Lifetime Projects: Beekeeping Supplies are HERE!

Sorry everyone! I meant to do a blog post on Saturday, but had to wait to find the camera and take pictures of our new supplies!

With the recycling project due to get underway soon and the energy project suspended until the next billing cycle (which isn’t due for another couple of weeks), Saturday was spent on our family beekeeping project. Even though Scoutmaster Chris spent last summer doing beehives with a family friend, this will be the first time that we are setting out on our own to do a hive; therefore, today required a road trip to a bee supplier.

We were most unhappy to find out that our former bee supplier, The Mill in Onsted, Michigan, had closed its doors only earlier this year, and would not be open to provide us or anyone else with any beekeeping supplies. We would have to find another supplier, and fast, or else this year would be over before a hive was even planned, let alone built. And, as you might have guessed, beekeeping shops are not exactly shops that are found on every corner.... or even one corner in the Detroit area.

Luckily, we were able to find a replacement supplier in Napoleon, Michigan, a small town south of Grass Lake along M-50. Napoleon Bee Supply, run by Mr. Steve Clark and his wife, carries everything that a beginning beekeeper or those aspiring to be could possibly want…and if they don’t have it on their shelves, they always know when it will be there or are happy to order it for anyone. One can even order their bees from them (which we did today as well). They stood by with infinite patience as we not only pulled just about everything needed for a beehive from their shelves, a surprisingly large amount for just one hive, but also tried on beekeeping gear until even I (not the easiest of customers to deal with) was satisfied.

As you can see from the pictures below, I wasn’t kidding – it takes a surprising amount of wood pieces to assemble one hive. More on the makeup of a beehive coming soon – and a special thanks to Steve Clark and his wife of Napoleon Bee Supply for having a store available that saved us from direct order and not being able to see our products before they arrived on our doorstep!

Though this was only our second visit to Napoleon Bee Supply, there is no doubt that it will not be our last – the bees are due in on May 4^th, and at least one trip in between will be required as we figure out what we missed this time. But that’s okay with us – a trip out to the beekeeping store is never a waste of time as we embark on this family project.