Beautiful Experiences From A First Year Montana Beekeeper... That Loves Honey Bees

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in a world brimming with complexity few creatures

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embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless

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precision she dances from bloom to bloom each

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motion guided by millennia upon millennia of

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instinct each act in service to the whole and

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then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards

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of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist,

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part poet, they move along their hives with the

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efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to

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the bees' needs as best they can comprehend,

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and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the

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Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing

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like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their

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journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping

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presented by Man Lake. Today we're going to have

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a change of pace with a fun conversation with

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a new beekeeper just finishing up her first year

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with her own bees. And just in time for Valentine's,

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yes it's a love story. First some news about

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Neonicotinoid Pesticides also known as Neonics.

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These have been around for a number of years

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and are known to be toxic to honey bees as well

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as the pests that they're designed to kill but

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until this newest research just came out we didn't

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fully understand why they're so toxic. Now I'm

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going to translate the findings from scientific

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jargon into plain old English but if you want

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to nerd out and read the research yourself there

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will be a link down in the show notes. In a nutshell,

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the neonics tested led to an elevation in the

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body temperature of honeybees. That is a problem.

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Furthermore, the researchers observed a considerable

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upregulation of a flight gene. This gene accelerates

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the homing behavior of honeybees and facilitates

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the rapid and frequent transport of neonic contaminated

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nectar to the hive. Consequently, this accelerated

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the enrichment of neonicotinoid pesticides and

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increased the toxicity risk to honeybee populations.

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In addition, the interference of neonics induces

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a series of temperature and behavioral changes

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that are aided by the bee's strict social behaviors,

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such as swarming, nectar collection, food hand

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-feeding transfer and food storage and feeding

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behaviors. To make matters even worse, the honeybees

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preferred to collect pollen from fields sprayed

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with neonics, which significantly accelerated

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the transfer, diffusion, and enrichment of the

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pesticides in larvae, queens, and males of honeybee

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populations, which then affected honeybee reproduction

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over time. Bottom line, we knew neonics were

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a problem, now we know they're even worse than

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we thought. Alright, enough of the scary news,

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now let's switch gears to go inside the hive

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presented by Primal Bee. Did you know that a

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queen bee and a worker bee start as the exact

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same egg? Same DNA, same potential. The only

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thing that decides which one she becomes? Food.

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Every larva gets fed royal jelly for the first

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three days. After that, workers switch to a diet

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of pollen and nectar. But if the colony decides

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it needs a new queen, they keep feeding select

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larvae, royal jelly, and nothing else. Three

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days, that's the entire window. After that, the

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switch is permanent. Queen or worker, decided

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by lunch. Here's where it gets wild though. A

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colony might raise five sometimes even ten queen

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cells at a time. When the first queen hatches

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she makes a high -pitched piping sound. I've

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heard it's really cool by the way. Then she listens.

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The unborn queens pipe back from inside their

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cells and then the first queen goes and finds

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them and stings every one of them. Brutal right?

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But it works. fastest, strongest queen wins.

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During her busy lifetime, she'll go on to lay

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up to 2 ,000 eggs a day and live for years. The

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workers who raised her? About six weeks. Next

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time on Inside the Hive, we'll cover what actually

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happens during a swarm. Spoiler alert, it's not

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as scary as it looks. Now give a warm welcome

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to our very special guest. I'd like to welcome

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to the show today, one of my favorite people

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in the entire world, in the entire universe.

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This is Juniper Bennett, my niece in Montana.

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Hi, Juniper. Hi, Eric. Thank you. You're welcome.

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And I know you're feeling under the weather today.

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Thank you for joining me anyway. And best well

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wishes to you and your whole family. Get better

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soon. Thank you so much. Experiencing influenza

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B, it is no joke this year. Well, we're not meeting

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in person and maybe that's one of the reasons

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why we don't want to joke about it. But I do

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want to talk to you all about your very first

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year of beekeeping. It is such an exciting thing.

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And it's such a refreshing change on this show

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because we have commercial beekeepers and all

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these experts and stuff. And we can also learn

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from people that are brand new at it and be reminded

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of some of the reasons that we got into it in

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the first place. And that's where I want to start

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with you, Juniper, is what got you interested

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in honeybees? Well, we live out in the middle

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of nowhere and before we pushed record we were

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talking about chemicals and how do we how do

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we save our bees from all the chemicals and we

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are lucky enough to live somewhere where we're

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surrounded by wilderness and you know our closest

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neighbor is over a mile away and he doesn't spray

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his his fields and so I've always felt it in

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my heart like we've opened our land up to making

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a beautiful home for animals without expectations

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of them and just to give them a safe and loving

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home. I wanted to do the same for bees because

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I think it's one of the few places left on earth

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where we're not surrounded by a mass amount of

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chemicals. It helps also that my son, my eight

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year old son, he loves bees. So as you know,

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Eric, my family has spent much of the last decade

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living and traveling in an airstream and everywhere

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we would go, he would find bees in a puddle or

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be limping or having a hard time. And he's always

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trying to rehabilitate these bees. I don't know

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how many friend bees we've had in our airstream.

