G(love)s

Teachers aren't supposed to have favorites, but today I had the tremendous honor of introducing four of mine to beekeeping. Before we walked back to the apiary, I finished the technical instruction and took a moment to share this important truth: Beekeepers are generous people. This is seen in the way we safety check one another's beesuits and support our friends who need to step back and regroup if the buzzing gets too much.

I've started keeping bees without gloves, but I forgot to mention this to the young men. They were newly in the apiray and we'd just opened our first hive.

They were all pretty nervous, as you'd imagine.

I was lifting frames from a honey super and one of these precious souls offered me his gloves because he thought we didn't have enough pairs for me to wear them, too.

I can't even imagine what this took for him. He was so concerned for me that he set aside his fear and made the gesture.

"Do you want my gloves, Mrs. Cummings?"

Never underestimate the generosity of a beekeeper.

My photo-used with permission from the beekeepers.

(All are generous and kind. Today's story focuses on the young man pointing the Epipens at the camera.)