There is an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer (http://www.philly.com/philly/restaurants/52006722.html) about the increase in hobby beeks in the area. Having just completed my first year I guess it includes me.
I'm curious to know peoples feelings in other parts of the country. Is this common everywhere or a localized phenomenon?
I think there are more hobbyist now. I too am through 1 year and have seen several in our bee club that are newer to bee keeping than I. Seems to be the same on this forum. A lot of new people getting into bees.
Mark
My second year too. I'm in northwest PA. I had only one hive last year. It died off over the winter, but now I have three. The small local apiary that I got my bees from told me they have several newcomers asking for nucs last year and this year. I wish I would have discovered this and started years ago.