I need another hobby about like I need a(nother) hole in my head. But at the same time, ya gotta keep life interesting. Several times over the past few years, K and I have talked about keeping bees. I think that next year we’ll finally do it. We’re interested in the bees themselves (hive mind! hive mind!), the pollination and the honey, so why not. I’ve read a couple of books and was originally planning to take a class, but the one I wanted isn’t offered until 2011. But hey why let that stop us.
This afternoon, I took a trip up to our local apiary. Actually, the only apiary (to my knowledge) in a 150 mile radius: Busy Bee Apiary. There a very lovely woman, Betsy, whom I am certain had better things to do, talked to me for almost an hour about beekeeping. What is the equipment like? What would I need at first? What kind of clothing do I need? What’s an extruder look like? How much space does the hive need in NC? When should we feed bees in NC? Do you just feed sugar water or pollen too? When can I order bees? What kind of bees do they recommend and sell? You get the idea. The poor woman.
The upshot is that I seem to have a good head start, having read as much as I have and we’ll probably host two colonies come spring. After the grilling, I did pick up another book and a jar of their honey – it really is much better tasting than the clover honey you buy in stores. Maybe I’ll make the next batch of breakfast bars with this instead.