March 2017 was a year of loss for our honeybees–our beloved ladies. We lost all of our hives. We spent the summer and fall trying to decide what to do. We are old, tired, and frankly have limited resources. At this point in our lives, we’ve decided to not restart our hives. This may change in the future, but it is a solemn moment. A decision we did not come to lightly.
This means “Miss Beehaven with Hobbit Queen” (the Honeybee and me blog site) will eventually be moved to an archival position. The posts will remain until sometime when it is obvious they no longer serve their purpose. We enjoyed our years as honeybee keepers. The raising of honeybees became a love. Alas, with our age, it is now too cumbersome for us to maintain and to fight all of the different challenges the little ladies face. Farmers who do this for a living, we commend you. Hobby Beekeepers, we commend you for trudging forward. Keep on Keeping ON!
On my author site (https://pambnewberry.com), we will continue to share our findings of what every day folks can do to help in the struggle of the honeybee. We will continue to provide a safe haven on our property for the honeybees to forge and find sweet nectar. We will continue to encourage all to avoid the use of pesticides and herbicides without plan and care of the impacts of these chemicals and practices on wild life and especially the honeybee.
We hope that the records of our venture into learning honeybee keeping inspires others–those younger and with more energy–to pick up and move forward. And, as the Velveteen Rabbit said, “It’s been real!”
Write on!
Pam (The Hobbit Queen)
P. S. If you would like to continue to follow my writing, please join me on my author website at https://pambnewberry.com
Miss Beehaven with Hobbit Queen 