About Kirk

I  was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1948 five minutes after my twin, Kent. I first got interested in 
bugs when I was about 9 years old. My first recollection of honey and beekeeping was when I saw the 
movie "The Ten Commandments."  John was eating Locusts and Honey. Years later while having coffee 
with my friend, Stu Gelb who mentioned how expensive honey was getting. I responded with going to 
Montgomery Ward and ordering my first bees. The bees came in the mail and I started. I got up to a 
hundred hives in Utah. My life became very complicated and I couldn't continue beekeeping so I had 
to sell my bees.

I moved to Los Angeles and in 1999 I met Glenn Dake and discovered the Community Garden Network 
in Los Angeles.I started Beekeeping again and discovered that beekeeping had changed. I discovered 
beekeeping was complex. I discovered beekeeping wasn't fun any more.I decided to try and find a solution. 
So, I purchased bees and they died out. I purchased queens but they were poor -- no good.

Then I found Dee and Ed Lusby's web site and discovered their successful techniques.  I found a solution. 
I wrote down everything most beekeepers were doing. Beekeeping is geared to pollination. Now that is 
where the honey is. So I don't move my bees. I don't feed them corn syrup. I don't feed them artificial 
pollen (soy flour). I don't put chemicals or medicines of any kind in the hive. I use small cell and natural 
cell comb for the bees. This makes bees smaller like in the wild. I don't purchase bees any more. I capture 
wild swarms which are plentiful here in Los Angeles. I started having success and then I started having 
fun. I started meeting people who wanted to understand bees and nature. I started meeting people who 
wanted to help with my goal. 

You can check the links part of the site for more information on the techniques I use. 

The little girl on the opening page is my granddaughter, Paloma. I live with my wife, daughter and 
granddaughter in Silverlake, California.