Sweet Alaska honey

A few weeks ago, with only a quick phone call as warning, I inherited an orphaned “package” of honeybees. A friend of mine needed a good home for them before leaving the state.

I hadn’t planned on keeping any bees this year. Last summer -- the third wettest in Alaska history -- my entire beehive abandoned ship mid-season, for what I hope were drier and warmer climes. And yet, here I am again with a busy and active hive. I am currently feeding sugar-water to my honeybees until there is enough natural nectar to keep them going. Soon they will begin to feed on pussy willows growing along stream banks, dandelions, Dutch clover, berries, flowering trees, and wildflowers.

Beekeeping is an active hobby -- and a profession for some -- in Alaska, and we should be proud that we produce some of the world’s best honey. Our pesticide and herbicide-free and fireweed-dense fields make light-colored sweet honey that is well respected in the world of honey connoisseurs. In my yard, I have to keep a small electric fence around the hive because bears -- who also respect the high-quality honey produced by Alaska bees -- seem to have even more respect for electricity.