About: Me and Bees

Every Beekeeper Has a Story.

Hi, my name is Jim. I am finding out that beekeepers are a special breed of people. I hope that says good things about me, because I am a fellow beekeeper.

I grew up beside a retired neighbor who kept a beehive in his side yard. I really think my lifelong desire to work with bees was started at this point in my life, and has only intensified as I have grown older. I would have started keeping bees years before had I been able, but working for ministries for many years of my marriage did not lend to owning a home.

That still didn’t stop me from talking to other beekeepers over the years; and learning and yearning.

Now out of the ministry, I live in the beautiful hills of Tennessee. I was so excited when my new neighbor expressed an interest in taking up beekeeping. I dove in with both feet. I am really enjoying my thousands of new (girl) friends [except for a few inevitable bee stings].

After purchasing my first hive as a nook from a "beek" [Short for Beekeeper] in west Knox County, I have added hives from bee swarms, and bee removals [trap outs and cutouts].

Thanks to a wonderful beekeeping friends mentoring, and hours spent on beekeeping forums [http://www.beekeepingforums.com], as well as, reading books, articles, websites, and attending meetings of the Knox County Beekeepers Association [http://www.kcbaoftn.org] I have been able to learn much very quickly.

Why start a website?

My desire is to streamline this learning process as much as possible and provide a place where beekeepers, whether veteran or new "beeks", can find and share information that will benefit everyone in this amazing, exciting, and vital activity that is both rewarding and crucial in the preservation of life as we know it.

Sounds like a enigma, but bees play a major role in pollination of much of our crops and of other vegetation all around the world.

That is my next step to have enough hives that I can begin to rent them out to farmers for crop pollination.

So if you have always wanted to keep bees and never dove in, what is stopping you now? If you need help getting started shoot me a line. If you are a beekeeper and just want information enjoy reading all our articles. The mass of them will grow over time as I invite guest “speakers” to my site. Want to add your own trusted experience to the pot? I welcome that! Look forward to seeing you around in the forums and the comment pages.

Jim Rodgers