Side quest! Hobby talk including beekeeping

[Mr. Vern]

I have caught the bug for beekeeping. I think it is time to jump into this rabbit hole.

There are a few times in life when a hobby just grabs your interest, sometimes we put it off for a while but it keeps buzzing in your head. I tend to let the ones that require specialized equipment linger until I decide I can be committed to it.

I just set a reminder for December to sign up for beginner class that spans 8 months of the early and active bee season to learn how to properly manage a hive. This has little motivation to grow pollinators, more of an interest in honey & mead... plus I like to learn and will meet some cool people along the way. I will be heading to "one of the worlds coolest" and largest used book stores to load up on reading material. I might just find some good brewing books to add to my classics series!

Brewing, Pinball, BBQ, Gardening... all hobbies that I enjoy and not a complete list. I am also torturing myself with thermodynamics and grant writing at the moment, it's bitter/sweet.

What hobbies do you like that may not have a dedicated thread? Any beekeepers here?

 

[TexasTea]

I'm a beekeeper, its goes hand in hand with mead.

Good luck with bees. I do full size hive bodies for everything (bottom brood boxes and honey supers) but they weigh 80lbs or more when full OF HONEY, but you only need 1 size box and frame. I'm 70 this year and not a big guy, it gets a bit heavy. I have my own honey extractor. You can join a beekeepers club. they usually have a honey extractor you can use.

Make sure to treat for varroa mites.

Stay away from using pesticides and weedkiller, it decimates the bees. Just some advice from an old beekeeper.

 

[Mr. Vern]

I appreciate the comments, mead is on the bucket list as well. I am going to try the JOAM soon before digging into more traditional brew.

I am 200 Lbs and an ex-roofer, I will have to be mindful of my back and body positions when working (nothing new there). The goal for 2026 is to end up with two full hives and food for winter, we do have a couple clubs in S.E. Michigan and I hope to take advantage of that.

If I overwinter the two hives well enough I will be motivated to grow in 2027. Slow start so I do not burn myself out and hopefully I will have a few Lbs of honey at the end of year 1. The class I am looking at is a beekeeeper association and runs 10 months so I will have support there on top of the education.

I will have to be nice to the Michigan State Spartans but that should not be difficult, HA!

 

[TexasTea]

Most people don't get much the first year. Be careful and don't take too much honey the first year. They need that honey to overwinter. 200 lbs, you are good to go with lifting hive boxes. I bounce around from 140-150 soaking wet so I have use every trick in the book to muscle those things around. I could get a hive lift but I still do it the old way.

Your beekeeper association sounds wonderful. After that course I will be asking YOU questions.

 

[TexasTea]

Brewing, Pinball, BBQ, Gardening... all hobbies that I enjoy and not a complete list. I am also torturing myself with thermodynamics and grant writing at the moment, it's bitter/sweet.

What hobbies do you like that may not have a dedicated thread? Any beekeepers here?

I just saw that. Thermodynamics was a rough course (Chem major here). True story, when I was in that class the first day I showed up early. Everyone there already knew each other and were asking each other how many times they had taken the course and failed. Answers ranged from 2 to 7, if memory serves. When they got around to me I said "This is my first time" . Everyone laughed at me and said "You'll be back".

I made it through the first time but it was tough. Structure and Kinetics was a breeze though.

For those of you unfamiliar with T Chem (what we called Thermo, the other nickname for thermodynamics) the following was said by Arnold Sommerfeld (and I can attest it's true).

"Thermodynamics is a funny subject.The first time you go through it,you don't understand it at all.The second time you go through it,you think you understand it,except for one or two points.The third time you go through it,you know you don't understand it,but by that time you are so used to the subject,it doesn't bother you anymore..”

Yep........and a fourth point, you also realize no one else understands it either.