This scene offers a glimpse into the day to day life of a commercial beekeeper preparing to move his bees in mass. These folks are rarely seen or heard as they go about the work that very few people are willing to do or are ever aware even exists. When the phone rings and hives are needed by a grower, the beekeepers gather and load hundreds of hives to be transported, typically at night after the bees have returned to the hives after gathering food for the day and the rest of the world is preparing for bed. This night work prevents beekeepers from leaving any bees behind, but makes for some really long hard hours for these unsung heroes.

This one is titled "Old Faithful", because the beekeeper is there day in and day out year after year as are his bees that he cares for on a daily basis. He uses the smoker (the devise shown on top of a pallet of hives) to keep his bees calm and his trusty forklift to assist with the heavy lifting, as each hive can weigh upwards of a hundred pounds or more.

Support your local beekeeper by buying genuine local honey from a local source instead of supporting those that bottle imported fake honey that is normally a blend of rice or corn syrup with dyes and flavoring additives. Farmer's Markets and local feed stores are often a good place to get real honey from real beekeepers.

Ref Photo Credit: Jason Deeringer, Commercial Beekeeper