So… After five years of deliberating I have finally become a bee mum!

It seemed such a good idea during the summer of Covid, but let’s be honest, I wasn’t alone in having a madcap idea that year. We all became bread makers, or podcasters or crafters.

Every new year since, I have sworn that this is the year I get bees.

Well, this year 2026, it has finally happened. I am fortunate to have a neighbour with 20 hives so he knows his stuff, and is happy to share his knowledge and his bees.

We ordered and assembled two hives over the Easter weekend and then we waited. Nothing more to be done but to wait for a hive to swarm.

The call finally came in mid June that our swarm was on its way. Due to the warm weather, our beekeeper neighbour didn’t arrive until nine o’clock in the evening, when it was cool enough to transport his swarm.

It hadn’t occurred to me, so I was surprised when told I would have to feed the hive every day for at least two weeks. Of course! The bees were being delivered to a totally new hive, with no food stores or supplies in place. I have to feed them a litre of sugar water daily so the colony can eat and start building its own food reserves.

I decided to start as I mean to go on, so the first solo experience I had feeding the bees I treated them like all the other animals on the farm.. I chatted to them as though we were long lost friends. I think this was as much to calm my own nerves, but actually it makes sense to me that as animals seem to respond to positive energy, it’s probably advisable to approach a hive of thousands of bees with an air of confidence.

So three days in and all seems good, the feed is going down, there is lots of coming and going at the front door and I’m a happy beekeeper. 🐝🐝🐝

To bee continued….