Keeping Bees

I like to keep bees and have for a few years. When I was a kid a old guy down the road had a couple of hives and I would go down there and worry him to death as he tried to work his bees. I lived on a chicken farm out near the airport and wanted to have a couple of hives out back in the hay field. My Mom was not so keen on the ideal and my Dad really did not want to mess with them so I never had my own hive. Fast foreward to 1982 and I am living in Florida and  working at the Nuclear plant down in St. Lucie.  My neighbor had bees on a big scale 60 hives that he used in the Orange groves.  Since he needed a hand I would work with him moving and robbing the hives and learning the work that goes with that kinda farming. In return I had Orange Blossom honey by the gallon and an Education that could only be learned at the hand of the master so to speak. Now at the ranch I was keeping three hives but am down to one right now as the winter has been hard on em and that one could be in a way.
Bee keeping is not for everyone but everyone depends on the little critter for the food we eat. Even keeping a single hive out back you help make for a better garden crop, and a few more apples, more melons and oranges.  If you would like to start keeping a hive in your area it is not difficult. In fact you can keep them in an apartment if you are able to give them direct access to the world. Stings are not really a problem for most people and even have some homeopathic healing powers, for people with joint pain and MS. I am hoping that my hive made it over the winter, and if you want to take a look at equipment The R. Kelly co. is a good place to start.