A Beekeeper's Life. Tales from the Bottom Board

I started as Editor of Bee Culture magazine the year after tracheal mites were discovered in the US. I was a new voice in the industry, and my first issue took off in some very different directions, much like the industry itself was doing. We added new, younger authors, covered exciting and often controversial topics, brought in better marketing information, more science and especially an editorial with opinions about all this that occasionally ruffled some feathers. That Editorial page was at the front, right after the contents page and was called the Inner Cover, because that's where a beekeeper starts working a hive. It also had the very last page strictly dedicated to humor or satire, making light of lots of things so the reader would leave that month's issue both smarter, and with a smile. That last page was the Bottom Board. The wit, wisdom and humor of the Bottom Board attracted a steady following over the next decade or so, and several authors made contributions on occasional or even a regular basis. Then along came Ed Colby. And 20 years later he's still sitting on that Bottom Board, with a dedicated group of followers that'd be the envy of most state associations. He's in the top three of who gets read every month. That's saying a lot. Let me give you some background on this guy. You'll find out a lot on these pages, but the details may escape you. He started with bees in 1996, and writing for Bee Culture in 2002. There are a lot of stories. Hundreds. Some of the best are here. But not all of them.

He's just a sideline beekeeper with maybe a couple hundred colonies in a good year. He made a living for 44 years working on the Snowmass and Aspen Mountain ski patrols, for the thrills. That's a story in itself that only gets a little attention. That job almost killed him once and he figured out Life is a gift.

Like a lot of beekeepers his little Darlins have taken him a lot of places, Mexico, Cuba, Ukraine, even Medina to visit me. And he's done most of the things a lot of the bigger guys have done. Bees to almonds, selling splits, beeyards in odd and grand places, and he's kind of a name dropper - Marla the scientist, Paul with the secret handshake, his gal Marilyn, Tina the tenacious, Meghan the skier. There's more. See if you can find them. He's learned a lot of things the hard way. His dad told him to follow his heart, and Ed thinks because he did just that it's worked out OK for him. Most of the time anyway. His stories show a Beekeeper's Life worth knowing about. For both honey flows and dearths.