Good morning! I am Loyd Mehaffey, from Shelby County, Alabama. Although I have been gardening - both ornamental and vegetable - for longer than I can remember, I have only very recently begun to prepare for keeping bees. I suppose it's a common story: our local beekeeper died a few years ago, his children did not keep the hives active, and the bee population in our community decreased to almost nothing. While there are other beekeepers nearby (within 10 miles), our gardens have been less and less productive without our pollinators....so, with enthusiasm sans experience or knowledge, I am now the owner of two hives, with two nucs to be picked up in late April, and a bee suit on order (that's another, slightly painful, story).
Good to meet y'all!!