Last Saturday I got to do something I've always wanted to do: don a bee suit and get up close and personal with my bee girls. (Anyone who has read this blog for more than a minute knows that I'm obsessed with three things: Tallulah Mae, birds, and bees.) This was a "beehive tour" led by Hilary Kearny of
Girl Next Door Honey. It totally lived up to its promise!
Warning: if you don't like up-close-and-personal pics of many many many bees, don't look!
A bee box.
Hilary lighting the smoker. Beekeepers smoke a hive to cause the bees to think there is a fire nearby; they then gorge themselves on honey and thus become more lethargic and less likely to attack.
This girl is going back into the hive with her "pollen pants" loaded.
The frames inside the bee box.
Honeycomb! And honey capped off (the dark area).
More honey.
Busy busy busy!
Some of the honeycomb cells have bee eggs/larvae...we watched one hatch. She immediately went to work after emerging from the cell.
More pollen pants!
Amazing. In another life I think I was a beekeeper (and maybe in my next if all goes well!). I love them. The more you learn about them, the more obsessed you become. It was a fantastic experience!
