Our first bee house. It started as a simple restoration of an all shed structure into a garden shed but we got carried away… The shed is close to our bee yard so keeping tools and equipment was a practical thing to do. But then, when I looked at empty spaces between old studs I thought to myself – why not build in a beehive or two? The walls will protect bees from bears, skunks, mice, and other sweet tooth creatures in the summertime and from the cold during our long Canadian winter (I hope).
Then the suggestions started to pour in from other family members. Andrey, our family beekeeping expert/scientist, advised on the measurements and minimum requirements to keep the bees happy, while my husband – our handyman, whose job would be the actual project, had ideas of his own. Being able to watch the bee colony life cycle at any time with minimum invasion was always our obsession. Therefore, the hive must have a glass window. But why just a window? Why not a glass door so we can tend to the bees when needed? And the colony needs to have a room to grow so stackable boxes, each with a glass door. And the whole structure has to be bee tight from the inside. A lot of things to consider for my handyman. But he did it!
Now it is my personal retreat, a sacred place where I can stop for 30 minutes from juggling beekeeping, gardening, construction, etc. around our bee cottage/farm, relax in a chair in my api-house and breath in bee hive aroma filled with propolis, honey, beeswax, and hundreds of other flavonoids that can be found in a beehive. Listening to the soft buzz of the working bees and feeling the vibration of their talking dance is now my new favourite thing to do. How much closer you can Bee to the Bees? If family and friends ask nicely, I might just let them in on the experience.