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And most of the time, you know, he just gives

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them, holds them lovingly in his hand while they

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die. And then they join us. So his love for bees

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also made me very interested. And so last winter

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I decided, well, I know nothing about beekeeping,

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but we're just going to go for it. And I want

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to give people a little bit better picture of

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where you're at, because you're in Montana, a

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little ways north of the north end of Yellowstone.

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And I'll let you fill in some of those blanks.

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You're on, I think, 10 acres. Beautiful little

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stream running through it. It is so picturesque.

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And what kind of animals do you also have now?

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So we have a horse and two donkeys. One of our

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donkeys, he just turned 27. We had no idea that

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donkeys live. so old, but apparently they can

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live into their 50s. So he's this middle aged

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sweetest thing. And gosh, what else? Well, can

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I tell you about our chickens? I know you have

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chickens. You'll love this story. So I had put

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an ad when we decided to stop traveling and move

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home. I put an ad on Craigslist and said, we're

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just opening our land up to animals who, who

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need a loving home. And I didn't get any response.

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And then many, many months went by. And I get

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a text from a woman and she's like, I have nine

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layer hens. Do you want them? And I was like,

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sure. And she's like, I'll deliver them tomorrow.

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Otherwise we have to butcher them. And I was

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like, yep, bring them. And so I'm Googling, like,

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what is a nine layer hen? And she shows up and

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they're nine lang hens. But I love that story

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because it really just kind of. Shares the culture

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and the energy of our home and our land is We

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really don't know what we're doing But we're

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just we're ready to learn and open our hearts

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up and like we don't eat eggs were plant -based

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and like these nine chickens are the biggest

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healthiest happiest chickens and It's just been

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so fun having them and our daughter got two ducks

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and they are so fun with the chickens and then

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Eric I'm gonna have to send you a picture we

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have at first we thought they were grouse and

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then partridges and we just learned in a bird

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book that they're called Chuckers so a couple

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of months ago a Chucker just moved in and it

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started tucking itself into the hen house at

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night and It will just spend hours on our deck

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peeking in our window and like wanting to be

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really close. It's eating out of our hands and

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then suddenly two more showed up. So we now have

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three Chuckers that have joined our, our hens.

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You're attracting all this. You're going to start

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attracting swarms of bees too. You know, we live

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in the middle of nowhere. So pigeons are not

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like a typical bird you see out here, but we

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now have two pigeons that also moved into our

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lean to. And so it's just this big love, love

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house out there and Don't let me forget. My son

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has his bearded jargon still. And we have a dog

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and we have a cat. But it's also, it's big and

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it's lovely and it's so alive. But it's also

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big and our sky is really big and it doesn't

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feel like an animal, like a zoo. You know what

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I mean? Like it's just lovely. Yeah and just

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also to help people get to know you, when you

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guys were traveling in the Airstream, you two

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with your four children and how many animals?

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Let's see we made our son's bearded dragon is

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truly his best friend in the whole world and

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so we made an enclosure at the end of his bed.

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So she traveled with us and we pulled the microwave

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out and my daughter had a bunny at the time and

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He was the love of her life. And so we turned

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the microwave spot into a cute bunny hatch. And

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then we had our dog. You forget the snake. The

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snake is right. Aki, he had his snake, but she

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passed away. He had the snake when we had stopped

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traveling to have our fourth baby. And she was

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like a rescued garter snake that he found outside.

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that wasn't doing well, and he prolonged her

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life and gave her so much love, but she ended

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up passing before we moved back into the Airstream,

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which I think was probably best for her well

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-being. And by the way, a lot of people that

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live an RV life have a cute little dog, a little

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lap puppy. Not yours? No, we have a Czech Shepherd.

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He's huge. I think he's 90 pounds and he's his

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whole own story. He's so lovely. He had a very

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rough life before coming. He's awesome. And he

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can carry a basketball in his mouth. We've seen

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it. All right. We're supposed to be talking about

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bees and beekeeping. So I've got my job is to

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get us back on track here. You also met bees

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when you were at our house a few years ago, and

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you got to put a bee suit on I think for the

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first time I'm sorry your son didn't I do have

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children sizes here now, but I didn't back at

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the time I remember they all kind of gathered

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around though like everybody was amazed and loved

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it if I remember right we took a frame out of

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a hive and Let them each stick a finger in and

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taste the fresh honey Mm -hmm. What was that

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like for them? Well, I mean that's rude that

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was even my first exposure to bees and I remember

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thinking that is probably pretty dangerous to

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have bees but you were just like This is Zen

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be guy and it wasn't scary at all. And I think

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that that's probably My kids experience too is

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that oh, wow. This is like a really calm Calm

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happening here Yeah, that fear we number one

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we don't need to have and number two if we're

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working with bees We don't want to have they

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literally can smell it All right. Let's get back

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to your journey So this last winter so about

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a year ago right now you made the commitment

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How did you decide like where to buy bees and

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what kind of beehive you wanted to use? So I

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had been watching different people in the bee

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world, you know, just some friends who share

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about their bee experience on their Instagram.

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And I have a friend who lives a couple miles

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up the road and they caught a wild swarm. You

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might know her husband actually, Casey Anderson.

