Kelli S. Hewett
Joss Carr, left, and his mother Dayna Rupp
Joss Carr, left, and his mother Dayna Rupp hold their packaged honey.
Joss Carr, 15, balances two projects that call for patience: restoring his 1976 Toyota Celica GT and tending five honeybee colonies in his family’s Vestavia Hills yard.
On a quiet hilltop road, Joss and his mother, Danya Rupp, spend free time inspecting hives, treating for pests and watching for signs of swarming. What began as Joss’ childhood curiosity has grown into a shared family commitment.
“Beekeeping is what brings us together,” Joss said. “We’re all doing one thing to achieve a common goal.”
And as the temperatures warm, hive activity is increasing.
Rupp said her son has long been drawn to insects, a fascination that has grown into expertise.
Kelli S. Hewett
Joss Carr in his element
Joss Carr working with one of his bee hives.
“He can just look at the bees and be like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re chill,’ or ‘They’re doing a waggle dance,’” Rupp said. “I have no clue about any of that.”
The work requires more than harvesting honey each year.
“People think you can just put them out and come once a year to get the honey. That’s just not the case,” Joss said. “About every week we go out there, treat them for pests, check if they need more room, watch for swarming. Just general maintenance, really.”
When a colony swarms, calm Saturdays can turn urgent.
“There are 30,000 bees hanging out of a bush or a tree that we have to go get when they decide they want to swarm,” he said. “You’re on a time frame before you lose them.”
Joss, a student at the Vestavia Hills High School Freshman Campus, fits hive work around Boy Scouts and pole vaulting. He said the responsibility of caring for the bees has changed him.
“I’ve definitely gained more confidence in most of my decisions,” he said. “And patience — especially since I lost two hives in two years.”
That patience now shows up under the hood of his car.
“I used to get really mad when things didn’t go how I planned with the car,” he said. “Now I can cope with some of that a little easier.”
Joss isn’t the only Vestavia Hills resident drawn to the rhythm of the hive. Beekeeping attracts people of all ages and professions.
Kelli S. Hewett
Rachel Oser and her husband David Priebe
Dr. Rachel Oser, an interventional radiologist at UAB and at Children’s of Alabama, tends four hives in her yard.
In Cahaba Heights, Dr. Rachel Oser, an interventional radiologist at UAB and at Children’s of Alabama, tends four hives in her yard. What began as a project suggested by her daughter, Gabi, during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a family pastime — and a way to step away from high-pressure hospital work. Her husband, Dave, now shares the bee bug, too.
“When you’re doing it, you have to pay attention because it’s like its own thing,” Oser said. “You’re just only thinking about that. And I think that’s a good way to take your mind off the stresses of work.”
Oser loves standing by the boxes, watching for returning foragers who produce the family’s Abingdom Farms Backyard Honey.
“When you open the hive, it’s like this secret world that nobody gets to see,” Oser said. “You can actually see them going in and out of the little honeycombs. You can see them tending the baby bees. It really broadens your view of the natural world and how you see things and appreciate things.”
