When the kiwifruit vines begin to flower, beekeepers need to be ‘ready to rock-n-roll’ in the Bay of Plenty. Aimz sure is…

Dearth September. Admittedly a slower start than last year, but all of our hives have been boosted into action with regular manipulation and feeding. Frames of honey and pollen are added to simulate an early flow, and with the changing of the clocks, the real thing can’t be far behind.

August is over, the last of the beekeeping ‘breather’ months. Bee numbers are on the rise as lambs are on the ground. No rest for the multi-discipline farmers out there, even I find myself with extra mouths to feed after successfully caesarean sectioning a dead ewe with triplets.

So, our school holidays went down like a lead balloon. As the term ended, the playground plague was activated with warlike precision. Reminds me of the previous holidays actually – a time to puke, a time to cry, I wish that cough had passed us by. Four spluttering, snotty weeks later, the 100-day cough has ripped through all but the youngest of my four kids.

As winter rolls on, so do the school holidays and second-generation beekeeper Aimz reflects on her own childhood being “dragged around” bee sites as she now willingly undertakes the winter rounds in the family business.

What does it take to get through winter? Bay of Plenty beekeeper 'Aimz' checks on fat stores and varroa sores as the days get shorter...

Another day, another dollar, as the saying goes – whether those dollars are coming or going remains to be seen...

It’s out of honey harvest and into pest control for second-generation beekeeper ‘Aimz’ as the seasons turn in the Bay of Plenty…

A short note in time for the shortest month, an ode to ‘little’. After all, my occupation is one of farming tiny livestock, a manipulator...

BOP beekeeper Aimz buzzes in with her latest update - Waxed.

If you asked my girls how life was right now, they’d tell you it was pretty sweet... The honey season... Right back where I started ...

It's been a busy month in the Bay of Plenty, but first-season beekeeper Aimz has managed to find a few moments to recap a period where...

"Enthusiasm is contagious ... Something is catching, but what exactly?" The buzz of Aimz's new career is rubbing off on others...

Seeing queen bees on the inside of her eyelids, rookie beekeeper Aimz checks in from the Bay of Plenty as the season ramps up...

The drone should never be a mere afterthought for beekeepers – including when they are in the kitchen...

You probably remember your first… love? Job? Beehive?...

We meet new contributor 'Aimz' who, in her mid-30s, returns home to the family beekeeping business to take up the hive tool for the first...