The Appeal of Beekeeping

Beekeeping has all the hallmarks of a great hobby.

1. It's easy to get into but has a steep learning curve, and people continue their education for years.

2. There's lots of stuff to buy. You don't have to buy it, but you will. Or at least, I will. Reminds me of horses that way. They nickel and dime you to death. Bees might be a little better. Or not.

3. Bees are unpredictable (particularly for a newbee like me). There is no failproof formula for raising them. Bees are exciting, buzzing with energy, short-lived so they have to make the most of every day. They generally follow certain guidelines, but not always because, hey, they are a bunch of insects. Ok, that isn't really fair, I hear goats are worse.

Even the best beekeepers are losing their fair share of colonies every year. Bees are much less productive than they were twenty years ago. New pests and possibly pesticides, and maybe two or three other things are combining to weaken the bees. It's a mystery...and a challenge.

4. I just realized one of the other things that make this hobby cool and more appealing to me. It's organized. Nice neat frames, lined with comb, that I can pull out and inspect. I take pictures of each side of each frame and then pour over them at night. I can monitor the bees progress via dated subfolders of pictures and now this blog. Hey, no one ever accused me of not being nerdy.

Of course, the reason I realized the appeal of a nice, neat organized hive is that I have a hive that is in complete disarray. Naturally.