I was very fortunate to grow up in a beekeeping family. My father, Ardith Eggman has been a beekeeper all of my life. At 76 he can still outwork anyone in the bee yard. Perhaps that is what keeps him young. He and two of his brothers are still very active in the business. My Dad’s father, my grandfather, was also a beekeeper.

My favorite childhood memories are of the many bee trips I took with my father. I learned to love the beauty of the land and still enjoy the thrill of standing in the middle of a bee yard with zillions of bees busily going about their work.

Following in my Dad’s footsteps, my husband, Frank and I have taken up beekeeping ourselves. We keep 30 to 50 hives--mostly in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains as well as the San Joaquin Valley and the hills surrounding San Luis Obispo. We move them around depending on which flowers are blooming at the time. Dad has fun supervising our operation and I have fun working side by side with my Dad. He had a great laugh when I insisted on painting the handles of my beehives with Martha Stewart paint. Hey, she inspires me!

The work is back breaking and sometimes we work in up to 110 degree temperatures but we love it. So, I guess I really am . . .