Bees!

I took a little bee keeping class..... the last class was last night. It was all really interesting, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to go ahead and do it or not. For one thing, the equipment is kind of expensive and the whole thing is a little intimidating. But then I dreamed about bees all night. I woke up and knew I wanted a backyard beehive. So today I ordered bees! 3 pounds of bees and they arrive on May 5th. So I have until then to collect my supplies and set up a hive. I have been checking craigslist for used supplies and so far I have some good leads. I may be able to set it all up for quite a lot less than I feared! I'm also comforted by the fact that I don't HAVE to set it up to harvest honey and if I do I can't do it until next summer anyway! The thing I find the most intimidating about the hive management is that every spring you're supposed to find your queen bee, kill her and smear her on the front of the baseboard of the hive. Then get a new queen be to put in the hive after 24 hours...... Something about that just really bothers me! Poor queen, works hard for you all year and then you smear her! How rude! It's so brutal!