And the Bees Laughed

My bees think I’m hilarious, I can almost hear them laughing. I am indecisive and I second guess myself at the hive, mostly aloud, a lot. The bees hear all my insecurities and at times, taunt me.

They especially love when I crack open a hive, getting them good and mad, only to discover I do not have all the tools I need. I will make several trips to and from the bee yard retrieving forgotten tools and without fail my smoker will go out every time. I have combined hives, separated them and combined them again. I tried to level an uneven hive only to have it fall right off the stand onto the ground. An hour and many stings later, the girls suggested that I leave the hive uneven to which I obliged. I overstay my welcome at the hive sometimes and do more harm than good.  I went into a couple of troubled hives twice a week for four weeks straight trying to fix issues when on my husband’s suggestion I left the girls alone for three weeks. Upon my next inspection, three weeks later, I discovered that the girls had remedied all issues and were quite happy.

I have learned that beekeeping is patience, anticipation and trial by fire…or stinger. You are going to make mistakes, you are going to kill bees, you are going to make your bees very angry at times. It’s okay. This is how you learn and get better. It’s the times that you do the right thing at the right time and get awesome outcomes that you can almost hear them chanting your name.

I second guess myself a lot; I have a tendency to force things to my will. The more I relent and surrender, the better they do. It can give you a complex at first, but go with it.

The bees are my guide, I am not theirs. Don’t control the hive, learn to read it and help when they throw you the signals. Trust your bees and stay prepared. Let your bees be bees and give them some room.