Hot Air Balloons

As many of you know, I am interested in hot air balloons. I often have balloons landing and taking off in my yard, and I have had an association with Asheville Hot Air Balloons almost from the beginning. The company was originally Mount Pisgah Balloons and the owners, David and Erma Woods, were good friends. David trained up an apprentice, Danny Smith, and sold him the company when he got too sick to continue. Danny partnered with a high school classmate of mine, Rick Bowers, and the two have continued the very successful business with a great partnership. The name has changed, but the values of the company to provide an excellent and safe experience have continued. I have been on a number of free flights, and have assisted with chasing duties when they have needed it. I promised Rick to assist this month, as the leaf season is here and they have been having capacity flights. I did assist yesterday and today with some great flights. This morning's flight was a record of sorts for me. We put up 7 balloons and the meeting place, Mountain Java, was full to capacity when Rick and I arrived with the two 15 passenger vans. They all were wide eyed with excitement and did not seem to mind that we were gathering before the sun was even up. By the time we got to the launch area, most of the balloons were up ready for take off, or pretty far along in the process. I had easy duty today, as I only had to drive passengers, chase, and help land the balloon then pack it up with a final shuttle to the coffee shop. What a beautiful day to fly! I enjoyed it and due to my duties, had the unusual opportunity to actually take a couple of photos during the morning. I thought I would share a few here. If you are interested in a unique experience, you need to check out www.ashevillehotairballoons.com

The Right Stuff

I was just looking at some photos of space and the space program. Some of the photos included the Apollo program and moon landing. I realized that next July it will be 40 years since we first visited that world and it brought back some memories I would like to share.

I was an excited child of only 10 years old enjoying my summer vacation from school on July 20, 1969. I was excited because I had a fascination with space travel and the possibility of visiting other worlds. I had enjoyed the biographical section of the school library reading about early explorers in this world. I imagined what it must have been like to "boldly go where no man has gone before" as I watched Star Trek or Lost In Space. I even enjoyed reading or television about ocean diving. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea fascinated me for this reason. I also enjoyed fictional books about space travel as I imagined doing so myself. Now, in a few minutes, I was going to actually get to See someone step onto the surface of a new world.

I had anticipated this for days as the crew of Apollo 11 were launched toward their destination from Cape Kennedy in Florida. Speculation that they would land on the surface of this unexplored world and sink deep into the dry dust of it caused me concern for the astronauts. How did they know they would not bounce off of the moon and fly out into space, or some unknown force or being would not destroy them? It was real life exploration of an unknown world that I had only read about before and now I was going to get to see images and hear the voices as Neil Armstrong made history for mankind.

I loved the name Neil Armstrong, it was so masculine sounding and appropriate for my young child's imagination of what an explorer should be. The other names were not as important to me, because they were not the first or the commander. I wondered at how disappointing it must have been for "Buzz" Aldrin to have to watch as someone else was allowed to step onto the moon first. I then thought about the poor sap, Michael Collins, who was circling the block in the Apollo 11 Capsule, waiting on the Eagle to return to the mother ship from the moon with his crew mates. How did he get stuck with such and unrecognized but important position. So close, yet so far. I imagined him being the guy that thinks things like "always the bridesmaid, but never the bride".

I was awakened early by my father and though I could not wait to experience this history, it was summer vacation from school and I was already used to sleeping in every morning. (I later learned this event had actually taken place after I had gone to bed the night before at 11:56pm and this was just a replay, but it was a new event in my mind) I remembered eating breakfast while listening to the T.V., something that just was not done in our household. We always turned the television off when the family gathered around the table for our meals. This day was different, because today the world's history would change forever. I could scarcely wait any longer, as I had very little patience. I wanted to cut to the chase and fast. I always saw situations resolved quickly in thirty minute television shows and this seemed to drag on and on. I finished eating and still, those astronauts were in their capsule, the Eagle, sitting on the surface of the moon. It seemed so long since the words, "The Eagle has landed" were broadcast to the universe. I remembered how quickly I jumped out of the car when we traveled across North Carolina from Asheville to Wilmington to visit my grandmother. That was only a one day trip, and I wondered if the Astronauts were as eager to get out of the "car".

Would this be the moment, I wondered, as the television announcer, Jules Bergman, described what was to happen soon. In a moment, history was happening too fast it seemed. Neil Armstrong stepped down the ladder from the Eagle. I remember the video being too grainy and hard to see. It did not help that we lived in a "shadow" of the television antenna high on top of 5700 foot mount Pisgah and never had good reception anyway. This was before cable and satellite television and we only got three channels over the air. I recall going outside to adjust the antennae while dad called instructions out the door of the house. "A little more to the right, now left, easy, there, that is perfect!" I would get in to find perfect was a relative term. Neil stepped onto the moon and made that famous statement which I heard live, "One small step for man, one giant leap for macccgghhhhttt". What did he say? It had to be mankind, but it was garbled with static at the end. I was so disappointed that the moment was not perfect. Was it our T.V., or was it the transmission from the moon? It turned out the original transmission was a bit garbled at the end, but we know he did say, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" What perfect words these were. Short concise and so true they were. What else could I expect from a man named Armstrong?

