Mindful Beekeeping

I make mistakes all the time. We all do, it's in our nature. And to me that nature is a good thing, it helps us improve ourselves and ultimately our surroundings. I find that many of the mistakes I make are entirely preventable. We rush, we ignore, or we push through when we really should take a moment to still our mind and logically think of the next step. I recently had an experience in an inspection that hammered this point home, yet again.

All summer I have been working with a couple of colonies whose queens never made it back from their nuptial flights. One hive finally turned a corner. Its population was increasing, I was seeing more pollen come in, there was increased forager activity during the day and more landing board fanning to dehydrate nectar at night. So I knew that I needed to get into it to see how winter prep was going. I had already started treating for mites and started their winter feeding regime. But because of work, illness, and other engagements I was unable to inspect them at the 10-14 days I normally do. It had been over 21 days since I had inspected and I had to get into the hive. That is where it all went wrong. I was pushing myself out of... fear, self-chastisement for procrastination, or some other negative trope to make up for lack of action. Regardless of the reason I approached the inspection without my normal mindfulness and rushed.

The first step in my inspection usually happens days before the actual inspection by planning what I need to accomplish. I ask myself what do the bees need? I look at the weather forecast, I check temperatures, wind, precipitation and even sunrise/sunset times. I decide which day or week I can travel to my more distant apiary, about an hour away, and which I can do quickly during the day. I generally review my previous inspection notes and I make a plan for what needs to be done in a colony. I then order those steps in the most efficient manner possible to be the least disruptive to the hive. I do this so, as I begin my inspection, I am mindful and that I know what I need to do, when I need to do it, and how I am going to do it. This is what I believe is the first step to mindful beekeeping, planning.

As I began the inspection I saw red flags and ignored them or justified a reason to continue. Remember, I had to do this. The first red flag... I had not planned. I just kept a "rough idea" in my mind of what I needed to do and pushed myself because, again, it had to be done. Second, as I approached the apiary the wind was blowing more than I expected (about 9-10 MPH with gusts of up to 20 MPH). But I ignored it because, again, I had to do the inspection. The third red flag would not show it's ugly head until a bit later into the inspection. To understand why it didn't show itself you have to understand the geography of the apiary. It sits under some trees with some obstructions (other trees and houses) going up the mountain to the south. So, because of those obstructions I cannot see the sky very well until, if there is a storm, it is right on top of me. Since I had not checked the weather, including radar, I did not know there was a storm coming in on me from the south.

Normally when I do inspections I tend to be slow and very deliberate with my movements to minimize disruption. I breathe steadily and not on the bees, even when lugging 50 pound supers. I try to observe the bees while still being gentle and maintaining a calm demeanor. I tend to only use smoke when needed and attempt to not use it excessively. As I slowly and calmly removed the bucket feeder the bees were hot, immediately. Smoke flew past them as the wind took it way. As I removed the inner cover I propped it up, and it then promptly slid down the hive and hit the ground in front of the hive. Taking with it a large number of bees that had been, until recently, on the feeder. A cloud of angry bees arose to tell me of their dissatisfaction.... did I stop? No, I had to get the inspection done.

As I broke the upper and lower brood boxes apart and dove into the bottom box I rested a frame of eggs with their attendant nurse bees against the hive, but apparently not well. As I slowly raised another frame a large gust of wind blew the frame resting against the hive down on top of a rock. More bees mixed with the extant cloud of bees that had been growing in size and volume. It was at that point that I looked up to the mountain peak above the apiary and saw the dark clouds moving in fast. At that point, after I had ignored three warning signs and made three large mistakes, I finally realized that I had needed to stop. I completed the inspection and put everything back together and slunk away from the apiary in defeat, begging the dead bees' forgiveness.

Now I've had bad inspections before, we all have. And overall this was not the worst inspection I've had, but, it did teach me a valuable lesson.... to be mindful in every inspection. Some may say that mindfulness is overrated, woke, or for weaker individuals. I have found the contrary to be true. Mindfulness can be practiced anywhere and with anything. It focuses the mind to the present and opens one to be more receptive to learning, remaining calm, and overcoming mistakes. I had not practiced mindfulness during that inspection. I was focused on something that I had to do because I was trying to make up for my own procrastination, and the bees paid the price. So it is with that experience that I want to reaffirm my commitment to mindful beekeeping and help others do the same.

So how does one go about mindfully keeping bees? A good start for a beginner can be;

1. Planning doesn't make perfect, but it can't hurt more than procrastination! It is the first step in mindful beekeeping. It allows the beekeeper to develop a plan while mentally "cold" (see the hot-cold empathy gap) and actually implement it when he or she is possibly "hot" in the field (when stressed from noise, temperature, hunger, etc.).
2. Factor the weather, including temperature, humidity, wind, cloud cover, and precipitation into the plan. Waiting a day to do an inspection, for a hobbyist, is not going to hurt the bees if they have been managed well.
3. Use slow and deliberate movements around the bees. Try to breathe steadily and pay attention to the voice (volume) of the bees and what they are telling you as a beekeeper. Do you have many bumping you or do they not even care that you are there?
4. Be observant. There are so many things to check for while doing an inspection, is there brood and food? Is there sign of queenrightness? How are the movements or sounds of the bees. Are their signs of disease, pests, or other stressors? As you inspect, you need to use your eyes, ears, nose, and sense of touch as you work through the hive. A good productive hive will look, sound, and smell healthy.
5. Smoke can be your friend, if needed. Using a light, cool smoke to gently move bees or cover alarm pheromone is a good practice. Over smoking can be bad for the bees and make them angrier or even give your uncapped honey a smokey taste. So use smoke as needed, but sparingly at the same time.
6. If time permits and it's needed, take a moment to pause and recenter during an inspection if you find yourself getting stressed, uptight, or even forgetful of the plan. The bees will appreciate it.
7. Take notes! If you are like me then you'll forget everything you did in the apiary by the next morning. Good notes can help see trends, know when to treat for mites, when to feed, when a nectar flow started, etc. Review these notes for each hive when making a plan of what to do during the next inspection. It works in conjunction with step one to arm the beekeeper with the tools to be successful in the apiary.

The hubris of humans has always been our perceived control over our lives and ultimately the planet. But, overall, the bees are in control, they are the teachers. They know what they need and how to get it. They have millions of years of evolution on their side. I have found that these steps help me to get out of the bees way while inspecting my hives and minimize disruptions. It also helps to teach me life lessons on practicing mindfulness in my everyday life. Through these steps a beekeeper can learn from their mistakes and take proper care for these fascinating and amazing creatures.