guest post by Brushy Mountain Bee Farm Brushy Mountain Bee Farm has been serving the beekeeping community since 1977. Throughout our years of helping beekeepers succeed, we’ve realized that starting this exciting hobby can be daunting. Brushy Mountain Bee Farm wants to alleviate the stress of not knowing where to begin. The video below will explain […]

If you read my previous post Overcoming my Fear of Bees, then you know that I used to be petrified of anything that went buzz. But after learning and working with bees, my fears subsided and curiosity and intrigue soon replaced any apprehension I had. I love our bees! They are amazing little creatures which […]

Every year has brought different experiences and changes in my beekeeping philosophy. Because of my experiences, I believe beekeepers have to be flexible and able to change.

GIVEAWAY! Enter to win a tube of Stops the Sting! Entry details at the bottom of the post! When I was about 11 my dad was stung by a Bald Face Hornet. It was a Saturday. He was mowing the lawn. Suddenly the mower engine stopped and my dad came rushing in the house. He […]

Top Bar hives are so cool. One of my very first colonies was a booming top bar hive that became our first “honey cow” for the backyard. I love watching the bees work the comb down the length of the hive. If you build one, make an observation window so you can check them out […]

If you happen to melt wax in your good double boiler or like me, ‘ruin’ something by dipping it in melted beeswax, it is salvageable. With hot water, paper towels, vegetable oil and dish detergent, you can clean those “ruined” items right up.

When people mention beekeeping, it’s the sweet golden stuff that gets all the attention. But bees also make another useful and rather remarkable product in the form of comb. What is beeswax exactly? How does it come into existence in the hive? Do bees collect it? Is it part of the pollen that they carry? […]

TED-Talker Noah Wilson-Rich understands people’s natural fear of bees. If you are one of those people, Wilson-Rich encourages you to keep an open mind because of the benefits adding honeybees to urban areas will have on our quality of life – and for the honey bees themselves.

I can’t help feeling guilty, tucked into the warm farmhouse, the wood burning furnace roaring and blasting heat up through the vents. We bundle up, and hurry through the outdoor chores so we can get back inside and warm ourselves indoors. But my conscience always nags at me as I leave the barn and the […]