She eased into the downshift, starting a hobby as a beekeeper with two hives.

FORBES: Life

Michael Noer wore an Outdoor Research hat and, at intervals, a bug net that made him look like a beekeeper.

FORBES: Goes Camping on the Roof

Peter Hutton, a beekeeper in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, described 2012 as "the most difficult year I have known in my 53 years of beekeeping".

BBC: Honey harvest 'devastated' by wet summer

When a bee stings a person, the venom-containing stinger is left behind and the bee usually dies, explained Alex Fras, a beekeeper in British Columbia who makes the Bee U Organics line of cosmetic products.

WSJ: Bee Venom Cosmetics | Outer Beauty

Instead, they suggest find-ing a more experienced beekeeper who lives nearby or joining a local beekeeping organization.

NEWYORKER: Stung

Concrete, says John Miller, a North Dakota commercial beekeeper, is the last crop.

CNN: What's killing the bees

When he does have to replace them, he wears his beekeeper's veil, gloves, a long-sleeved shirt and long pants to prevent stings.

WSJ: Hector Alvarez: How a Beekeeper Builds Buzz | Creating

In a different urban environment just one train stop from the hubbub of Glasgow's central station, another beekeeper is checking on his hives.

BBC: Making a bee-line for city roofs