You know, when I decided to become a beekeeper, it didn’t occur to me to throw myself at a few bees to see how my body would react. I’m guessing people who want to become firefighters don’t go around casually visiting buildings engulfed in flames, or wannabe lion tamers aren’t rubbing themselves up against the lion cages when no one is watching. So, when I got stung on Saturday I figured it was all part of the package, no big deal. Here it is Monday and my hand looks like I’m slowly morphing into Fat Bastard from Austin Powers. Here, I’ll show you:

The good hand:

The not so good hand:

I’m not sure what hurts worse, the allergic reaction to my 2 bee stings or the allergic reaction AFTER I’ve sunk close to $400 into becoming a beekeeper.

Beekeepers are an interesting lot. Everyone (that wasn’t a beekeeper) that I told about my stings or showed my hand to, had basically the same reaction: “Ouch! Oh my God, that really must hurt! What are you going to do with the bees now?”

My mentor however reacted quite differently.
“You got stung? Good for you!! Did it blow up really big? Excellent! Now that will happen the first 5 or so times you get stung, but after that you should be ok. Be sure to get stung at least once a week to build up your immunity. And keep those gloves off!”

Really? How much do I love honey? That much? I was trying to keep as close to the organic standard as I have read. No gloves, no smoke. But let me tell you when I got stung, all of the “I love you’s” whispered under my breath didn’t stop my shaking hands. Now I make sure that the smoker is lit and right by my side. I use it sparingly. My respect for my bees is heightened, but then so is my regard for the tools that people have used for thousands of years to keep bees.

No fundamentalism here. Let’s just see if I can get through the season alive.

Tags: Bees, Farming, Honey