Sister Bee

Hooked

laura — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:40:14 +0000

A friend once said it takes a year or two for people to decide whether or not to stick with beekeeping. For some people it’s too much work. Other people get hooked. I’m definitely hooked.

- Patricia Butler

I love giving away honey

laura — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:16:31 +0000

I don’t sell my honey. I give it to my friends and family and the people who love it are the ones who get the most. I love giving away honey to people who really appreciate it.

- Suzanne Connolly Howes

People are odd animals

laura — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:21:31 +0000

When I first started keeping bees I was giving honey away. I got the feeling after a year or so that I’d walk into a room and people would say, “Oh, here she comes with her honey.” So I decided I’m not going to do that anymore and started charging for it. As soon as I started charging, “Oh! Where’s your honey?” I don’t know why humans are that way but they are. If you charge a little tiny bit for it, they want it.

– Marge McLellan

Honey

laura — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:15:49 +0000

Oh, jeez, look at all this honey!

- Julie Finley

A different world

laura — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:49:25 +0000

It’s like entering a different world.

- Ruth Eastman

A determined, direct way of living

laura — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:04:42 +0000

The most intriguing thing about bees for me is the way they communicate with one another. The way they build their comb, the hexagonal shape, it’s fascinating how well they work together. It’s a really determined, direct way of living.

- Mery Molenaar

Beesource

laura — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:31:05 +0000

There’s a nice Sister Bee thread on the beekeeping forum, Beesource. Includes some amusing commentary about Sister Bee being an all women production.

- Laura

You simply have to experience it

laura — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:53:47 +0000

What I’ve found expecially interesting and difficult is just understanding the bees, beginning to become comfortable with their rhythms and of course, having them comfortable with me, things you can’t really teach. There’s a great deal of this activity that you simply have to experience.

- Patricia Butler

My whole reason for bees

laura — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:23:16 +0000

It’s funny how many beekeepers I’ve met and talked to recently who don’t actually eat very much honey. And I don’t eat very much honey.

My whole reason for bees is more because I love bees and I want to have a place for them and I love having them in my backyard. I just love… I LOVE calling myself a beekeeper… So I don’t need to be really aggressive about having a huge harvest from them.

- Suzanne Connolly Howes

I just like to see the bees living and doing well

laura — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:34:47 +0000

It’s just wonderful to see them! When I take the cover off the hive I’m just fascinated to watch them go about their jobs, working so hard. They know exactly what to do.

– Marge McLellan

Benevolence

laura — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:07:36 +0000

When you take the lid off of that box there’s a kind of benevolence that comes from it… you know, just the amount of food they make, their generosity… is really kind of astounding. They’re just so sisterly and I think that really comes through in their work and in their presence and in their energy.

- Julie Finley

It’s a slow speed

laura — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:29:32 +0000

It’s a slow speed. You don’t answer the phone. You don’t do anything else while you’re with them. You just get lost, I mean hours… I can be with those bees for three or four hours, come in and realize I missed lunch, it’s three hours later, but I don’t care!

- Ruth Eastman

Sister Bee Trailer now available on YouTube

laura — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:28:27 +0000

The Sister Bee trailer is now available on YouTube! I hope this is helpful for those of you unable to view the QuickTime movie on the home page. You’re warmly invited to pass it on to your friends.

Thank you.

- Laura

When you’re right next to a tree

laura — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:31:05 +0000

This spring our pussy willow was blooming and it was covered, completely covered with bees… And it was beautiful. At that point they were so busy getting the pollen… that they weren’t bothering me at all. It’s different from being in the hive. If you open up their hive they can get made at you. They’ll buzz around you and try and bug you to get you out of there. But when you’re right next to a tree with a lot of bees they’re so busy doing their work that they don’t bother you at all.

- Mery Molenaar

Best lessons

laura — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:37:03 +0000

Some of the hardest lessons, the best lessons, have come from making dumb mistakes.