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He's like a big wildlife guy on YouTube. They're

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very inspirational because they are wild. I fell

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in love with the Flow Hives. I, it just really

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spoke to me and it really aligned with, it aligns

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with my vision of, you know, I have this philosophy

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that is very different than most people's, which

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is I don't believe that animals are on earth

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for our use. I believe that it's our obligation

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to really take care of animals and let their

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souls feel peace in this life. And I love that

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the Flow Hive offers that to the bees, that I

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don't have to disrupt anything that they've created

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to harvest the honey. Because ultimately, my

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objective in having bees isn't really even for

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the honey. It's to give the bees a magical home.

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So I fell in love with the Flow Hive. And I think

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in my mind, when I picture land and a home with

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so many animals, my mind thinks like, very, very

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messy and so something about me is I did grow

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up in a very messy home and it's very much, well

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I guess I'll say I made a promise to myself when

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I was very little that I would give my family

00:16:21.710 --> 00:16:24.269
a different experience growing up and we would

00:16:24.269 --> 00:16:28.570
live in a very clean, beautiful space. Luckily

00:16:28.570 --> 00:16:32.200
Ty shares that. that vision in life. And we are

00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:34.600
both very committed to a very clean, beautiful

00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:40.519
space. And the Flow Hive is so stunningly beautiful.

00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:44.100
And, you know, we stained it and painted it too.

00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:46.879
It looks just like a miniature version. We have

00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:51.659
two of them. They're, gosh, 20 feet off of our

00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:54.539
deck. Like, we purposely put them, like, right

00:16:54.539 --> 00:16:56.840
outside our back door so we can watch the bees

00:16:56.840 --> 00:17:00.700
all day. And... So if I can paint the picture

00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:04.019
a little bit for you, there's a little pond right

00:17:04.019 --> 00:17:07.740
outside the beehives and then our corral with

00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:10.140
the donkeys and the horse are right next to that

00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:13.579
and the hen houses in the corral and so everybody's

00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:16.240
like literally right outside our front door.

00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:20.519
But it's all so beautiful and it's so clean and

00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:24.059
it all just kind of works. You know the bees

00:17:24.059 --> 00:17:26.680
and the chickens are at the pond drinking water

00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:29.920
together and So anyways, that was a long way

00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:33.099
to answer that we went with the Flow Hive. So

00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:36.220
shout out to Cedar at Flow. Yes. Good guy. He's

00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:38.980
been on the show. He was a lot of fun and I think

00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:41.079
they're great for a lot of people and they're

00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:44.200
not for everybody and that's okay. But do your

00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:47.319
research. What advice would you give to brand

00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:50.059
new beekeepers on how to make decisions like

00:17:50.059 --> 00:17:52.640
that and like where to buy your bees and what

00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:56.839
kind to get? So I knew intuitively that that

00:17:56.839 --> 00:17:59.700
is what I wanted. And so I didn't ask anybody

00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:03.140
their opinion because I didn't want anybody to

00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:06.859
change what I intuitively felt was made for me.

00:18:07.619 --> 00:18:11.940
And so I purposefully didn't, like there were

00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:13.559
many times where I was like in my mind thinking,

00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:15.539
I wonder what Eric thinks about this, but I'm

00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:18.660
not gonna ask him because I don't want to influence

00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:21.849
how I feel about this. And so. that would be

00:18:21.849 --> 00:18:24.670
my encouragement, is find what lights you up.

00:18:24.990 --> 00:18:27.970
Find what, find, like, if you see something that

00:18:27.970 --> 00:18:31.970
really resonates with you, trust that. And then

00:18:31.970 --> 00:18:35.490
be really proud of going that path. And, you

00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:38.390
know, I never even researched other behaves.

00:18:38.589 --> 00:18:41.369
I just knew that that one was exactly what I

00:18:41.369 --> 00:18:44.390
wanted. Aesthetically, the way that it works,

00:18:44.549 --> 00:18:47.630
the way that, you know, I really get to leave.

00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:51.440
the bees so much. I love everything about that

00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:54.920
and I just have to say like I have no experience

00:18:54.920 --> 00:19:00.559
with any other hive but this company is unbelievably

00:19:01.349 --> 00:19:04.849
amazing and the quality is amazing and I'm not

00:19:04.849 --> 00:19:07.509
affiliated with them by any means but I just

00:19:07.509 --> 00:19:10.250
remember like opening the box to build the hive

00:19:10.250 --> 00:19:13.150
and just being completely blown away from how

00:19:13.150 --> 00:19:16.930
beautiful the tissue paper was to like this these

00:19:16.930 --> 00:19:20.589
beekeeping newspapers that are separating the

00:19:20.589 --> 00:19:23.529
you know the different layers of wood and the

00:19:23.529 --> 00:19:26.210
smell I got the cedar hives and the smell is

00:19:26.210 --> 00:19:31.029
so phenomenal And so it's just very much in alignment

00:19:31.029 --> 00:19:34.390
with the life that I desire living. Every part

00:19:34.390 --> 00:19:39.089
of becoming a beekeeper was a really beautiful

00:19:39.089 --> 00:19:43.410
experience, and that was a big part of that.

00:19:43.849 --> 00:19:46.329
How about the kind of bees? How did you decide?

00:19:46.509 --> 00:19:48.849
Because there are different varieties of honeybees.

