We started our first hive on March 26, 2015 and enjoyed an eventful first year of beekeeping. Despite all our preparation (building a hive, attending beekeeping classes at our local beekeeping club, having a wonderful bee mentor, reading books), the first colony lasted less than a week before it flew away to a nicer home. Undeterred, and with the assistance of a few precious frames of honey and comb from my bee mentor, John, I started a new colony.