I started beekeeping about 6 months ago so I thought that I'd let everybody know how it's been going and why I started.

I guess there's a few reasons why I started beekeeping but the biggest one is because I've never done it before. Life is all about trying new things, you never know what you like until you try it and beekeeping seemed to be a hobby that has some real benefits that go along with it.

My wife really likes the potential benefits to beekeeping (the honey) so it was easy to convince her when I had the opportunity to get started in it. She's happy that I started because she gets some fresh, all natural honey out of it.

So far I haven't invested very much money into my beekeeping hobby. I want to keep this cheap until I'm sure that I'm going to like taking care of these little creatures. If you're going natural the bees really don't need all that much care or intervention from you as their keeper either so the expenses are minimal. I've invested a total of about $250 including my 1 beehive, smoker, veil and hive tool.

I was really naive when I started - mostly because I didn't know what I really wanted to do with them. Once I had bees in my care though I did a lot of catch up learning.

When I was learning about beekeeping I spent a lot of time looking around on the internet for something that really made sense to me, something that I could really connect with and something that went along with my beliefs about how I think things are supposed to exist in this world.

Out of all the web sites about bees that I looked at, the one web site that I found most inspiring was that of Michael Bush. You can find his beekeeping web site at http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

If you're thinking about going into beekeeping or even if you're reading this and you're already beekeeping, I suggest that you have a look at Michael Bush's web site. The information is presented with real reason behind it and not just a "this is the way it is because it's how I learned it" type approach. It's actually true that Michael Bush learned opposite of what he's now suggesting on his web site. After many years of beekeeping I'm guessing he started to ask himself "Why am I doing it this way?"

After reading what Michael Bush had to say about beekeeping I decided that I would take the natural approach - so basically all I do is give the bees a comfortable place to live, steal their honey, and make sure that they have enough food to fair through the times when there is nothing for them to eat.

So far things have been going pretty good but even though I'd rather not, I gave my bees some sugar this year because they went into winter without much food and I don't want them to die. Basically I bought my bees at the wrong time of year (when the flower season is ending) so I had to make up for it by giving them sugar.

I've never had any previous experience with bees but I went into it bravely. I wear a veil, normal light colored shirt and khaki style pants when I go into my hive. Look mom, no gloves!

My bees are great, I've been into the hive probably about 10 times, and always without gloves. I have been stung only one time on the back of my hand. I admit, it really hurt and I don't like it, so now I'm more careful but I know it's probably not going to be the last time.

So far it's much to early to know what the benefits to beekeeping are but I'm still enjoying it a lot. I've learned a lot about bees this past 6 months including the different sounds they make depending on their mood. Even though there's yet to be any honey it's still been very rewarding.

If you're not allergic to bees and you have a little bit of space and want to try something new - Try Bees!