- Patricia Butler

Belfast, Maine

laura — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:52:34 +0000

An Evening with the Bees
Belfast Free Library

6/23/09

Hosted by Maine Farmland Trust

Fairmont, West Virginia

laura — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:13:59 +0000

West Virginia Beekeepers Association 2009 Spring Meeting
Trinity Assembly of God Church

3/28/09

What I wore

laura — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:18:42 +0000

I didn’t know anything about bees and I was scared about getting stung because as a kid I had kicked a yellow jacket nest and I had gotten probably a hundred stings on my body. I was actually really nervous about getting in and working them the first time because I didn’t know what they would do. I wore two pairs of pants, a long turtleneck, another shirt and then the suit and I died because I was really hot!

But I didn’t get stung. And I got fascinated looking at them.

- Suzanne Connolly Howes

Who keeps whom?

laura — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:18:17 +0000

I’m a beekeeper. Um hmm… The bees keep me.

– Marge McLellan

The gardener

laura — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:17:56 +0000

I’m a gardener. I came to the bees from the garden, you know, just wanted to know more about pollination. I don’t ever remember not wanting to keep bees.

- Julie Finley

A sting in my pocket

laura — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:17:35 +0000

My dad was a beekeeper. He had been a beekeeper way before I was born and still kept bees as I was growing up. I remember bees in the backyard because I remember being stung once. I put a bouquet of flowers in my pocket and got stung. It was pretty painful but it always stuck with me.

- Ruth Eastman

Life!

laura — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:17:10 +0000

It’s wonderful to see… life!

- Mery Molenaar

Pollinators

laura — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:16:43 +0000

I’ve always been interested in bees as pollinators, but when we lived in the city I didn’t think I had to worry that much about them. When we moved out here it was my intention to plant fruit trees. So in the back of my mind I thought it would be important to keep bees.

- Patricia Butler

Denver, Colorado

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:59:13 +0000

Sustainability Film Series
Denver Botanic Gardens

2/19/09

Lincoln, Nebraska

admin — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:58:33 +0000

Chemical Free Beekeeping Conference
Southeast Community College

11/22/08

Hosted by the Nebraska Beekeepers Association

Des Plaines, Illinois

admin — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:56:24 +0000

Feminist Ecology Exhibition
Koehnline Museum of Art

10/28/08 – 11/7/08

Huntington, West Virginia

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:54:01 +0000

Heartland Apiculture Society Annual Meeting
Marshall University

7/10/2008

Boulder, Colorado

admin — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:54:52 +0000

Summer Sustainability Forum
Chautauqua Community House

6/23/08

Hosted by Transition Boulder County

Beverly, Massachusetts

admin — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:55:36 +0000

Montserrat Encaustic Conference
Montserrat College of Art

6/7/08 – 6/8/08

Boulder, Colorado

admin — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 23:52:40 +0000

Bioneers Conference
University of Colorado

10/19/07

Crestone, Colorado

laura — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:18:51 +0000

Crestone Energy Fair
Crestone, Colorado

8/31/07

Boulder, Colorado

admin — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 23:41:08 +0000

Sustainability Forum
Boulder Outlook Hotel

8/16/07

Hosted by Transition Boulder County

Providence, Rhode Island

admin — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:38:12 +0000

Rhode Island Premiere
AS220

7/23/07

Hosted by the Rhode Island Beekeepers Association

Portland, Maine

admin — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 23:39:40 +0000

Maine Premiere
University of Southern Maine

7/20/07

Hosted by the University of Southern Maine Biology Club

Fort Collins, Colorado

admin — Wed, 02 May 2007 23:36:16 +0000

Northern Colorado Premiere
Colorado State University

5/2/07

Hosted by the Gillette Entomology Club and Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association

Denver, Colorado

admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:35:17 +0000

Cinema West 21
Documentary Cinema Institute

3/19/07

Niwot, Colorado

admin — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 23:34:06 +0000

Boulder County Beekeepers’ Association Annual Meeting
Niwot Grange Hall

11/15/06

Boulder, Colorado

admin — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 23:31:59 +0000

Premiere
Boulder Public Library

11/15/06

Hosted by the Boulder County Beekeepers’ Association

New York, New York

admin — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 23:23:43 +0000

IFP Market
Angelika Film Center

9/17/06 – 9/21/06