By Amanda
I was concerned about my bees taking hold in their new environment in West Virginia. Its been severely dry here, with a drought persisting since late May. There’s nary a flower in the pasture since they cut the field for hay, and though there is ample water from nearby ponds, I was concerned that my ladies would not have enough forage to feed themselves, especially in their ‘start up’ phase. But they have been busy-busy-busy — and flourishing. Continue reading
By Amanda
The day finally came when I received my very own bees: however, as I got the bees in DC, and my hive is in West Virginia, this necessitated me transporting them in my little car on a road trip out there. My bee teacher assured me that they would be fine , and that they are tightly wrapped up in their transport box. “And,” he added to assure me, “if any escape, they just crawl up the windows.” Great. Continue reading
As our class ventured to the hives at Prince George’s Community College and took turns opening hive covers, pulling out bee-covered frames, and generally gaping at the bees, I noticed that our class, myself included, was a whole lot less worried about the bees than before. In fact, we were getting downright comfortable with them. Continue reading
By Amanda
I’ve always thought bees were mysterious and wonderful. And when I began to pursue my interests in local sustainable farming, I considered bees as probably the smallest animal husbandry option available. Later, when I found out at this year’s Rooting DC garden event that urban beekeeping was possible, I tracked down people and resources. Continue reading
A Growing Season 