It's been just over four months since Bee Thinking came into existence, and since then the site, and the lives of all those involved, have gone through tremendous changes:
We're now receiving over 1500 unique visitors per month from over 70 countries
We have over 200 members
We've given away two gifts to some very excited beekeepers
We have gained almost 500 links to quality beekeeping resources, largely due to the help of the world beekeeping community
We incorporated as Bee Thinking, LLC, based out of Oak Grove, Oregon.
We completely re-designed the site, making it far more accessible, easier to navigate and contribute content
During this time, of course, I work full-time in the IT field, co-lead the Zenger Community Bee Project at Zenger Farm, prepare for the 2009 beekeeping season and attempt to be a loving husband. My wife is very patient!
In December we moved into a new home, perfectly suited for both home life and the creation and maintenance of beekeeping equipment. We have a 500 square foot finished garage that I've converted to a workshop. It is in this shop that I've been laboring to create 20 more top bar hives to be placed in yards throughout the Portland metropolitan area.
In a most fortuitous event a couple weeks ago, I came across Treecycle NW , a local, sustainable mill in Portland. Jeff (the owner) has provided me with over 165 feet of cedar to be used as the foundation of the hives (the sides and ends). The cedar is drying now for a couple weeks and then I will begin the process of creating top bar hives, largely based on Phil Chandler's (http://www.biobees.com) specifications.
Come April 2009, we will be acquiring 10 packages of Carniolans and 10 packages of Italians to place in the hives and expand our apiary dramatically. In this blog I intend to document the entire process - from cedar tree, to mill, to hive, to yard, to maintenance to honey harvest. By doing this I hope to educate the public about the magic of honey bees, aid aspiring beekeepers in their endeavors, and proliferate the idea that local, sustainable beekeeping is possible.
In September of this year, my wife and I plan to make the trip to Apimondia 2009 in Montpellier, France. If you're going, please let me know. I'd love to meet you! Finances willing, we intend to have a booth with pictures and video documenting our site and top bar hive project in Portland, Oregon. If you would like to contribute to our Bee Thinking to Apimondia fund, please go here: http://www.beethinking.com/donate/donate
Through our website, the contributions of the world beekeeping community, and the promotion of our apiary, we hope to bring beekeeping forward to embrace the diverse and beneficial technologies, views, and ideas of the 21st Century.
