Australia to Texas: Beekeeping – Part I

Reader Contribution by Jim Christie
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I’ve always been curious about bees. And I especially enjoy honey. Combine those facts with our five acres in a rural area along with our desire to build up a high degree of self-sufficiency and keeping bees seems like a very good idea. Still, it does create a lot of questions:

1.  Will I like it?
2.  Could I be any good at it?
3.  Will it annoy our family/neighbors?
4.  Does it add value?

And of course, if I put it to the test of the book, Beautiful and Abundant, Creating the World We Want, I can safely say that:

1.  Is it beautiful?  Absolutely – bees are incredibly beautiful animals/insects, well organized and industrious
2.  Is it abundant?  Sure is.  You can create 150-200 pounds of honey per hive per year.
3.  Is it fair?  I believe so as long as one takes good care of the hives
4.  Is it contagious?  I hope so with respect to our family and friends in the area. They’ll certainly get a chance to share in the bounty.

Given all the background, I found a local class here in Melbourne from an organization called Lifecycle Learning. They teach in an urban area in a community center and have their hives right in the neighborhood. I enrolled in this class well prior to our last trip to the United States, and it coincides with the end of winter and beginning of spring.

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