The other evening I was pulling frames of honey out of a super I had just taken away from the bees. I lifted them out one by one, and the sun illuminated them from behind. Look at the fire burning within those cells!
Recently my beautiful friend Karessa wrote about me on her website:
"Have you ever looked at someone and just known from the first moment that they were truly present and alive? That’s my friend Jen, especially when she is working her hives. She has this air of raw, unadulterated passion that pours into every conversation even tangentially related to bees. Check out her blog. You’ll see what I mean!"
I have re-read this over and over because until this year, this would not have described me. I don't know if it was the pressures of motherhood or a lack of inspiration - maybe both - but for several years I have been a shell of my true self. This year I gained a hundred thousand bees and one special mentor. They woke me up.
My honey harvest is just days away...I can taste it. It is the culmination of this incredible first year of beekeeping. This blog is so challenging and rewarding, but I need to step away for a bit. I'm so afraid to lose this spark.
I took up the hobby of beekeeping when I was going through a divorce and it pulled me out of depths of great sadness. Beekeeping is my favorite hobby, and I love it. I couldn't see myself living without it.
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