Let Me Catch You Up!

I know what you are thinking...what is she doing now!?! Yes, one more crazy thing...!!!

I want to keep bees.

Why? You ask. I've always been extremely fascinated. (By the way, I've never been stung...we'll talk more about this in a moment.) I even remember going to Historic Stagville here in Durham and seeing a beekeeper taking care of a few hives. I wanted to go over there sooooo bad...not that it would have been a good idea with no gear.

Anywho...yes, I saw the movie "Secret Lives of Bees." I'm sure that aided in the fascination but not really it. Every Spring, I have a couple of (what I thought were) "Bumblebees" that hung around my door...hovering over the deck. There were always two and they seemed to be guarding something. I've always felt that if you are calm with animals...whatever they may be...they can tell a difference and will be calm too. I would always make it a point to carefully walk past the "Bumblebees" to let them know...I just wanna get to my door. (Shhhh...I know I sound a little nuts.) Needless to say, I never had any trouble with the "Bumblebees." (Since that time, I've found out they are Carpenter Bees. This explains a couple of holes in the deck. Carpenter Bees aren't like Termites though...they are just trying to build a nest and really didn't mean to make the holes.

I ordered a book on beekeeping and read it the entire weekend...WOW! Yes, it's really that good! So extremely interesting, I just couldn't put the book down. That Sunday night, I started searching for a beekeeping course.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 was my first class with the Alamance County Beekeeping Association in Burlington. The class cost just $5 (building fee) and $22 for a manual. The first night of class, there were 98 students. WOW! ...especially when they said average class size is only 30 - 40. Many in the class are farmers who need to have their crops pollinated...others are concerned about the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)... and many are simply interested in honey bees.

Visit this link for photos of our class... http://alamancebeekeepers.com/courses.aspx

(you may not be able to find me in these pics...I'm all the way over to the left side of the class)

To be continued...