I’ve been going back and watching videos from season one, and it’s been a little humbling just how little I knew. On top of that, I noticed for the first time that a video I posted from season one was critiqued by two more experienced beekeepers who tore me apart, each of them pointing out “do not use this channel for instruction”. I quickly deleted the comments, I was horrified. But then something occurred to me....

When we started HWHftH, we were trying to capture the journey of a brand new urban beekeeper. While I hope that more recent videos are an asset to newer keepers, I knew next to nothing at that point...despite having taken a 5 week class with a Master Beekeeper (coolest title EVER, amiright). There’s an amount these videos were meant to show the learning process with all it’s mistakes, challenges, and triumphs.

So despite my initial shame at those comments, I started looking at them as a marker. Through that lens, it’s apparent that I’ve come a long way in this journey from a naive and unskilled keeper, to someone who’s created a safe and healthy space for bees in my yard so successfully now that we’re spilling over into a second location. Our beginning was as humble as they come (so was my camera work that season 😂), but I’m extremely proud of the experience we’ve had and the learning that’s happened along the way.

~ Chris, The Boxing Beekeeper