry that if anyone had asked me if I'd ever be handling bees I would have told them they were out of their ever-loving mind...but, after this, I get why people love doing this. We're hoping for our first honey next year...I'll keep ya'll posted.

I get the heebie jeebies just reading this. This would be one of the last hobbies on earth that I'd would attempt. Bees scare the heck out of me. Dee, you are so willing to try new tihngs. I admire that quality in you.

However, I must say that when I'm gardening and bees are in the flowers right next to me, they leave me alone. We garden together.

Also, please note that you should never give honey to infants. My great-niece had infant botulism and almost died. This was only a few months ago. Her dad uses honey in his coffee and they said that possibly, she could have gotten some honey from his mustache. I think it's more likely that the cat brought something in off the farm. Weird and unbelievably scary.

Yes, giving honey to a chid under the age of one is not wise...so you are correct there.
I, too, have a great respect for the bees as long as I'm suited up where they can't sting me...and too, they are smoked so that calms them down as well.
a Bee was crushed on the side of one of the boxes and immediately 4-5 bees began working to move the dead bee off the wood. It was pretty stuck. One bee literally stood on his hind stinger-section and pulled with all its might trying to loosen his dead partner...steam came out of his antlers he was pulling so hard...cracked me up. He never did make it but not for sheer lack of trying. An amazing thing to watch. Larry flicked the dead bee off with a stick and the other bees busied themselves elsewhere. busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy bees

Dee,
Bees are not my thing. Xena and I got stung twice, while geocaching last summer. I like honey but I do not like bees.

Dee, Jabber, Dotsie and all,

I just read this article in the Huffington Post about bees disappearing globally. I guess they call it "colony collapse disorder."

Bye-Bye Bees

It sounds like one of those "butterfly flapping its wings" phenomena, something that seems small but could have global impact. So I thought I ought to share it with you...

Anne

Scientists have been trying for a few years now to figure out what's happening to kill the bees. There are several theories, from cell phones, to pesticides, to GMO crops. I hope they figure it out soon or we will all be up a creek without a paddle!!

Anne,
I saw a report about the diminishing bee population on one of
those TV news magazine commentaries, either GMA or 60 minutes or
O'Reilly. Folks' are quite upset about this issue.

We kept bees years ago in a hive on the porch roof. Bees dispose of their elders by banishing them from the hive and carrying their bodies and dropping them. Occasionally they got into the house -- because we opened the window to check on them -- and did this and I stepped on a few of them, immobile but still alive and able to sting -- and got stung on the bottoms of my feet. We were obviously very green doing this, but didn't know anyone to consult about bee keeping, just had a book.

Well with todays internet availabilities regarding every subject imaginable, there should be much out there for any hobby such as beekeeping.

A local man died recently..He was a beekeeper and had advised many people throughout his long life.Reading his obit.it was clear a great man had passed.His first hive was when he was seven years old.Seems to me to be a worthwhile interest.Working with nature and chanelling living creatures to provide food and pollinate plants and trees.

The past president of Fife Beekeepers Association, Robert Baird Simpson, has died aged 74.

* By Craig McManamon
* Published in the Courier : 15.07.10
* Published online : 15.07.10 @ 05.22pm

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Born in Crail in 1936, Mr Simpson worked in the St Andrews area as a nursery man and gardener.

This was a private venture before getting a job at St Andrews University's grounds department.

He went on to work with Fife Council at Cairngreen near Cupar before retiring due to ill health in the early 1980s.

At a young age, Mr Simpson displayed a keen interest in bees, having got his first hive when he was seven.

From that point on he developed a passion for the creatures, and at one stage had more than 60 hives.

The hobby grew to a more serious level when he started an agency for beekeeping equipment called Flower of May Apiaries.

Along with his wife Joan, Mr Simpson promoted beekeeping and its products to the public.

The couple had a stand at several agricultural shows throughout central Scotland and the borders.

Over a number of years Mr Simpson carried out numerous talks and displays at schools, guilds and other organisations.

He also demonstrated to beekeeping associations across the country spanning from Wick to the borders and from Oban to St Andrews.

