Malibu Grange

Funny how our heritage comes to sneak up on us.  Genetics is something you can’t change.  I find myself in several ways becoming more like my grandparents and great-grandparents.  Luckily for me, I was able to meet most of them and I cherish fond memories of their work.  Beekeeping is one of them.  My great-grandfather was a large producer of honey in his village in Macedonia decades ago and we are still enjoying the sugars of his labor today.  Honey is a natural preservative and it has persevered for more than 40 years in perfect condition. I can’t even begin to describe the taste.  This is singular honey to be eaten on its own, slowly letting the rich, earthy flavors dissolve on your tongue.

When we caught a swarm last summer I unexpectedly had to learn how to become a beekeeper, purchasing a bee suit and all.  No one else in my family had kept bees since my great grandfather.  I had never been stung in my life.  I was at a total loss as to how to behave around bees, though I was fascinated with their production.  Luckily David the Bee Man, our trusty professional beekeeper is a perfect teacher and mentor who has calmly taken me through the paces of working with bees.  More importantly he has instilled the obligations one takes when choosing to keep bees.  These are pets or farm animals, just smaller, more plentiful and not as demanding.  And certainly much sweeter, unless irritated.

On my first foray into the hive unprotected of course I was immediately stung directly on the forehead.  I treated my swollen red spot with honey from the same hive and within minutes the irritation stopped.  On my second trip in the hive I was fully protected, suited up in an all-white bee suit that looks like an oversized painter’s uniform ready to check the health of my hive.  Wearing light, pale colors is always preferable.  Honeybees do not like dark colors and since you are invading their home you want them to be as calm as possible.  My suit had a built in heavy-duty plastic hardhat set snugly inside a mesh fabric that draped over my head and zipped to my suit.  Once I put on my leather gloves and fastened straps around my ankles to prevent bees from flying up into my pant leg and doing serious damage, I was covered from head to toe.

Many experienced beekeepers tend their hives without any protective gear.  I tried that.  It didn’t work.  Even the most docile bees will attack when threatened.  So, feeling like an astronaut on a spacewalk, I slowly approached the hive from the side and puffed the calming smoke into their box.  My smoker was filled with dry pine needles, thin bark pieces, dried leaves – natural materials that burn slowly and smell like incense burning in church.  It is advised to never approach a hive from the front as bees are zooming in an out.  Blocking their ability to carry out their duties will make them a bit agitated.  This is not what you want.

It is also advised to tend a hive in the afternoon from 10 am to 2 pm on a warm and sunny day.  This helps ensure that the largest number of bees are out in the fields foraging instead of huddling inside the hive to keep warm on a cool, overcast day.  Don’t worry, plenty of bees are still inside caring for the queen, feeding the eggs and cleaning the hive.  As I removed the top lid bees quickly emerged from between the panels.  I felt like an intruder.  I reminded myself that I was there to check their health for their longevity.  I was also looking to remove any extra queens in incubation.  It had been an unusually wet winter here in southern California and blossoms were in full bloom.  Baby bees were being born by the minute with all the extra food available.  We had lost a swarm a few weeks prior and wanted to prevent another one.  We had also introduced an upper hive box to our original and I needed to check on how well the bees were accommodating to their new home.

Ok, admittedly I was also checking to see when I could harvest honey again.  Our honey tastes nothing like my great-grandfather’s except for the fact that the flavor is unparalleled.  It tastes like our neighborhood – flowers, ocean, trees and all.  Honey should be the true definition for terroir.  David helped me harvest the first batch, and also helped me navigate the hive, showing me which tools to use when and how to check for queens, mites and other abnormalities in the hive.  He also instructed me to check the hive on my own every few weeks.  As a beekeeper one of your unwritten oaths is to attentively care for them.  The other is to only harvest honey when you need it or when they are running out of room.  And always leave them honey for the winter.

As I gently pried the panels apart fastened together from propolis, the bees natural antifungal glue, I swear the bees were squeaking noisily to each other communicating in Bee Speak.  For certain they were gossiping about me.  I tried to not be distracted and focus on the matter at hand – not crushing any bees as I carefully removed and inspected each panel. I don’t know why beekeepers recommend brushing bees off – they hate it.  My approach was to quietly ask them to move, begging their forgiveness, but that didn’t work either.  I do confess to unintentionally crushing a few and I have sought counseling for it.

Inspecting a beehive whose panels are plump with honey and bees is a workout.  A fully occupied hive box can weight somewhere between 90 to 100 pounds.  Each panel must have weighed at least 7 or 8 pounds.  The more panels I lifted, the more comfortable I became with the process, though sweat was collecting on my forehead.  Bees were everywhere surrounding me in a meditative, soothing aura.  I smoked the hive occasionally though I didn’t notice any change in their behavior.  They didn’t feel sedated though they weren’t aggressive either.  They were filling in the new upper box and its foundation panels nicely, which was reassuring and very bee-like.

Once you relax and tune out the swirling hum of the bees buzzing all around you, tending to a beehive is actually one of the most Zen experiences you can have.  Scientists have traced the benefits of honey to overall health and wellness for centuries and I tend to believe the many antibiotic and anti-microbial effects of this magical potion. To alleviate allergies, many recommend eating local honey full of the pollen creating the symptoms.  Sounds like getting a vaccine to me.  Some folks even ease arthritis pain by localizing beestings to the affected areas.  To be certain I’d rather ingest a spoonful of honey than a bunch of pills, though I still haven’t traded my Advil for the honey bear.  My great-grandmother made my skinny scrawny cousin eat two tablespoons of honey each morning to stimulate her appetite.  She loved the honey but she’s still skinny 30 years later.