Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Kimbrell on February 01, 2008, 07:17:31 pm
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I wanted to follow up on a comment bluegrass made about very few beekeepers being under the age of 50. The comment made me pause because I started beekeeping at 49. I don't have any beekeepers in my background and had never been around any. The thought just came to me one day that it would be something interesting to try.
I have a two part question: How old were you when you started beekeeping? And why do you think it's mostly us "older folks" that really get into it? I am very interested to hear your answers.
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Hmmm. I was 30 when I got interested in it. 31 when I got my first hives. Am just about to start my 3rd season at 33 in April. Guess I'm a young'n :-D
I was like you. It popped in my head one day. I was actually in Iraq and bored while on a computer. Looked up beekeeping and found this site. The members were very kind and sent me several books to help my boredom and to give me my beginning knowledge.
When I got back, I continued reading, began building woodenware, and began with 2 colonies less than a year later.
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Well, I started when I was 20... but I am over 50. Young people want to play video games. :)
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I started when I was 13. I am now 67.
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45 here
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I have wanted to keep bees since I was about 12 but only last year did I have the opportunity to. I am 18 now, so 17 last year.
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I was 22 when I started I'm 60 now .Kids now like t.v. and video stuff
kirko
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I only started in 2006 - I was 57 - I'm turning 60 this year :-\ :-\ :-\ - but I'm hoping that his weekly contact with my bees will inspire my grandson who is only 20 months - but one of his first words was BEEEEEE as he pointed to the hives.
Linda T in Atlanta
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32 started when I watched my uncle in 2001. 2 Hives on 04. 5 now. 9 total this spring.
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We had about 9 hives when I was a kid but nothing since then. I'm 38 and will have my first hives this year.
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45 years old when a swarm decided to occupy one of my purple martin gourds.
couldnt let them go to waste!
found jp on the internet and he was quite helpfull in getting me started by talking me through the first one on the phone.
up to 5 hives now with another on the way as soon as i can find the time to get it!
great hobby, almost as good as fishing!
bailey
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I was 13, but took an 18-year hiatus. Restarted "for real" at 32.
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42
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I started in 1959, that may I found a swarm while doing my paper route. I was 10 at the time, turning 11 that August. This coming August I'll be turning 60. I always say I started when I was 11 but I was actually 10 years, 9 months.
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Thanks for all the replies. Seems like your answers put the lie to only people over 50 are beekeepers! I'm glad to be in the company of all you young-uns! There are some of you out there who prefer the great outdoors to video games. ;) And we more "mature" types are keeping up with the best of you! :-D :-D :-D
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Well.. I started with wild stingless bees when I was 12 and got my first european beehive and working apiary when I was 16. I am now 67 and find that my present pace suits the bees better. All of my bee keeping has been in the tropical areas of Brazil, Guyana and now Costa Rica. With the introduction of the AHB to our areas, the older beekeepers retired and many apiaries were abandoned. Now, there are a new generation of beekeepers and with modern methods being employed, the interest in establishing apiaries in more remote areas away from populated zones has increased.
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Ive thought over the "over 50 thing"..I think, when you get about 50 you see things better...You see life of all things more clear..Something triggers something in your mind about "being closer to Gods little creatures". I feel that a person usually doesnt see things like this until they've matured to a certain level..Some people are ready for this change at an earlier age, I started bees right before I turned 50..other than 4 people in the bee club here, I'm the youngest. The oldest guy just turned eight and theres a woman whos ninety.
I just wish that i had started this beekeeping 20 years earlier....for lots of reasons.
your friend,
john
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40 years old here.
Excuse me I have to go yell at some kids to get off my lawn.
Sincerely,
Brendhan
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I am 43, started in my mid 30's. Just in the past couple years really cranking up. Sometimes it seems everyone thinks beekeeping is for old duffers. I think the bigger issue is money. Lets face it...when I was in my 20's, with a ton of kids, an always pregnant wife and working for near minumum wage, I could not dream of shelling out a 100 plus bucks for just ONE hive. Silly little things like EATING tended to keep my beekeeping dreams at bay. In addition to that (something probably most people had to deal with, young poverty), there was the fact that untill we reach a certian age, we are sorta' "stuck" living where we are. Yeah, you can keep a hive or two in the city...maybe- but untill you are rich enough or smart enough to get settled out in the sticks you just arn't going to get very far.
I was born to a couple of professors, not farmers. I did not have the "home" advantage that some of the people who started very young might have had. Probably I am like most people out there.
One last thing...what (who) is there to spark any interest in kids? I NEVER met a single beekeeper in my whole life untill I sought them out. Not exactly lots and lots of popular press about bees and bee heros are there? You have to be a certian age to even begin to... I dunno'...dream/think about something like this. No, beekeeping is NOT going to die just because kids are not swarming to it. It is the new 50 year old keepers joining the fold that will keep the torch on fire.
It is not an old folks hobby...it is a grown up endevor. Did I spell that right?
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I could have sworn that I replied to this post earlier tonite, in fact I know I did. The wife was hounding me to get away from the computer so we could go to the the inlaws to have dinner, and I kept telling her, right after I post this response! I must have deleted my response instead of posting it. Oh the nagging sometimes, oh, you guys know what I mean, I know I don't have to explain myself. :-D
Anyway, I became interested in keeping bees about 5 and a half yrs ago. I started keeping bees as a way to understand bees better, in order that I could perform live removals and save colonies that I got calls on. It all started with a hive that was in a customer's rental. Soon after, I began getting more and more calls, and things kinda balooned from there. The more I learned the more fascinated I became. I have always liked the outdoors and nature in general.
Bailey is the friend I mentioned in an earlier post. We talk about bees and fish together now, all because of a hive that set up shop in his purple martin gourd.
I don't think its really an age thing but it does help when you're more settled into a routine way of life, you're more able to plan your hobbies better. I believe there are a lot of people out there who would keep bees if they knew how fascinating they really are.
........JP
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I started when I was 45, but I always wanted to keep bees from the time I saw my first swarm that lit on a redbud tree in our front yard as a youngster. When I was in my younger days I had no money to do it, then as I gradually got older I had no time up until a few years ago. I have been teaching now for 9 years so I have the summers off and honestly don't have a 8 - 5 situation. Beekeeping to me requires a good amount of dedication, my hats off to the younger guys and gals who are up for that challenge.
David
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Im 32 and steveo_uk my husband is 40
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I'm 44 and started when I was a young 42!! :-D :-D
Oh and welcome aboard Latrell!!!
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buzzbee, How did you get so wise so fast?
LT in Atlanta
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HA HA,Tillie I'm still quite the mistake maker!! :lol:
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I started at 20. My parents wouldn't help me get any bees when I was young. I started wanting some real bad when I was about 12. I'm 31 now and going into my 11th year.
