Beekeeping

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 181

Best beginners’ guide to bees

Beekeeping for Dummies

Over the years I’ve kept a few hives of bees for honey. And I have a whole shelf of bee books. Beekeeping for Dummies is my current best choice for a beginner’s introduction to bees. As in many subjects, there is nothing like attending a local hands-on workshop as way to learn fast, but you could get a few hives going in your backyard using just the clear step-by-step instructions in this book alone. It’ll guide you through basic bee biology, safety concerns, using the gear, and how to get bees. More than any other beekeeping tutorial it anticipates most questions newbies will have. It also offer guidance on what to do with your bounty of honey and wax. Bees are eternally fascinating and there’s a library of other classic bee books to follow up with, but this one is the best place to start. — KK

• Knowing when it’s time for more smoke A few minutes into your inspection, you may notice that the bees allhave lined up between the top bars like racehorses at the startinggate. Their little heads are all in a row between the frames. Kind ofcute, aren’t they? They’re watching you. That’s your signal to givethe girls a few more puffs of smoke to disperse them again so thatyou can continue with your inspection.
• Having Realistic Expectations In your first year, don’t expect too much of a honey harvest. Sorry,but a newly established colony doesn’t have the benefit of a full seasonof foraging. Nor has it had an opportunity to build its maximumpopulation. I know that’s disappointing news. But be patient. Nextyear will be a bonanza!Beekeeping is like farming. the actual yield depends upon the weather. Many warm, sunny days with ample rain results in more flowers and greater nectar flows. When gardens flourish, so do bees. If Mother Nature works in your favor, a hive can produce 60 to 100 pounds of surplus honey (that’s the honey you can take form the bees), or more. If you live in a warm climate (like Florida or Southern California) you can expect multiple harvests each year. But remember that your bees need you to leave some honey for their own use. In cold climates leave them 60 pounds, in climates with no winter, leave 20 to 30 pounds.
• A fume board looks like an outer cover with a flannel lining. A liquid bee repellent is applied to the flannel lining and the fume board is placed on top of the honey supers (in place of the inner and outer covers). Within five minutes, the bees are repelled out of the honey supers and down into the brood chamber. Instant success! The honey supers can then be safely removed and taken to your harvesting area.

---

Cheapest way to start bees

Mann Lake Beekeeping Starter Kit

This is the least expensive kit for starting beekeeping. It has everything you need to raise some honey, except 3 things. You’ll need bees; order them by mail separately, or find a swarm. You’ll need to add at least one “upper” story of frames to store your share of the honey, and you’ll need access to an extractor — extracting honey by hand from this upper is possible but extremely messy. With care the equipment included should last many decades. You need only keep adding boxes of frames.

Used bee equipment is not advisable these days because of rampant bee disease. A beginner should start with new gear. There are a few sources with cheaper kits, but their shipping costs — between costs $60-$90 — will kill any bargain. Mann Lake offers free shipping, a fantastic deal with such bulky stuff. Also, their boxes and frames come fully assembled, which is also not the norm. That can save you several hours, and for a beginner, it provides assurance everything is right. Get the unpainted option; that’s easy enough to do and you can choose your color (they don’t have to be white).

If you have Amazon Prime you can get the same deal through Amazon. — KK

The Basic Starter Kit Includes:

• Assembled Hive Bodies or Supers
• Assembled Frames with Rite-Cell® Foundation OR
  Waxed Standard Plastic Frames
• Assembled Telescoping Cover w/Inner Cover
• Assembled Bottom Board w/Reducer
• 9 1/2” (24.13 cm) Hive Tool
• Economy Leather Gloves (Large, color may vary)
• Alexander Bee Veil
• Dome Top Smoker w/Guard
• “The New Starting Right With Bees” Book

---

Human-powered honey removal

Hand Crank Honey Extractor

This gorgeous, stainless steel spinning extractor, made in Italy for Mann Lake, sits in a privileged part of our living room and sometimes serves as a coffee table. But come extraction time, I not only use this beauty in my yard, I share it with my beekeeping friends. It’s about the size of a medium garbage can, so it’s easy to load into the car. It fits three frames at a time — the perfect amount for backyard beekeepers who often need to extract only 9 frames at once.

