I am a smalltime hobbyist beekeeper who wishes he had gotten started
earlier in life because there is so much to know and learn in beekeeping
that a person could use more than a lifetime to absorb it all.  This is my
4th year keeping bees here on South Whidbey Island, Washington.  This is a
challenging place to get a honey crop.  I think this is mostly because the
main and, as far as I can tell, the only major flow comes from non native
Himalayan blackberries which come in at a time (early June lasting to mid
July) when the weather may not be at all cooperative.  The last few years
have seen a lot of folks getting into hobby beekeeping around here.   Most
of them seem to have a preference for some sort of natural approach which
could mean a lot of different things to different people.
    Right now I am working with 6 hives, one of which may give some honey
this year.  One hive which I started on foundation for some friends has
swarmed three times.  We caught the second two and are trying to see if we
can build them up for winter.
   I think it is important to remember that as beekeepers our relationship
to our bees has the element of exploitation in it no matter what approach
we may take.   While I suppose it is possible that, inadvertently, bees may
be exploiting man, it is mostly the other way around. For me, I am
exploiting bees for the fun and fascination of it and, oh yes, I like to
see if I can get some honey at the end of the season.
    I have used Apistan and Fumagil B, but lately I am trying to see how
well I can do without that stuff.  I have been working with Bill Rizucka’s
formic acid approach since last year.  I can’t say it’s the answer for me
just yet, but I will continue with it for a while longer.  I recently read
a book called One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka which made a lot of
sense to me, and made me think about moving toward a more minimalist
approach to bee keeping.  I’ve been thinking that, with the world getting
so much smaller and more crowded, it is getting more important to see
everything we do in the largest possible context if for no other reason
than it may reveal ways of doing things that give more desirable results,
especially in the long run.  But I don’t think of it so much as a moral
issue as a practical one.  I think humility and beekeeping go well
together.


Steve Noble
South Whidbey, WA.

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