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wanted a hive when I was 10 or less,, but were we lived it was not a thing to have .. after I move to were I could have a hive ( 1978 ),,, life had gotten in the way ... with kids there was no time ,,, and the wallet had moths ,, so bees just remaind a want , not a need .. after the kids were older it seemed there was even less time ,,, late fall of 05 a few things changed that I had two or three hours a week open ,, and my kids told me I had to have somthing to fill them hours and told me to get some bees in the spring .. now Im 58
For most if they want a hive 9 out 10 they live were you can not have a hive and if they do live were they can have them , thats when the no time thing comes in play ,,, the world is running a a fast pace ,, and for most time is like gold rare...
the kid
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well I was 18 Im 19 now!! going to have maybe over 10 hives this year. Long story how I got into bees. Let just say I was 3 or 4 yo at the time and was over at my dads firends house that was a beekeeper. He said are you scared of the been NO I said, So he took me out to the hives. Had about 10 of them out of 100 that he had. He said walk on the other side of them and then hold out your arms and don't swing your arms and hit them if they land on you. Well I was walking right in the middle of them, When I got done you can't see my face thats how many bees I had on me. Well he said now shake like a dog woud, I did and they all took off!!!! SO thats how I got beekeeping feaver LOL He passd away a year or to later so I did not get to have hive tell I came to arkansas and found out the state inspecter only lives 3 miles from me! Now me and him are best friends, I now can breed queens and all that good stuff.
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I was 46 when I had my first interest in Bees,,my neighbor bought a cider mill in Maine and we got to talking about it.
I'm getting my 1st hive this year at 48
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I was 27 when I started. I got home from Iraq and needed something to do. My dad kept bees for a few years but didn't have a whole lot of success thanks to some hungry bears. He gave me what equipment he had left and it quickly became an addiction. Oh and I also did got into it so I could try to face my fear of bees. I think that was a success.
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Lattrel, welcome to this forum, it is great to have new members and you're gonna love your time you spend here. Enjoy. Have a wonderful day, Cindi
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JP, you had to ask, eeks.....I don't like to talk about myself in this way, but here goes......yep, I am going to have to ramble, I can't do things in a short manner, hee, hee.
When I was a young woman (late teen years), so many years ago, hee, hee, I had moved out of my home and my Father and Mother kept bees. I was not into them, nor was I even interested in any part of beekeeping, but I knew they kept bees because of the evidence around their house. Imagine that.
I grew up, raised my family and got into other things.
About 18 years ago we moved onto the acreage that we still live on. A couple of years after that I thought it might be interesting to raise some bees, only knows, I had enough flowers and vegies that surely the bees would love to live here. I did some investigating.
It was during those years that there appeared to be a throat mite that was infecting bee colonies terribly (the trachaeal mite). My research ended. I got a very distinct impression that raising bees at that time was not for me, it didn't sound too good, and I wasn't into it anymore. That was put on a back burner in my mind.
In February of 2005 I read an article in the newspaper that was about an Asian man in a neighbouring community that kept bees commercially. The article so compelled me to renew this interest in beekeeping. The man offered courses to encourage more people to begin beekeeping. That was it.....the game began. When I read this beekeeping article, I got very, very excited. It was something latent within my soul that needed a little bit of prompting to bring out. That article was my avenue.
The next day my Husband and I went to see this fellow, I couldn't understand him very much because his accent was so strong, but that did not deter me. I listened and listened even more carefully. He had such a love of his honeybees. That shone through, and that excited me even more -- the fact that the honeybee could be so exciting that this man was in a seventh heaven when he spoke of them. I have the highest respect for this man who introduced me to this world of the fascinating apis mellifera. He was so good to me. He always answered all my questions, I must have drove him nuts with all my e-mails about every little thing that had gone wrong (or right) for me.
The courses began. I listened very closely and after a couple of the lessons, could understand him well. I asked questions and questions. I began reading and reading some more. I spent eons of time studying and reading, always with pen in hand, writing down every little thing that was important and also jotting down questions.
Since that spring, I have taken seminars, courses, and read and study every day (there has only been a few days in three years where I have not done some kind of study or research). I find that the more that I know and understand about the honeybee, the more two and two go together all makes so much more sense. But I am still only on the tip of that iceberg, and I still can't get enough learning and understanding.
I joined this forum the fall before last, that being fall of 2006. This forum has been one of my strongest areas for learning. I only wish that I could have found it earlier in my beekeeping beginnings, I would have made less mistakes. Although, with the mistakes made, they have been enormous learning curves, and hopefully mistakes not repeated, or should I say not repeated too many times. That basically is my story, and I'm stickin' to it, :lol: ;) :) :) Have the most wonderful and beautiful day, Cindi
Right, the age, I turned 55 on October 1, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah!!!!!
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I have always wanted bees, fascinated by the difference in peoples fears & my own reality experiments of poking (very gently) letting em walk on my hands while foraging on flowers, letting em drink drops of warm sugar water when I find a cold one in a sudden rain shower (I didn't know they wear out & go off to die)though I know they won't be pleased to have me ripping the top off their home...I'm 52 & at the age of if "I don't do things now" & don't give a rip what people think anymore! Have a great one! I love seeing young people concerned bout living things & how everything is connected!
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I am 34 and getting my first 2 hives this year. I hope to have 5-10 hives total in the next few years. That would be enoughto work with in my spare time as a hobby and still be able to sit back and watch them work and enjoy them I hope.
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Way back in 1959 when I was in the 8th grade at 13 we were assigned to do a term paper for English class. I did mine on bees. So I guess that was my first introduction and have always been somewhat fascinated with insects in general.
In 1984 at the age of 38 my uncle back in upstate New York located a bee tree in the woods and was able to hive some of the bees and queen. I fly back to New York at least a couple of times a year, and so the next year my uncle showed me how to split the hive. We split it in May. My uncle didn’t worry about locating the queen. He made sure there was brood and eggs in both hives after the split and let the bees raise their own queen. I was just plain and simply fascinated. We increased the hives to 8 by splitting them each year before my uncle died from cancer. I lived in Anchorage all this time, but my father looked after the hives back in New York. Then the tracheal mites came and wiped out our hives.
I wanted to get some bees here, but assumed there was an ordinance against having them within the city of Anchorage. Then one day there was an article in the local newspaper about an Anchorage beekeeper. I phoned the guy and we talked quite a bit. Turns out he had a small beekeeping supply business that he operated out of his house and had bee packages shipped into the state each spring from California. He also told me Anchorage has a law on the books that specifically allows for keeping bees within city limits providing that certain requirements for placing the hives are met. That was about 12 years ago. So, I’ve actively kept bees here since then.
As far as the younger crowd goes, who knows what those kids are thinking anymore?? Computers and video games, I guess.....
btw, if you’re still reading this and wondering about age, I’m 61.
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I haven't started beekeeping yet, due to where I live, but I'm actually 15. I may be the youngest one on here.
