So far, our bees have been nothing but heartbreak. Two years ago, we got our first two hives, neither of which survived that first winter. Last year, we were on the receiving ends of two hives that had been removed from houses, but we got them late in the season. Despite heroic measures and expert [...]

Since we left New York, Kevin and I have undertaken more new projects than two fifty-year-olds have any business attempting. And it is with surprise and gratification that we have seen most of them go well. We’ve raised chickens, turkeys, and ducks. We’ve designed and built coops, pens, and a hoophouse. We’ve grown a whole [...]

We’re about a month into our effort to get a weak bee hive, taken from the soffit of a house in Cotuit, strong enough to survive the coming winter. Our friends Claire and Paul have helped us take the heroic measures required: adding two frames of brood and nurse bees, and replacing the lackluster queen. [...]

Killing a queen bee is a strange experience. The queen is the hive. Her eggs populate it. Her pheromones suffuse it. Worker bees attend to her every want, and beekeepers watch to make sure she’s healthy and prolific. When you spot her, and take her between thumb and forefinger, you’ve got the hive’s future in [...]

I’ve been a licensed driver for thirty-two years now. In that time, I have owned seven vehicles with a total of fourteen bumpers. I have never put a bumper sticker on any of them. What is it about bumper stickers? There have been political candidates I’ve supported enthusiastically, there have been causes I’ve believed to [...]

If you’re thinking about getting bees, I have one recommendation: move to Cape Cod. It’s not because bees thrive here, or because we’re in particular need of pollination. It’s because you can learn about beekeeping from the Barnstable County Beekeepers Association, a group of insanely committed volunteers who are very generous with their time and [...]

You heard it here first. The Langstroth hive is in desperate need of a makeover. It’s important to note, as I rant about the inadequacies of the most popular beehive in the world, that Kevin and I are only one-season beekeepers, and we haven’t harvested one drop of our own honey. When we open our [...]

I have no objection to slave labor of the animal variety. Our chickens wouldn’t exist unless we humans had long ago endeavored to domesticate them for their eggs and their meat, and I think we’ve struck a deal with them. Our end of the bargain is to give them a good life and a humane [...]