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I have no bee icons, so have a black, white and yellow banaquit instead.
For the past couple of months, I have been taking a beekeeping class. Today we had our next-to-last class at a village about a 45 minute drive from here. The morning was taken up by a walk with a botanist, who taught us not only about plants that are nectar and pollen sources for bees, but about various folk remedies, etc. It was very fascinating. Someday I think I need to have a guide all to myself so I can ask all sorts of questions without fear of boring others or monopolizing the guide's time.
After a picnic in the meager shade to escape the 36°C/97°F temperatures, we spent the second half of the afternoon speaking with a professional organic beekeeper to learn a bit about the business on a large scale, a scale that does not interest me, I might add. I came away with some beeswax candles and soaps made from honey, pollen, and wax, and a bar of shampoo.
The classes have been very interesting but depressing as well when confronted with all the help that bees require of humans. Our instructors mainly talk about "commercial" beekeeping and don't really address natural beekeeping at all, considering it, I think, a bit of a frivolous point of view.
I am glad to have taken the course and have learned much, but whenever I decide to get bees, I think I will be doing things my way. Which, if you don't know already, seems to be the beekeeping way. :P
For the past couple of months, I have been taking a beekeeping class. Today we had our next-to-last class at a village about a 45 minute drive from here. The morning was taken up by a walk with a botanist, who taught us not only about plants that are nectar and pollen sources for bees, but about various folk remedies, etc. It was very fascinating. Someday I think I need to have a guide all to myself so I can ask all sorts of questions without fear of boring others or monopolizing the guide's time.
After a picnic in the meager shade to escape the 36°C/97°F temperatures, we spent the second half of the afternoon speaking with a professional organic beekeeper to learn a bit about the business on a large scale, a scale that does not interest me, I might add. I came away with some beeswax candles and soaps made from honey, pollen, and wax, and a bar of shampoo.
The classes have been very interesting but depressing as well when confronted with all the help that bees require of humans. Our instructors mainly talk about "commercial" beekeeping and don't really address natural beekeeping at all, considering it, I think, a bit of a frivolous point of view.
I am glad to have taken the course and have learned much, but whenever I decide to get bees, I think I will be doing things my way. Which, if you don't know already, seems to be the beekeeping way. :P