My First Time in the Bees

My first time in the bees, I wasn't that scared because I knew my mom would be by my side the whole time. I was really excited. So I got all suited up and ready for what came next. My main job was to take pictures and to learn as much as I could.  I did learn 2 things that day.  The first is if you step on bees on accident the other bees smell that one just got killed and they start swarming (I learned that from experience).  I ended up backing away after that.  Second is that bees have pockets on there leg and when they go to get pollen they put the pollen in there pockets.  I thought it was pretty cool and couldn't wait till I could go in again. Here some pics of the bees close up:)

Our Honey Bees

Our story begins when I decided that I would like to take some classes on beekeeping.  I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to be a beekeeper but I was very interested in learning more about honey bees.  I took a series of classes at a nearby farm.  Needless to say, I was very excited!  I started reading every book that I could find at the library on beekeeping.  One of my favorite books was The Backyard Beekeeper which gave me a lot of insight on things that they had gone over in class.  So many people told me how crazy I was to even want to do this because I have always been allergic to yellow jackets.  What if I were allergic to honey bees too?  Well, I would NOT let this stop me!!  There are plenty of things out there to keep me safe while working with the honey bees and allow me to be a beekeeper.  So, I continued on my journey.  I went ahead and ordered 2 nucs of bees so that they would be available for pick up in April 2011. The girls helped me put together my beehives and then they painted them for me.  Here's a few pictures of the finished beehives. 

This is what the new beehives look like in our bee yard.  I was so proud and the girls did such a great job painting them for me.  We wanted them to look differently.  I've been told that the honeybees can tell which hive is theirs even without the different paint jobs.  Who knows?!

Now we were ready to get our bees!  So, the day finally came for me to pick up my honeybees.  It was a long day for me.  I had class that day from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and then I went to the bee yard to pick up my bees.  The only problem was that there were about 50 hives where we would collect the nucs and 10 people in line in front of me getting their bees first.  I had to have some patience that day.  It was fun though!  Needless to say, around 4:30, I finally had my bees and was on my way home.  When I got home with them, my hubby suited up and we got the bees put back into the bee yard. 

The bees seemed to really like their new homes.  I was told to bring them home and then check them in a few days to see how they were doing.  Here I am suited up in my beekeepers outfit.  I definitely do not want to get stung!