00:19:49.109 --> 00:19:52.150
OK, Eric, so this is where my newness really

00:19:52.150 --> 00:19:54.630
gets to shine. I have no idea what kind of bees

00:19:54.630 --> 00:19:59.690
I have. OK, thank you for being honest. Yes,

00:19:59.690 --> 00:20:03.950
I have no idea what I have. All I know is in

00:20:03.950 --> 00:20:09.009
so we are we're equal distance from Bozeman and

00:20:09.009 --> 00:20:12.089
Livingston, Montana. So there's a cute little

00:20:12.089 --> 00:20:16.430
bee shop here in Bozeman. And I had seen a sign

00:20:16.430 --> 00:20:19.950
outside. tend to order your honeybees and so

00:20:19.950 --> 00:20:24.630
I called them to ask all the questions and and

00:20:24.630 --> 00:20:27.650
she's the one and I was like so just one hive

00:20:27.650 --> 00:20:30.089
is good right and she's like oh no no no I highly

00:20:30.089 --> 00:20:32.210
recommend two so that you can really learn from

00:20:32.210 --> 00:20:36.990
both hives so like okay well I'll order two gosh

00:20:36.990 --> 00:20:38.730
do you call them swarms when you're ordering

00:20:38.730 --> 00:20:42.930
them I can't even remember right now well packages

00:20:42.930 --> 00:20:46.109
or new depending how you got them and buying

00:20:46.109 --> 00:20:48.549
and starting with two is really good advice by

00:20:48.549 --> 00:20:51.730
the way I agree when I was building my flow hives

00:20:51.730 --> 00:20:54.309
there were times because I forgot to mention

00:20:54.309 --> 00:20:57.710
this we homeschool so you know becoming beekeepers

00:20:57.710 --> 00:21:00.769
I just kind of incorporated into our school and

00:21:00.769 --> 00:21:03.509
with the flow hive they also have a course that

00:21:03.509 --> 00:21:05.809
I just kind of worked through with my kids so

00:21:05.809 --> 00:21:08.269
that we can all kind of learn it together and

00:21:08.269 --> 00:21:13.440
some of my kids are more Intuit and others kind

00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.079
of like watching from a distance and both is

00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:19.039
so beautiful but that course has been really

00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:24.279
helpful to me and So when I called the the B

00:21:24.279 --> 00:21:28.160
store here, I ordered two packages and She's

00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:30.839
like, okay, we'll send an email a week before

00:21:30.839 --> 00:21:33.160
they're ready to pick up you have to be there

00:21:33.289 --> 00:21:35.970
like there's no like you can't send a neighbor

00:21:35.970 --> 00:21:38.609
you can't like we can't hold them for you you

00:21:38.609 --> 00:21:40.609
just have to be there to pick up the package

00:21:40.609 --> 00:21:43.329
and i was like okay are you planning on expanding

00:21:43.329 --> 00:21:47.009
your apiary this year or are you a beginner thinking

00:21:47.009 --> 00:21:49.549
about jumping into beekeeping for the very first

00:21:49.549 --> 00:21:52.809
time take it from someone who's purchased beekeeping

00:21:52.809 --> 00:21:56.490
equipment from many different suppliers if you

00:21:56.490 --> 00:22:00.920
want made in usa woodenware premium feeds, top

00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:04.000
quality, and great prices on everything, give

00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.519
Man Lake a try. And whether or not you're a beekeeper,

00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:10.240
you can help honey bees and other pollinators

00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:13.660
by planting bee friendly forage. Man Lake has

00:22:13.660 --> 00:22:16.299
that too. In fact, download the free Man Lake

00:22:16.299 --> 00:22:19.200
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00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:23.220
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00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:26.359
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00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:29.380
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00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:34.039
beginner kits, and even seeds. Brood development

00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:37.660
depends on stable temperatures. Even a few degrees

00:22:37.660 --> 00:22:40.940
off can mean wings that don't form right, shorter

00:22:40.940 --> 00:22:44.720
lifespans, bees that can't navigate, or even

00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:48.240
no viable brood at all. Primal bee hives are

00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:51.400
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00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:55.099
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00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:58.779
line, healthier brood, healthier bees. Learn

00:22:58.779 --> 00:23:03.140
more today at primalbee .com. Okay, we'll have

00:23:03.140 --> 00:23:05.900
these hives ready and as I'm building these two

00:23:05.900 --> 00:23:08.440
hives, it's kind of a lot building two hives.

00:23:08.619 --> 00:23:11.099
We have a lot happening in our life and I was

00:23:11.099 --> 00:23:15.170
like, oh gosh. Two's a lot, but now I am so grateful

00:23:15.170 --> 00:23:18.130
I have two because my two, they have very different

00:23:18.130 --> 00:23:21.910
personalities and it's so neat. Like I'm learning

00:23:21.910 --> 00:23:24.170
double time, right? Because I'm learning such

00:23:24.170 --> 00:23:27.049
different things from each hive. So I love that

00:23:27.049 --> 00:23:31.049
she recommended that I get two. As far as the

00:23:31.049 --> 00:23:34.230
kind of bees to get, there are places online,

00:23:34.490 --> 00:23:38.670
including at Man Lake's website, where you can

00:23:38.670 --> 00:23:43.150
find a guide. and it will tell you, okay, buckfast

00:23:43.150 --> 00:23:46.410
bees, here's sort of the pros and cons of them.

