As I write this we are on spring break in southern Indiana. We are on our cave exploration tour. It is truly amazing to see how just 4 hours south, how different the weather is. The red buds are out and there are tons of dandelions. When we walk in the woods, I half expect to find a swarm. The bees are really flying down here. Our first cave was a blast but a little hard on dear old Dad as I don’t move as well as I used to. Here is what we looked like when we came out.
We had great attendance at the beginning and advanced bee schools. The reviews were very encouraging. I encouraged all of the students to attend our Field Day in May. This will be on May 20th at Buskirk Engineering. We will be outside and you will need to bring a chair as well as your bee protective clothing. The event is free except for lunch (if you choose). Please let us know if you will be eating lunch as it is helpful to Terry to get the correct number for the amount of food. Coffee and doughnuts will be provided in the morning. This is the best way to see hands on how experienced beekeepers inspect a hive. We also have some great talks and workshops.
Remember if you are interested in getting on the swarm list, Contact Rick Stephens at 260-610-1040. With the cost of bees, this is the cheapest option. He will, however, only call once and will try to connect you with swarms that are in your area. Hopefully spring is around the corner, but April can be tricky.
This meeting we will be discussing queen rearing and nucleus management including a resource hive. I am really interested in this topic. It would be great to have resources to help a failing hive. The Resource Hive is a great way to provide extra support for your bees. You can use this to over-winter nucs, create splits, boost weaker colonies, or raise queens. Please bring questions for our speakers.
As usual, there will be a trunk sale 30 minutes prior to the meeting in the parking lot. I can’t wait to see the spring flowers. See you at the meeting.
Chris