Bee Hives in the Living Room

Yes I had bee hives in my living room. There weren't any bees in them though. I ordered 2 hives from Munro Honey in Alvinston.

Two large boxes arrived and I opened the boxes with the same enthusiasm as a child on Christmas morning. I sorted and piled everything in the only open space in the house - the living room.

Over the next few days I watched TV at nights while I hammered my hive boxes together. I'm pretty good at hammering a nail and can hammer with either left or right hand.

Then things got stalled for a while when I realized that starting with bees in 2008 was cutting things a little close. It was already late spring/early summer and I was very busy with the writing and illustrations for my book. I longed to be with the bees for real but I knew that I would be dividing my time too much. I put off starting in 2008.

I painted the hive boxes in traditional white and opted to paint my supers a lilac colour. The colour difference would help me tell at a glance which box was which.

Based on advice from bee books and online beekeeping groups I opted for a medium deep - that's the box where the bees live and raise their babies. The honey boxes are also "shallows" which means they won't be so big and heavy for me to carry.

So now in February, everything is sitting outside .... waiting .... anticipating. Spring is just around the corner. I can feel it in the warmer air. Sure there will be some cold and blustery days ahead, but we're around the corner. It won't be long.