How do you feel....

[martin.henwood]

I'm new to beekeeping.

I just wondered how some established beekeepers feel when they look in a hive.

I know there's always lots of technical stuff to be considered, and jobs to be done. But I wonder about the emotional side of beekeeping.

For my part I feel a sense of wonder, admiration and a desire to care for these creatures. I find it absolutely fascinating. Or am I being too sentimental, is beekeeping just a job to be done to get the honey?

I'd be interested to hear yur views.

Regards
Martin.

 

[Brosville]

sounds amazingly sane to me......... "the spirit of the hive"....... if only all keepers of creatures thought the same.........
The ones that scare the living willies out of me are some of the US beekeepers who refer to them as "just bugs", and then handle them in a way that shows their utter disdain....
I keep bees for the bees, a modicum of honey and wax is a nice bonus if they can spare it........

 

[buzz lightyear]

not to get too tearie eyed about it, but...
For me it takes me to another world, one where weather, disease, and an element of luck touch their world like nothing else.
For me, I can think about how to improve their lot; do I swap a frame around, feed, merge etc.....
You soon know if you get it wrong (or right)
Enjoy your beekeeping

Buzz

 

[victor meldrew]

How long is a piece of string?.
The way one looks at a colony of bees changes as one familiarises oneself with bees!
Firstly (in my case anyway), trepidation rules ones outlook , then interest overcomes this , familiarity creates a comfortable feeling , then set backs cause doubt ! self doubt that is when realisation that ones knowledge and experience isn't as great as one thought
Eventually one learns to observe more and develop an affinity with the wonderful insect THE HONEY BEE !
Now you are half way to being in tune with the hive mind and on opening a hive ,you address it as though you were a member of the colony , you find yourself talking as you work, looking for the problems faced by the colony , thinking about how you can help, be it feeding , adding emerging brood , re-queening anything to help.
When you leave a hive with the feeling that to wait another week to 9 days before you can look again seems an eternity , you know what it feels like to intrude upon the workings of a colony .

John Wilkinson

 

[Tom Bick]

For me its a sense of privileged that they allow me to work with them and let me look into their world.

 

[wilderness]

I went out with our association's guru a week ago. He must be ~80 (sorry Reg) and has been keeping bees since he was 8.

We opened one hive and the queen had laid up a couple of perfect frames. He said "It always gives me a thrill to see this in the Spring. It makes me look forward to the rest of the year"

Brought a tear to my eye.