Keeping Bees By Ashley English

First I fell in love with Ashley English through her blog Small Measure.  As luck would have it- today’s post is entitled Busy Bees- about a weekend of extracting the honey from their hives- please check it out as it totally fits with this review. I wrote to Ashley to see if I could review her Homemade Living series for my website and I received a kind reply from her publishing company Sterling Publishing  saying that they would love to send me the series of books for me to review.  This made my day as I am just making the transition from reviewing products primarily for the vegan world. My family and I were vegan but we are no longer. We eat a diet high in raw fruits and veggies but we also eat locally raised organic animal products- and  our dream of owning our own farm has been reawakened. So with a burning desire to learn more about homesteading, sustainable living, the hobby farm, the localvore movement I am reading everything I can get my hands on- why not review some of these books for all of you?

Ashley English the author of Keeping Bees is among many in a growing movement to get back to growing  and raising your own food. Every time I go to the library there are several new books in the “New Release” section on homesteading, sustainable living, gardening, and the urban garden.  This movement is not going away and it is gaining momentum. So jump on the band wagon people!!! After having been vegan for 2 years and a certified raw food chef for the same amount of time I have come to believe that the problem doesn’t lie in eating meat or dairy- it lies in eating highly processed food products- fast food, meat bi-products, junk food. Start growing your own food (a garden can be grown almost anywhere), buy from local farmers, find someone selling the extra eggs from their chickens, and find a local bee keeper to get your honey from.. Or.. if you have the space or the ambition (my neighbor has hives all over town- not a single one on his acre) keep your own bees.

I am reading through the book taking notes. I am learning a lot and I am sharing what I learn with my 3 little boys- we are doing a unit study on bees for homeschool.  One of my favorite parts of the books is the little bio’s of bee keepers. They are interesting. Not all bee keepers are what you are thinking- living on a farm, walking around in over-alls, and milking cows- of course that isn’t a bad thing but I am just saying that I am learning that bee keepers come in all shapes and forms. Not to mention that not all bee keepers keep bees for the honey. Many are keeping bees just to help repopulate the bee community. You would have to be living under a rock to have not heard that we have had a decrease in bees and this is a huge concern for all. So I bow down to bee keepers just wanting to make sure that bees do not go instinct. You are my heroes!

Here is what you will find in Keeping Bees:

Chapter 1: Understanding Bees

• Humans and Honeybees
• Honeybee Anatomy
• Hive Hierarchy
• Becoming Adults
• Hive Talkin’

Chapter 2: What To Consider

• On Location
• Money Matters
• Keeping Time
• Law-Abiding Citizen
• Being Neighborly
• Pets & Children
• Allergies
• Species Variations

Chapter 3: Housing

• Anatomy of a Hive
• Hive Components
• Where to Place Your Hive
• Setting Up House

Chapter 4: Feeding Bees

• The Birds & the Bees
• A Need for Feed
• Feed Options
• Feeders

Chapter 5: Essential Equipment

• Smoker & Fuel
• Suits & Veils
• Gloves
• Hive Tool
• Helpful Extras

Chapter 6: Obtaining Bees

• A Time & a Place
• A Package Deal (Package Bees)
• Installing a Package
• (Nuc)lear Energy
• Swarming into Action
• The Established Order
• Supply & Demand

Chapter 7: A Look Inside

• Being a Good Housekeeper
• Inspector General

1. Opening the Hive
2. Removing Frames
3. What to Look For
4. Replacing Frames
5. Closing the Hive

Chapter 8: A Year Of Bees

• Spring
• Summer
• Autumn
• Winter

Chapter 9: Health & Wellness

• Diseases
• Parasites
• Pests
• Colony Collapse Disorder

Chapter 10: Honey

• Making Magic
• The Honey House
• The Harvest
• Extraction Action
• The Honey Larder
• Honey Money
• What’s in a Name
• Sweet Rewards
• Health from the Hive

Chapter 11: Honey Recipes

• Infused Honey
• Holiday Rounds
• Grain Mustard Honey Vinaigrette
• Roasted Root Vegetables with Honey & Herbs
• Chestnut Soup with Honey
• Honeyed Prawns & Polenta
• Honey Ice Cream
• Fruit, Nut & Honey Granola
• Hot Cider & Honey Toddy
• Honey & Ginger Cold-Fighting Tea

This book has everything. I am so excited about all I am learning- for instance I learned that Italian bees have less propensity for swarming. My husband is allergic to bee stings. He hasn’t been stung in 18 years and we even live next door to a bee keeper (he repairs his hives here and we have had several swarms from the neighborhood come to the yard). We are looking for 10 to 20 acres or more and I plan on getting bees. We will look for a place away from the house and as you can guess I will be looking more into these Italian bees as the least amount of swarming would be a good thing.

The boys (ages 5, 8 and 11) are also enjoying learning all about bees. This book has been a great starting point in teaching them. Then since they are young boys we are also watching Magic School Bus- Bees, and  plan a walk over to our neighbors to observe his hives. The other day my 5 year old snuck outside without shoes on- a no-no for sure. He stepped on a bee- the bee was dead already I had seen it earlier but he got stung on his foot near his toes. Poor guy his foot has swelled up but no other reactions- good to know that he has not picked up the “allergic to bee” gene from his dad.

If you have been looking to learn more about bee keeping I would definitely get this book. I would also check out Ashley’s blog- you will not be disappointed.