Preparing for the Bees!
I know....it's been a while since blogging action. Hi again! So I got this idea a while back (winter maybe?) that I "had" to adopt bees. It was a nurturing earth mother thing more than a honey thing. Honey is ok, but I need a skill....something analog to help connect me to the earth and make me pay attention. Bees seemed perfect, even though my yard in suburban Columbia SC is not a farm or orchard. It IS fenced in, so that is a plus. I got very invested in the whole plan, so much that I read three books on beekeeping and a bunch of articles, took a class with the Blythewood Bee Company (first lesson: the bees don't need you), a webinar, ordered a nucleus of bees (Carniolans) and a beehive (Langstroth 8-frame deep brood box with 3 supers, cedar, locally and custom made). I have a protective coat, a smoker, gloves, a net hat, a hive tool, and a certain sense of responsibility toward my new friends, even though they are not yet here. $600 later, the pla...