Grumble bumble

When James and I went through bee school we learned what we needed to do to start and maintain hives. It is actually much easier than you would think. Some of the first steps are to obtain all of your equipment, do your research, and then pick up your little baby bee hive. Precious? Not so much.

There are actual bee companies here in Kentucky that pack and ship bees all over the country. Lucky for us, there is one about 45 minutes away. We made the long country drive one weekend and sat with a bee consultant. She set us up with two packs of bees, 3 pounds each. They came with a warning...

Bees can smell other bees and naturally want to be around them. Little socialites. So, when you go around to the back building to pick up your safely packaged bees, their new buddies swarm around you (take me with you!). They get in your hair, in your clothes, in your car, and even follow you down the road for quite a ways. You literally have to have someone brush you down before you leave to make sure you aren't covered in honeybees.

They also have quite a buzz. They didn't stop chatting the whole way home, 45 minutes to the farm with tens of thousands of bees in the back seat. Every bump we hit they would buzz a little louder. Did I mention I am allergic to bee stings? It's like being trapped in the car with a lazy tiger... you know it can kill you, but does it really care to?

So this is how we started out. Two boxes of bees: our little buddies, new hobby and... certain death?