bee-peat.

Hello and happy spring! It's been a cold and dreary winter, so I'm happy to give it a kick in the rear while I look forward to beautiful, crisp mornings and as many cookouts as I can manage. But before I look forward too much, I have a story for you.

This story is one about our bees.

Okay...how do I say this gently?

They are no more. (Insert SUPER sad face here. One that's almost in tears.)

Here's the scoop:

When we had picked them up at the end of May 2014, we decided not to feed them. No sugar. No honey. Nada. The hives thrived for months. And then, low and behold, all three hives died within 48 hours of one another. Turns out we got them right at the end of what's called the "nectar flow". You know - the time of year when they are busy doing their work, making honey and all that jazz. Long story short - they starved. By the time it had cooled off outside, they had depleted their entire honey supply. It was devastating. I don't know if there's a worse feeling than knowing you are the reason for a life lost (let alone thousands).

But, on the up-side (can there be an up-side?), the president of the local beekeepers association came out to look at the life-less hives and said they looked great. No sign of disease, no infestations, but, unfortunately, also no honey.

So, after falling to my knees and shaking my fist to the heavens with a loud and mournful "WHYYY?!", I stood up, knocked the dirt from my pants and looked forward to spending another few hundred dollars on some new bees. (Ohh, the sarcasm.)

Bees that I pledge to look after.

And feed. Religiously. (Can I get an amen?)

The word on the street is we'll be picking up hungry new friends sometime in May. I look forward to it. And pray that I can give them everything they need. Because, as I've learned, a hungry bee is a dead bee. And ain't nobody got time for that.