Update: Lydia's Bees

It's been almost a year since Lydia got her bees.  So far, so good.  The bees survived the winter and have managed to escape the many scourges that ravage beekind.  I've repeatedly reminded Lydia to be grateful to God for His mercy in sparing her bees.  That may sound dramatic, but every time I hear about someone else's bee problems and/or losses, I learn a little more about how tricky beekeeping is.

It's a task that requires vigilance, an eye for what problems may be present and a knowledge of how to treat those problems quickly and effectively.  Lydia is either super confident or naive.  Probably both.  She never seems to be worried about her bees.

Each month, Lydia attends the local bee club meetings with her beekeeping mentors, Roger and Suzy. Lydia is not technically a member of the club because she hasn't paid any dues.  However, because of her good attendance and participation in the meetings, they've given her a name tag anyway.

Every week since the beginning of January, Lydia and I have had a date with the allergist.  She gets a bee antigen shot and we wait together in the office for 30 minutes before the nurse checks Lydia for a reaction.  So far, Lydia has not had any significant reactions, so we're on track to finish this process sometime in the next couple of years.  Honestly, when I first learned of Lydia's bee allergy and what it would take to treat it, I wanted to throw in the towel.  Get rid of the bees.  Call it a day. But Lydia was heartbroken at the prospect. So I take her to get the necessary treatment.  It's what mamas do.

Lydia plans to harvest her first batch of unadulterated honey after Easter.  Her very first batch of honey was made mostly from the sugar water that she fed the bees when they were first getting started. We've eaten that honey, but it's not proper to sell it.  So hopefully Lydia will have a batch of salable honey soon.

Lydia has informed us that the bees are likely to swarm this spring, which is what bees do when the hive gets too crowded.  So we need to get another hive very soon.  She has her heart set on a top bar hive ($$$!).

I questioned Lydia the other day on the subject of swarming.  "So, if we get another hive, will the extra bees just transfer over to it?"  "No," she said, "They'll still swarm.  Then you've got to go find them and get them back."  Alrighty then.  That sounds easy.  Or, apparently, the bees can be separated before they swarm. "That's why we need Dad to build a hive this weekend," she said.  It's all so very simple.