He was a lifelong member of the Fife Beekeepers Association and a long-standing member of the Scottish Beekeeping Association, serving several years on its committee.

Click for more on these topics

http://youtu.be/LFtcD8zWwK4

is to a link about beekeeping at our place. A stronger hive attacked our weaker hive for its honey and pollen...many bees were killed and slaughtered defending and attacking the hive. It was heartbreaking to see that unfolf.

DeeBee,
So, a stronger hive is robbing its neighboring, weaker hive? Why does that happen, a typical "survival of the fittest" type deal? How can this be prevented, other than narrowing the hole that is?

Dee, I had no idea this sort of thing happens. Though it is heartbreaking to see the deaths of the bees, I thank you for sharing.

And I wonder, as Jabber did, how can this be prevented? Why does it happen? Etc?

How terrible Dee do you habve to start over or do you still have some bees left? Here in Vegas the Killer Bees attack the Honey bees hives and destroy everything from what I read in our newspaper.Some exterminators are always destroying the hives of the Killer bees because they are so dangerous.

Not killer bees...honey bees do this a lot from what James tell us...James is a beekeeper we found when a tree next to our was cut down and found to be full of bees. Honey bees only want to do one thing...be left in peace to manufacture honey to feed their hive. The sad thing is this is mine and Larry's fault. We had removed some frames that had hive beetles in them along with a frame of honey...it was left uncovered and the hive next to the weaker hive found it and that got them started. Then Larry removed from beetles from a couple of the frames returned to the hive which meant honey dripped down onto the floor of the hive and that attracted the neighboring bees, too. We didn't know this of course or we would not have done it...we're still learning. Makes me heartsick knowing this. But, leading into fall weaker hives will get attacked for their honey by other bees so it's just how nature works. We just helped it along and didn't know it.
We're going to go into the hive when Larry's home this weekend and clean up the hive...we're certain the queen was killed and the hive is so weak now (decreased numbers) that there's no way they'll survive the winter months.
Yesterday while I was filming the bees a pretty young bee landed on my glove and allowed me to watch her prune herself...who would have known that these tiny little creatures would captivate me in such a way that I would cry watching them do what nature geared them to do. A good friend of mine said it yesterday....'nature is beautiful and sad.' Thanks for letting me get this off my chest, ya'll.

DeeBee,
The way you refer to Bees is amazing to me. I'd never refer to
a bee as being "pretty." But each to her own!!!

LOLOL....Only a beekeeper, I think, could refer to them as such...LOL.

We haven't talked here about bees and the benefits of honey for quite awhile, so I hope that means that Dee's bees are all well and happy.

I just came across this article by Dr. Mercola that indicates honey is a great way to heal wounds.

Found it fascinating, so I thought I'd share. I'm not familiar with Manuka honey, but I'm delighted to read that he says any RAW honey is effective here...

All I know is when I get a sore throat, a spoonful of honey soothes the pain and clears up the ailment. I'll tell Deebee to check this out! Thanks Anne.

Great post, Sandy. I left you a comment.

Sandy,
Read "A Taste of Honey" write up. I generally have a jar of honey on hand. The latest jar I purchased is Aunt Sue's, A SueBee Product, Raw-Wild Natural and 100% Pure Strained Honey. Love it. Would like to do a honey tasting trek and a cheese tasting tour. Love both of these products.

Thank you, Anne and jabber, for your feedback. I like to eat local foods as much as is practical, and local honey is no exception.

Both the honey tour and a cheese tasting tour sound so fun, Jabber. Where you live in upstate New York, there ought to be a lot of places you can do both. After all, Wisconsin-born gal that I am -- my husband claims a day does not go by that I do not serve him cheese in some form or another -- I know that you have a lot of good New York Cheddar produced in your state. Not to mention local wineries, if I recall correctly.

I think our local CVB's (Convention and Visitor's Bureaus) ought to consider better promoting these products. Get local B&B's to promote cheese tasting tours, honey tasting tours and etc.