00:23:47.049 --> 00:23:50.910
Italians, pros and cons of them. Carniolans,

00:23:51.430 --> 00:23:56.109
Russians, etc. And so you can look and say, okay,

00:23:56.569 --> 00:23:59.329
I'm in a place that's super warm weather, so

00:23:59.329 --> 00:24:02.470
maybe this kind of bee is different, or the opposite

00:24:02.470 --> 00:24:07.859
is true. And your local bee shop in Montana probably

00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:12.039
realizes hey these are the best bees for Montana

00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:15.140
and so this is just what we sell. Yes and it

00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:18.460
turns out it's this really incredible they actually

00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:22.839
raise and breed the bees here and so like I imagined

00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:25.440
that it was just like a third party right they're

00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:28.000
just buying them from somewhere else. It often

00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:31.079
is so that's great that you got local. Yeah.

00:24:31.470 --> 00:24:35.130
So as you go down this journey, this beekeeping

00:24:35.130 --> 00:24:37.329
journey, you're going to find it's not always

00:24:37.329 --> 00:24:41.589
easy and sometimes there are heartbreaks. Most

00:24:41.589 --> 00:24:45.950
of us have had bees die and that can happen from

00:24:45.950 --> 00:24:49.710
disease or varroa or a number of different issues.

00:24:50.430 --> 00:24:53.549
Also where you are, you guys have bears. Did

00:24:53.549 --> 00:24:56.170
you do anything to protect your hives from bears?

00:24:56.809 --> 00:25:00.089
No. You might want to think about that. Consider

00:25:00.089 --> 00:25:03.589
it. That's interesting. They will destroy hives

00:25:03.589 --> 00:25:07.390
like overnight. You can find them completely

00:25:07.390 --> 00:25:11.470
destroyed out on the ground done. They can wreak

00:25:11.470 --> 00:25:14.650
terrible havoc with bees. And I remember seeing

00:25:14.650 --> 00:25:17.930
a picture of a bear at your house from a few

00:25:17.930 --> 00:25:21.150
years ago. So that's something to think about.

00:25:21.410 --> 00:25:23.309
Well, thank you. I appreciate that because I

00:25:23.309 --> 00:25:27.450
hadn't that had not crossed my mind. That's probably

00:25:27.450 --> 00:25:30.150
the worst predator problem that you might have

00:25:30.150 --> 00:25:32.970
to think about in your area. There's skunks and

00:25:32.970 --> 00:25:34.910
other things. The worst one I have, and you may

00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:38.710
get some of this too, is yellow jackets. Near

00:25:38.710 --> 00:25:40.849
the end of summer, they can be a big problem.

00:25:41.289 --> 00:25:44.309
So we can talk about all that stuff offline here

00:25:44.309 --> 00:25:47.190
sometime. I can tell you just love these bees.

00:25:47.289 --> 00:25:51.170
What is it about them? So maybe I'll share a

00:25:51.170 --> 00:25:53.730
story of when we first picked up the bees because

00:25:53.730 --> 00:25:58.640
it... I didn't know that I was going to love

00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:03.779
the bees. So Ty and one of our boys, they were

00:26:03.779 --> 00:26:07.000
out of town at a skateboarding competition. So

00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:10.140
it's me and our three other kids, and I get the

00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:14.220
email that it's time to pick up the bees. And

00:26:14.220 --> 00:26:16.259
my eight -year -old thought it was so funny that

00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:19.700
we picked them up in the Applebee's parking lot.

00:26:21.380 --> 00:26:25.019
I like it. He's really quick with stuff like

00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:27.539
that. He was dying laughing. So just a trailer

00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:32.420
behind the Applebee's and I didn't know what

00:26:32.420 --> 00:26:36.440
to expect at all. And I tried to learn like,

00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:38.799
what am I going to do when I bring these bees

00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:41.119
home? Like, I don't know what we're doing. We

00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:44.039
have our equipment, but that's it. We pull up

00:26:44.039 --> 00:26:46.039
and there's maybe four other cars there. And

00:26:46.039 --> 00:26:51.039
there's this man with this big trailer. and it's

00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:55.400
full of these boxes of bees. And I'm just standing

00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:57.779
there watching these other people collect their

00:26:57.779 --> 00:27:00.839
bees. And I'm sitting with my three kids and

00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:03.000
he's like, how many did you order? I was like,

00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:05.319
we got two. And he's like, all right, let's get

00:27:05.319 --> 00:27:08.500
them loaded up. And I was like, okay, I'm not

00:27:08.500 --> 00:27:10.279
really sure what you're giving. Like, can you

00:27:10.279 --> 00:27:12.099
tell me what this is? You know, and he's like

00:27:12.099 --> 00:27:14.480
pulling this like candy plug from his pocket.

00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:16.630
And I'm like. I don't even know what to do with

00:27:16.630 --> 00:27:19.849
that. And it turns out he owns the bee shop in

00:27:19.849 --> 00:27:22.410
town with his wife. And he just was so nice.

