Wait—Who Are All These People?

It occurred to me that I’ve been writing about bees, bee school, bee adventures, things I thought I knew about bees, and all the things I’m discovering I absolutely did not know about bees but I never officially actually introduced us. That seems like something I probably should have done.

So, before I keep casually mentioning people as though you’ve known us for years, here’s a quick introduction to the cast of characters around here.

First, I’m Tracy

This is my blog, which means you’re mostly getting the bee world through my eyes.

I am not a professional beekeeper. I am not a lifelong beekeeper. I am not even going to pretend I know what I’m doing half the time.

I’m learning. And, when I get interested in something, I don’t just casually get interested in it. I want to know how it works, why it works, what I’ve been told that isn’t actually true, and what happens if I try it myself. That’s more or less how we ended up here.

I love gardening, growing food, learning old-fashioned skills, figuring out how things work, and generally collecting projects faster than any reasonable person could complete them. Bees fit into that world almost suspiciously well.

Somewhere along the way, keeping bees stopped being one more interesting thing to try and became something I genuinely love. And because simply owning bees apparently wasn’t enough, I am now working my way through the UC Davis Master Beekeeper Program.

Which brings me to Rainy/Rene.

Rene

His actual name is Rene.

He pronounces it, Rainy. Like a rainy day.

Rene is my friend, housemate, co-conspirator, and - most importantly for purposes of this blog - my beekeeping partner.

When I say “we” checked the bees, “we” found the queen, “we” made some questionable decision involving a hive, or “we” stood there staring at thousands of insects trying to figure out what on earth they were doing, there is a very good chance I mean Rene and me.

We are learning this together.

We take the classes together. We inspect the hives together. We compare notes, make plans, change those plans when the bees have plans of their own, and occasionally stand at the hive entrance watching bees for an unreasonable amount of time.

Neither of us started this adventure as an expert.

That is sort of the point.

You aren’t reading a blog written by someone who has been keeping bees for 40 years and has all the answers. You’re watching us learn.

Sometimes we’ll get it right. Sometimes we’ll discover that something we were completely certain about was completely wrong. And sometimes the bees will simply refuse to cooperate with whatever brilliant plan we came up with. Those stories are probably going to be the most fun.

And Then There’s Paul

Paul is my husband.

He is not my beekeeping partner.

This distinction is important.

He lives here, though, which means he also lives with the bees, the bee equipment, the jars, the boxes, the on-line classes in the background, the conversations about queens and brood and mites, and whatever new bee-related project has temporarily taken over part of our property.

So Paul will undoubtedly appear here from time to time.

He didn’t sign up to write a bee blog.

Technically, he didn’t sign up to keep bees either.

He just married someone who eventually decided bees were a good idea.

Close enough.

The Kids

Between the three of us, we also have a collection of grown kids: Haylee, Jessica, Jacob, Triston, and Bret.

Exactly who belongs to whom isn’t particularly important for purposes of this blog. They’re all part of our family, they’re all part of the larger cast of characters around here, and any one of them may wander into a story from time to time.

None of them are currently responsible for the bees.

Yet.

I make no promises about the future.

And Maybe a Few Other People Along the Way

There are other people who will undoubtedly wander into these stories too - family, friends, neighbors, other beekeepers, teachers, and people who know considerably more about bees than we do. And there is one person who may appear in stories even though he isn’t here anymore: my Gramps. Gramps lived here with us for four years, and he was an enormous part of my life. He passed at the end of 2025. This adventure, this period of my life, and many of the stories that come with it overlap with the years he was here, so I can’t imagine writing honestly about my life without him occasionally finding his way onto these pages too.

So That’s Us

Or at least that’s enough to get you started.

Welcome to our hive!