One of my earliest childhood memories is me sitting in the grass and clover outside my grandparents house, with a jar and lid in my hands, waiting patiently for a honey bee to land on a blossom. When one did, woosh! I would capture her in the jar with a little sprig of clover and a blossom. Sometimes, if I was lucky and quick enough, I got 2 or three bees. Then I would sit on the steps and watch the bees buzz around inside the jar. I could hear their little buzz buzz buzzing sounds - through the tiny holes that my grandfather had made in the lid. About a half hour later, the morning papers and coffee were finished and the Mamee and PawPaw were ready to start their day. That was my cue to go to the edge of the lawn, unscrew the lid, carefully place the jar on the grass and then tip it onto it's side with my bare toes. The lid came off, the bees flew out into the grass and I was already up on the porch running into the safety of the house! I loved watching those bees.
Since that time, almost a half century ago, I have wanted to keep bees. Life and all of it's ups and down, changes in direction, best intentions and sometimes, just luck of the draw intervened. Until about 2 years ago, when finally, it was MY turn to do something just for me. My bees.
One of the most peaceful and happy experiences of my life was the morning I installed my first colony of bees into their new home - a beautiful, freshly painted Langstroth hive. Bees, will give you an opportunity to experience the best of emotions, and the saddest too. Having them has been a learning experience. I have learned more about myself in the past two years than I ever imagined. Besides the knowledge I acquire regarding the care of bees, I have learned things about myself.
Starting to blog again, for instance. I came to realize that I like having a place to gather my thoughts, my hopes, likes and dislikes, and pretty much anything that I find interesting. I missed keeping my blog and decided I would not wait to start again. I would do it now. So, I am.
