Busy Bees by Madeline Powell

What started as a hobby with two hives, 10 years ago, ended up with the Simon Family taking on a new career. Simon Apiearies now cares for over 600 hives, and it is a family affair.
Senior Photojournalism major Madeline Powell documents the Simon family\’s struggle to raise 3 children and 36 million bees.

To see the entire project: http://madelinepowellmedia.com/busybees

Julie prepares dinner for the family while Andy wrapped up his daily beekeeping of checking on the hives. “Balancing a regular job with Simon Apiaries can be tough. Time flies, and there’s always more to do. But we’ve figured out how to work smarter, not harder, with the bees,” Andy said.

Julie attends her youngest son Cameron’s kindergarten class at Alvaton Elementary to show an observation bee hive and give a quick lesson about honeybees. Classmates asked questions while Cameron shared his knowledge of the bees with his class. “I like the bees because they make honey for us,” Cameron said.

Andy gives a crash course on beekeeping for new beekeepers purchasing nucs from Simon Apiaries. A nuc is a small hive that holds a small colony of bees, which contains food and a queen for the colony. New beekeepers buy nucs to help them start their hive. “It’s so rewarding when someone tells me our product helped them with allergies or sleep,” Andy said.

Beekeepers inspect their hives and check for the queen in each nuc. “I’m always thinking of ways to make things better and more efficient,” Andy said.