Starting Beekeeping...

I mentioned in my last post that I've been studying up and preparing for our first beehive! I've always been interested in beekeeping, for both honey and to help improve our gardens, but with all the news about declining bee populations, I've become pretty much obsessed with the idea of keeping bees. Did you know that we have only HALF the number of honeybees in the world that we did in 1950? And, did you know that bees are essential to pollinating the crops that we eat? In short, no bees, no food. It's a scary thought. But we're hoping that we can do our very small part to help by keeping some happy bees of our own.

Last week I bought my beekeeping starter kit at a local beekeeping supply store, Crystal Bee Supply.  I also ordered my bees! They will be arriving on April 12, and I couldn't be more excited! I've spent some time this week assembling and painting my hive...

My Beekeeping Starter Kit, ready to be assembled.

Assembled bee boxes, in the process of being painted.

Basic beehive, assembled and painted!

We still have to assemble the inner frames,

then we just wait for the bees to arrive!

We're planning to keep our hive out on the flat roof we have over our kitchen. This will be a perfect location as is close to our vegetable and herb garden, out of the way, yet also easily accessible. I have to admit, I'm very anxious to get everything assembled and set up out there, not only because that will mean we'll be one step closer to being real honest-to-goodness beekeepers, but also because I'm tired of having piles of bee stuff in my bedroom. ;)

Meanwhile, I'm continuing my Bee Education... still reading, still talking to experienced beekeepers and still learning! I'm really so excited about this new hobby!