Winter keeps beekeepers bee-sy

Jill Lambie puffing cool smoke on top of a hive frame to help calm the bees at a property in Berkeley, California. — ©2023 The New York Times Company

YOU’VE probably heard of backyard chickens in California cities. But backyard beekeeping?

Hundreds of Bay Area residents have installed hives in recent years, and the hobby really took off when pandemic lockdowns forced people to stay home.