There’s no plug, no motor, just human arm power.

Inside is a metal carriage or rack you slide your frames into. Each side of the frame has honeycomb, so you need to flip the frames to get the honey out of both sides. But most backyard beekeepers are curious and want to check out the progress of the extraction process, anyhow. Watching the honey splatter on the inside edges of the extractor is very satisfying.

It’s also very satisfying to hold up the frame to the light and see that the honey has been sucked out of the comb and is now dripping down the inside of the extractor. And therein lies the beauty of this hand-crank model: the spigot. The honey flows down the sides of the extractor and coalesces in a pool. One only has to turn the spigot and out drips your liquid gold. I never filter or heat my honey so we just hold jars under the spigot. Viola!

Clean up is simple — just put the extractor near the beehive. The bees will lick up the remaining honey. And before I put it back in the living room, I like to pour a few buckets of hot soapy water just to make sure.

Mann Lake makes a few extractors, including a cheaper 3-frame model. However, cheaper models have the crank on top instead of on the side, which makes it more difficult to spin (can you say instant tennis elbow?). I’ve also heard it’s harder to get the spinner moving fast enough to splatter the honey. With this extractor (the HH-190), the crank is on the side, which is more ergonomically friendly. The next model up is motorized, which I think you need only if you’re a commercial size beekeeper or elderly.

Beekeeping involves buying a lot of equipment (an urban farmer, I have been beekeeping since 1999 and bought this extractor two years ago). Paradoxically, while we’re in it for the long haul and strive to buy quality, long-lasting equipment, we also pride ourselves on being thrifty, and some of us border on the edge of being Luddites. For example, in order to extract the bee’s hard-earned honey, a beekeeper must remove the frames of honeycomb, slice off the capped honey and then somehow extract the sticky ambrosia. I’m proud to say I’ve never used one of those electric, plug-in hot knives for uncapping the comb. I use a pot of boiling water and a good kitchen knife, and simply dunk the knife in the water for a time, wipe it off and then slice. No cord, no expense.

I feel the same way about my extractor: It’s a nice synthesis of human and machine. Before I got on I used to try to use a bowl, some pans and gravity. This is impossible in a place like California with all these ants! And it just takes forever to let the honey drip out. This machine allows us to speed up the extraction process, but not too much. — Novella Carpenter

---

Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

03/16/26

Articles of Interest / Still Here / Secret exec contacts

Recomendo - issue #505

Nerdy podcast on clothes

A podcast I am enjoying is Articles of Interest, which is a spinoff of the legendary 99% Invisible podcast. It has the same nerdy fascination with things we tend to take for granted. In this case, clothing. It dives deep into the origins, and meaning of common articles of clothing such as blue jeans, school uniforms, outdoor wear, even pockets, zippers, and clerical collars. Each episode is a delicious rabbit hole. It’s a blast. There’s a very satisfying archive of back episodes. — KK

Visualize your love in time and space

Still Here is a visualization tool for mapping your time and shared space with a loved one (animal or human) after they have passed. It was created by someone grieving the death of his dogs, and it feels very personal and tender. My fur baby is 7 years old now, and he has taught me so much about how grief and love are two sides of the same coin, so I am often thinking about his death. This feels like a kind of exposure therapy for my heart. — CD

Secret exec contacts for stubborn companies

When a company stonewalls you on a refund or dispute, head over to the Elliott Report’s Company Contacts database. Journalist Christopher Elliott has compiled direct phone numbers and email addresses for customer service executives at hundreds of companies — airlines, hotels, car rentals, banks, cable providers, and more. Skip the front-line customer service maze and go straight to someone with actual authority. The site also rates each company’s responsiveness to consumers. Free to use, no signup required. — MF

