When Garland ophthalmologist John Haley, MD, is not wearing a white coat taking care of patients, you might find him in a beekeeper’s suit tending to his six beehives. It’s part of the green lifestyle he and his wife adopted after becoming empty-nesters.
“We collect rainwater. We have beehives and urban chickens. We have compost piles and do everything as sustainably as possible,” he said. They also drive electric cars and installed solar panels at home and at Dr. Haley’s office. “It’s just the right thing to do for the planet.”
But the bees are where all the buzz is. And not unsurprisingly, there is plenty of science behind the craft.
“We have to go in the hive periodically to make sure they’re doing OK. If they’re getting too much honey, we’ll put another frame on top of the other ones. If they run out of frame, and there’s no place to put the honey, they’ll fly out of the coop. And if they’re not making babies, we’ll know something’s wrong with the queen,” Dr. Haley said. “It’s fascinating. The culture is just like a little opera: love, sex, murder, all sorts of things going on in that hive.”
Tex Med. 2019;115(6):48
June 2019 Texas Medicine Contents
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Last Updated On
August 02, 2019
Originally Published On
May 20, 2019
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