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Hi Riverrose - it helps if you put your location in your profile - then you won't be "hopelessly lost" and the rest of us will have perspective on where you are!
LT in Atlanta
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i'll be starting my first hives at age 19.
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I started in 1959, that may I found a swarm while doing my paper route. I was 10 at the time, turning 11 that August. This coming August I'll be turning 60. I always say I started when I was 11 but I was actually 10 years, 9 months.
I entered this world in that year :-D
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In the summer of 2006 (I was 53) I purchased a rental house that had some "tenants" in the wall. Having been always interested in bees, I saw this as an opportunity to get into beekeeping. I jumped on the internet and found a local beekeeper that agreed to help me do a cutout. We did and now I have bees.
That person helped me get started but has now moved out of the area. Since then, I have found another mentor. He is a wonderful man and wants me to be a successful beekeeper. He helps me so much not only with sharing his experience and knowledge, but with equipment. He is a commercial pollinator and he sometimes has a different perspective on things as compared to a hobby beekeeper. I have three hives now and will get four nucs from him this spring. He also says that we will be doing some swarm collection this spring. I am truly blessed to have such a mentor.
Steve
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Hi!
I am a newbee and I hope it is ok to jump in.
When I was 13, I moved into a house that had a hive in the wall of my bedroom. I would go to sleep at night listening to the bees singing.( They lived in that wall until the mites came, about 30yrs.) I fell in love with them. It wasn't til 1983 at the age of 25 that I bought my first 3 hives, used, from a widow who had lost her husband a few months before. An old beek looked at my hives and said I had foulbrood. She said I should burn them. But, I wanted to save them. So I worked at it and was able to keep them for the next 12 yrs. I got married and moved to an apartment and got rid of the bee's. After 10yrs, we moved into a place where I could keep bees and after reading an article in the paper about CCD and how much the Beek were getting for almond pollination last winter, I thought it would be a good time to get back into it and become a sideliner. So, I bought my first package last April.
Thanks! J's mob
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I started 2years ago now 41.. At the beekeeping club I'm one of the younger ones, but a few around my age have their own businesses with 1000's of hives so it probably makes up for it :-D
Tim
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I started 2years ago now 41.. At the beekeeping club I'm one of the younger ones, but a few around my age have their own businesses with 1000's of hives so it probably makes up for it :-D
Tim
That's okay, one of the members of our local pigeon racing club is in his 30's, he and his dad run the largest commercial bee operation in Western Washington with over 3000 hives. He didn't make our pigeon club meeting because he was moving bee to California. BTW 5 out of 12 members of the racing pigeon club are also beekeepers--2 are commercial.
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Everyone's answers fascinated me! It seems that we all may come to beekeeping at different times and in different ways; but we all come to it with the same desire to experience nature firsthand. Beekeeping can be managed in a way that raising other "livestock" cannot. One doesn't need much room, or really much time (as a hobbyist) to be successful. I also think that all of us could spend the rest of our lives and never learn all there is to know about it. It may have taken me until my fifth decade to discover beekeeping, but I'm so glad I did! :)
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Wait for me! LOL! Hope im not late...
Riverrose...you are not the youngest here... lets just say Im still in middle school! Not all the teenagers spend their time on videogames and computers...well im always on my computer...researching on bees and chatting to friends!
I don't know how exactly I got interested into bees, but I'm sure seeing so many obsevation hives at fairs and farms was part of it. Me and my dad would stand there talking about them and trying to figure out what they were doing...ect... I love nature and go out as much as possible, and saving honeybees from my pool was awsome, it made me relize that honeybees are special and arent evil creatures trying to kill u. :shock:lol.
So its funny for me when all my friends scream and jump put of the pool when a bee lands in the pool, and i scoop it out with my bare hands and carry it around, scaring everyone. :-D
Then I found out that one of my teachers was keeping 4 langstroths. That got me started. I was researching all about honeybees with every minute i had.
I LOVE to keep unique pets. i have chickens and ferrets. When i first told pple about them i got funny looks, and questions like 'dont ferrets bite?' and 'arent chickens are smelly'. i loved those looks and showing off everything i knew about them was fun. lol.
Two years ago was the chickens, last year was my 2 ferrets, this year is...BEES! and im so excited about getting them!
I hope you wont all lose hope for us 'youngsters', there are a handful of us out there that will keep the beekeeping hobby going!
lol.
anyways...
have a nice day!
beesilly
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Ok guys I am getting my first package in April and I have enough equipment for 4 hives with honey supers. I will be 35 in Aug. I have been reading here I think since Sept. I got tired of hand pollinating al of my heirloom veggies. And a friend of my hubbies is a BeeK
Angi
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Got my first hive at 28 and I'm 29 now with two hives and three more coming!!! :-)
Sean Kelly
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Hey Beesilly!!
Will you come be MY son???
Anyways, my hats off to you! I started bees last spring and wish i had when I was your age. At that time I was into tropical fish and still am today but not at that scale.
I have a ferret too! Actually its my second one in my lifetime. Unfortunately she has a adrenal probelm and she getting old..It costs too much to fix and theres no guarantee that she''ll live much longer anyway.Ok,..gotta go, so we'll see you in here later!
your friend,
john
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LOL! im actually a SHE! :-D
Hope your ferret will feel better :'(
I'll see you around the forums!
Beesilly
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Too many expressive touches in Beesilly's posts for her to be a boy...
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Too many expressive touches in Beesilly's posts for her to be a boy...
Michael, you made me have to go back and read beesilly's post. You have a point there, with the little extra touches. ;)
......JP
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Too many expressive touches in Beesilly's posts for her to be a boy...
Oh don't be silly. There are some guys that write like that also. You know... those guys.
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No wonder your head is screwed on better than my boys is. hes all video.
So, IF you were a boy would you be my son?..We could share bee info yelling back and forth from different rooms with my wife and son yelling at us to shut up!!...LOL!
Ok,...I'm sure your folks are proud of you doing things the way you do and you probably would be happier being at your place anyways!
Ok,,, I gotta go look at more stuff here...see you later!
your friend,
john
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Too many expressive touches in Beesilly's posts for her to be a boy...
Oh don't be silly. There are some guys that write like that also. You know... those guys.
Jerry I was thinkin' it but you had the nerve to post it. Know what you mean. ...Those guys. :-D :-D :-D
.....JP
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I got involved at about the age of 6 or 7 helping my Dad who had ~100 hives or so. Ran my own little thing during high school with my girlfriend at the time with about 20 hives. Then took a little hiatus for college and the racing. Settled down about 14 years ago and got married and started with a few hives again. I'm now 39 (no, really! :) )
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I have been posting under the name shakerbeeman however had a bit of trouble signing in. Now under the name Jack I shall reply.
I am 57 years old and about to enter into my second year of beekeeping. The first year was very rewarding. I started with 2 packages and made all my own woodenware. As of today with the temps about 42 deg. I have some bees flying from both hives so I think we will make it through.
