photographs and text by Sharon Kitchens I am happy to report all four of my bee hives made it through the winter. Here are a few pics from a quick inspection we did this past weekend. I will continue to feed them a sugar/water mixture until the dandelions appear – so probably another 7 -10 days. […]

photographs and text by Sharon Kitchens A few photographs from the super quick hive check. What you are seeing: Honeybees can eat through their food stores (honey!) by early March if not sooner and will starve if not fed.  That’s where candyboards come in – a sugar syrup that is made into a fondant and sits […]

photographs and text by Sharon Kitchens This past week I invited experience beekeeper Keith Kettelhut over to help me inspect my “miracle hive” as so appointed by Tony Jadczak, Maine’s apiarist, after surviving a bad Varroa mite infestation last winter. Kettelhut is a member of  Maine’s swarm team. Turns out my hive was about three weeks […]

photographs and text by Sharon Kitchens My wonderful bee mentor Deborah, without whom I’d be lost as a new beekeeper, invited one of Maine’s own “Swarm Team” Keith Kettelhut over for the last inspection before tucking the hives in for winter. I’ll have him back in the spring** for another inspection when Deborah and I […]

photographs and text by Sharon Kitchens Here’s what my bee mentor Deborah and I found this time… Queen cups found at the bottom of one frame Festooning (bees hanging onto each other in chains is called) Drone brood. Drones are male honey bees, they are larger than worker bees (so much so they can be mistaken […]

interview by Sharon Kitchens Rowan Jacobsen is the James Beard Award-winning author of A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur’s Guide to Oyster Eating in North America, Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis, and The Living Shore, about our ancient connection to estuaries and their potential to heal the oceans. He has written for the New York […]

photographs and text by Sharon Kitchens The painting of my hives took two Sundays. Well, two half-days. Gorgeous days when I opened up the barn doors, plugged in my iPod Stereo or laptop and tuned into Pandora, munched on peanut-butter covered pretzels and tuned out while prepping homes for thousands of new residents. Note, you […]

photographs and text by Sharon Kitchens This past Saturday I ventured on a mini road trip to pick up my beekeeping equipment and supplies from Bee Pride in Lebanon, ME.  Owners Peggy and Brian have been incredibly helpful and calming during my intro to beekeeping, explaining what I need (what I don’t), which hat and veil […]