My several thousand new children...

Yep, I am the proud mama of several thousand honeybees.
I have two hives that I keep on our property out in the country, about 12 miles outside of town.  I put the bees in their hives mid-April and it has been quite an adventure ever since.  Bees are amazing creatures and it has been fascinating to watch them build their combs and raise young, working to store nectar and pollen as they go.  The whole queen/worker/drone relationship is amazing to witness first hand.  Both of my original queens have been de-throned.  One of my hives is flourishing with a healthy laying queen, the other hive is in dire straights with no queen and a laying-worker, which means one of the worker bees has started laying eggs, which are unfertilized, meaning they will be drones.  It is all quite amazing and stressful also. 
Bees produce two amazing products: honey and beeswax.  Recently it has been brought into the spotlight that there are many dangers related to parabens.  Beeswax is a fabulous, safe alternative.  Local honey can help with allergies and it is an all natural sweetener just to name a few of it's fabulous qualites.  I will have more to come in the topic of my adventures in beekeeping.