Why do you keep bees?

[Scammell]

I have always had a great interest in the world outside of the living room and in particular "The Rural Life"
I was born and semi raised on my grandfathers farm in Hertfordshire and it was a life I always wanted to be part of. Sadly we get older, responsibilities get to us and very soon the money a meagre farm worker could take home back then was never going to be enough for a family etc.
Long story short I became an engineer but never forgot my roots back on the farm. One of the things that has always stayed with me was the image of the WBC hives my grandfather used to keep and I hankered after having some of my own.
My wife decided to buy me a hive of bees for my birthday this year and its when I finally took delivery of them that I realised that there was a lot more to it all than the romantic image I had of the role I had to play....
Thankfully I found this place and along with it some extraordinary people who were willing to give up their own time to come to my rescue when all seemed very bleak indeed.
Now I have 3 hives overwintering, all were doing well at the seasons end and I am very much looking forward to my second year as a Beekeeper....

 

[Hivemaker.]

the money a meagre farm worker could take home back then was never going to be enough for a family etc.

Yet many poor farm workers did have families and managed to bring their children up very well, far better than some rich people.

 

[B+.]

Yet many poor farm workers did have families and managed to bring their children up very well, far better than some rich people.

My mothers three brothers were all farm workers. One went to Australia and the other two worked with livestock (cattle/sheep/pigs/etc) but this is up in Northumberland/border country where agricultural land is probably a lot cheaper. I'm sure the economics of farming is different further south.

 

[Scammell]

Yet many poor farm workers did have families and managed to bring their children up very well, far better than some rich people.

Yes agreed, back in the day.
Such times when a farm worker got a tied cottage, produce from the land and enough of his own land to grow a good selection of goods...
These days all the cottages have been sold to the "Townies" as rural retreats and if you know any decent property around the St Albans area that ...lets see... a worker on between 13 and 26k can finance I would be happy to hear of it....
Sadly the days of such luxury have long passed us by and if they hadn't I would be gladly out in all weathers, all year, doing what farm workers do.....

 

[Hivemaker.]

Sadly the days of such luxury have long passed us by and if they hadn't I would be gladly out in all weathers, all year, doing what farm workers do.....

I wouldn't call them luxury, but there are still plenty of farms in this area that have the odd cottage available for their employees.

 

[Scammell]

I wouldn't call them luxury, but there are still plenty of farms in this area that have the odd cottage available for their employees.

I guess its all about location and interpretation....
The location, being Home Counties, means that any property here is usually well out of reach for even the better paid outside of farming and very few farms provide cottages round these parts. They were seen as Assets and as such were traded for the relative pennies that many were sold for way bak when....
Luxury... Well lets look at that, the ability to spend your life in the open air and be part of the wonderful countryside that this country has to offer. To me that is a luxury.
Anyway... I didn't come here to start an argument just say my piece as I saw it with the benefit of actually being in it, farming, to start with... And that, here in Hertfordshire, is the way it is.... Ce La Vie and all that.

 

[Finman]

Yes agreed, back in the day.
Such times when a farm worker got a tied cottage, produce from the land and enough of his own land to grow a good selection of goods...
These days all the cottages have been sold to the "Townies" as rural retreats and if you know any decent property around the St Albans area that ...lets see... a worker on between 13 and 26k can finance I would be happy to hear of it....
Sadly the days of such luxury have long passed us by and if they hadn't I would be gladly out in all weathers, all year, doing what farm workers do.....

When I was 10 y old, over 50% out of Finnish work force was in rural work. Now 3.6%.

25% out of field area was used as horse fuel.

Noways we do not have much rural workers. They are farmer owners who make jobs to each others when needed.

Farmers are multiskill guys who mostly work in some whole day work places. Then they run somehow the field and forest business.

Farming gives very weak income.

.

 

[beebreeder]

come on pete, to rear queens as well

 

[Hivemaker.]

When I was 10 y old, over 50% out of Finnish work force was in rural work. Now 3.6%.

Probably much the same here, plus mobile phones and too much travel, that's why everything has gone to bow wow.

 

[Hivemaker.]

My breeding stock gets better each year, but, I don't think they will ever be good enough.

Paul, I understand they are not good enough for you yet, but I really hope you can, one day, (along with the other traits your selecting for) get them to the stage where they produce you enough honey to make you self sufficient in surplus beeswax, and thus save you a lot of money on buying in foundation.

 

[Ammerbee]

Brilliant!

 

[whoosling]

I keep bees because I wanted to spend more money than I could afford in my retirement. To spend that retirement boring my friends with incessant stories about swarms and honey. I've made quite a few new friends ( and the odd enemy) equally mad as me. And I have discovered untold patience and tolerance in my husband.

I'm not retired yet but agree with all the above

 

[whoosling]

Because I don't have a pool big enough to keep sharks.

 

[Noddy]

I had considered keeping bees for many years, but it was one of those things I never got around too. An old oppo from the Royal Marines suggested I look up the beefreeproject.org, which I did, but unfortunately they are too far away from me.

They did however, put me on to the local BKA, which I subsequently joined, and things went on from there.

I suffer with chronic dissociative PTSD with co-morbid depression caused by certain experiences I had while serving in the Royal Marines, along with some physical injuries that effect my mobility and osteoarthritis to top it off. I have found beekeeping helps with the PTSD and helps to keep me busy.

I also do not have a pool big enough to keep sharks, in fact I don't have a pool but I do have dragons in my front room - bearded dragons.

 

[peteinwilts]

Purely selfish reason. Giving something back, makes me feel better and helps decrease the guilt of what 'we' are doing to the planet.
Was probably a hippy in a former life.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Purely selfish reason. Giving something back, makes me feel better and helps decrease the guilt of what 'we' are doing to the planet.
Was probably a hippy in a former life.

I was a hippy in this life....oh those were the days

 

[Michael Palmer]

Yes, they were.

 

[Little John]

As a youngster I became a member of the school Beekeeping Club in order to get out of extra-maths lessons, but gave up bees in order to build a career.
When I retired it was back to beekeeping again - why ? Because it's an addiction, and I'm 100% addicted.
LJ

 

[Tom Bick]

The bees keep me

 

[mbc]

I have always enjoyed honey but the first time I got my nose in a beehive I was enthralled. I'd always had an interest in grubbing around under stones in streams looking for trout food and I think the added element of being able to manipate and influence the insects in a bee hive appealed.
I remember the motivation to increase my stocks soon after leaving college was to make some easy money to fund other projects (lol), but it didn't quite work like that, twenty odd years later bees provide 80% of my income and I'm still trying to save for the other projects.