Two Februaries in a row I schlepped maple sap to make maple syrup. Two Februaries in a row, I was hospitalized with kidney stones. Ouch. I did not collect maple syrup this year. I got honey bees instead.
I tried to order honey bees in April. It turns out that orders are typically placed in December. And since winter was particularly harsh Honeybees were in short supply. All the apiaries had big “sold-out” notices on their websites. Finally, I found Parsons-gold bees, an apiary in Forrest, OH. They were very helpful. All the packages of bees they were receiving in April were committed. However, they were making one last bee run (to Georgia) and could add me to the 12-May order.
I spent April reading about bees, watching youtube videos about bees, and ordering equipment and hive parts. The hive arrives in parts which need glued and nailed together. They also need to be painted. There were more than 100 pieces to put together. It took longer that I anticipated. It’s a good thing I couldn’t get bees in April, they would have been homeless.
