New in Eastern NC

[beekeepingnoobs]

Hello all,
My grandfather recently passed away and left a hive of bees and quite a lot of equipment. When we were young our grandaddy spent most of the summer messing with his hives, but as he progressed in years he wasn't able to keep on top of the work that needed to be done. As kids we helped a bit but almost all of his knowledge died with him. My brother and I are local and want to keep the legacy alive and maybe find a way to give some honey to all of our family for christmas.

After taking inventory I've found 2 usable veils, a few pairs of gloves, wells and supers in various states of disrepair, tons of frames, a pile of rusty smokers and an active hive of bees. Thrown in are 6 or so books and a mountain of magazines from the 60's. I picked up "Beekeeping for Dummies" and plan on knocking out that and my grandaddys books this weekend and starting with hive tending Monday or Tuesday.

I've set up a blog to document our stupidity. It can be found at beekeepingnoobs.blogspot.com. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Jimmy Makinson

[specialkayme]

Welcome to the forum! It's always a pleasure to see another tarheel on here, even if it is from the other half of the state  ;)

I guess I should probably tell you that it's not likely that you are going to be able to "learn" beekeeping from 'beekeeping for dummies.' It usually takes years of practice, and alot of mistakes, which I'm sure you know.

If I were you, I'd read all of those books before opening up the hive (I'm a bit of a researcher though, others on here probably would not recommend so much reading). Then find your local beekeeping association, join, and attend meetings. After a few weeks, ask for a mentor. Most of the associations are very welcoming and helpful. They will be able to pass on so much more information than books are usually able to.

I would also recommend buying a second colony. Having one colony is nice, but when starting out if you have two you can compare the two to determine if the one is doing something normal or not.

Anyway, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to read up on this forum, or ask it yourself.

Enjoy! Beekeeping is a blast or a burden, depending on how you approach it.

[jgaito]

I've set up a blog to document our stupidity.
Jimmy Makinson

well, you certainly have a good attitude !!   i second the idea of another hive.   remember grandpa every time you light one of those smokers and it will add to the experience.

[beekeepingnoobs]

Thanks for the replies. My brother said that he knows of a couple of places where there are most likely more "forgotten" hives. We're planning on going out and trying to locate them so maybe we'll have another hive mostly for free (I've been let to believe that nothing about beekeeping is free). The only reason I feel a sense of urgency is that the hive I've seen is in a sad state of repair and I would hate to lose the bees. As there isn't a local association that I've been able to find I've been planning on offering my relatively young back to a local beekeeper. I've got my eye on one who is in his mid 70's and would probably welcome the help. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.
Jimmy

[Styla]

Welcome to the forums!

I hope you can learn a lot from this forum and share your own experience here.

[indypartridge]

As there isn't a local association that I've been able to find ...

Have you checked if any of these are nearby?
http://www.ncbeekeepers.org/chapters.htm

Also, please update your profile to include your location. Much of beekeeping is location-specific, so it'll help us answering your questions if we know where you are. And don't forget to check out the tutorials on the main Beemaster page!

Good Luck!