One of the best parts about living in the Hamptons is meeting so many different types of people who make this such a layered, interesting place to live.  Case in point − have you recently met a fearless female beekeeper?  We did.  Robin Blackley shares, “I have lived on the east end since 1976, but my family has actually summered here since the late 1800’s − so I guess you could say I have some pretty deep rooted Hamptons history.”  Learn more about the Queen Bee of East End Apiaries in this NEW KDHamptons Lifestyle Diary, below: 

Robin shares some Hamptons history,”My mother is the girl sitting on the running board of the car (above, third from the left) and as well as in the horse carriage with her siblings.”

KDHamptons: What do you love most about living in the Hamptons?

Robin Blackley: The east end is such a special place with so much history.  I grew up on family stories of how Southampton Village was “back then”.  It’s a place where you can kick back and ride your bike to the beach, go surfing, sailing and beach combing.  I love to explore our layered history:  Southampton was New York’s first English settlement, the Montauk Point lighthouse [below] was commissioned by George Washington, Herman Melville mentions Sag Harbor in Moby Dick… I also enjoy the wonderful restaurants on the east end;  doing it all with the most beautiful scenery surrounding you.

KDHamptons: How did you originally learn about bee keeping?

Robin Blackley: I was out of work in the summer of 1976 and to keep busy I started a big garden in the back yard.  I would be out there tending it and saw the bees pollinating the plants.  I would freeze because I thought I would get stung.  Like so many people, I did not know the difference between honey bees and yellow jackets!  Once I discovered the difference I became fascinated with bees and wanted to learn as much as possible.  I have been keeping bees since around 1985 and formed my company in 1987.

KDHamptons:  What have you learned about the history of bees and their importance in nature?  

Robin Blackly:  When I realized the importance of bees, what they do in terms of pollination, the benefits of honey and pollen, the history of bees, I knew I wanted to keep bees.  Did you know the honey bees are not native to the Americas but were brought over from Europe with the settlers in the 1600s?  The Native Americans called them “the white man’s fly”and there are cave paintings of our ancestors gathering honey with bees flying all around them.  Bet you didn’t know that honey is the only food that does not spoil, helps with allergies, and that people get stung for health benefits?  That all the bees you see working are females?  That even in the dead of winter the temperature is about 92 degrees in the center of the hive?  Knowing all of this, how could one not be inspired?

“My hives are on private farms along the South Fork. I work symbiotically with the farmers who need bees for pollination. I’m in orchards as well as on organic and commercial farms.”

KDHamptons: What is a typical work day like for you?

Robin Blackley: My day, like any farmer, revolves around the weather. If it’s sunny and warm enough,  I’ll “work bees”, checking on the progress of the hive, if they need more space in the hive, the health of the colony, the amount of pollen & nectar they are gathering, whether or not a colony needs to be split is getting ready to swarm or is getting ready to make a new queen, maintenance to the apiary (bee yard).  If it’s a market day I’m turning people on to specialty honeys and answering their many questions. If it’s bad weather I work on equipment, extracting, filling Internet orders, researching articles and bottling honey.

KDHamptons: What does a perfect day off in the Hamptons look like for you?

Robin Blackley: A perfect day off would be on the beach with friends, feet in the sand, great food, good wine, swimming in the sea, watching the sunset and having a bon fire…haven’t had one of those in quite awhile!

KDHamptons: Where do you sell your honey?

Robin Blackley: Right now you can find me at Farmers Markets in Montauk, East Hampton, Southampton and Westhampton. I sell online, as well as at the following farm stands: The Milk Pail, EECO Farmstand, Halsey Farm & Nursery, 7 Ponds Orchard, Hanks U-Pick, Pumpkintown, Bhumi Farmstand, Long Season Farms, and in specialty stores including: Tate’s, The Candied Anchor, Pleasures of Tea and in NYC at Gastronomie.

KDHamptons: So the question that everyone wants to know is….Are you bitten often?

Robin Blackley: LOL…people always say “bitten”; mosquitoes bite, bees sting…the business end of a bee is at the tip of her abdomen, not her mouth. I get stung frequently and I sometimes will get a gal to sting me if I have a pain somewhere. Many people don’t know about the health benefits of bee stings (bee venom therapy). More info can be found here: American Apitherapy Society’s website: http://www.apitherapy.org.  I’ve found getting stung helps to heal things like joint pain in my hands and knees.  Another informative fact is that unlike yellow jackets,  bees will only sting when they feel threatened.

KDHamptons:  Share any stories of extreme “beehavior”? 

Robin Blackley: Working a “queenless” hive is always an adventure…those gals are not happy and will quickly let you know it. My experiences with bees has always been one of amazement. I was removing a swarm from a property in Bridgehampton. It was on a high branch and I tried to shake them into a box so I could hive them onto one of the farms. Well, I surely shook them off the branch…they ended up all over me! If that weren’t bad enough most of them ended up in my shirt…about 20 thousand or so. Knowing that when bees are swarmimg they are actually in their calmest state (they have no home, honey or young to defend) I walked to a clearing, opened my shirt and took off my veil. The bees began walking up my body, onto my head and flew away. I didn’t get stung once! The saddest experience I’ve had was after Hurricane Sandy. I went to check on my apiary in North Haven, believing it to be far enough away from the water, only to find that the hives had been lifted off their stand and floated about 100’ away. The hives had broken apart and were scattered all over the place. The bees were mostly dead and the survivors were sopping wet. As I was trying to put one of the hives back together the queen was trying to get back in. I gently put her into the hive and hoped she would survive. She didn’t and neither did the colony.

KDHamptons:  Do you have an easy recipe to share?

Robin Blackley: Aside from eating it, honey has many other uses (The National Honey Board is a good source for honey recipes: www.honey.com). You can brew honey into wine (also known a Meade), you can use honey to heal wounds and burns and honey can be used as a moisturizing facial mask.  Here’s a super simple appetizer that looks so gourmet [above right]:  Slice a Bartlett pear, top it with a piece of baked Pancetta, crumbled goat cheese and drizzle over East End Apiary “Wildflower” honey.  Delicious!

* For more information please go to: www.EastEndApiaries.com or follow Robin on Facebook @EastEndApiaries and on Instagram @East_End_Apiaries 

*Recipe photo via Southern Living