00:27:22.470 --> 00:27:24.329
He took like a half an hour to just kind of show

00:27:24.329 --> 00:27:28.049
us how you like tap them to the bottom. And as

00:27:28.049 --> 00:27:30.750
he's teaching me, he puts the box of beans in

00:27:30.750 --> 00:27:35.930
the back of the truck and Look over and my eight

00:27:35.930 --> 00:27:38.609
-year -old he's just climbed up into the back

00:27:38.609 --> 00:27:41.450
of the truck and he's sitting with his hip touching

00:27:41.450 --> 00:27:44.509
this box of bees and of course, there's bees

00:27:44.509 --> 00:27:48.089
that have gotten out and He just has his hand

00:27:48.089 --> 00:27:54.630
up to the box and he's so calm and so happy and

00:27:54.630 --> 00:27:57.910
When you're around that and like as a mom and

00:27:57.910 --> 00:28:02.029
just knowing that really any animal feels our

00:28:02.029 --> 00:28:06.390
energy like I I'm not gonna be the one to panic

00:28:06.390 --> 00:28:09.769
here and then still fear in him and like my youngest

00:28:09.769 --> 00:28:11.750
is sitting there watching him but of course there's

00:28:11.750 --> 00:28:16.529
like this oh okay all right this is this is okay

00:28:16.529 --> 00:28:20.670
and he starts singing to these bees and they

00:28:20.670 --> 00:28:24.230
start like they stop swarming the box and they're

00:28:24.230 --> 00:28:28.269
just on his bear arm and he's singing to these

00:28:28.269 --> 00:28:31.170
bees and then my youngest climbs up in the back

00:28:31.170 --> 00:28:33.950
of the truck and to him this is what you do with

00:28:33.950 --> 00:28:37.349
bees this is all he's ever seen is his big brother

00:28:37.349 --> 00:28:40.269
singing to bees so then now I have these two

00:28:40.269 --> 00:28:43.490
little boys singing to bees and my eight -year

00:28:43.490 --> 00:28:46.910
-old he's laid back and he's just so comfortable

00:28:46.910 --> 00:28:50.670
and he's singing to these bees and he's so happy

00:28:50.670 --> 00:28:55.119
to be with these bees No fear in him whatsoever.

00:28:55.859 --> 00:28:59.119
They have yet to be stung. Nobody has been stung

00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:03.279
by these bees yet. They are the calmest hives.

00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:07.900
And we're pulling away. And he says, Mom, our

00:29:07.900 --> 00:29:13.279
family just grew by 40 ,000 bees. And I was like,

00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:16.720
oh my gosh, you're right. Our family just grew

00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:21.559
so much. And it's just like this calm, beautiful

00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:25.240
presence. you know so setting up our our boxes

00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:27.220
i mean he's really guiding you know he's like

00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:30.940
mom remember to do this part he's just like so

00:29:30.940 --> 00:29:34.440
into these bees and so i wouldn't i don't even

00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:36.680
know if it's my i don't even know if beekeeping

00:29:36.680 --> 00:29:39.980
is my thing or if i'm just like holding the space

00:29:39.980 --> 00:29:41.960
for him to run with this i know i'm not really

00:29:41.960 --> 00:29:45.960
sure but It's just so beautiful. And so I, I

00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:50.420
don't have like any knowledge yet, really. It's

00:29:50.420 --> 00:29:53.819
just the experience of being their presence and

00:29:53.819 --> 00:29:56.960
having the gift to be able to offer them a really

00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:02.039
loving home. So beautiful. Wow. And a good tip

00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:04.420
for people that are going and picking up their

00:30:04.420 --> 00:30:09.720
first package or nuke of bees is sometimes they'll

00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:12.220
pull up to the place to get them and then realize

00:30:13.099 --> 00:30:17.099
Oh, wait, where do I put them? In the back seat

00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:20.519
of the car? And that can make some people very,

00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:23.859
very nervous. Well, we were in awe. There's this

00:30:23.859 --> 00:30:26.039
cute older couple and they're just putting them

00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:30.759
in the back seat of their Subaru and like, yeah.

00:30:30.900 --> 00:30:33.119
Yeah. And that's what you do. That's what most

00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:35.779
people do is just stick them on the floor in

00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:38.400
the back seat. It's fine. And a couple may get

00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:41.380
out, not very many, but yeah, it's all good.

00:30:41.690 --> 00:30:45.970
But to your point of losing bees, I shared this

00:30:45.970 --> 00:30:47.349
with you when we were talking a couple weeks

00:30:47.349 --> 00:30:50.690
ago. I'll be very honest, this winter in Montana

00:30:50.690 --> 00:30:53.869
is quite a breath of fresh air. I mean, I know

00:30:53.869 --> 00:30:56.630
that it's not wonderful for the earth, but it's

00:30:56.630 --> 00:30:59.529
so sustainable and manageable. Like we haven't

00:30:59.529 --> 00:31:03.390
had the negative temperatures, but it's been

00:31:03.390 --> 00:31:07.990
astronomically warm and I feel so scared for

00:31:07.990 --> 00:31:11.730
my bees. They're so busy. Have you been feeding

00:31:11.730 --> 00:31:15.289
them? Yes. After we talked, I did some research

00:31:15.289 --> 00:31:19.309
and I did put some food out there for them and

00:31:19.309 --> 00:31:22.490
they're going to be okay. But they're flying

00:31:22.490 --> 00:31:25.470
like it's summer. It's wild. That's crazy how

00:31:25.470 --> 00:31:28.470
warm it is. Yeah. And it sounds like your bees

00:31:28.470 --> 00:31:31.630
are pretty adapted to the kind of weather that

00:31:31.630 --> 00:31:33.910
you have there, but still you're not going to

00:31:33.910 --> 00:31:36.970
see bees flying at 30 degrees. They're not capable

00:31:36.970 --> 00:31:40.420
of it. I've seen them try. and they'll get about

00:31:40.420 --> 00:31:43.420
three feet and then just nosedive into the snow,

00:31:43.480 --> 00:31:48.220
and that can be kind of sad too. So, okay, so

00:31:48.220 --> 00:31:51.539
you're learning about food. How about the big

00:31:51.539 --> 00:31:54.559
V word, Varroa? What's your knowledge of Varroa,

00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:57.920
and did you do any testing in the fall? No, my