Portable board game

The tiniest portable board game I know about is Iota ($30 used). It fits into a small container the size of an AirPods case, and so can be slipped into any day bag, purse or pocket. It’s perfect for travels. To play you keep arranging its tiny little cards on a table into nesting sets, sort of like dominos, but with more dimensions. The game rewards pattern matching. Even small kids can play, and it is challenging enough for adults. Also no language is needed – another plus for travel. — KK

Book finding guides

This week I came across two book-finding tools worth sharing. NPR’s Books We Love is an interactive guide that lets you filter more than 4,000 staff and critic picks first by year and then by genre and other tags, like length or mood. If you prefer something not on a bestseller list, you can also try Whichbook, a search engine that lets you find books by emotion or by character, or click on a world map to find books set in specific countries. — CD

Wireless under-cabinet kitchen lights

I bought a 2-pack of these battery-powered MCGOR motion-sensor lights to use as kitchen counter lighting. They snap magnetically onto adhesive metal plates you stick under your cabinets. They turn on automatically when you get near; step away, and they shut off after 20 seconds. Five brightness levels let you dial in exactly the right amount of light. They are USB-C rechargeable, and one charge lasts days. — MF

03/15/26

Book Freak #200: The 5 Types of Wealth

A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life

Get The 5 Types of Wealth

After three years of research and thousands of interviews, The 5 Types of Wealth offers a framework for building a truly rich life — one defined not just by money, but by time, relationships, mental clarity, and physical vitality working together across every season of your journey.

Core Principles

Time Wealth

Time is your most valuable and finite asset. Time Wealth means having the freedom to choose how you spend it, where you spend it, and whom you spend it with. It requires three things: awareness that time is limited, attention to spending it on what matters, and control over your own schedule. The ultimate goal isn’t more time — it’s the freedom to allocate it according to your preferences.

Social Wealth

Social Wealth is about depth over breadth — cultivating deep, meaningful connections with a small group of people rather than shallow relationships with many. Your inner circles, communities, and the quality of your bonds determine much of your life satisfaction. Remember: everyone you love is on loan for a short period of time.

Mental Wealth

Mental Wealth shapes how you experience everything else. It consists of purpose (a vision that guides your decisions), growth (eagerness to learn and change), and space (time to think, recharge, and listen to your inner voice). The greatest discoveries come not from finding right answers but from asking right questions.

Physical Wealth

Treat your body like a house you have to live in for another seventy years. Physical Wealth rests on three pillars: movement (daily activity focusing on cardio, strength, and flexibility), nutrition (whole, unprocessed foods), and recovery (prioritizing sleep). Minor issues become major issues over time — repair them early.

Financial Wealth

Financial Wealth means defining what “enough” means to you and building toward it. Money enables the other four types of wealth but doesn’t replace them. Never let the quest for more distract you from the beauty of enough. Your wealthy life may involve money, but it will ultimately be defined by everything else.

Try It Now

1. Rate yourself 1-10 on each type of wealth: Time, Social, Mental, Physical, Financial. Which one is most neglected?
2. Identify one area where you’ve been “occasionally extraordinary” but inconsistent. Commit to being “consistently reliable” instead.
3. Write down your definition of “enough” financially. What number would give you freedom without endless striving?
4. Schedule one thing this week that invests in a non-financial type of wealth you’ve been neglecting.

Quote

“Never let the quest for more distract you from the beauty of enough.”

