When he has time, Harold will take interested people out to one of his two apiaries. After outfitting them in white coveralls, netted hats and gloves he cautions you to approach the hive from the side.

Being loud isn't what gets the bees riled up, it's any vibrations, dark colors, perfumes and other strong scents.

To "...mess with their minds" Harold lights a piece of gunny sack inside a special smoker and smokes me down to mask any strange smells..

The smoker is also used to clear an area of bees so that the honey can be extracted. Each bee hive or colony is made up of stacked wooden boxes called supers. Inside each super are ten removable frames - this is where the bees build their combs. In the lower quarters of the hive, or in the bottom super, the queen lays eggs which will become the next wave of workers.

Workers only live for about a month - the queen for 2 to 3 years, so there is a constant demand for extra worker bees. The upper supers are where the honey is stored - the more supers, the more honey.

Harold puts his limit at six supers per colony, which could end up weighing a collective 350 pounds. When a hive is moved, it must be moved in one piece, as one of our brave young Katamivik kids just discovered when asked if he could help. (Although fascinated, he got a sting for his trouble. Hearing this sealed the deal for me and all pictures taken around the bees were with a mega zoom lens.)