A Walk In The Clouds

This is a short one... not the kid, the blog.

I imagine everyone has a vision of what the perfect life would look like. For me, it's the movie A Walk In The Clouds. In fact, it is the very reason I became a beekeeper - as I mentioned in a past blog.

While I doubt I will ever own a vineyard, I still have this fantasy of the whole family coming home for the big harvest (Honey Harvest in my case). The whole family working together in the fields all day and then having a feast that night (of course everyone would share in the profit too). I know the whole thing sounds ridiculous and it is - and I am sure it will never happen.

Nonetheless, beekeeping is a good job - an average beekeeper makes upward of $70k a year. So I am encouraging my oldest nephew, Zack to learn the beekeeping trade (since on the ill-advice of his mother, he has dropped out of school at age 18). And I am hopeful that in a year or two, I will be able to employee him full-time or maybe he might even just work for someone else.

Of course, I'm not forcing it on him but I am encouraging him to help me out from time to time so he can learn. This is purely for his benefit, since he slows me down to a crawl when he is there. Just the same, yesterday I invited him to help me prep some supers for paint - partly because I felt guilty for spending all weekend with Noah (age 22) who was a genuine help. (Side note: Noah and my daughter are both graduating with a BSN from nursing school this coming Dec).

Yet when I went to pick Zack up, he had a scowl on his face. When I asked him why, it turned out that he didn't want to go. So I gladly left him. In retrospect, I think I need to sit him down and explain that this work is not for my benefit but for his. Then he can decide what to do on his own.

Anyway, a few minutes after I left, Zack's little brother, Zane (age 11) texted that he wanted to come and help. So he came down and we did a little beekeeping. It was a nice bonding experience and it definitely sparked Zane's interest. Who knows, maybe that big family harvest might happen after all.