JAM's Bee Apothecary LLC

06/16/2026

Today I spotted one of my bees near the garden beds.

Something about seeing her there—buzzing around, completely focused on her work—made my heart so happy. What started as a box of bees has become part of the rhythm of this little piece of land.

Seeing them thrive and explore the spaces around our home brings me an incredible amount of joy.

Tiny wings. Big joy. 🐝🌼

Peace, Love, & Save the Bees! 🐝

05/26/2026

Sometimes I just go and say hey and hang out with them. If you look closely you’ll see a bee that doesn’t look like the others. That right there is a boy bee…. Aka a “Drone”.

05/23/2026

04/27/2026

Weekend lessons from the apiary 🐝

We learned (the hard way) that getting stung near the knuckles and thumb webbing is arguably the most annoying spot possible. So many nerve endings… and every tiny movement just fuels the histamine response. Ice helps. “Don’t itch it” is great advice in theory… not so much in practice 😅

On the brighter side—
✨ We spotted our Queen in Hive 1
✨ Hive 2 is thriving and got a second super to give them room to grow

Next up: Hive 1 gets their honey super after work tomorrow 🍯

Slowly but surely, things are building.

04/16/2026

One of the best pieces of advice I got as a new beekeeper? Subscribe to the magazines.

I look forward to these showing up every month—they’re packed with insight from experienced beekeepers and feel like a direct line into the community.

I keep them out in my home so anyone can flip through. It’s practical, but also a little nostalgic… like bringing back the era when magazines were something you truly savored.

04/12/2026

04/12/2026

Golden sunlight and a calm hive—an ideal day for inspection.

Hive #1 is thriving, with plenty of room for continued brood development. We observed all stages of brood (always the best reassurance), a few drones and drone cells, and no queen cells. While we didn’t spot the queen this round, her presence is undeniable in the pattern and activity within the hive.

One of the sweetest moments—watching new bees emerge from their cells, and a hardworking girl returning with vivid red pollen packed in her baskets.

A bold wasp attempted to slip into the comb while the hive was open… that ended quickly.

All in all, a strong, healthy colony.

We kept the new hive mostly undisturbed, but took a quick peek—beautiful comb already forming, and confirmation that the queen has been successfully released from her cage. Exactly what we want to see.

🐝

04/05/2026

Dandelion Jelly, canned for shelf life! My first ever canned anything. Honestly the hardest part was separating the greens from the anthers and petals of the actual flowers. It looks almost like real honey! They rest for 24hrs then I’m digging in!

04/04/2026

The dandelions are gorgeous right now! & so important for the bees in early spring.

Did you know you can make a jelly with the leaves and anthers of dandelion?! I figured I’d give it a shot.

Right now the 3.5 cups of dandelion insides I was able to collect this afternoon are steeping in what once was boiling water for the next 15-24 hours. So, more to come! (Don’t worry there are tons left for the bees!😉🐝)

We also have had this cute little frog hanging on our front porch railing for the past 5 hours. 🤩✨

Mother nature is truly glorious ❤️

04/03/2026

We welcomed our second hive today 🐝

Getting the Queen settled into her new home was such a cool process—from detaching her tiny traveling “palanquin” (queen cage) from the bee package to carefully removing the correct cork. Behind it is a sugar cap that the worker bees must eat through, giving them time to adjust to her pheromones and accept her as their new Queen. Nature builds in its own introduction ritual.

They were incredibly gentle with us—no stings, just quiet curiosity as they began exploring their new home. This is our second package of Italian honey bees from a wonderful local beekeeper in Marysville, and they continue to show such a calm, docile temperament.

Another hive installation complete, another little world just beginning. ✨