1. photos by larry hardy/T&
Eddie Cook, of St. Matthews, stands with his hand-crafted “top bar” beehive created by his wife’s uncle Rick Walton. The “top bar” beehive is unique because honeybees create their
own combs. Eddie and Melissa Cook have been hobby beekeepers for about three years.
sunday magazinesunday, june 8, 2014 / C1
The Times and Democrat | www.TheTandD.com
By MARTHA ROSE BROWN
T&D Staff Writer
A
nestimated100,000honeybeesliveinhivesafewyardsfromEddieandMelissaCook’s
homeinSt.Matthews.
They’rethecouple’sclosestneighbors,sotospeak.
“Eddietoldmeonedayhe’dliketogetsomehoneybees,andIthoughthewascrazy,”
Mrs.Cooksaid.
Thatwasnearlythreeyearsago,andnowtheCooksarewildaboutthesweethobbyof
beekeeping.
“Theyareamazinglittlecritters,theyreallyare,”Mrs.Cooksaid.“Peopledon’trealizehowmuchwe
dependonbeesforoureverydaylives.Wehavemedicinethattakesbeeswax,wehavemedicinesthat
havehoneyinit,wehavecosmeticsthathavebeeswaxinit.Andeverythingthosebeesdois100percent
natural.”
Mr.Cooksaidhebelievedbeekeepingwouldbeagoodhobbyforhiswifeandhimtodotogether.
Withthedeclininghoneybeepopulation,theCooksandotherhobbybeekeepersalsoserveasimportant
stewardsoftheinsectsthataresocrucialtoagriculture.
Abouttwomonthsago,theCooksaddeda“topbar”hivetotheireightstandardhiveboxes,alsoknownas
Langstrothhives.
Mrs.Cook’suncle,RickWalton,madethetopbarhiveforthem—completewithanobservationwindow
atthebackofit.Standardhiveboxeshaveslotstoinsertframesfilledwithhoneycombsmadefrombeeswax;
atopbarhiveisbuiltsothatthebeesdoitall.
“Theymaketheirowncombs,”Mr.Cooksaid.
“Mybeesswarmedearlythisyear,”hesaid,addedthatit’s“amazing”towatchthebeesbuildthehoney-
combsthroughtheobservationwindow.
TheCooksaren’tshyaboutthebondsthey’veforgedwiththebees.
“Theyknowwhoyouare,”Mrs.Cooksaid,“Icomeoutandtalktothemallthetime.”
Shesaidthehoneybeesactuallyrecognizeherhusband’svoice.
“Godmakeseverything,anditisjustamazingthattheselittlecreaturesdowhattheydo,”
shesaid.
TheCooksaregratefulforthehoneytheyharvestfromthecombs.
“Offtwoframes,wegetabout2-1/2to3quartsofhoney,”Mrs.
Cooksaid.
BeekeepingisalsoahobbyforBowmanresi-
dentsNeelParlerandhiswife,whohavefive
hives.
“It’sdefinitelyahobby,”Parlersaid.“Ido
itjustforthepleasureofwatchingthebees.”
Hesaidhe’dliketoeventuallyhave10to
12hives.
Parlersaidhehadreadafewbooksabout
beekeepingseveralyearsago
“Godhasasenseofhumor.He’llgiveyou
beesevenifyou’re(just)thinkingaboutit,”he
said.
WhileParlerwasworkingatacementplant
nearHollyHill,somebeesswarmedinoneof
thebuildingsattheplant.
“Iknewjustenoughaboutbeestobedanger-
ous,”hesaid,laughing.
Parlersaidhecarefullyandsuccessfullyre-
movedandrelocatedtheswarm.
“Thatwasmyfirsthiveofbees,”hesaid.
LiketheCooks,theParlersalsoharvesthoney
anduseitfortheirpersonalconsumptionand
shareitwithfamilyandfriends.
Bothcouplesareconcernedthatthepopulation
ofhoneybeesisdwindling,andsaythey’redoing
whattheycantoprovidehavensforsomeoftheti-
niestofGod’screations.
‘Amazing
little critters’
Hobby beekeepers bond with their bees,
help preserve dwindling population
See BEES, C6