I started 21 years ago and have kept bees in Papua New Guinea, South Africa and back home in California. I wanted my kids to grow up on honey instead of sugar, and always had a dozen or so hives. 4 years ago I went and bought out the equipment of a guy who gave up, and have averaged about 100, and currently have 75 or so. I'm a Landscape contractor, and I noticed that when I sell my honey at the Farmer's Market wearing my company shirt, I'd often get as much business landscaping as I got from my add in the paper! My kids are involved in harvesting, swarm removal, bottling, selling the honey, as I figure the skills they learn will help them in whatever they do later in life. Bees are nice in that when I'm busy with my contracting, they can generally wait, and when I don't have that much work, there's always a way to make some money by going out and harvesting. I'm mentoring almost a dozen newbies, and want to start a club in San Luis Obispo, but I haven't any organisational skills, and so far none of the others are interested in starting anything. I spend about 10 hours per week with bees, including studying, and make about 15-20 dollars per hour, and that seems to be going up, which is nice, and the contacts I make selling honey add to this. The best resource I've found to learn about bees is the archives on this site. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::