Chaparral Mountain Honey Co.

05/20/2026

California is home to roughly 1,600 native bees (not including the honeybee). These bees are mostly solitary and nest in plant stems or the ground. Leave your gardens messy to provide habitat year round for the natives. Celebrate and protect native bees!

05/19/2026

Today, there was a pollen gathering festival at the Matilija poppy plants near our Altadena property. Video slo-mo lets you see some of the details of the process and interactions with other bees at the crowded, but large bloom.

05/18/2026

Another Bug Fair is in the books. This was the 40th edition of the Bug Fair and it was all about the Orange Blossom.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US!
Originally started at the LA County Arboretum by Art Evans, we have been at every Bug Fair since.

05/17/2026

We are selling out the orange blossom honey we made this year. Thanks to all our honey fans who came to the Bug Fair.

05/02/2026

Bruce is bringing home some yummy orange blossom honey! We will be selling it at the Bug Fair May 16-17. Get your tickets at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

05/01/2026

We will be there with orange blossom honey this year!!

Tickets Now Available! Save your spot: https://nhm.org/bugfair
Over one million species. Only one Bug Fair.

Fly over to NHM on May 16 & 17 for our 40th annual Bug Fair, NHM's two-day fan-favorite festival celebrating our bug-eyed and multi-legged friends! Experience up-close encounters with crawly creatures; gain a deeper appreciation for insects, their ecosystems and their impact on our planet; get hands-on and crafty with interactive activities; and so much more! Also, while you’re there, bee sure to visit a variety of exhibitors who will be displaying and selling everything from exotic insect collections to amazing bug-related products.

Over one million species. Only one Bug Fair.

03/14/2026

We are very excited to tell you that we have bees on the citrus bloom! Bruce bought 40 hives and they are now happily sucking sweet nectar from oranges, lemons, and other citrus flowers up in the Central Valley. We should have some yummy orange honey by the May Bug Fair. So excited!!!

12/20/2025

As we close out 2025 and look ahead to the first anniversary of the Eaton Fire, we have some good news to report. Bruce has purchased a new (used) truck to replace the one that was stolen. It's a 2019 F-350 that he found in Scottsdale.

This week he took delivery of a lot of bee boxes and frames (aka honey supers). He's anticipating making some honey, hopefully orange, in the spring. Still to be determined is where he'll extract the honey and with what equipment!

Lastly, we signed a lease agreement for a rental house in Altadena for the next year. We are very grateful to our friends who have given us a home during the last year but it is time to move on.

We are so grateful for your help as we've struggled and met the challenges of losing our home, our beekeeping business, and our community in Altadena. May 2026 bring better things to us all!

12/06/2025

Best laid plans...after months of working towards living on our land in an RV, we had a big setback when we discovered that our RV had been colonized by packrats. The damage to the wiring was so extensive that our insurance company totaled the rig. Who knew? Not us. So we are back to square one; now we are looking for a rental house, hopefully in Altadena.

On the beekeeping side, anticipating making some honey in the spring, Bruce purchased a tablesaw and is cutting the wood to make parts for bee boxes. He will also purchase some new woodware, but he likes making some things himself. He's also close to purchasing an old Ford F-250. Yes, he wants a truck just like the one he lost - nothing new for him!

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic Eaton Fire, we keep in our hearts everyone who has been affected. Be gentle with yourself and give grace to those whose tempers might be short. Tears are never far below the surface. We will never forget.

We are Bruce and Nancy Steele, owners of Chaparral Mountain H… Nancy Steele needs your support for Help Bruce & Nancy Rebuild Their Beekeeping Business & Home

12/06/2025

Best laid plans...after months of working towards living on our land in an RV, we had a big setback when we discovered that our RV had been colonized by packrats. The damage to the wiring was so extensive that our insurance company totaled the rig. Who knew? Not us. So we are back to square one; now we are looking for a rental house, hopefully in Altadena.

On the beekeeping side, anticipating making some honey in the spring, Bruce purchased a tablesaw and is cutting the wood to make parts for bee boxes. He will also purchase some new woodware, but he likes making some things himself. He's also close to purchasing an old Ford F-250. Yes, he wants a truck just like the one he lost - nothing new for him!

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic Eaton Fire, we keep in our hearts everyone who has been affected. Be gentle with yourself and give grace to those whose tempers might be short. Tears are never far below the surface. We will never forget.

We are Bruce and Nancy Steele, owners of Chaparral Mountain H… Nancy Steele needs your support for Help Bruce & Nancy Rebuild Their Beekeeping Business & Home