Buzzing with excitement

By Diana Nicol

Retirement is a chapter of life that most people look forward to. What retirees decide to do with their newfound free time varies from person to person, but for Ken Maddox, a Gulf Coast Village resident, retirement was an opportunity to dive headfirst into hobbies that have become passions.

Maddox recently introduced more than 10,000 honeybees, one queen bee, and a white bee box to our community garden at Gulf Coast Village. A longtime beekeeper hobbyist, Maddox knew honeybees would be an excellent addition to our property, both to pollinate the plants and flowers our residents grow and to eventually produce raw, local honey. He estimates that in the next few months, the 10,000 honeybees will increase their numbers to 30 or 40,000.

Beekeeping has been a hobby of Maddox’s for years. He and his wife Brenda moved to Cape Coral more than eight years ago. He is active in the Beekeepers Association of Southwest Florida, as well as Woodturners of Southwest Florida, a club that teaches a woodworking technique where a piece of wood is rotated on a lathe, while handheld tools are used to carve and shape the wood into a desired form.

It was woodworking that first introduced Maddox to Gulf Coast Village. Gulf Coast Village called on the Woodturners to examine a donated tool and Maddox, who lived nearby in Cape Coral, answered the call. After seeing the woodworking shop at Gulf Coast Village, it was only a matter of months before he and his wife Brenda moved into the community. Ken says he never realized that communities like ours, where he could have the freedom to continue to do the things he loves, existed.

Ensuring residents can pursue the hobbies and activities they enjoy is an important aspect of the lifestyle we strive to provide. It gives a sense of purpose when we can create, socialize and continue to make an impact in life.

It’s what Maddox plans to do with his bee box. The idea initially received mixed reviews, but after he shared photo evidence that honeybees were already buzzing around the garden, pollinating our flowerbeds and vegetable plants, the bee box became a welcome addition. He hopes to educate neighbors and the community about the importance of honeybees and their incredibly organized and intricate lifestyles.

Maddox services the hive every two weeks to check for parasites and to ensure the hive remains healthy. To check on the bees, he suits up in a protective jacket and gloves before gently blowing smoke around the bee box. The smoke simulates a forest fire and in response, bees engorge themselves with honey, making them lethargic and less triggered by intruders. While the bees are calm, Maddox can open the bee box and check on his bees.

A healthy hive can produce gallons of honey, which Maddox plans to share. He says he eats local, raw honey every morning with breakfast, and he hopes his resident neighbors will soon enjoy the luxury and health benefits of local honey, too. When he extracts the honey from the comb, he’ll divide it into small bottles to be sold for donations at the Gulf Coast Village resident-run Thrift Store.

As residents transition into new chapters of life, embracing healthy aging becomes easier when engaging amenities and activities offer joy and a sense of purpose. The bee box is the newest addition to an ever-growing list of options we’re honored to make available at Gulf Coast Village.

Diana Nicol is the Life Enrichment Coordinator at Gulf Coast Village, the only life plan community in Cape Coral. To learn more about Gulf Coast Village, call 239-510-8712.