I spent a couple weeks building about 23 more boxes this winter to include the frames. I will try to see how I make out having them draw out some foundationless with an angular topbar and possibly sides as well. Two more packages are on order.
I had the experience of capturing a late season swarm cast from one of the new packages and at first the new swarm thrived however a succession of robbing events weakened it and even though I moved it and tried to build it up I lost it this past January. Too small I believe. Perhaps I should have combined it but that is part of the learning experience.
I feel lucky to have the past years learning experiences behind me and really look forward to my second season. With some luck I hope to go into next winter with about 5-6 strong hives. We shall see.
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Im 27 and started last year. My uncle had been a bee keeper for 10 years and I thought that it was incredibly interesting. I think that a lot of 'older' folks get into it because it takes patience and financial stability.
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i was 13 when i started and im now 19 and im goin to continue to beekeep till i die... I think that its more of the older folk cause the got more free time and it was more of part of there time not like my age now we are into everything other then old fashion stuff well i g2g back to my Air Force work
thanks
Billy
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I think that a lot of 'older' folks get into it because it takes patience and financial stability.
Financial stability, no doubt!!! If I realized how expensive this adventure was going to be back before I started, I don't think I would have gotten into it! But it's totally sucked me in and consumed me.... forever. Keeping these painful bugs in a box has gota be worse than a crack, I'm totally addicted and don't care what it costs now... I just gota hAVE moORE mAN! CommON DuDUUE, JUSt OnE MOre BEe HiVE
Sean Kelly
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Sean, you just made me spit coffee all over my screen and make wee-wee in my pants! A bee junkie...sad thing is that the track marks on my arms are actually just bee stings.
I had a visual of me in a couple of years on a gurney, all strapped down, head flailing back and forth sreaming "PLEASE!!! JUST ONE MORE FIX!" You know, kinda' all Brittney Spears-ish.....
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just turned 37 --and i have two hives--one bought and one caught
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J' mob. Welcome to our forum, of course you can chime in. We love to have new forum members. You are going to love this place, a friendly and great environment, as you probably have already noticed. Chime in any time, ask questions, tell us what things you are up to, and welcome. Have a wonderful day, Cindi
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This will be my first year and I am 37.
I do not think I would have had the patience when I was younger. I just recently married and my wife and I are adopting. That ALSO was not something I would have done a decade ago.
Now I want to REALLY live life and to me, that means a solid relationship with my wife, a kid or two to teach and raise and share life with the the two of us, a solid business and sharing it all with friends and family.
Personally, I think this is a great time to start.
That said, our bee club has a 10 year old in it that has been keeping bees since he was 7.
Ultimately, I think our population matures a older age and is 90% urban (maybe higher) and is not exposed to stuff like this, be it beekeeping, produce gardening, tapping maple syrup, animal husbandry, working on mechanical devices, hiking and camping. All if it contributes to things like we are discussing here (which is not bad, it is what it is, times change and always will).
I hope my kids will want to get involved in beekeeping or shooting or farming. But if one of them wants to become a social worker and the other a computer game designer, that's cool too.
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53 here....
An ole' beekeeper passed away suddenly a few yrs. ago and his widow asked me if I'd take some of his hives so they wouldn't be neglected and die. Not knowing anything about beekeeping I managed to get 5 of the 30 hives to my place. From those 5 hives a few yrs. ago I'll have about 28 hives this spring...
The older we get I think the more we want to do something worth while with what time we have left - we want to leave our mark. Beekeeping is a very worth while hobby, it helps us all. When you're at a younger age you tend to think more for the moment ( there are exceptions to that ) and be a bit more selfish toward mankind in general.
The ole' beekeeper made his mark with me - another beekeeper was born from his work. We all should be so fortunate.
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I'm 33.
Interesting question to start out with. I think that the bee clubs (at least in my experience) tend to have a larger turn out of older folks, whereas a internet forum will be skewed toward the younger demographics.
The beekeeper I bought my first hive from was 87. I don't think that he'd know what to do with a computer.
Our local club is a smaller, informal affair at the president's house, outside, and there seem to be a lot of old guys there. If I remember correctly, one year they had it at the city library, nice facilities, and there was a little more diversity. So venue probably plays a role in that.
Rick
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Whew!!! That one took a while to read through...... I agree with most of all that was said. I am 38 this year and just starting out. My interest was born from wanting my children to have some things other than the norm to do. So this last year (07) we got chicks, quail, bees etc. Looking forward to raising kids,,, They are 13, 9, & 4, Girl, Boy, Girl. Some folks out here ask why I all of sudden started raising animals and I answer "well I just realized that I have to start raising kids". Been to involved with work and other stuff to realize it until now. What better way to raise the young'uns than with the animals. So "There you go"!!!!
F
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I've been interested in beekeeping for at least the past two years but as I don't have my own house yet I havn't been able to get my first hives yet. I'm 23 now; and I have no quams with the beekeeping people I talk to being all 50+ - it makes for some akward conversation tho... only thing we got in common is bees.
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Shark, ask them what they like to do besides keep bees and you'd be surprised. And then listen. Also, ask them if they like to fish, bet they do.
......JP
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I had a visual of me in a couple of years on a gurney, all strapped down, head flailing back and forth sreaming "PLEASE!!! JUST ONE MORE FIX!" You know, kinda' all Brittney Spears-ish.....
HAHA! Or sitting in a cardboard box in a back alley with a Nuc hive, wrapping surgical tubing around your arm with your teeth, trying to find a vein so you can get another fix of Apitherapy... while heating up a spoonful of honey with a bic lighter! HAHAHAHA
Sean Kelly
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56 now, 52 when my wife (a few years younger) and I started. Never did have any interest in keeping bees or any contact with them or beekeepers.
Our age was really what got us interested. We'd seen the need to start living in a healthier way and, among other things, had started using honey. A lot of honey. Figured if we were going to be spending money on honey we might as well get a hive and have our own and save money. More research suggested we start with 2. We decided on 2 nucs of Russians 4 years ago and, uh... well... most of you know how that goes--went into this winter with 39.
As far as saving money by not having to buy honey...uh..:roll:..uh....boy, I've never so thoroughly enjoyed anything as much as I do having and working with our bees. That, too, is a health benefit all of its own!!
Arvin & Colleen
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I don't keep bees but I'm diffidently interested (17) I just found out about bee keeping earlier today thanks to the wonderful world of the internet. A few hours of reading has me over my bee phobia and eager to start up a hive. Of course Iv got a lot of research left though, and something tells me my parents wont like the idea. Their still recovering from my venture to keep an octopus :evil:
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That is too cool of you to keep an octopus!!! Talk with your parents and answer any concerns they may have, tell them you want to join a local beekeeper's club. You can probably get someone to mentor you in the club. Your parents want you to be safe, let them know you will use protective gear. There are worse things you could be doing than keeping bees and having a pet octopus. If I had a kid I would want him to have your hobbies. Good luck and best wishes. You are welcome here, and may ask any questions you like.