00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:02.299
knowledge is low, and I'm sure that experienced

00:32:02.299 --> 00:32:04.700
beekeepers listening are going to say, well,

00:32:04.700 --> 00:32:09.740
being naive is dangerous, but But that's where

00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:13.559
I am. And I kind of also took this approach with

00:32:13.559 --> 00:32:16.839
the bees. I mean, it's kind of my philosophy.

00:32:17.019 --> 00:32:19.180
I mean, it was with birthing my children and

00:32:19.180 --> 00:32:23.279
being a mother and having our animals is I want

00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:28.839
to give space for life to happen as it's supposed

00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:31.779
to happen, while also, you know, of course, doing

00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:35.339
what we can to love and protect. But I kind of

00:32:35.339 --> 00:32:38.609
took the approach. This year of, you know, I

00:32:38.609 --> 00:32:41.109
did a couple of hive checks, but I was very hands

00:32:41.109 --> 00:32:44.970
off and very much I want to let the bees do the

00:32:44.970 --> 00:32:48.549
bees thing. What has surprised you the most?

00:32:49.049 --> 00:32:53.690
Definitely that we run around barefoot and play

00:32:53.690 --> 00:32:58.430
outside all day every day and no one has been

00:32:58.430 --> 00:33:03.180
stung. We have bees that just seem like curious

00:33:03.180 --> 00:33:04.960
of what we're doing. They'll come and watch in

00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:08.440
the same exact doors as these new birds that

00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:13.019
have joined our hands. They'll just sit outside

00:33:13.019 --> 00:33:16.960
that door and just like watch in and that is

00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:20.160
just amazing to me. You know when you sit and

00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:25.480
you watch you see like they are so focused on

00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:31.700
doing their jobs and then to see just some of

00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:34.519
them come and sit at the door and just watch

00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:38.660
the happenings of life. It feels magic. All right.

00:33:38.740 --> 00:33:42.380
Last thing, Juniper. Yeah. What advice from your

00:33:42.380 --> 00:33:44.759
first year beekeeping, what advice do you have?

00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:48.059
I'm going to ask for two pieces of advice. One

00:33:48.059 --> 00:33:50.180
for people that are brand new and don't have

00:33:50.180 --> 00:33:53.599
their bees yet. And the other for seasoned beekeepers

00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:57.980
that may be helping mentor or guide some beginners.

00:34:00.070 --> 00:34:05.250
I would say for new beekeepers, it's very similar

00:34:05.250 --> 00:34:08.309
to gardening. We built this new beautiful garden

00:34:08.309 --> 00:34:11.690
this summer, and I had these expectations that

00:34:11.690 --> 00:34:14.530
it would, by the end of summer, be this big,

00:34:14.809 --> 00:34:18.230
lush, beautiful, weed -free garden. And it was

00:34:18.230 --> 00:34:21.130
this huge wake -up of, okay, this is actually

00:34:21.130 --> 00:34:25.650
a very timely endeavor here. It's not going to

00:34:25.650 --> 00:34:29.110
happen overnight. I think beekeeping is the same

00:34:29.110 --> 00:34:33.530
and that it's not about harvesting the honey

00:34:33.530 --> 00:34:37.570
or whatever your goal and having the bees. It's

00:34:37.570 --> 00:34:41.010
not about that goal. It's about the process of

00:34:41.010 --> 00:34:43.969
becoming with your garden or becoming with your

00:34:43.969 --> 00:34:47.110
bees and what you're learning throughout that

00:34:47.110 --> 00:34:52.409
journey. For seasoned beekeepers helping new

00:34:52.409 --> 00:34:56.260
people like myself, probably You know, Eric,

00:34:56.460 --> 00:35:00.739
if you lived here, I would have probably asked

00:35:00.739 --> 00:35:03.119
you to come and pick up the bees with me and

00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:07.260
help me move the bees into their hive and come

00:35:07.260 --> 00:35:09.579
and do the first several checks with me. And

00:35:09.579 --> 00:35:12.719
that would have been amazing. But I don't think

00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:16.039
that I would have been able to get to really

00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:21.500
know. myself and my my one son who's really into

00:35:21.500 --> 00:35:24.920
it and my bees the way that I have because I

00:35:24.920 --> 00:35:29.780
just kind of figured it out on my own and So

00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:32.260
while I would have absolutely loved to have had

00:35:32.260 --> 00:35:36.179
you here I think if if someone is helping others

00:35:36.179 --> 00:35:40.179
with bees probably encouraging them to take space

00:35:40.179 --> 00:35:44.900
and to you know experience some trial and error

00:35:44.900 --> 00:35:48.940
and Because it's in that space that we kind of

00:35:48.940 --> 00:35:51.960
learn our own ways and I did it like you did

00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:56.599
I did it without a mentor and That's right for

