How Do You Start Keeping Bees?
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Some people start keeping bees because they have a noble ambition to save the earth. Great. Some people start keeping bees because they love bees. Fine. Some people start keeping bees because they love honey. Who doesn’t? Some people start keeping bees because they want to make mead. Yummm. And some people start keeping bees because they want to make money. Good luck with that! It really doesn’t matter to me why you want to start keeping bees, because if you succeed in beekeeping, it is good for you, your family, your friends, your neighbors, the bees, the flowers, the fruit, and maybee even the whole planet! If you fizzle out, on the other hand, life as we know it continues unaffected. Bottom line, it is nobody else’s business why you keep bees. Your decision is all that matters. For you, it may bee a hobby, a pastime, a business, or an all-consuming passion. I don’t know. But the first and most important thing is that you want to do it! That’s good enough for me. And that’s your starting place. Just because!
Okay, so we’ve covered “Why do you want to start?” But where do you start? How do you start? What do you need to get started? You probably don’t even know what questions you need to ask. So, let me start by telling you my story.
I first got interested in bees as a youth. I remember seeing a movie about bees made by the Moody Institute of Science. It was fascinating, and they had lots of cool facts about bees. The movie showed the wonder of God’s creation as revealed through the amazing life of bees. It made a big impression on me. I was hooked. The only problem was that I had no idea how to get started in beekeeping, so the notion, “Keeping bees is a good idea” sat idle in my mind for a little while. As a matter of fact, it sat idle for well over 50 years. It wasn’t until I began getting gentle notices from the Social Security Administration that I soon would need to register for Medicare that I actually gave the thought about keeping bees some legs. And that happened quite by accident.
My wife teaches Suzuki Violin. She has students as young as 5 and as old as dirt. The husband of one of her adult students had gotten the notion “Keeping bees is a good idea.” He went out and purchased all kinds of bee stuff: hive boxes, frames, bottom boards, supers, bee books, tools, suits, gloves, a smoker and everything. He purchased a bunch of bees and went to a “bee school” only to have his bees vanish! They call that absconding! Poof! Gone! No more bees! Frustrated, discouraged, and maybe a wee bit angry, he wanted out. So he gave everything he had amassed to me. Now, there I am with a car full of cool bee stuff, and that long-forgotten notion, “Keeping bees is a good idea” sprang into new life for me. I was determined to get some bees! It just so happened that the family of a different violin student my wife was teaching is a family of beekeepers. They have lots of bees. Hundreds of hives. Millions of bees. They raise bees for money as a family business, so I bought a hive of bees from them. I bought an entire colony. Just like that… I became a beekeeper. Beeks, we call ourselves.
Do you think you might want to be a Beek too? Hopefully, this book will help you decide.
Why keep bees? Why did I do it? Did I need a reason? Do you? Does anyone? I don’t really know. Maybee I just hated to see the free bee stuff I was given go to waste? I like bees, and I like honey, and I like mead, and yes, I want to save the planet! So for me, it was a no-brainer. I would keep bees, just because…
I became a beekeeper because I made the decision to do so. Make up your mind. That’s really all it takes. You make the decision.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Beekeeping is growing in popularity for a wide variety of reasons—for the environmental benefits, as a business or hobby, or for the love of honey or even bees themselves. But despite the excitement, few people know how to get started.
How Do You Start Keeping Bees? offers a humorous, conversational manual on how to do just that. Author Steven A. Josephsen provides a step-by-step approach to beekeeping for beginners. He starts with the initial choice to keep bees and then takes you through all of the preparations you’ll need to make before setting up your first beehive. From lists of purchases you’ll need to make to what to expect when your beehives get started, Dr. Josephsen lays out the entire process, complete with pictures and encouraging advice. With his help, you’ll have all the knowledge you need to be successful—before you find yourself in the middle of a swarm of bees!
Straightforward and down to earth, this guide presents an easy-to-use method for getting started in the field of beekeeping.
About the Author
Dr. Steven A. Josephsen (Pronounced “Joseph sen”), AKA Dr. J. grew up hating school because as a divergent thinker, he was always seeing things differently than the way his teachers thought he was “supposed” to see them. After high school he had no idea what he should become, but the example of an excellent teacher in college showed him what an awesome experience teaching and learning could be, so he became a teacher. He taught 2nd grade for two years and then developed a program for the Gifted & Talented. The program spanned the grades 2 – 7 and covered all subjects. He served as the director/teacher for this program for the next 16 years. In his “spare” time he taught science classes before moving into Higher Education. He had the privilage of raising three children, one girl and two boys. They are all grown and married now. He’s a grandpop now, too.
Dr. Josephsen did graduate work in the areas of Instruction, Gifted Education, & Educational Technologies. He has been an Assistant Professor at Stephen F. State University since 1996.
Once the “nest” was empty, Dr. Josephsen and his wife moved “out into the country” where he raises, pine trees, geese, ducks, chickens, and now bees. He enjoys just about anything you can do outdoors as well as, singing, playing hand-percussion instruments, photography, drawing, painting, woodworking and making wooden bowls on his lathe. He also enjoys growing things but to his utter consternation, considers himself a serial orchid murderer! He cannot help himself in this addiction. He sees beautiful orchids, buys and takes them home where he slowly tortures the poor things to death. He has tried every suggestion from successful orchid growers to no avail. His only wish is, “Don’t cry for me phalaenopsis!”