Sincerely, JP
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I've been interested in keeping bees since I was really little. I think I read a book about someone who had bees. This will be my first year, though. I got my hives and equipment this Thursday!(Thanks to everyone who answered my questions on my other post) I'm so excited! I am 17, but as my birthday is this Saturday, I will be 18 before I actually get my first bees.
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Fantastic Amanda! Good luck to you and your bees, you have found a great website where you will learn a lot about bees and other things and make some good friends along the way. Best wishes.
......JP
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Octoquatic. Welcome, see what has happened....you started to read about the bees, and now you are hooked. We are all hooked.....especially Sean Kellly. Do you hear what he is up to with all his addictive stuff with the bees, picture him, it will make you laugh!!!!! He sounds like the worsely addicted :-X 8-) ;) :) :)
Really, welcome to our forum. This is a wonderful place to spend lots and lots of time (and believe me, you will!!!!), the time is quality time, a really great family friendly forum.
I think that this is one of the coolest threads ever started (Dane Bramage has one that really got everyone going too, and so has John, in Greetings/Tell us About Yourself). The antics that people go through to keep bees, the stories that people tell, one could spend a lifetime here, reading, listening and learning. This we all do, and you will too. Remember Octoquatic, ask any questions you want, all questions deserve great answers, and that you will get, have a wonderful and greatest of days. Cindi
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Good topic. I started when I was 33 years old. Both my sons (13 & 11) are thinking about doing beekeeping. My little helper. More like a nephew (is actually close friends of ours) has an 11 year old that helps me alot. In fact he helped yesterday without a suit and was stung 3 times for his efforts. I asked him yesterday after he was stung if he wants to become a beekeeper. He said probably. He said the stings aren't so bad. Wasps are much worse. I have to agree with him.
He is used to be pricked anyway. Poor lad has type 1 diabetes and has to shoot up insulin 3-4 times per day.
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He is used to be pricked anyway. Poor lad has type 1 diabetes and has to shoot up insulin 3-4 times per day.
Apitherapy works for that too.
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im 16 n im gettin 2 hives goin this year
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Started about ten years ago. 50 now. Guy at work was a beekeeper and helped me get started. :-D
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Apitherapy works for diabetes? I've heard many stories and more than a few whoppers over the years, but that's a first. I've had scheduled tests performed many times at various lengths of time after being stung. Sometimes just the "normal" couple stings in a week, but occasionally massive numbers of stings. My doctor knows I keep bees. I originally told him because the interaction of bee venom and certain beta blockers can intensify their effects significantly. Not once has he recommended a regiment of stings to help with insulin production, to keep the sugar levels in check, or as a quick way to build up sugar levels when they have dropped so low that coma is immenent. Not even the offhanded remark about things sure looking good or improving because of the bee stings. With that in mind, the next time I appear disoriented, having muscle control or speech problems....... bring me some orange juice or a soda. Skip the bee sting. I've had plenty thank you.
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I'm 67 just a 2 hiver, used to have a 2 holer but thats a different story :roll:
Bee-Bop
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Back in the early 90's my father kept bees. He had two hives, I think. All I know is the honey was absolutely wonderful, I had a gallon of it and it lasted for quite a bit. I wanted to try to keep bees, too, but my husband at that time had no interest, so it didn't happen. Then I met my new and improved husband :), and we were walking through the Marshfield Fair, when he saw the bee club display and said he'd always wanted to keep bees! I was thrilled! That was in 2005. In January of 2006 we started bee school, got our first packages that spring and went from there. This spring we'll have a total of ten hives in our three locations. Oh yea, we started at 49 (me) and 47 (hubby).
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63 and 15 hives
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Apitherapy works for diabetes? I've heard many stories and more than a few whoppers over the years, but that's a first. I've had scheduled tests performed many times at various lengths of time after being stung. Sometimes just the "normal" couple stings in a week, but occasionally massive numbers of stings. My doctor knows I keep bees. I originally told him because the interaction of bee venom and certain beta blockers can intensify their effects significantly. Not once has he recommended a regiment of stings to help with insulin production, to keep the sugar levels in check, or as a quick way to build up sugar levels when they have dropped so low that coma is immenent. Not even the offhanded remark about things sure looking good or improving because of the bee stings. With that in mind, the next time I appear disoriented, having muscle control or speech problems....... bring me some orange juice or a soda. Skip the bee sting. I've had plenty thank you.
Google Apitherapy and look for a Doctor who lives on whidbey Island, Washington, I think his name is Weeks or Meeks--he has been advocating Apitherapy for over a decade and has a very good site. I have diabetes and I have less problems with it during the warmer months when I'm working my bees, getting stung, and eating honey and pollen.
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My father, grandfather & greatgrandfather all kept bees here on my farm. I have a copy of ABC's of Beekeeping from 1908 that was supposed to have been my greatgrandfathers. My grandfather made some of the woodenware I use (he passed away in 1956). I took apart an outer cover last year because the wooden part was deteriorating and I wanted to reuse the tin. Between the tin and wood was a newspaper I assumed was used for insulation from the 1920's(still legible).
My sister and I helped my Dad when we were young, but I wasn't really that interested then. After my Dad passed away I moved back to the farm. My aunt and I went in together to buy 2 hives and I built up from there. If you had known my aunt, her starting beekeeping at age 82 would have made perfect sense.
I'm 52 now and beekeeping has to be the most interesting hobby in the world. Part science and part art. Always a challenge-always something new to learn. Very rewarding. It's very time consuming during spring and summer and I really don't have the time but I just can't seem to be able to give it up. I sell some honey to a local health food store but I end up giving most of it away to family, friends and coworkers.
Sometimes when I tell someone I have 15 bee hives and open up hives and take honey out of them and get stung and cut swarms out of trees, etc people look at me like I'm a fool, but they just don't understand. Life is about more than money, prestige and the modern niceties.
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:)I had an architect friend call me one day in the summer of 1989 and asked me if I still wanted to become a farmer, I said yes of course, loving working in the outdoors. He told me a friend of his sent him a complete beehive starter kit, and a 3 pound package of bees that needed to be picked up at the local post office. It came with a veil, gloves, smoker etc. I went picked them up, followed the instructions, and hived the bees. I was scared to death of being stung. Well that's how it all started. I will be 60 this comming August 24, and am having a great time with raising feral bees. I do have 5-Minnisoto Hyginic Nukes comming in late April. I have to pick up 2-cut outs planned when the spring flowers start blooming. This is a wonderful hobby. Thanks to all of you for being my mentor.
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Hey Bee bop!
By the looks of that bee in your avatar Its no surprise your only working 2 hives!!!
