Voices, England and the Chickens
I hope everyone had a good Summer and that your Fall is as beautiful as ours here in Northeast Ohio. We’ve had some major warm days in September and even into October. We set records for most number of days 90 and above. That’s very unusal for us. So who knows what Winter will bring, but it’s time to start getting ready.
Our ‘Voices of Bee Culture’ in September, was a success. We all had a great time. We ended up with about 75 people, including speakers and the Bee Culture team. Two days of talks and interaction with our writers. The weather was beautiful and the food and fellowship was good. And we had a great line up for all day Saturday and Sunday.
Voices speakers standing on the steps of the A.I. Root homestead.
Ann Harman did a cooking demonstration making some great tasting hot dogs with a honey bbq sauce. And she gave a talk the next day about being a better beekeeper. Ann, Clarence Collison and Larry Connor are always popular speakers at any meeting they go to. These three have been with Bee Culture a long time.
The videos that came from Jennifer Berry, Jim Tew and Ross Conrad went off almost without a hitch. Not as good as actually having them there in person – but a good alternative.
Ed Colby came the farthest, all the way from Colorado. He writes our Bottom Board column every month. Ed has really gained a following with his humorous articles.
Kim Lehman entertained us with a short version of her enthusiastic program she does for kids. By the way Kim has a very nice singing voice.
Jay Evans is the newest writer to our regular team, so it was great to have him here. Phil Craft was able to be with us after having some health issues that have kept him down.
Jessica Louque spoke about the research her and husband, Bobby are doing and laid out a business plan that they are implementing right now in their lives.
What a great mix of people we had and the attendees came from all over. It was a unique experience – you’ll probably never get all of these people together again in one room. And we all got to spend time with them, asking them questions and just getting to know each other better.
Bee Culture is really fortunate to have this group of talented writers contributing each month.
Anthony, getting ready to be a beekeeper, as soon as he gets a little taller.
I also want to thank Amanda and Jean, the other half of the Bee Culture team. Kim and I couldn’t do what we do without these two ladies. And little Anthony just makes us all smile. We love that boy!
Kim and I are off to London in a week or so for the National Honey Show. Kim will be speaking and best of all we’ll get to visit with good friends we’ve made on our trips over there. I’ll try and keep you updated on Facebook while we’re there.
We have been so fortunate over the last 30 years to be invited to places we never dreamed of going and meeting so many different people and making wonderful friends. Working on Bee Culture mostly doesn’t feel like work most days for Kim and I. It is our pleasure and that of our team to provide you with the amazing writers that we have. Our main goal will always be to help you be better beekeepers.
The chickens are doing well. The new ones are finally laying on a somewhat regular basis. We’ll soon be doing our Fall cleaning of the coop and getting out the warming lights and the gadget that keeps the water from freezing and getting them ready for Winter. We baby them a bit, not like some – they don’t get to live in the basement during the Winter. But we try and make sure they are comfortable and warm enough. This would explain why we still have four of our original group that are almost six years old.
We are having such a good time with these girls. I hope to get ducks again in the Spring. I think I have found a source for the Call Ducks. Hopefully we’ll do a better job this time.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. We wish you and your families a safe and happy holiday season.
