Pictures of the Farm
Hobe Sound, Florida
Out to Pasture
24 of our hives in what we refer to as "bee spot 2", the 2nd location of hives on the family ranch. These bees benefit from plenty of wildflowers, saw palmetto, gallberry, and the South Fork River, which backs up to the property.
Load up
Most of the hive building and painting takes place in our garage, then we load 'em up and take 'em down to the ranch. There are no weekends or evenings off around here...farming is a 24 hour job!
Everybody in!
We decided to purchase a few "nucleus" bee colonies from another local apiary to give our bees some genetic diversity. Here, we are putting frames of bees in their new hive homes.
Safety first
Our bees are fairly gentle, but to be on the safe side we always protect our faces, hands, and use a smoker to calm the bees a bit before inspections.
A little fun
Setting up a new "bee spot" on the pasture is always a time for celebration in our family. We bring a cooler and everyone helps get homes ready for our working ladies!
HGTV for bees
Kurt is the master carpenter around here, and has built hundreds of bee homes right in our garage. The work never stops...
Exterior decorators
Jodi and the girls decided to "bee" creative and add a little color to a few of the hives. Did you know that bees can orient to colors and shapes? We hope our bees enjoy our artwork!
Gearing up
On a normal day on the farm, we work through over 50 hives. You ain't been hot in South Florida till you've been bee-suit-hot!