Did you make that picture?
your friend,
john
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johnnybigfish
This was the runt of the "litter" , you know I'm sure, {being from Tx.} how easy it is to get attached to the smallest critter of the herd ;)
Bee-Bop
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Ooooh, I love this thread. Reading about each of our experiences with the bees, how we began this love of our lives, the spell of the honeybee......that is so true. We are captive, they hold us in the depths of their lives....
Heaflaw, that was such a neat story of your dear Auntie, starting the beekeeping at the beautiful age of 82. What a woman, I take my hat off to her, and wish I could have met this fine lady. Have the most beautiful and wonderful day, love our lives we live. Cindi
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Bee-Bop, that avitar is freakin great!!! I'd hate to see the honey supers you have to pull from those bees. You'd need a crane! And you'd have to use a steam locomotive as a smoker!
lol
Sean Kelly
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I started beekeeping as a result of Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House in the Big Woods". A few years ago, while homeschooling our kids, we used a curriculum that was based on the "Little House" books. In"Little House in the Big Woods" there's a chapter: "Pa and bee tree". So we had a unit study on bees, and I took a day off work and we all went down and toured Hunter's Honey Farm and learned about beekeeping (http://www.huntershoneyfarm.com/).
A year or so later we moved out of the city to our cabin in the woods. My kids got horses, and I got bees! I took a class in Jan 2005 and got my bees that spring. Oh, and I'm under 50 - I'm 48.
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He is used to be pricked anyway. Poor lad has type 1 diabetes and has to shoot up insulin 3-4 times per day.
Apitherapy works for that too.
I hinted he should try apitherapy.. I didnt get a good reply from him.
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I was born in 46. When Iwas very small Pa bought a forty at the end of a dead end road but the road ended 1/4 mile before the forty. As he was chopping a road out thru the woods he came upon a swarm in a tree,he captured them in a dynamite box,and kept bees for several years after that. I got out of the army in 67 ,got hitched,got kids,moved back to that forty Pa carved out of the woods and have had bees on and off since. I could not get the picture of those hives when I was little out of my head.
Eddie
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I am only 17 years old and I have a hive and plan on getting several more in the future.
Me and my boyfriend started last year because he sparked an interest in bees and the hive.
So we did alot of reading and we were fascinated by how smart bees are.
But I do agree that not many young people seem to pick this up as a hobby.
Which is why many of you older folks should pass your knowledge down to your kids and grandkids so that the future of the honeybee lives on.
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I had an interest in bees when a friend of mind had some on his farm, that was when i was 17 years old. Got my first two hives last year at the age of 26
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Tillie
Daughter 17months seen bees outside the front door for the first time this year still chilly here ,and the girls were greated with a shout of Beeee,s just like your grandson ,how sweet is that.
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I'm 57. Five years ago I was "outstanding in my field" looking up at one of my blossoming cherry trees and noticed there were no bees flitting from flower to flower. Now, I LOVE cherries and became concerned that I might not have a crop that year. I walked around the "ranch" looking at everything that was in bloom to see if there were honey bees about. My wife is a horticulturist and has some pretty large gardens so there were a lot of places to look. I saw a few mason bees but didn't spot one honey bee. I thought then it might not be a bad idea to raise my own bees. There was lots of news at that time too about the advent of the Varroa mite and how it might decimate the bee population (you know the news media, always gives you that doomsday scenario) so it occurred to me I could help perpetuate the honey bee at the same time.
Now the bees are my friends. There's one I'm especially close to, I call her Harriet. She's a hard worker, foraging all the time. I look for her everytime I open hive number four. :)
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Troutsqueezer. Now that is cool that you have befriended that bee called Harriet. Good for you, and hee, hee, smiling. So awesome that your Wife is a horticulturist, nice......Have a wonderful and beautiful day, love our life. Cindi
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I started last year at 33. If I knew then what I know now - I would have started earlier. A couple years ago I took a beekeeping course at the U. of Minnesota just to see if it was something I would want to do. The class was made up of about 90 people, probably a little more than half were under 50 and about a quarter were under 40.
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I'm 57. Five years ago I was "outstanding in my field" looking up at one of my blossoming cherry trees and noticed there were no bees flitting from flower to flower. Now, I LOVE cherries and became concerned that I might not have a crop that year. I
I had a similar experience...after 2 years of tons of cherry blooms and very few cherries, I got the bees. Over the next two or three years the trees managed to produce soo many cherries that half of the branches broke off!!
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Indy and BabyPhatt:
I love your stories and your spark into beekeeping. Thanks for sharing.
This August, I turn 50, thus join the SENIOR TOUR of beekeeping - I just can't figure where to get my 10% senior discount at - lol.
So I'll enjoy the 49th year of my life and sail into the future, bringing many many friends with me ;) I'll see 50 when it get gets here, tell it to take its time :-P
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I just started keeping bees last fall and I'm 41.
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This is my first year and I am 49. I have more free time now that my oldest son is on his own and I only have the 13-yo boy at home now. I decided a few years ago that I would need bees in Arkansas when we retired to pollinate the apple trees I wanted. We just bought a house last year after renting for a few years and I realized I didn't need to wait to start this fascinating hobby!
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i'll be starting my first hives at age 19.
Nate, I just noticed when you posted about the Brazil Walnut tree being specific gravity heavier than water, that you haven't yet been officially welcomed to our forum. You have not been "officially welcomed", hee, hee, glad you found us, tell us of your experiences with the bees, anything about you is always interesting too, tell us what you are up to and sorry for the late welcome!!!
You are one of our young people interested in keeping bees. That is so cool when such youngsters (hee, hee, smiling) like you get that interest in the bees. You will see that the bees have a magical attraction, we are drawn to them and once you know stuff about them, you want to learn more, you become under the spell of the honeybee, without a question of a doubt.
Nate, enjoy your time here, it is a great place to make new friends, learn and learn some more, ask all the questions that you feel you need to, to make yourself understand about the honeybees. No question is ever considered irrelevant or dumb, all questions are good questions. And most of all, every beeekeeper in this world did not start out with that head full of information about the bees, everyone began once upon a time as a new beekeeper and asked myriads of questions. You have a wonderful and great day, on this beautiful planet we all share. Cind
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I'm 52 and have been toying with idea of keeping bees for about a year and a half.
I mentioned in another post that I had started making plans and then found out I had cancer. So, after being in treatment for the last year, I'm now feeling up to trying it, and have ordered my start up supplies and 1 package of bees.
I only saw a few honeybees in the backyard last summer, and that's kind of alarming to me, so hopefully I'll be helping re-stock the bee population.
(I changed my ID here from 9acres to Double Bee)
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Brenda, so nice to have you back, and that you are feeling well, I wish you well, even more, what a glorious day it must be for you to be feeling so well that you feel like you can carry on with a dream of keeping bees.
