What’s the buzz all about, Charlie Bee?
You may have met Charlie Agar and his wife Kaye behind a table laden with local honey at the farmer’s market in New Braunfels. Charlie is the proverbially smiling, friendly face, supported by his sweet wife, behind the Charlie Bee brand of honey.
But Charlie has been more than a simple beekeeper. He stares fear in the face and removes unwanted bee hives from inside urban attics, barns, and buildings, safely relocating them to a rural setting. He is the “who you gonna call” of the bee hive world!
He has honed this enviable craft to the point of starring in his own Public Television Show called “Charlie Bee Company”. It has aired all over the world – Australia, Eastern Europe, France and Germany. Season two is queued up and ready to go – stay tuned! Every episode finds Charlie in the unenviable position of figuring out how to remove dangerous giant buzzing hives from unwanted situations. You can’t imagine the places bees will decide to domicile!
What started as a business to relocate unwanted Africanized bees and literally to save them, is now evolving into a full agri-tourism destination dedicated to the love of beekeeping. I visited Charlie at his farm in New Berlin to see what he was up to and learn about his newest bee adventure.
A brand new fully outfitted store which houses all things beekeeping greeted me upon arrival. The grounds approaching are laid out for a future hexagon shaped garden featuring bee-attracting plants and landscape. Brand new in the store is a full hive where you can safely view the intricate lives of a bee colony.
With free beekeeping classes on Saturday mornings, Charlie is currently focused on helping the backyard beekeeper learn the intricacies of this popular hobby.
After the bee season (through July) he will focus on programs for children and adults that spread the knowledge about the importance of these little pollinators to our ecosystem. So for the “bee curious”, Charlie’s farm will be your one-stop destination!
And if you’re wondering – YES, I did suit up in a bee suit and visited his 40 plus hives located on the property. We went on a seek and search mission to find the queen in one of the hives – a tricky and important aspect of bee-keeping. Every hive has one queen. We found her, but she slipped away – ahhh, once again the intricacies of this craft.
So, of course in true Texicureans fashion we will prepare a Texas recipe together. What could be more cooling than a glass of lemonade after a morning in a bee suit? We used Charlie’s honey – full of nutrition, and created a beautiful pitcher fit for a queen.
I squeezed lemons and Charlie shared his dreams for God’s little important creatures in New Berlin. As with all things, Charlie – the adventure continues! You can find out more at his website: www.charliebee.com or take a family drive out to 694 Smith Falor Road in New Berlin to snag some local honey and learn about all things bees and beekeeping!
Honey Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup Texas honey
- 5 cups water
- ice
Instructions
- Squeeze enough lemons to make 1 cup juice. Add in honey and stir vigorously. Add in 5 cups water and pour over ice in glasses. Enjoy!
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