Bee Space

 A Bee Space is an informal unit of distance used in beekeeping. 

In a hive, bees seal up an opening smaller than a bee space, 

and they fill a larger opening with new honeycomb. 

If an opening is equal to a bee space, the bees leave it open as a passageway.

It's April. We don't have one single tap in a maple tree. The road to our sugar bush has been sealed off to us by several feet of hard packed snow. No amount of horse power has been able to get us to our trees. It should be a sad state of affairs, yet, tonight in the kitchen we agreed we were going to let this maple season go on by. I'd like to say it's that we are more accepting of the things we can't change. I'd like to say that it's the teachings of Ekhard Tolle, Roshi Bernie Glassman & Jeff Bridges or the Big Lebowski and they may have played a part in it but, for me, it's the bees. I'm about to become a bee-keeper.

Earlier this winter my friend Kris contacted me about a knitting problem. Could I help her figure out a hat that was going wonky on her? She came over, the knitting was sorta solved and then beer was poured. Kris mentioned she was getting bees and setting up bee-keeping in her back yard. I mentioned that bee-keeping was high on my bucket list. And that is how I've come into bee-keeping.

Kris and I are not alone on this little adventure our friend Bill  is our third com padre'. Out on the fringes are the support staff, our spouses: Dave (Kris' husband), Dee (Bill's wife),  and Mike (my husband). What you need to understand is that not one of us has ever done this before. We've been reading a lot of books. We've been talking to all the bee people in and around Bemidji. We've attended a 7:30 am Bee Association  meeting and thankfully have found the King of Bees who has taken us under his wing. Our qualifications are as such: Kris is the brains, Bill is the brawn and I'm the bravado. Our mantra is "How bad can it be?" We're about to find out. Our bees are arriving on May 3rd.

Welcome to A Bee Space!

Peace,
Karen