I read your prior posts made in November and December of 2006. You told us about yourself there. Very nice. You have 9 acres that you want to grow bees on (and other stuff too eh? he, hee). You will restock that acreage with bees, we need bees, the honeybees and every new person that begins to keep bees is increasing the power of the pollination of the world, yeah!!!
Brenda, welcome back, again, I am so grateful for your healthy recovery, keep on keepin' on. The bees will help you to keep your stress levels down, they will increase serotonin levels incredibly, especially when you sit by your colonies, breathing in the pureness and beauty of the scents of the hives, the flowers, and the possibilities are endless.
If you can afford to get two packages, Brenda, you should. There are many advantages to two packages (1 is OK too, but I would go for 2). If you have a colony that for some reason becomes queenless, you can combine the queenless colony with the queenright colony, you can take brood from the stronger colony if one is weaker, there have been many posts on the value of two hives, versus one. Something to think about, but do. Have a wonderful and beautifully great day on this great planet we share. Cindi
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Cindi, I've decided to start with 1 hive here at home and then expand to the farm if I find that I am able to care for more hives.
Also, can't afford to buy more hives or packages at this time.
But I'm looking forward to getting started. :-D
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Brenda, ooh that is cool. Can't wait to hear of your experiences with your new bees, you will have so many stories to tell your eagerly awaiting new friends, hee, hee :) :) :) Have a wonderful and beautiful day on this great planet, Earth. Cindi
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My dad and I both just started this year he is 65 and I am 41. We were talking about our respective gardens and the need to get more out of them and then had a member of church that mentioned he was a beekeeper and it went from there. Turned out to be a great thing we could learn together. And since that church member turned out to be the local chapter president we now have a very convenient and helpful teacher. I have since found this site and while I do not post much, I am reading a lot and learning. Thanks to all.
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I'm 46 and I am just starting out. My wife and I bought 10 acres of land and built our house. Now that house building is finished, I need to get the land in shape. Bees are perfect for this. I plan on having the land regenerate itself into forest land, at least for the most part. Other parts of the property will be covered in natural grasses and wildflowers. My lawn area will also contain about a 1/2 acre garden. Bring on the bees.
-ff-
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I wanted to follow up on a comment bluegrass made about very few beekeepers being under the age of 50. The comment made me pause because I started beekeeping at 49. I don't have any beekeepers in my background and had never been around any. The thought just came to me one day that it would be something interesting to try.
I have a two part question: How old were you when you started beekeeping? And why do you think it's mostly us "older folks" that really get into it? I am very interested to hear your answers.
I started at 48. My thoughts on why older folks enjoy keeping bees is it really does require patience.
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i am involved in several hobbies that tend to be more gray - model trains, amatuer radio, and now beekeeping. i look at it as a chance to learn from the wisdom of my elders. i'm in my mid thirties and don't see many of my contemporaries with hobbies - they are driven to make money or slack about. i need a mental challenge and love to learn and exploring the world around me helps answer many of my latenight, can't sleep questions - like how we came to eat some of the foods we have.
-Steve
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[[/quote]
HAHA! Or sitting in a cardboard box in a back alley with a Nuc hive, wrapping surgical tubing around your arm with your teeth, trying to find a vein so you can get another fix of Apitherapy... while heating up a spoonful of honey with a bic lighter! HAHAHAHA
Sean Kelly
[/quote]
I am late to this post, sorry, but this is so, so funny, I can't stop laughing.
Anyway, I am one of those aged beekeepers - Ha, Ha (56). I find it funny in reading these posts, how people got into this hobby. Most of you had at least thought about it for a while at some time or another. I have a tendency to throw myself into things without knowing much. I find out later what I"ve gotten into. I never had any desire for beekeeping, was always afraid of bees, but a man I work with, told me to try beekeeping because I was going through a midlife crisis at the time. All he had to say was "You get about 100lbs of honey per hive" and I had to know more. This is how I started this hobby. If I knew then, what I know now (the cost, the varroa mite ) I might rethink the whole thing, but I just love taking care of these little creatures.
Funny because the guy who got me interested will not start a hive now that he knows how much trouble the varroa mite is. He had hives in the 80's when it was easier.
Annette
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Annette, our town only has a couple of alleys so Sean & I will have to flip or arm wrestle for the best one!! Jody
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Annette, our town only has a couple of alleys so Sean & I will have to flip or arm wrestle for the best one!! Jody
Liar, Liar, pants on fire. Sham Poka-bee, Buckley is bigger than just a couple of alleys. Must have at least 40-50.
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Hmmmm Brian..thought that was a hot flash! :shock: I don't think there are that many, better go count em today! My excitement for Fri nite! Have a great one.
Jody
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i am involved in several hobbies that tend to be more gray - model trains, amatuer radio, and now beekeeping.
Steve welcome!!! We have a bunch of us beekeeping Hams here. Even Beemaster (John, the guy who started this forum) is a ham. I'm W7SPK. We'll have to schedule a QSO here in the future!!!
Brian and Jody, Do we even have alleys? I guess maybe there are a couple on main street behind the police station/dentist office or vet clinic/resturaunt. Oh yeah and there is one behind the feed store where the keep the old steam donkey engine. BUT WE DO HAVE THE WORLD FAMOUS LOGGERS RODEO!! WHOO HOO!!!
Sean Kelly
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On the positive note. I just attended my first State of KY BeeKeeping School. I was shocked by the number of people, about 300 I would guess. I attended the newbee courses and was shocked again, over 120 new bees. Out of all the new bees several, Im guessing around 25 were under the age of 25.
The school was awesome. I found a mentor, won a door prize (2 Queens) and gathered a ton of information. I'm still looking forward to getting my hives and my bees.
-ff-
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The school was awesome. I found a mentor, won a door prize (2 Queens) and gathered a ton of information. I'm still looking forward to getting my hives and my bees.
i thought the class i was taking was pretty good - 25 or so of us with e good mix of ages, even 2 early teenagers. the lack of door-prizes is disturbing. i will get a nice certificate at the end though. sounds like a great time, do you have bees to go with those queens?
-Steve
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Steve,
I have no bees yet. My Mentor will have some nucs that I can buy from her. Dadant is just a few miles from my farm so I should be able to get the hives, etc.
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Hi !
I am 34 and have two hives! If I get promoted I will be moving to northern New Jersey or PA and then I will have 20 to 30!
I was introduced to beekeeping when I was young! got stung by 6 bees in 1986 when I foolishly tried to vandalize a hive for fun. Leraned to respect the bees and then my cousin introduced me to beekeeping. However, since 1989 we moved from the country to Gotham and reconected again this year after taking a course!
-Regards to all
-Rodni
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My wife says I have the mind of a 12 year old.
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Hey Bennetoid!
My wife says that sleeping with me is like sleeping with her little brother!
your friend,
john
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:shock: :shock:
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He said "sleeping"!!!!!
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heh, heh, heh,....
