Finally a beekeeper

As so many of you know, I have had the burning desire to become a beekeeper for many years! In 2015 my husband and I purchased our dream property in East Central Texas and my beekeeping dream had a platform.
I spent the first year gathering as much information as I could find. On both beekeeping and the natural native flora and fauna of my 12 acres. As I have learned this will be a never ending education for me and I am thriving on it.

Buying the Equipment:
I purchased a Langstroth style BuildaBeehive 10 Frame Deluxe Beehive Starter Kit from Amazon in October. My husband and I assembled the boxes and frames in about 2 hours on a Saturday in March. Hint: pre-drill the holes for the frames. Everything else come pre-drilled. The kit included a top quality smoker, hive tool, gloves and feeder. The included book was informative and great as a reference tool. Also included was smoker fuel pellets that work very well. I am just very blessed to live surrounded by an endless supply of smoker fuel.

Buying the Bees:
I purchased my bees from Bee Weaver. I placed my order in November. I chose to purchase a Nuc. A four frame deep box of established brood and new caged, fertilized queen. Luckily I realized in February the deep nuc frames would not fit in the medium supers in my Starter Kit. I was able to purchase a deep box from Bee Weaver and picked it up when I pickup my bees in mid-April.

Installation Day

The journey has begun!

Making your own

It seemed like a natural flow to make my own stuff. Most importantly you would know what was in it. No trying to decipher labels which now I can't read as my eyes age. And as an added bonus making your own is cheaper. Yes, at first getting started does have it's start-up costs.

I think the first thing I started Making Me Own was dog food in 2013. I researched and found recipes, tried them out on Buddy and Kream and made adjustments as needed. There favorite is chicken, brown rice and broccoli. I would change it up by using ground beef or turkey. Sometimes using up leftovers. The change in there activity level and Buddy's skin was quick and dramatic!

Then I moved on to making skin care products. Always a pricey part of the grocery bill! I started with toner for my oily skin, found the many uses for coconut oil and aloe vera. This research for DIY personal products lead me to essential oils. My first purchase was Tea Tree. It is still one of my "go-to" favorites.

My newest endeavor.......beekeeping!
 

The purchase of 11.5 acres in Caldwell County last spring has made my dream of beekeeping a reality. I have purchased my hive, taken a few classes and found a local group.
I will keep you updated on my progress.

Remember...be authentic...be true to yourself!