Confessions of a bad beekeeper: what not to do when keeping bees (with apologies to my own)

Description

Fortitude -- Enterprise -- Civilization -- How a hive works. Labor, or How we make it work -- The three D's -- Swarm! -- February interlude. Thrift -- Endurance -- April fool. Study, or How to ruin a summer -- Bad beekeeping: A brief history -- Truthfulness -- Redemption -- September interlude. The bad ballroom club -- Fellowship.;Bill Turnbull had no intention of becoming a beekeeper. But when he saw an ad for beekeeping classes soon after a swarm of bees landed in his suburban backyard, it seemed to be a sign. Despite being stung on the head -- twice -- at his first hands-on beekeeping class, Turnbull found himself falling in love with the fascinating, infuriating honeybee. As a new beekeeper, Turnbull misplaced equipment for months, got stung more times -- and in more places -- than he cares to remember, and once even lost some bees up a chimney. But he kept at it, with a ready sense of humor and Zen-like acceptance of every mishap. And somehow, along the way, he learned a great deal about himself and the world around him. Confessions of a Bad Beekeeper chronicles Turnbull's misadventures (and brief moments of triumph) in the curious world of backyard beekeeping -- and also highlights both the threat to our bee population and what we can do to help these vital little creatures do their wonderful work.