Annette,...one more post and it will give you 1000 posts!
your friend,
john
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heh, heh, heh,....
Annette,...one more post and it will give you 1000 posts!
your friend,
john
She's got it! She is now a Queen Bee :lol:
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OH Yeah, I am a Queen Bee. I made it. Ha Ha
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OH Yeah, I am a Queen Bee. I made it. Ha Ha
Way to go Ms Queenie!
...JP
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Annette, ah, you now the Queen Bee!!! Yeah, yeah, cool!! Have the most beautifully wonderful day, Cindi
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I'm 23 and I just started. It's so interesting that I don't know why more young people don't get into it. Especially, with how important honey bees are to us!
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Video games are for bleep! (sorry kids, you should be outside playing) I'm trying to get started @ 31.
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hey Ashlee!
This is just my opinion...
I think you're into bees and other people your age are'nt because you're of a "Higher Intelligence!" You can tell you mom and dad i said that! Maybe they'll get you another hive for your birthday, or Easter, or something like that!
Uh oh,...You really dont have to tell them that.
Last time i said that was when I called a colonel a jerk! I then told the airman who was making a delivery to me, for him,that he could tell the colonel I said that.....heh heh,...So the kid went and told him! I ended up getting a day off without pay! I even needed "Union representation" for that bit of counseling!...And I'm the shop steward!
Theres more to this story....In the end, I was getting the better part of the deal, but thats too long a chapter for me to elaborate on right now.....I'm trying to cut back on the lenghths of my post replies! :-D
your friend,
john
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hey hellbentonhoneybees,
I have family in Fall River!
Hmmm...I think I posted this before :-\
your friend,
john
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I got interested in beekeeping when I was 28. I didn't get my first hive until after I did a tour in Iraq. I am now 35 and this is my third year keeping bees. As for the younger crowd, I a three year old and a four year old, both of them want a bee suit and both of them like to sit near the hive entrances with me and talk about the bees.
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How wonderful that your children have the opportunity to grow up with bees around. I wish I had had my bees when my children were that age!
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hey hellbentonhoneybees,
I have family in Fall River!
Hmmm...I think I posted this before :-\
your friend,
john
John, senility? Hee, hee. Tell us about the day off without pay that you were speaking of. Why do you want to limit the length of your posts anyways, hee, hee. You are the dude that sends us off into those deep gut roaring laughs, tell us some funnnnneeeeee stuff, you know you wanna!!! Have the most beautiful, funny day, loving this beautiful life we live and groove on. Cidi
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hey hellbentonhoneybees,
I have family in Fall River!
Hmmm...I think I posted this before :-\
your friend,
john
John, senility? Hee, hee. Tell us about the day off without pay that you were speaking of. Why do you want to limit the length of your posts anyways, hee, hee. You are the dude that sends us off into those deep gut roaring laughs, tell us some funnnnneeeeee stuff, you know you wanna!!! Have the most beautiful, funny day, loving this beautiful life we live and groove on. Cidi
Yeah John I second Cindi's sentiments. Keep the B.S. flowing brother. We enjoy your posts! They are one of a kind, very colorful, feel good posts, truly you. Please don't change!
...JP
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heh, heh, heh....
Ok,....I gotta go wax my truck for awhile,...and fix a broken pipe..And ponder if when i split a hive yesterday if I need to put more bees in the box or trade the 2 hive boxes around. This is my first split, kinda doin' it like MB says, and also by the seat of my pants..You know how it is,....Read the book, do the mission,...Then try to remember what it is you forgot to do that was IN the book!
ARRRGH!!
your friend,
john
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31 (Bicentennial baby)
The wife (beekeeper) is a bit younger. My sister (also a beekeeper) is a bit older. Kids (all under 7) show interest.
Tried for years to get rolling on beekeeping. You need transportation, storage space, property (owned, borrowed or rented) and a tolerance for the seasonally sticky kitchen. Couldn't put the combination together until we had been married for 10 years. This certainly wouldn't have been tolerated by my parents even if I could have hauled a full super home on my bicycle. Looking back though I think I could have pulled this off in college. I had keys to the biology labs and I'm sure I could have worked out a deal.
Spent my younger years finding new and creative ways to be stung by everything possible in Illinois. Now I build high-rise, luxury condos for my own stinging beasts. The more things change....
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Fall River is cool, industrial.... I live about 45 minutes from there, by the cape! I didn't see the other post, I'm still getting used to navigating this crazy forum, I forget where I've been....
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Fall River is cool, industrial.... I live about 45 minutes from there, by the cape! I didn't see the other post, I'm still getting used to navigating this crazy forum, I forget where I've been....
Hellbent, when you come in, if you want to, you can go right to the top of the page, top left and visit new replies to your posts and new posts since last visit. This feature is cool. it'll tell you what you need to know.
...JP
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So much easier. Thanks!
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This forum, pretty much, is the only one I go to. After awhile its just second nature how to navigate thru it.
Theres another good forum at the "Beesource" website with lots of information too. I like it, and i guess that if I spent more time in there I would figure it out too.
As you've already found out, There are people here who will help you with alot of things, not just bees.
I've gotten info on plants.I've learned about ducks. Theres somebody here who races pigeons who I appreciate because my dad and i raced pigeons years ago.(Most people dont have a clue about what pigeons capabilities are) Lots of people helped me stay out of jail when I filed my taxes in "Russian"! :roll: I got information on Honey and cinnamon concoctions recently. I also learned to make propolis tincture with rum instead of rubbing alcohol,(That was funny, eh' guys?) :-D
Anyways, somebody will lead you thru here when you need help!
Hmmm,...I think I spend WAY TOO MUCH time here...Ive got alot of vacation time recently and it seems I keep walking in here to read and write stuff.
Ok,...thats all...Have a BLAST!!!
your friend,
john
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I've been looking at the forum whilst is have a few free minutes at work, it's been really educational and fun. Pidgions have a bad rap but they're really incredable birds... doves accually! Honey and cinnimon yum!! Really honey and just about anything as far as I'm concerned! I like to mix it with a little irish wiskey! ;) I can't hardly wait to taste honey from bees at my house who got their goods from my gardens! Crafty Bastards that they are ... bees rule!
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Started July 2005 at forty-six. My brother is looking at maybe starting. My youngsters help and right now say they want to have their own hives when they get their own place and a couple twenty somethings want me to help them get started. I wanted to be a beek since the mid sixties. So I started a little behind schedule.
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As for the younger crowd, I a three year old and a four year old, both of them want a bee suit and both of them like to sit near the hive entrances with me and talk about the bees.
I have 2 the same age that have the same interest, my daughter (3) likes to poke
grass in the hive and fish for the bees, my son drives everyone nuts talking about
the honey bees, my mom is going to make some bee suits for them so they can
work it like daddy
just a few little hobbies allow you to spend a great deal of time with the kids, nothing
pleases me more than to know they're taking an interest in learning all they can