Some family members were over to the house this weekend and they all stood around as I inspected my hive. They were amazed that I didn’t use protective gear and they could just stand around and watch right next to me. They were mesmerized by the buzzing.
Then I get this from one of them …!
Now they understand how misguided the neighbors and town are.
How horrible!! Speaks volumes about how absurd life becomes as people remove themselves further and further from the natural world. I hope the couple get legal satisfaction and can keep bees again.
Good on you for a successful, gentle harvest that makes for such good bee PR 
I tell people about my keeping bees in my backyard here in the suburban Houston-Galveston area. I’m amazed at the number of times I hear a response like “my insert ancestral relation here kept bees in the yard! I remember seeing them as a kid!”
Why was it popular at one time in our not-so-distant past, but so misunderstood (and maligned?) now? Not a single one of my neighbors has complained about the bees, and there have actually been a couple comments on how well the local gardens are doing.
When you have folks posting videos of how horrible it is to work beehives (see Flow promo) then of course public perception is going to be skewed.
My view is that kids / people don’t spend enough time outside anymore.
There is science fact that our behaviors are negatively impacting our kids (and our) health.
The second order consequence is that people are afraid of nature and the world around them.
At near 72 years old I still enjoy walking around barefoot ! Yaaah, Yaaah, Yaaah ! I
Get cuts, stub my toes n have to rinse/wash my feet but I have healthy happy feet 
…
Love being barefooted. There’s a time for shoes n a time for bare feet too…
Barefooted in my backyard,
. GeraldYes, and I bet you STINK at WarCraft!
PS.
Level 110 Mage, Shaman, Druid and Warlock 
(@Dawn_SD I wasn’t speaking to you 
- good going none-the-less!! Congrats! When do you have time for the girls? )
I don’t play Warcraft much any more. Perhaps a bit more in the winter, when I am really bored. 
No matter which way you look at it, its a very distressing article… living in the suburbs some of us don’t have dogs or cats. Bees and chickens are my love, a generation back nearly every backyard had chickens and I am amazed at how bees keep to themselves, rarely ever annoy people but bring so much joy. They are looked up to as a representation of how a society and community work and live together, the bee and hive symbols are used in governments and business across the globe for a good reason.
Nice Bobcat you have there Gerald…
So what does this have to do with the original post? Personally I think it’s criminal to be working a hive without gear and even worse to have spectators close in watching. You may know what your doing and may have calm bees but you have sent the wrong message out.
Really? What is the wrong message? I agree that bees hornets and wasps are the greatest non-human killer of people (58 in the most recent reported year www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/16/chart-the-animals-that-are-most-likely-to-kill-you-this-summer/ cows kills almost half as many at 20 per year) but that still doesn’t make them dangerous.
I’m not some expert. I have only been doing this since April.
No one in the group had sting allergies - and even if they did I have all the necessary medical gear within reach - I literally drive an ambulance (less the stretcher) as my regular vehicle.
Are bees something to be terrified of? What made my action “criminal”, dangerous, or even reckless?
It’s only been when I wear gloves that the bees have stung me.
I don’t mind your reply or view. But I honestly want to understand your position.
What was so wrong with what I did?
“I have only been doing this since April”. Welcome to beekeeping 
Thank you - but I have wanted to be a beek for decades!
I bring people to see my bees but they can be a little more aggressive at certain times so I am careful to check how they seem before going too close.
