Back to Beekeeping: A Fresh Start After Five Years Away
Starting up, again.
Five years. It’s been five long years since we last truly immersed ourselves in beekeeping. And now, as we prepare to return to the apiary, we do so with a mix of excitement, gratitude, and hard-earned resilience.
Like so many others, 2020 turned our world upside down. The winter of 2019-2020 was brutal, one of the coldest in recent memory, and we lost a significant number of our bees. We had planned to rebuild, to strengthen our colonies in the coming spring—but then COVID-19 struck. Lockdowns, uncertainty, and financial strain made it impossible to give our bees the time and resources they needed. Instead of expansion, we faced survival.
Later that year, the blows kept coming. Like millions of others, I was laid off due to the economic fallout of the pandemic. Finances tightened, and beekeeping—something that had once been our passion and livelihood—was forced onto the back burner. And then came the injury. A back injury that turned what should have been a temporary setback into a five-year struggle, keeping me from the physical labor necessary to properly manage an apiary.
Winter 2021 was devastating. The few colonies we had left were wiped out, leaving us with an empty bee yard and an aching sense of loss. We watched the seasons change, the flowers bloom, and the world begin to recover, but our hives remained silent.
But now, after years of healing and rebuilding, we’re ready to start fresh.
We recently ordered over 90,000 new bees, a tangible symbol of our return. We’re restructuring our bee yard, moving things around to create a more efficient, productive space. We’re planting wildflowers, ensuring that our new colonies will have abundant natural forage. And most importantly, we’re relaunching BeeAttitudes, our passion project, with renewed energy and a deeper appreciation for the resilience of both bees and beekeepers alike.
This time, we start with experience, with lessons learned through hardship, and with an unwavering commitment to nurturing both our bees and this community. If the past five years have taught us anything, it’s that setbacks don’t define us—our comebacks do.
So here’s to fresh starts, buzzing hives, and a season of growth ahead. We can’t wait to share this journey with you.
Want to support the bees? Right now we are supporting our bees via selling beekeeping lessons and donations. Check out the education hub for info on lessons or make a donation via: