Howdy from Texas! I started my beekeeping journey 13 years ago when I found an online advertisement for a discounted beekeeping class. I came home absolutely fascinated with bees. To be clear, my life at that time was already full of what most would consider adventure and excitement. I was rounding out ten years of working for the federal government on issues related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in a world just beyond the tragedies of 9/11. In fact, at the time that I discovered my obsession with honey bees, I was splitting my time between Afghanistan, Washington, DC, and Austin, TX. But this chaotic life paled in comparison to my excitement for beekeeping.
I fell for the bees pretty hard. At parties, the gym, and the office, I would quote bee facts to anyone who would listen. I built my first top-bar hive with a friend. It wasn’t pretty, and the corners didn’t quite sit flush, but it was functional and served as a home for my first colony of bees. Within a year I had quit my job to work for a commercial beekeeper for a spring season in East Texas. I returned to Austin energized by all my new knowledge (and with hundreds of bee stings) and officially launched my new business, Two Hives Honey.
Today Two Hives is a multi-faceted beekeeping company in Austin, with our revenue split between agritourism, honey and merchandise sales, and colony maintenance services for clients. My team of 8 and I manage about 350 colonies and welcome more than 5,000 visitors to our Honey Ranch each year.
But despite being 13 years in, I’ve never forgotten that initial excitement of the discovery of beekeeping, which is why working with beginners is still one of my favorite activities. Though I was fortunate to work a spring season for a commercial beekeeper, most of my lessons and best practices have been learned the hard way — through a lot of trial and error and (sometimes really embarrassing) mistakes. And because I gave up my full-time job so quickly, the stakes were high. This wasn’t a hobby — my beekeeping had to support me and, very quickly, Two Hives’ first employees as well. And the good news for my students is I have no qualms with sharing every ridiculous and silly mistake that I made along the way (usually twice). I’m looking forward to spending the next year with you. If you have a topic request, feel free to reach out. You can find my email at the end of this article.
It’s hot out there!
I’m a Texas beekeeper, and here in Central Texas more than a third of our days are spent above 90°F — and that’s just an average “nice weather” year! In 2023, we had a grueling 86 triple-digit days, the second hottest year on record. In this, my first contribution to the magazine, it is only fitting that I share my best tips for summer management and keeping you, and your bees, cool.
Unfortunately, the summer coincides with perhaps the hardest job we do all year: harvesting. It’s tough to stay cool in these temps while wearing full bee gear, and can even be dangerous. By the time we start pulling honey from our bees in early July, the daily temperatures are often triple digits, which makes for a particularly sweaty set of circumstances. In July 2021 I was eight months pregnant and still harvested with the team. All that said: I am uniquely positioned to provide advice on staying cool in the bee yard!
A note about these tips: Many may not apply if a hive inspection means less than an hour’s time in the apiary. For those of us who do this professionally, we are required to spend all day in the bee yards. But these tips can apply to any outdoor activity, and may be even more important for those of you in milder climates that aren’t as acclimated to these conditions as we see heat waves become more intense and frequent across the U.S. …
