09/01/2026
Had a surprise today. I was taking a day to just rest. That doesnāt mean I didnāt do anything because thatās not who I am. I just wasnāt working hard all day. Iām not quite hyperactive but you have to do surgery on me to get me to sit still. Anyway was sitting in my chair having a coffee and I get a phone call from a guy that starts talking to me about buying bees. I start thinking to myself that he must be talking about queens because I get a few calls this time of year because people take their honey off and realize there is no queen in their hive. Thatās why I keep mating nucs this late. Just for those people. But then I realize that heās actually talking about buying bees for pickup next spring. Totally slipped my mind that it is the first of September. So it was someone that called me to buy bees last spring after I was sold out for the year and I told them I start taking orders for 2027 on the first of September and he remembered that. So the first order is in for next spring already. Itās nice to know that there are still people out there that actually listen when you are telling them things. This year will be a lot different I am going to only take about 1/4 of the orders I usually take and all the people on my list are going to be told to pick up their bees or forfeit their order/ money so I can start with a clean slate for the next year. I have 36 orders that are left over from previous years and I donāt mind that as long as they only postpone for one year because life changes and I understand it sometimes gets messy but I have to straighten out my list as I still have a couple people on there from 2022. This restricts the amount of orders I can take each year which restricts my income and effects everything including buying equipment, bees, feed etc. This year we are taking limited orders so the bees are sure to get out in a timely manner. This will straighten out my list and make everything feel a little more organized.
Anyway when Iām relaxed sitting in my chair Iām a bit long winded. š
First order for 2027 is in.
The price for a nucleus colony is going up for the last time that it will go up as long as Iām doing this to $300. I am hoping I will be doing this less than 5 years more. Iām dreaming of retiring from getting stung but donāt see that clear path yet.