I remember watching for more T.V. footage of the activities on the moon and feeling let down, because I wanted to see more. I wanted this to last and last so I could explore with them. Then, all too soon it seemed, they got back inside the Eagle and blasted back to the Apollo capsule. I was relieved that my heroes were safely able to break free from the moon and the mission was a success so far. I imagined what questions Michael Collins must have had ready to ask Armstrong and Aldrin when they docked back with his craft. I thought of the wast as the Eagle was jettisoned to make the return back to earth.

It seemed no time that the Apollo 11 capsule splashed down in the ocean and the crew was picked up. I remember the quarantine to be sure no diseases or organisms were present to destroy our world and the relief to find there were none. I remember the disbelief of adults that were saying this was all staged and we never landed on the moon. How could they not believe a man named Neil Armstrong? If for no other reason, his name was so American he had to be the real thing. I was just glad to be able to be a part of the generation that got to experience the men with "the right stuff."

Survivor Bee Colonies

I have spent a good part of my summer in 2008 collecting European honeybee colonies from hollow trees in the forest and from man made structures. These colonies usually have one thing in common in that I can document they have been surviving without human management for 2 to 5 years. Now, getting these bees to survive the winter is number one on my priority so I have been feeding them heavily. These bees are going to be an important part of my breeding program for the future. I am committed to non-chemical beekeeping. I strongly believe we need to stop using all chemicals in the hives at all costs, so we can achieve an equilibrium between the mites and bees. Using chemicals only makes the mites stronger and this will never allow us to live with the mites. I am selecting from the survivor bees with natural resistance as well as not using chemicals so the mites will regress to a stable bee and mite relationship. I am breeding for gentleness, propolis production (for assistance against disease), honey production, hardiness in the Southern Appalachians, Honey production, resistance to the mites and disease without chemicals, and hygienic behavior. As you can see from the photos, gentleness is already a trait. I hope to be selling some of this stock, from this years breeding, next summer.

Scarecrow Festival

Today was my third Lake Julian Park Scarecrow festival. I had no honey left to sell, so took the playhouse I constructed for the Buncombe County Beeschool. I built one last year for raffle, and the winner gave it back to us. I was building one just like it for another customer last Christmas. I got sick before the one I was building was finished, so I substituted the one from the bee club in its place. I finished the replacement and am going to sell it outright, instead of raffling it. Lots of children loved playing in it today and I got several good leads on selling it. Hopefully, I will have it sold soon and the bee school will benefit from it. Maybe I will even get a few more orders for my trouble.

Bees and mites

It seems that when the Varroa Mites began damaging our bee population, many of the commercial beekeepers bought into the wisdom of the pesticide industry. This mentality permiated much of the beekeeping world and it was declared that bees could not survive without chemical treatments. Those treatments began selection for a super mite which the bees really could not survive without assistance of some sort.

As real wisdom finally caught on, we realized that not only were we selecting for a super mite by using increasingly more toxic chemicals, we were harming our bees also and now they really are failing even with all the assistance we can give them. I began beekeeping in 2004 and decided to not use chemicals even if I lost my bees. My goal was to find and select for a bee that was tolerant of the mites.

I also began searching the wilds for feral bees that managed to survive without assistance to selectively breed for resistance in my stock. I have now made it until 2008 with no chemicals and I have raised queens from my best stock with great results. I CAN raise bees without chemicals and they are doing better than the bees of my friends who use chemicals.

Many experts believe there are no surviving feral bees and all the bees that were believed to be feral are actually swarms that escaped from managed colonies. A New York forest called the Argone Forest seems to have proven there are feral bees still in existance without management and they are surviving without chemicals.

My first thought was these bees must have naturally adapted to the mites. Studies now show that that may have happened to a degree, but mostly, the mites adapted to the bees. A good parasite does not kill its host, and these mites seem to have regressed to a point that they can live with the bees without killing them.

I find this amazing. Had we allowed this natural process to go on in our colonies instead of using chemicals, we may have actually been able to live with the mites instead of creating a super mite and poisoning our bees. Maybe someday we will learn to think about our interventions before we make matters worse.

I love the Olympics

The Olympics have always been one of my favorite events. As a child I used to listen to the majestic theme song as the prime time telecast came on. I recall seeing the best of the best compete in amateur athletics. It seems there was always a compelling story to tickle my imagination and push me to try harder to be my best in whatever I did myself. These were role models that shaped my being. I even welcomed the addition of professional athletes, because this meant there was no doubt that the competitors really were the best of the best. I only recall two bad tastes in my mouth as I feasted on this epic occasion that only came around every four years in my youth.

