About

Twenty five years ago, I went to a Castle family reunion and met Jeff’s grand uncle Ed, a beekeeper from Bremerton, Washington.  We were out by his truck and he had some supers (bee boxes) in his truck.  We started chatting and he told me how he was moving his hives to follow the flowers.  He graciously gave me a jar of his honey.  I was intrigued.  Later, at the LA County Fair, I found myself drawn to the bee exhibits from the LA County.  Year after year, I would visit the exhibit and wonder at the box of bees…humming away doing what they do best.  Over one third of our food supply comes from bees that pollinate.  I wished I liked honey…

Years later, I decided that I would tend bees even if I did not care for honey.  They are fascinating creatures working in an intricate social network, communicating with each other, instinctively supporting the hive and their queen.  I was thinking about retirement and building my “to do” list of all the things I wanted to explore if I just had the time.

I was thinking about waiting until Jeff retired to start this adventure.  Jeff’s philosophy is always to “get going” so he encouraged me to jump in and get started.  I asked him if he would help me and since he also had an interest… he agreed wholeheartedly.  I n our many years of marriage, we have done many things together but never a hobby where we were so fully engaged!

We decided to explore some classes.  First at Honey Love in LA where you suit up and enter a bee yard on the first day.  Although I was a little nervous, this trial taught me that I would be fine in a bee yard.  The hum of the bees and the rhythm of their chores pulled us in.  We then decided to attend a  meeting of the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association (LACBA) where we were welcomed with open arms and were encouraged to find a mentor in our area.  Manny and Cindy Caldera (Caldera Bees) were so helpful and invited us to tag along a visit to their hives.  Les Bilek in Kentucky was just a phone call away.  Yes, we were hooked.

We ordered our bees from Bill’s Bees in Sunland/Tujunga area and registered to take classes.  One class a month for ten months gave us all we needed to know and get started.  The wonderful inexpensive LACBA classes were geared to what we would be doing the next month or two.  We learned how to install our packages of bees and what to look for in the hives as we made inspections every two weeks or so.  We learned about wax moths, ants and varroa mites and how to deal with them, how to harvest honey. Then a second years’ classes at The Valley Hive where we were encouraged to connect with other beekeepers in Los Angeles County and in the San Gabriel Valley area.  We are indebted to their graciousness, mentoring and knowledge.

Last year was our greatest success with 130 pounds of honey from one hive and forty pounds from another hive.  The first three years we had hives that did not make it:  wax moth, swarming, varroa mites, all challenges to the beekeeper.  Our mentors were just a phone call away…and we had lots of questions and sent photos to them to help them diagnose our issues.  We were on our way.

Five years later, we are now mentored and ARE mentors and very involved in the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association.  This club has given us so much and we are now so happy to give back!