Why I Keep Bees On The Homestead

Bees are an easy animal to tend to and they bring a wide range of products to the homestead. Honey isn’t the only beneficial part of having bees. They pollinate your garden and give you pollen, propyls, and wax.

Honey can be stored indefinitely has a sugar source in your food storage. Propyls and pollen have health benefits like pollen can acclimate you to local pollen to calm your allergies, pretty neat!

Caring for bees requires checking on them occasionally to make sure the hive is healthy and alive and the queen is doing well. I treat my hives for mites and set them up for success in the winter. Truly, the most work you will be doing is gathering the honey and that sure is rewarding! Would you keep bees? 🐝

Part of being a beekeeper is getting to know your bees and what they are comfortable with! Bees are extraordinary and inspiring animals. They work, harvest, and serve.

Hanging with and near my bees depends on their activity and mood. I hang out with and around my hives regularly and observe them. I can sense when they’re tense and notice it by their activity.

In this video, I noticed their activity and thought they might be getting ready to swarm. They do this if they run out of room or if they don’t have enough food. Luckily, my new hive next to it was also starting to do this and I was able to deduce that my bees were “bearding” instead because it was such a hot day so they came out to cool the hive down. Very neat!

Most of the time, I do my bee work with no bee suit. When I have to be invasive, I definitely suit up. If not, my bees are peaceful and I love being their presence.

I have Carniolan and Carniolan/Italian mix.

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