Let's Talk Pizza.... and Bees

It is timeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Let's talk pizza. Are we already past the fact that I don't love cheese? Good. More for you, my husband and all the cheese lovers around the world. But just to be confusing I'm going to ease you into my weird world of pizza with a first for me: adding brie. Not sure that's normal.... but ever since I wrote the 1st blog post I've been thinking about brie.... and figs..... mmmm and prosciutto.... pickled jalapenos..... garlic.... and honey.....

I have the best honey! I should, I am a beekeeper. I'm probably just as good at beekeeping as I am at blogging. I'm DEFINITELY still learning. Beekeeping is tough! There is A LOT to learn. And when you make a mistake there is the added fun of thousands of annoyed bees.

But I somehow got lucky to connect with two incredibly generous, long time, seasoned beekeepers. Having two mentors has literally saved me from bee chaos (and no one wants to hear bees + chaos in the same sentence). Derek and Doug are both so damn passionate about bees! Even if those bees have stung them in strange and awkward places!

Doug might be the Caesar Millan of bees. He's got 14 years of knowledge and he just gets the bees. Hell the man shows up to beekeep in SHORTS. Bold, right? If a bee gets up there that can't be a good thing.

Derek, Doug's prodigy, currently runs Ater apiary out of Lovetteville, VA, and currently where my hives reside. He's got nearly 30 hives and plans to grow. He does NOT beekeep in shorts.... but his set up is its own kind of chaos. NOTHING matches, or fits properly. It makes me insane!!! The edges of the hives don't line up! It is like a really bad game of Tetris.... It's like WTH?!

So welcome life lessons from a beekeeper: Derek always tells me" "The bees don't care."

And they DONT! His bees THRIVE!!!!! He has strong, healthy, abundant hives that produce a ton of excess honey he can harvest. I have even fixed problems with my hives using queen bees he has bred, and they are FAR more resilient and effective. The bees just don't care if the edges match or if the coral and teal paint job look nice to them.

So.... I am frequently reminded with my mentors that sometimes we get distracted by details that are so far off in the weeds that we lose sight of the big picture.

Thank you guys.

I am almost certain there is nothing better than learning deep, philosophical and profound life lessons in one moment.... follow by messages like this:

"Good luck haha"

(Actual footage of me attempting to remove a hive excluder- the story for another day)

So today's pizza is dedicated to Derek and Doug.... and the bees. Be crazy, do your thing... thrive in your chaos because just like the bees, no one really cares!