A lot of honey comes with a story attached. Most of those stories are marketing. Ours is just true.
Thy Will Bee Done Apiaries is a veteran-owned family operation in High Springs, Florida, run by Daniel, Denna, and their son Spencer. Daniel serves in the United States military and has been keeping bees for 13 years alongside his service. Spencer represents the fourth generation of beekeepers in his family line, a tradition passed down not through formal instruction, but through years of working alongside people who already understood the craft. The name of the apiaries comes from a place of genuine faith, and that perspective shapes how we approach everything we do: carefully, without shortcuts, and with considerable respect for the bees that make it all possible.
Here is what that looks like in practice.
Where We Are
High Springs sits in Alachua County, in North Central Florida between Gainesville and the Suwannee River. It is not the Florida most people picture. There are no beaches, no theme parks, no tourist traffic. What it does have is an extraordinary natural landscape. The area sits above the Floridan Aquifer System, one of the most productive underground freshwater systems in the world, and the land reflects that richness in every direction. Springs, rivers, pine flatwoods, hardwood hammocks, and open natural fields give the local ecosystem a biological diversity that is genuinely rare.
That diversity is the foundational reason High Springs is such a remarkable place to keep bees.
We also maintain hives in Sarasota County, which gives us access to a distinctly different part of Florida's ecology, coastal, subtropical, and botanically rich in its own right. Between the two locations, our bees draw from a broad range of Florida's native and cultivated plant communities throughout the year, which contributes to the complexity and variability of our honey.
The Florida Beekeeping Calendar
Managing bees in North Central Florida looks fundamentally different from beekeeping in colder climates. The growing season here extends nearly year-round, which means our colonies never enter the prolonged dormancy that beekeepers in northern states have to plan around. There is no deep winter cluster, no extended period where foraging completely stops. Instead, the hives cycle through periods of heavy production, slower foraging, and occasional stress depending on what is blooming, what the weather is doing, and what the season demands.
Spring is typically the most productive stretch. Gallberry blooms in late spring and is one of the finest nectar sources available in the region. The bees pursue it aggressively, and the resulting honey is mild, full-bodied, and highly regarded by anyone who knows Florida honey well. Orange blossoms contribute their distinctive floral character when bees have access to citrus, and wildflowers and clover fill in across any available open land. Spring honey tends to be lighter in color and more delicate in flavor than what comes later.
Summer brings heat and afternoon thunderstorms that can interrupt foraging, but also keep the vegetation green and productive. Palmetto blooms in late summer and generates a substantial nectar flow that colonies depend on as they build stores heading into fall. Palmetto honey is noticeably darker and more assertive than spring varieties, and the difference between a spring jar and a late summer jar from the same hives can be striking.
Fall brings a gradual shift in available forage. Goldenrod, late-season wildflowers, and various native plants sustain activity as temperatures begin to moderate, and fall honey tends to be richer and more complex than either of the preceding seasons. We harvest at multiple points throughout the year, so the character of what you receive reflects the specific season during which it was produced.
Winter is the quietest season, but never entirely dormant in Florida. Mild temperatures keep bees active on warm days, and something is almost always in bloom within foraging range. The colonies pull back somewhat, their populations contract, and they focus on maintaining health rather than production, a period of consolidation before the cycle begins again.
What Hurricanes Do to Beekeeping
If you follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or have ordered from us during late summer or fall, you have likely seen us discuss hurricane season. We want to be direct about it: hurricanes are a real operational factor, and they affect our hive count and production in ways we cannot always predict or control.
A severe storm can overturn hives, destroy the foraging territory the bees depend on, flood the surrounding land, or stress colonies beyond recovery. After significant storms, we have lost hives and rebuilt from the ground up. Our hive count at any given time falls somewhere between 25 and 50, and that range reflects both normal seasonal variation and the reality that a bad hurricane year looks very different from a calm one.
We do not rush the recovery process by purchasing bulk packages of bees from other states to replace losses faster than the local ecosystem can support. We rebuild at the pace that makes sense for the bees and for our land, and we communicate directly when a storm has affected our inventory or harvest schedule.
How We Handle the Honey
We do not apply high heat during extraction. We do not use ultrafiltration. After the honey comes off the extractor, we strain it lightly to remove fragments of wax comb, then let it settle before bottling. What ends up in the jar stays close to what came directly from the hive, pollen intact, enzymes active, color and flavor reflecting the season and the forage.
This means our honey may look different from what you are used to. It might appear cloudy. It might carry a thin layer of foam at the surface. It might be thick or starting to crystallize by the time it arrives. All of these are normal and expected in genuinely raw honey, and none of them indicate a problem.
If you have questions about a specific jar, we are always glad to talk through it. That accessibility is one of the genuine advantages of buying from a small family operation, you can actually reach the people who made what is in the jar.
Fourth Generation
When Spencer says he is a fourth-generation beekeeper, that is not a marketing claim. Beekeeping was passed down through his family the way most traditional skills are transmitted, through sustained, practical experience, working alongside people who already knew what they were doing. That accumulated knowledge shapes how we approach the work: with patience, with the bees' needs as the first consideration, and without imposing production demands on colonies that need time to develop properly.
Daniel began keeping bees 13 years ago and has built the operation from a small initial number of hives to the multi-location setup we run today, all while continuing his service in the United States military. Denna manages the substantial work behind the scenes that keeps the business functioning day to day. Spencer grew up working the hives and is now a central part of every aspect of the operation. It is a family enterprise in the most complete sense.
Where to Find Us
You can order online at thywillbeedone.com, through our Etsy shop, or wholesale through Faire. If you live within 25 miles of High Springs, we also offer free local delivery, so you can receive honey, candles, soaps, and gift boxes without any shipping cost. We sell at farmers markets around Alachua County as well, the schedule varies, so following us on Facebook and Instagram is the most reliable way to know where we will be. When we are at market, you can taste the honey before you buy, ask us anything about how it was produced, and browse the full range of what we make.
We genuinely appreciate every person who chooses to buy from a small family apiaries instead of a grocery store shelf. That choice makes a real difference to this operation, and we believe you can taste that difference in every jar.