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Returning After Devastating Losses from the Winter of 2021-2022 But Continuing Our Mission to Help Save The Bees and Other Pollinators with The Hood Brook Apiary "Honeybee Sponsor Program."
Ever since discovering my love for honey, and shortly after that, Honeybees while attending an Agricultural High School, it became a lifelong dream to become a beekeeper. Starting with but one hive I learned a lot and eventually got up to 4 hives. Then in 2020, I decided to make my dream a reality and start an Apiary in Maine with at least 10 hives! The spring of 2021 was the birth of Hood Brook Apiary!
Bob Donovan
Owner/Operator
I have loved the wonders of nature for my entire life. I had a great upbringing with parents who loved nature and camping, and it carried on with me. While attending “The Aggie” in Massachusetts in the 70’s, as mentioned, I also fell in love with honey and became fascinated with the life of honeybees. Although I attended an Agricultural Farm School with ambitions to farm while living in rural 
Maine. Sadly, life threw in a couple of monkey wrenches which sidetracked my farming ambitions.
However, over the years I still had an interest in farming and honeybees, so I scraped, worked hard, and saved for many years. Sadly, I lost my father in 2000 just before I was able to consider working with bees and getting my first hive on my brother’s land in New Hampshire. The bees were fascinating! Watching nature do its thing was entertaining and relaxing.
Over the next 20 years, I did a little moving around throughout New England but always had at least 2 hives. In 2017 I returned to Massachusetts to be my mom’s 24/7 caregiver in the city. But I still managed to have a few hives at her house as we were in a rural part of the city and backed up to a big woods area.
In 2020 I lost my mom and before she passed, she left me a little money so I could pursue my hobby of beekeeping as she was always so impressed with what I did with the bees and she loved the honey. So, I gathered up my hives and started looking for a place to start my Apiary.
In December 2020, I used every penny I saved, and the money mom gave me and purchased 29.1 acres of land outright (most of which was heavily forested bog land and protected wetland in a very rural part of Maine). On my land, there were a lot of springs that formed Hood Brook. Beavers managed to make a pond there as well so lots of birds and animals enjoyed the property. My new start being at the start of Hood Brook, I thought the name Hood Brook Apiary was a perfect fit.
Over the rest of the winter of 2020 into early 2021 I got everything ready, purchased all the equipment I would need, built my hives, and was ready to start with 10 hives in the spring of 2021! I got my bees locally and everything was off to a great start. I had never had so many bees to watch and take care of before. It was like a dream!
Although everything had gone so well through the summer, fall, and most of the winter, late winter was nearly the end of everything! An unusual weather pattern struck Maine twice hilling thousands of bees in the northeast. Warm mornings that swiftly turned to sub-freezing temperatures in the early afternoon caught the bees off guard killing all 10 of my hives over 2 weeks just as Spring was ready to break! I lost everything I had invested in the farm but the land and trailer.
As a 63-year-old disabled man living on a fixed income and depending on his investment, that took the wind from my sails and I thought I lost everything. I sold off a lot of my gear and tried to reorganize in hopes of rebuilding. Start off with 2 or so hives again and work back up to 10 over a few years.
To my surprise, over the winter of 2022-2023, people online had heard about my losses and I may have to sell my land and move. However, someone mentioned, “Until you can get your feet back on the ground, put up a GoFundMe page and try to raise money. That wasn’t working well but then someone came up with Adopt-a-Hive where people can sponsor sees and hives to help you cover the cost and continue my mission to increase the bee population in Maine while making a little side income to make ends meet and rebuild the apiary with honey sales. Frankly, I thought no one would be interested in that.
To my surprise, several people jumped on board with small donations. Then a few more jumped in sponsoring 2 packages of bees, a few new hives, and other equipment to get me going. At about the same time I decided to work 
with old friends from the Aggie that lived a half hour away and owned a working farm. So, in addition to one hive here at my location to start, I also had 3 hives on “The Funny Farm” and called it “Hood Brook Apiary on The Funny Farm! They had 3 or their own hives starting that year as well. So, what equipment I had remaining went there and the fight to come back had begun!
Usually 1st year hives don’t produce enough honey for the beekeeper to harvest. What they made will be enough to feed them through the winter. However, the single hive at my farm produced about 30 lbs. and my hives at The Funny Farm about another 15 for 45 lbs. of 1st year (of our comeback) honey! And let me tell you, IT IS DELICIOUS!
It is an ongoing effort with the same goals in mind and every day we get a little closer. Thanks to everyone who believed in me and sponsored bees and hives! Also, thanks to the Noll Family at The Funny Farm and my friends and neighbors, we are on our way back!
This Website Dedicated to Our Recovery and Our Continuing Mission
To Save The Bees and Other Pollinators!
This website, HoneybeeSponsors.net, is dedicated to a 4-year plan to raise enough support to help rebuild Hood Brook Apiary to where it started 3 years ago. Catastrophic losses from the late winter/early spring of 2021-2022 wiped out many beehives in the northeast and nearly wiped out Hood Brook Apiary.
Now we need your help to build back, stronger, and continue our mission to increase the bee population in Maine, and New England. Also, to educate future beekeepers, and enlighten students and others of the importance of pollinators such as Honeybees, other bees and wasps, moths, butterflies, hummingbirds, and more! The Hood Brook Apiary website can be found at www.hoodbrookapiary.com.
Other Pollinators
You May Find in
New England
Include
But Are Not Limited To
The Following:
WHY ARE POLLINATORS SO IMPORTANT?
Meet the Dreamer,
the founder, owner, and operator of
HoneybeeSponsors.net and
Hood Brook Apiary
(HoodBrookApiary.com)
Bob Donovan
Company
About
Team
Contact us
Locations
Programs:
Pilke leaking
Drain cleaning
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