In Wisconsin, they produce cheese, wine, cherries, cranberries. And of course there is the Nationa Mustard Museum -- featuring "Poupon U" wearables. This museum, if you haven't heard of it, is owned by a zany former lawyer, and just celebrated its 25th anniversary.

All good fun stuff for people to do on weekend visits to our respective states.

Anne,
There are lots of wine tasting places here. Problem is hubby and I don't consume alcohol. After few tastes, I'd have to be carried
out of the winery. Cheese on the other hand, I totally love but haven't taken the time to tour any factories around here. But one day, I will.

Understood, Jabber. You and I can be totally happy without the wine. But wine tastings DO bring tourists to the wineries around here.

I'll bet! When WB and I go on vacations, we pass lots of vineyards but never stop. The truth is I'm much happier now then when hubby and I went out and downed a few pretty-colored mixes.

Steve and I went out for an anniversary dinner (24 years) earlier this month, and on a whim I ordered a white wine spritzer with dinner instead of my usual iced tea.

The thing didn't even taste that good, and I never did manage to finish it. I've never been a big drinker, though I have nothing against it, morally or religiously. Just never got into it.

There have been a lot of alcoholics in Steve's family, so he guards against that by only having a drink on special occasions.

I agree with you: Both of us used to drink more when we were younger, and I don't think either of us miss it.But I'm not against drinking alcohol, and don;'t have any problems with those who do. I guess the way I see it, NOT drinking saves me a lot of calories I can spend on stuff I like a lot more!!

I'm not against it but the law has clamped down on drunk driving and a person could lose everything they've worked a lifetime to accumulate, so I guess the smart thing to do, is not overdo.

Agreed with regard to not overdoing. My mother's family owned a brewery.

So as a family we've been trained not to "overdo" all our lives.

It was always important for the family to show that one can enjoy beer without overindulging.

These days the lakeside land where the brewery once stood is home to condos, and my cousin is still selling beer, but it's no longer brewed in Madison.

Anne

I have family who own a bar not far here, too. But it isn't a wild establishment or anything. It's in a nice part of town and they're like the backbone of the community. I still think that
wine tasting idea would be fun.

I agree. I haven't done any of the local winery tours, but I have a fond memory of visiting the Wollersheim Winery south of Madison about 20 years ago.

I'm sure wineries could have some fun with the tours. Here's a Legend of the Old Soaked Oak that's apparently told at a winery in Napa Valley.

I swear I heard a similar story at a winery in Wisconsin. Not sure if it was at Wollersheim or one in Door County.

But in the story I heard, they showed us tourists a tree stump with red rings several inches in from the edge. Told us the red coloration came from the wine... LOL!

Here's an interesting article from Wired magazine:
Bees have personalities

Hi yonuh,
I tried reading that link you have there; but Bees are not my favorite thing. So I'm not hanging around to figure out if they have nice personalities. LOL...

Dee, I just read about a toxin that's harmful for bees,

Specifically what I read said:


So I wanted to know of you had heard of this, if the information is accurate, and share this article from the venerable ol' Mother Earth News.

Apparently there's a petition going around on change.org to get the pesticide banned. Thought you would like to know. Apparently they need 50,000 signatures to have the needed impact.

I saw that somewhere else, too, Anne. I'll have to find it.

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technolo...inoids-ban.html

The neonicotinoids were banned in Italy, which then had a resurgence in bees and a sharp decline in CCD.

Here's another article that suggests it has been known for a number of years that this class of pesticides is killing bees:

http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1958&category=Environment

To all the beekeepers in this forum: I saw this article about beekeeping, and I just had to share. I was intrigued that the author got involved in beekeeping because the bees don't need daily attention - which meant she could go on vacation now and then!

Here's the link.

Also in the article is this link to the Metro Atlanta Beekeeper's Association which contains a whole "hive" worth of beekeeping stories from their members.

Almost a year later, it seems that this bee killer is still out there.

Here's an article I just read in the Huff Post. Guess we'll call it an update: Colony Collapse

Seems there's still no neonicotinoid pesticide ban in the US.

I told Dee over on Facebook about this. She said she'd check it out!