00:35:56.599 --> 00:35:59.539
some people and some other people really want

00:35:59.539 --> 00:36:02.820
somebody holding their hand and Most people are

00:36:02.820 --> 00:36:05.860
some probably somewhere in between those two

00:36:05.860 --> 00:36:10.679
places. So I'd say for mentors don't assume that

00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:13.199
they want you to help them with every single

00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:16.900
thing but let them have their space and learn

00:36:16.900 --> 00:36:20.619
at their own speed and get as much help as they

00:36:20.619 --> 00:36:24.300
want but not more than they want or maybe not

00:36:24.300 --> 00:36:27.539
more than is good for them. Well and I will say

00:36:27.539 --> 00:36:30.460
like I didn't really know anybody that I could

00:36:30.619 --> 00:36:34.159
call or that could be a mentor to me. And had

00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:36.480
that been an option, I probably would have been

00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:38.579
the one that's like, okay, please help me with

00:36:38.579 --> 00:36:41.260
all the things. And like even myself, I would

00:36:41.260 --> 00:36:43.840
think like, I want my hand to be held throughout

00:36:43.840 --> 00:36:46.619
this whole process because it's so new and intimidating.

00:36:47.300 --> 00:36:49.519
But just like with everything in life, gosh,

00:36:49.659 --> 00:36:51.699
the fastest way to learn, it's just like diving

00:36:51.699 --> 00:36:55.159
head first in. And so how beautiful for somebody

00:36:55.159 --> 00:36:58.719
to be able to have a mentor. But I love what

00:36:58.719 --> 00:37:01.340
you said. Not just assuming that that means that

00:37:01.340 --> 00:37:04.099
they want you to do everything for them or with

00:37:04.099 --> 00:37:08.780
them, but really encouraging them to To learn

00:37:08.780 --> 00:37:13.719
it. Yeah, let them grow at their own pace and

00:37:13.719 --> 00:37:16.300
Be in tune with the bees and you said something

00:37:16.300 --> 00:37:20.599
really early on about being intuitive And I'm

00:37:20.599 --> 00:37:23.780
a huge believer in that with our beekeeping that

00:37:23.780 --> 00:37:27.949
whether it's what kind of hive design you buy

00:37:27.949 --> 00:37:31.730
or where you buy your bees or whether you treat

00:37:31.730 --> 00:37:35.469
them or don't treat them for Varroa or things

00:37:35.469 --> 00:37:38.289
like that. It's really important that we are

00:37:38.289 --> 00:37:40.889
intuitive. I've probably mentioned this on this

00:37:40.889 --> 00:37:44.210
show before but I have been known to actually

00:37:44.210 --> 00:37:47.590
sometimes not know what to do for my bees and

00:37:47.590 --> 00:37:51.150
to ask them. And if somebody was there watching

00:37:51.150 --> 00:37:53.900
they'd probably think I'm a little crazy. You

00:37:53.900 --> 00:37:57.219
know, there's Eric talking to his bees, but asking

00:37:57.219 --> 00:38:00.679
them, I think you need something. I don't know

00:38:00.679 --> 00:38:02.480
what it is. You're going to have to give me some

00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:07.300
help here. That's so beautiful. So be intuitive.

00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:10.500
Anyway, keep it up, Juniper. We're going to talk

00:38:10.500 --> 00:38:13.619
Varroa offline and go from there. And good luck

00:38:13.619 --> 00:38:15.860
with year number two. You're going to learn a

00:38:15.860 --> 00:38:18.880
whole bunch more. And before you know it, knowing

00:38:18.880 --> 00:38:21.480
you guys and your family, you're going to have

00:38:21.480 --> 00:38:24.449
a lot of beehives around there. So just plan

00:38:24.449 --> 00:38:27.510
on that. I'll let Ty know. Okay, yeah, you let

00:38:27.510 --> 00:38:33.949
Ty know. Alright, thanks, Juniper. Thanks again

00:38:33.949 --> 00:38:36.590
for joining us on Bee Love Beekeeping presented

00:38:36.590 --> 00:38:39.170
by our great friends over at Man Lake. Hey, and

00:38:39.170 --> 00:38:41.670
don't forget to order your bees. And a shout

00:38:41.670 --> 00:38:45.010
out to V2B Health for their support. Vita's Varroa

00:38:45.010 --> 00:38:48.130
Control Ranger products includes Epistan, Epigard,

00:38:48.690 --> 00:38:52.190
and now Varroxan. Extended release, Oxalic Acids

00:38:52.190 --> 00:38:55.750
Trips. Thank you so much guys. If you haven't

00:38:55.750 --> 00:38:58.829
yet, please subscribe and follow the show, tell

00:38:58.829 --> 00:39:01.769
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00:39:01.769 --> 00:39:05.510
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00:39:05.510 --> 00:39:08.489
have a guest suggestion or topic that you'd like

00:39:08.489 --> 00:39:11.409
discussed on the show shoot me an email eric

00:39:11.409 --> 00:39:14.769
at Be Love Beekeeping .com and remember if you're

00:39:14.769 --> 00:39:17.469
not just in it for the honey or the money you're

00:39:17.469 --> 00:39:19.550
in it for the love. See you next week.