03/13/26

Wraparound Sleep Mask/Hotel Point Changes/Remote Worker Lodging

Nomadico issue #197

Travel Insurance and Evacuation

It’s hard to put out a travel newsletter this week without addressing the travel elephant in the room: the bombing of Iran and the counter-attacks that followed. Our hearts go out to all the citizens caught in the crossfire. If you’re stuck in the region trying to get home or your connecting flight through Doha or Dubai got cancelled, it’s time to dive into the fine print on your travel insurance policy to find solutions. Our sometime ad partner SafetyWing is providing a general framework for getting reimbursed for your escape: 1) Your policy had to be in place before any warnings went out. 2) There was no travel warning in place when you arrived in the area. 3) You have evacuated within 10 days of the travel warning being issued. Many policies will compensate you for cancelled flights and/or new expenditures, but it depends on what you purchased.

Wraparound Silk Eye Mask

I was leading a group of travelers in Slovakia last week and guest Yvonne from Colorado raved about this wraparound silk eye mask for both air travel and too-bright lodging. She likes how it stays in place in different positions, is comfortable for hours, and completely blocks out the light. It comes in four colors from $23 to $26 and has solid reviews on Amazon.

Travel Points Downgrades and Upgrades

It always pays to bank airline or hotel points for a specific purpose and cash them in rather than letting them sit around for years. They’re more like a new car than a house or index fund: over time, the value of those points will depreciate. Hyatt showed that clearly last week, massively raising the redemption rate on many of their hotels and generally making most tiers more expensive in terms of points, starting in May. In better news, you can now transfer Chase Rewards points to Wyndham at 1:1. Most points bloggers are saying “Don’t do it” simply based on the math, but Wyndham has a refreshingly simple loyalty program with just three tiers at 7,500, 15,000, and 30,000 points. (You can get 3-4 nights at a Wyndham all-inclusive for the price of what one night with no meals often costs at a nearby Hilton or Marriott.)

The Remote Worker Lodging Gap

I try to keep things brief here, but I enjoy the thought-provoking, in-depth articles on the Nomag newsletter that dive into issues not widely covered elsewhere. The latest is on the muddy middle of housing that many remote workers find lacking, rentals for one to four months at a price that works for everyone. “The housing system in a surprising number of places still functions as a rigid binary. You are either a tourist staying a few days, or you are a long-term tenant signing contracts measured in years.” There’s an obvious business opportunity in a whole lot of cities for whoever is willing to grab it. See “The Housing Market’s Blind Spot” here.

---

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

03/12/26

What’s in my NOW? — Paul Parkinson

issue #245

I’m a semi-retired Brit who spent nearly 40 years flogging treasury and risk management software. I’m looking around for something less stressful and more fun to keep the brain working properly. I’m a keen photographer and judge of photographic competitions. Coffee lover. Arsenal fan. Ultimately, we should remember that life’s too short to drink bad wine. — Paul Parkinson

---

PHYSICAL

• Asvine P36 Titanium Piston Demonstrator fountain pen: This is simply a fountain pen which is punching so far above its weight it’s ridiculous. It writes smoother, feels better, and looks nicer than many pens costing even 10 times what this Chinese “replica” pen cost. Fitted with a Bock medium nib and filled with Pilot Iroshizuku Tsutsuji, it’s a delight.
• Elephant N-Wallet: I got fed up with breaking my butt every time I sat down because my wallet was full up. Honestly, it was around 1” deep at that point. I switched to Elephant N-Wallet and apart from the occasional new elastic band, it’s been amazing. I carry no less than I did before but it’s a much smaller package. As an aside, I also use a small Muji Polyester double zip case to carry more stuff like pill cases and other bits and bobs. As a combination it’s perfect for me.
• Resound Vivia Hearing aids: I’m pretty much deaf these days and these hearing aids have been incredible for me. Not cheap but the sound quality is incredible and the MFI connection to my iPhone for streaming works beautifully.

---

DIGITAL

• I recently switched over to Microsoft OneNote after my previous e-note supplier increased their subscription to beyond stupid. The fact that it’s included with my Office subscription (kinda sorta free, right?) and I bought and stacked annual packages on Amazon Prime Day, I don’t pay anything until June 2028!
• I simply could not exist without RSS and my Feedly account. I follow 600 feeds of varying activity levels and never miss an update. I’ve been a user since 2013 (post Google Reader). Simply perfect.

