Bee-quested
By far my favourite part of being an apiarist is the smell. It is definitely a divine smelling hobby. Everything about it smells good, from the beeswax, to the ripening honey.
On April the 15th 2013 we collected our very first honey crop. I just couldn't wait for us to save up the $900 we would need to purchase the honey extraction equipment. So I stripped the wax off a frame and let it strain through cheesecloth into a bowl. I gave the children some wax capping to suck on and then stuffed my own mouth full - Layers of complex flavours assaulted my senses. I had died and gone to honey heaven!
Not long after, while out walking in the neighbourhood, I met some neighbours for the first time. We got chatting and they mentioned a swarm which were giving them some grief in the backyard. The bees had made a large upturned flowerpot their home and were attacking anyone who came near.
Now as any good beekeeper will tell you, helping out folk with this kind of problem can help increase neighbourly goodwill and when you are dealing with such malaligned creatures as bees, this is helpful. So this was how we came to acquire Hive Number Two - Bee-quested.