What can bees teach you?

“Always move forward – you’ll get more than you deserve”

Reflecting on the past few months, as winter faded to spring and now summer, I am now realizing how fortunate I am in many different aspects.  Just a few months ago, I was very concerned of what was occurring in my bee yards and wasn’t sure what to expect from this year.

Going into winter, there were 11 strong hives and I was very thankful and encouraged of what the future may bring.  As winter came and passed, I was left with only 4 hives – I had lost 63% of my hives – a significant loss and I wondered what went wrong?  There are a few items I learned that in retrospect may have helped with a few hives but it is hard to know for sure; one can certainly learn from looking in the rear view mirror but you will never move forward and yes, the bees and I needed to move forward.

While there are many purposes bees serve “pro-creating” is one of the more important ones.  As I have alluded in previous blogs, the lifespan of a bee is ~ 42 days so there is always a focus on expanding and creating new bees and new hives.  The focus this spring has been to ensure my hives had more than they needed, I purchased a few packages and for the first time set out swarm traps (topic for another blog). 

The bees have not disappointed and have held up their end of the deal.  So far this year I’ve captured 4 swarms, made multiple splits from my existing hives and now have 19 very active hives in my apiary – a 375% increase in hives over 90 days.  In addition, I have harvested a few hundred pounds of honey with a few hundred more pounds on the way.  And the best part is the bees aren’t even finished for the year……giving me more than I deserve in order to move forward.

This experience has been rewarding as it has reinforced two key adages:

·       Not everything will go to plan

·       Do good work and you will be rewarded

As always, I am optimistic of what the future may bring for my bee yards and know that over the next several years the operation / business has the potential of expanding significantly.  More importantly, sharing the product with family and friends – seeing their reaction to the taste / flavor is wonderful.

But for me there will always be something more, when I am working my bees there is a tie to my family – a labor of love - and it is something I wouldn’t trade for anything…...this year the bees have given me more than I deserve and taught me more than they will ever know.  One always needs to move forward….

Be good, bee the change…..

Until next time,

Dave & Carol