I have a bee in my bonnet. Well, actually a couple thousand if you’re counting. Almost two weeks ago we took a short road trip to visit Don, the Fat Bee Man, and to pick up our bees. And so the beekeeping journey begins.

 

Don, the Fat Bee Man, showed us around his bee yard, containing some 400 hives of every color. He runs Dixie Bee Supply, in Lula, Ga. and can be found all over the internet, especially on YouTube, sharing his expertise. Check him out.

Don opened several hives and shared bits and pieces of information first hand with us. It’s amazing how much you can learn in such short period of time my seeing it in person. Don is a wealth of knowledge, having been around bees since a young boy. The bees he tends are italian/russian hybrids, known for their more docile behavior, but they’re productive too.

We were there to pick up two nucs, which are basically a new mini-hive that are somewhat established. He transferred the nucs into our larger hive boxes. Don showed us the queens in each hive, who we named Gabriella and Svetlana.

They made it to their new home alive, and are now settled in working hard.

For the time being we feed and watch. In addition to some of their own honey, they eat sugar water we provide in feeders, a simple combination of equal parts water and sugar. I’ve found myself mesmerized with the comings and goings so far of our new little friends. They are busy at work finding pollen and keeping the hive well. Hopefully we’ll be adding another box in the next little while. I’ll be sure to share more pictures as we follow their progress.

While I’d like to think we’ll have some honey this year, my hopes are mainly to help them maintain healthy, happy hives. Maybe I’ll sing to them? Or not.

Hope you’re enjoying this wonderful spring!