If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be standing in a field in Northern Ireland, wearing a white suit, peering into a box of 50,000 stinging insects with my 11-year-old daughter beside me — I’d have said you were mad.
And yet here we are.
How It Started
Bee Happy Honey began with a simple question from Bee Girl: “Mum, can we get bees?”
I didn’t have a good reason to say no. I had plenty of reasons to be nervous, mind you, but no good reason to say no. So instead of doing the sensible thing, I looked into it. And the more I read about honeybees, the more fascinated I became.
Did you know a single honeybee will only produce about a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her entire lifetime? Or that bees dance to tell each other where the best flowers are? The more we learned, the more we wanted to learn.
The Course
We signed up for the Introduction to Bees course at the Randalstown & District Beekeepers Association (RANDBKA). If you’re anywhere near the area and thinking about beekeeping, this is where to start. The people are welcoming, the teaching is hands-on, and they don’t judge you for asking questions like “do the bees know my name?”
(They don’t. We asked.)
The course covered everything from understanding colony life to handling frames, spotting the queen, and recognising healthy brood. By the end of it, we both knew this was something we wanted to do for real.
One Colony
We now have one colony. Just one. And that’s absolutely fine.
There seems to be a perception that beekeeping requires a massive setup, acres of land, and dozens of hives. It doesn’t. One colony is a perfectly brilliant way to start. You learn more by focusing on one hive than you would spreading yourself thin across five.
Our single colony has already taught us more about patience, nature, and teamwork than we expected. Every inspection is a lesson.
What This Blog Is About
Our blog — which we call “Hive & Seek” — is our beekeeping diary. We’re going to document everything:
- Hive inspections — what we found, what we did, what confused us
- Beginner tips — things we learn the hard way so you don’t have to
- Bee Girl’s Corner — posts from Bee Girl’s perspective, in her own words
- Gear reviews — honest opinions on the equipment we actually use
- The highs and lows — because beekeeping isn’t always Instagram-perfect
We’re not experts. We’re not pretending to be. We’re two beginners with one hive, a lot of enthusiasm, and a blog. If you’re thinking about starting beekeeping, or if you’ve just started and feel a bit lost, then this is for you.
Why “Hive & Seek”?
Because every time we open the hive, we’re seeking. Seeking the queen. Seeking signs that our bees are happy and healthy. Seeking that first jar of our own honey. And because at its heart, this is a mum and her daughter having an adventure together — and that feels a lot like the best game we’ve ever played.
What’s Next
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing our first hive inspections, our gear setup, what we learned on the RANDBKA course, and plenty of honest “we have no idea what we’re doing” moments.
Want to follow along? Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media. We’d love to have you along for the ride.
Welcome to the swarm.