Bee Quest
As the new year began to creep into the second month, I began to feel the urge to make use of the beehive which had been sitting, collecting dust for the last five years. It was built for a purpose and each year my granddaughter would ask if we would have bees. Not having really kept up with my studies on beekeeping I delved back into the online videos, various beekeeper websites, downloaded pdf books and generally anything bee related to refresh my memory.
The more I looked into it the more I decided that the breed I wanted to get was the Buckfast bee. The reports I read stated they were gentle, built up fast in the spring, and good producers of honey. So now the only thing left to do was find someone selling them. By now it was mid-March. After checking online with several Texas apiaries, I discovered every one of them was sold out. There was one, however, that was out of state that showed they were still taking orders. I hurriedly filled out the vital online information and paid for my first package of bees!
Now the waiting game. The site said if ordered before April 1 then expect delivery late May. With my order date two weeks earlier than that I figured probably early May. Early April I get an email with a delivery date of April 19. Wow that was a lot earlier than I planned! As the date approached another email arrived saying a cold spell had pushed back delivery by a week but I would receive an email the day before they shipped. The week went by with no email so I set my sights for the next week. Again, no word on the bees. I wasn't concerned because, after all, we are dealing with nature and not some factory produced gadget with an exact schedule. Sure enough the email arrived May 9 for delivery May 10.
Oh my, it's about to get real! I go over everything to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. I got my bee suit, smoker, brush, jars for the sugar water (called syrup, more on that later), etc. It would appear that I am ready!
The more I looked into it the more I decided that the breed I wanted to get was the Buckfast bee. The reports I read stated they were gentle, built up fast in the spring, and good producers of honey. So now the only thing left to do was find someone selling them. By now it was mid-March. After checking online with several Texas apiaries, I discovered every one of them was sold out. There was one, however, that was out of state that showed they were still taking orders. I hurriedly filled out the vital online information and paid for my first package of bees!
Now the waiting game. The site said if ordered before April 1 then expect delivery late May. With my order date two weeks earlier than that I figured probably early May. Early April I get an email with a delivery date of April 19. Wow that was a lot earlier than I planned! As the date approached another email arrived saying a cold spell had pushed back delivery by a week but I would receive an email the day before they shipped. The week went by with no email so I set my sights for the next week. Again, no word on the bees. I wasn't concerned because, after all, we are dealing with nature and not some factory produced gadget with an exact schedule. Sure enough the email arrived May 9 for delivery May 10.
Oh my, it's about to get real! I go over everything to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. I got my bee suit, smoker, brush, jars for the sugar water (called syrup, more on that later), etc. It would appear that I am ready!
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