---

INVISIBLE

Whatever you do today, do it with the confidence of a 4-year old in a Batman cape.

---

Sign up here to get What’s in my NOW? a week early in your inbox.

03/11/26

What is a Witch / Rosalie Lightning

Issue No. 108

WHAT IS A WITCH – A POETIC AND VISUAL CONJURING OF THE WITCH ARCHETYPE

What is a Witch
by Pamela Grossman (author) and Tin Can Forest (artists)
Tin Can Forest
2016, 36 pages, 9.0 x 11.75 x 0.25 inches

Buy a copy

There are few ideas and words in the popular zeitgeist more mercurial than “witch.” Whether coming from the world’s mythologies, religions, folk tales, the realms of fiction, or from those who embrace it as a real-world religious identity, witch can mean myriad things. There are probably few archetypes more simultaneously romanticized and demonized.

This dizzying dream of character and identity is uniquely and creatively expressed in What is a Witch, a sort of comic book grimoire on the subject by witch and author Pamela Grossman and Canadian’s comic-art occultists, Tin Can Forest. In just under 40 pages of lush, saturated black art and text, What is a Witch serves as something of a witch’s manifesto. The dreamy, free-form text, interwoven amongst equally dreamy art, attempts to cast a spell over the reader, to bring this complex character more vividly to life. In doing so, it doesn’t really answer the question (note that it’s not posed as one) of what a witch is, but instead, plays with her mercurial identity, dipping in and out of fictional and real-world conceptions and how witches are experienced and self-identified. The art and production are really lovely and work to deepen the spell that the book is attempting to cast. The effect of Grossman’s free, often trance-like prose reminded me somewhat of Jack Parson’s famous “We are the Witchcraft” manifesto, another attempt at a poetic conjuring on the identity of the witch.

What is a Witch feels like a captured dream to me, one in which the author and artists dutifully recorded what they experienced and shared the results with us. And those results definitely feel touched by magic. – Gareth Branwyn

---

ROSALIE LIGHTNING – WHAT COMES AFTER THE SUDDEN, UNEXPLAINED DEATH OF A TWO-YEAR-OLD TODDLER

Rosalie Lightning
by Tom Hart
St. Martin’s Press
2016, 272 pages, 7.8 x 9.6 x 0.8 inches

Buy on Amazon

“What do you do when your child dies?” Rosalie Lightning shows us what Tom Hart and his partner Leela Corman did as they mourned the sudden, unexplained death of their toddler Rosalie. This graphic memoir, written and drawn by Hart, is a poignant recounting of grief. In the first pages of the book, Rosalie Lightning, not yet two, dies in the night, without any known cause or sign.

Or were there signs? Hart looks for signs and portents – things that might have given him a clue about was to come — though knowing the portents are meaningless. “What meaning do we make of things?” he asks. Seeking symbols becomes the activity of grief. All the while, he and Corman are visiting friends, selling a home, and considering getting pregnant again.

“Wasn’t I a father? Didn’t I have a daughter?” Hart’s grief is acute and vivid. He mixes grayed drawings of himself with simple, adorable drawings of Rosalie (“Rodzy” as she pronounced it). He brings her to life for us through her toddler language “bumbites” (bug bites), “Rodzy hep” (Rosalie help) and “bye big spidoo wam!” (no translation needed).

The memoir is personal but not invasive. It provides no pat resolution but instead rests on the symbolism of life that comes from one of Rosalie’s favorite objects to collect – an acorn. The closing images of the memoir show an acorn growing into a mature tree, accompanied by the repetition of the word “yes.” The affirmation feels equally willing and forced. After the death of loved ones, after all, we want to move on; we must force ourselves to move on. – Meagan Rodgers

03/10/26

What’s in my NOW? — Paul Parkinson