Year #1:

Raising chickens is pretty fun. They give us meat and eggs, and are pretty independent requiring little maintenance.  We wanted to expand our "livestock" and rabbits were looking to be a good choice. While researching rabbits though we learned that they are a little too high maintenance when it comes to breeding and we just don't have the time. We wanted something similar to the chickens in that we give them shelter, food/water, and they just do their own thing as we reap the rewards.

It was then that Aaron mentioned bees.  Both of us are not big honey eaters, though the prospects of having bees for honey, and just observing their nature intrigued us.  After doing a bit of research we decided to try it out with a total of  two hives. 

In the winter of 2017 we bought all our supplies, built our hives and painted them blue (Marianne) and yellow (Aaron).

In April we built hive stands and decided on a location that would be sheltered from most winds while getting maximum sunshine.

On June 18th the bees arrived.  Each hive received 5 frames that included brood cells, pollen cells and honey. Each hive also came with a queen that was marked with yellow on her thorax. 

The first year mainly revolved around observing the bees as they foraged, while inspecting the hives occasionally for Varroa Mites .  We watched as they slowly filled up their deeps and near the end of summer we added a super on each hive.  By fall we were actually tempted to take a frame out of Aaron's hive as it was rapidly filling up with honey, but made the wise decision to let the bees keep it all for their first winter.

Perhaps the most important thing we learned in year one was to always wear your gear while inspecting the hives.  We both got stung that summer and we actually had no idea whether or not we were allergic to bees!  So far so good.