Mr. LF and I have planned to add bees to our homestead for quite some time.  In our permaculture design, bees are an important part of how our plants will be pollinated, and we use a lot of raw honey in our herbal medicines.  Bees have always been a must-have!

We are happy to announce that they recently arrived and we are now beekeepers!

Mr. LF went to a local garden store where he previously took a beekeeping class and picked up the Bee Bus.

He sprayed the bees with sugar water to calm them down and provide a little sustenance.
He shook the bus full of bees into the hive (while I stood back in awe) and then hung the queen from one of the frames. The other bees have hopefully chewed away a piece of “candy” keeping her secluded.
When I asked if he was stung or felt afraid, he explained that the bees didn’t seem aggressive at all, but just appeared to be curious about what he was doing.  He placed a sugar water feeder at the front of the hive.  This will only be in place for three days as the bees adjust to their new home and learn to forage on our land.  We have plenty of food for them here!  Dandelions are a great food source for pollinators (and they’re one of my favorite herbal allies!).

If you want to learn more about the importance of bees and other insects for pollination and ecosystem health visit The Xerces Society.