Best for Bees

My protection in the bee yard is usually very simple - a cowboy veil with my The Easy See veil “window”.

I love seeing things clearly - and the mesh often messes with that. But a sting in the eye can apparently lead to blindness - so I do always wear a veil.

My mesh had torn by the end of last season (my second season of using it)and so it needed replacing.

My cowboy veil is from Dancing Bee Equipment
My Easy see was picked up at the North American Honey Bee Expo from The Hive Butler

As someone who sells products to hobby beekeepers I may be shooting myself in the foot!

I’ve been saying this for years.

I’ll say it again. Beekeeping is farming. It is not a hobby. And it’s very complicated.

Don’t get bees on a whim. If you want them, get an apprenticeship working for a beekeeper. Then get bees. It cannot be treated casually.

It was bumblebee day!

Because Haskap is one of our earliest berries - sometimes there’s a shortage of pollinators.

Never fear, the bumblebees are here!

Bumblebees will fly in cold, rain, and wind. And they’re pretty much the best pollinators. If you haven’t seen them shake a move you should check that out!

Love doing the annual setup so they have plenty of Haskaps for pies, jams, and ice cream!

Today I went to put out some bumblebees on the haskap - expecting it to be pouring down rain.

I also happen to have an apiary at the farm - and with the deep, deep snow I had not been able to get out to check on the bees before I left the country 3 weeks ago.

It was beautiful sunshine and I do an impromptu check on the apiary - and decided to film it!

Share in my joy! It’s a completely unplanned visit to the apiary.

Always the hardest part of the season is finding out if your bees lived or died. I sometimes avoid the walk longer than I should - although less attached than I was years ago.

I had massive losses at this apiary last year, and it was devastating So having more survive from a mere 5 hives going into winter at this location was a huge win!

Overall a good survival year!

Bring on bee season!

It has been a hot minute since I made a video!

But I couldn’t resist - I got honey in the mail from Sandy at Kurwood Farm.

This was an absolutely delightful honey! I love how honey just shows up in the mail….the best gift!

It has been 4 years since we launched ProtectaBEE!

It is amazing seeing them the world over - protecting bees and simplifying beekeeping.

Check out our website if you want to learn more: https://bestforbees.com