Firstly, I like honey. I like it on my English muffins with a lot of butter, I like a little bit in a glass of warm milk, and I like to bake with it instead of using sugar. It's not only tasty, but it's good for you, too! Eating local honey is supposed to help folks with their allergies, the healing properties of honey have been known since ancient times.
Several years ago I started hearing about how the honey bees are disappearing. A rare and mysterious ailment known as Colony Collapse Disorder is the catch-all bucket of variables working against the noble bee. Varroa mites, tracheal mites, hive beetles, beekeeper error, and the emergence of neonicotinoid pesticides and round-up ready seeds have been a perfect storm that's only getting worse. Commercial beekeepers are experiencing staggering losses, but, ironically, it's the urban and backyard beekeepers who are having success. Backyard bees get more of a variety of pollen, and are exposed to fewer pesticides and industrial chemicals.
Two summers ago, I just missed the waiting list for a hands on beekeeping class through the Chicago Honey Co-Op. I found out about it too late, and had to wait until the next season. Last summer, I got a spot in the class. When I opened the hive and saw my first frame of bees, I was hooked, and then we found the queen! I spoke softly and sweetly to the busy ladies, I petted the stingerless drones, and pulled the frames without any gloves. I was a goner. I knew then I wanted my own bees, bad. I started looking through baby name websites for old-fashioned girls names to call my queens. I came up with dozens of name pairs that weren't derivatives of Beatrice and wrote them all down. Myrtle and Maud will be my first queens, but I'll save all the other names for later. Can't spoil all the fun, right?
When I made the decision to move back to Michigan to be closer to my family, one thing I promised myself was that I would look up the local beekeeping club, and figure out a way to get a hive. Well now I have done that, and through the generosity of a bee club pal, I have a place to keep my not one, but two hives that's close to where I live. I'm meeting new people through the club, and although I'm soaking up as much information as I possibly can, I realize how much I don't know and that even the oldest and wisest beekeepers are still learning new things every day. A lifelong learning project? Sign me up!
Being who I am, nothing is without some kind of meaningful significance; so Myrtle, named after a lovely lady from my childhood, full of life and energy, who lived to be 99 years old, and Maud, named after an island in the South channel of Georgian Bay, near Parry Sound, Ontario, will be my first queens. I'll think of the real Myrtle and Maud whenever I'm near my hives, and not only will I be reminded of happy childhood memories, I'll be building new happy adult memories, and hopefully my bees will reward me with a little bit of honey.
