My most recent obsession (well not that recent) has been bees. For approximately the last month I have been looking into owning a bee hive, producing my own local honey, and figuring out all that being a bee keeper entails. Let me tell you there is a lot of language and things to learn with bees. I started reading and getting the language confused. What the everlovin' H is a "super" and what do I use it for? So I kept reading until it became second language. Not to say that I have it down pat, but I know enough to get by.
When I brought it up to my family, my father said "I have some books on bee keeping." This is probably because when I was little we had a beehive. It was a giant hive in the backyard and I remember having them fly all around and not bother me. I digress...
So I went to my dad's and picked up the books on beekeeping. I opened the first book by Franklin Carrier and noticed it was inscribed and signed to me and my brother. The second book was signed and inscribed to my dad and mom. Really? When I asked my dad he was modest about it saying "Whenever someone I know makes something, I buy it." Then I had flashbacks to Franklin when I was a little kid and we had our beehive. We used to go to his house/apiary to pick up supplies for our hive and he would show my brother and I the bees and all the honey. He would send us home with honey comb right out of the hive. I KNEW THIS MAN! I was THRILLED.
So without further ado....I called Franklin Carrier to make sure he was still alive and ticking. God Bless him at 88 he is still going strong and taking care of his bees. He is the sweetest old man who really loves nature and bees. I went over there ASAP to see if (1) he knew where I could get bees, and (2) he would pass on some knowledge. I only got the knowledge and no bees. I learned from him that to set up a hive - start thinking about it in December/January, so you can get on a waiting list to get bees. Most apiaries that are splitting hives have wait lists and you need to be on one by January to get some in April/May in California.
I visited with Franklin for about an hour and he showed me his 15 hives!! All about 5.5-6 feet tall. Hundreds of thousands of bees flying around in their own flight paths back to their specific hive (bees will only go back to their queen and not enter another hive; this is due to the pheromones that the queen has and the workers and drones then are solely responsible to her and that colony). I was in awe. It was serene. A few landed on us but had no interest in stinging us. It was just a resting place before they took off. Now I was in love with the bees and knew I had to get some.
I left his house with a quart of local honey - which is fantastic for the allergies - and a bit of thrill and yet sadness. I couldn't wait to start my own hive, but Franklin and I agreed that I should come back in 6 months and purchase my starter kit and get on a wait list with an apiary for when the colony is split. It wouldn't make any sense to have a hive in the backyard with no bees.
I also felt very sad to leave Franklin. He is a sweet old man that really could use some company. His wife of (I believe he said close to 60 years) died 6 years ago. He has his kids staying with him, but he misses the company. It was just one of the times when you couldn't help but want to stay and chat with him and learn from him.
I left with a mission: try to find some bees quickly and ensure to stay in contact with this nice gentleman with a wealth of knowledge.
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