Complimentary Blueberry Juice

On Monday, something super exciting happened…I got my first honeybee hive! I’m super excited to go on a new journey with an entirely new learning curve.

The biggest reason I’ve wanted to keep bees is that I think it will connect me to nature and the surroundings in a much deeper way. Watching and listening to beekeepers in the area made me realize that they were always aware of many things I wasn’t paying attention to…all because the bees were a source of information. What things are flowering or sources of pollen, and how the weather affects these things, all become revealed in observing the behaviour of the bees.

But to start, let’s rewind a bit. I’ve been thinking about getting a beehive for a few years, though at first it wasn’t entirely clear how this would all work out. What I didn’t want was to get a bunch of livestock and then be unprepared to properly care for them.

That’s when bees began to be included in the plans for our one-acre zero till plot. Last season, we planted a row of widely spaced Black Walnuts and Korean Pine (two species that are very uncommon in this area of central Canada) with the idea that as they grow, we can have an apiary nestled in the gaps. The area is close to a tree line and by a vernal wetland, so this was an area unsuitable for growing vegetables.

The last couple years we have tried to get bees, but things just didn’t align. Either we were unprepared, our our bee source wasn’t ready. Finally, this May, the bees were healthy and the beekeeper was making splits. And on Monday, we installed our first 5-frame nuc (honey bee nucleus colony).

Knowing bees were on the way this year, I was able to pay attention a lot more to my immediate surroundings and took note of all the things my bees will be able to take advantage of at our farm: the wild plums and Saskatoons that set pollen and bloom early, no-mow zones featuring dandelion, clovers and milkweed, and our burgeoning apple orchard, all just a short fly from the front door of the hive.

Getting into beekeeping is a bit overwhelming, there’s a ton of information and lingo to get used to. But overall, I’m really excited to nature and care for this hive for the first couple seasons of the learning curve.

Somehow I’m always looking for more ways to connect with and understand the landscape that surrounds us, and we’re going to have quite the ride with bees added to the mix. I just love that this social collective of insects can gather, carry and transmit so much information, not only to their sisters, but to us.

Stay curious!

Graham

thanks for reading complimentary blueberry juice