I am new to this forum, just found it today.
I am not overly new to bee keeping. In July I will celebrate 2 years of having honeybees.
I have even gotten to mentor new beekeepers simply by showing them hives and explaining what they see... nectar, capped honey, brood, capped brood etc.
I rarely use smoke or gloves. So far I have only gotten 5 stings, so not too bad.
I look forward to learning a lot more about bees without always having to learn the 'hard way'.