The first bad taste came in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City when several American sprinters laughed, joked and disrespected the American flag as they were presented their medals for sprinting victories. I was glad when their medals were stripped from them because my feeling was the best of the best included being the best sportsman also.

The second bad taste came in the 1972 Munich games when the horror of all horrors happened and terrorists captured and killed much of the Israeli team. I had found it very cool that every four years all nations could put aside their differences and become sportsmen that got along while showing their best side in attitude, performance, and etiquette. This traumatic event spoiled the Olympic spirit of those games and the only thing that pulled me through was the resolve to let the games go on even if on a somber note. Mark Spitz winning 7 gold medals while setting 7 world records was an unbelievable event but would be forever overshadowed by the terrorists horrible act. That act shaped my feelings about the lack of humanity in terrorists and the belief that we can only defeat terrorism by not being terrified.

The terrible events of 1972 calloused me to other events that paled in comparison and the steroid scandals went unnoticed by me to a large degree though it did disgust me. I enjoyed most Olympics tremendously after that and came to realize that my single most enjoyable event in the games is also the shortest event. That event only takes a little over nine seconds to complete from start to finish. This event is the 100 meter dash when the title of worlds fastest human is issued.

I found myself enjoying the Beijing Olympics of 2008 tremendously because of the heroics of the dolphin-esque Michael Phelps as he shattered Mark Spitz's 1972 feat by winning 8 gold medals, setting 7 world records and one Olympic record. This was a fantastically marvelous feat and was a nice appetiser to my favorite event the men's 100 meter dash.

The 2008 100 meter dash field featured the reigning world record holder, the reigning world champion and the former world record holder. It appeared to be shaping up to be a race of Olympic dreams to tell your grand children about. I watched with intensity as the race shaped up and was already savoring the replay as the starter gun sounded. The field was quick out of the blocks except for 6'5" Usain Bolt of Jamaica, the world record holder. At about the 60 meter mark, Bolt caught the field as his long powerful stride got into rhythm. I was anticipating his smoking the field at this point and he sure was until the 80 meter mark, when he slowed his stride. It was bizarre to watch Bolt actually slowing down while he was still pulling away from the field. He then turned and looked at his nearest competitor and looked at the camera then pounded his chest as he slowed to almost a jog across the finish line setting a new world record and winning a gold medal.

Usain, you robbed us all of seeing you, the greatest 100 meter sprinter of all time, actually perform your best. I could not believe that the best sprinters in the world, giving their best, could be disrespected so by one of their competitors. Then you further insulted us with your childish antics that disrespected you and your country. I have revisited Mexico City by watching you and feel you too deserve to have your gold medal taken. You did not perform your best and you do not deserve this honor.

Fallen Hero

I work with an amazing team of people at Hendersonville NC Social Security. Many of us are personal friends off the job and we care very much about each other as people in addition to working as a well oiled machine on the job. We know how to get things done and complement each other in our strengths and weakness. In short, it is the best group of people, that I have ever worked with in my government career.

One of the universally loved and respected members of that team recently passed away and it has tremendously impacted all of us who loved and respected him. Roger Parker is also known as 1st Sgt Roger Parker and returned from a tour of duty in Iraq just a little more than a year ago. We missed Roger for over a year as he was taken to active duty and deployed to the front lines. Roger was always on our minds as we prayed each day and remembered fond times with our friend and co-worker. The guys at work took Roger to The Outback Steakhouse for his send off and promised to take him there again on his return.

While Roger was in Iraq, we regularly sent him care packages from home with all kinds of goodies and supplies that he may otherwise be doing without. Each package was thoughtfully prepared and sent with the hope he would be blessed by receiving it. When Roger returned, he told me that that package was always a highlight of his week. I laughed as he told me how he took a jar of my Sourwood Knoll honey to the mess hall in his pocket. He was not supposed to take anything into the mess hall, but he bent that rule to enjoy my fresh raw honey on his bread. It made me feel good to know that I could at least provide that small pleasure for a man that had made such a sacrifice to serve my country.

We had Roger back for less than a year when he passed away too young at only 41. He will be missed as a great co-worker who always carried his load, a friend who always had time to talk to people and a people person who loved to share a laugh. I somehow, in my mind, expected Roger to come back in to work until his funeral. At that moment my mind finally resolved that shock and disbelief about his death with the fact he is gone. I felt guilt because I had not been able to find the time to take him back out to eat though we had discussed it. I guess I learned there are no guarantees in life and we should never put off until tomorrow what we could do today. Roger may never know how much he meant to us all, but he was special in that every person in our office had a universal respect and fondness for him.

1st Sgt Roger Parker, you will be missed by everyone who knew you May you be at peace and may we all see you again in a happier place of joy and celebration. Until then, we will all have Roger shaped hole in our souls. We still have our memories and respect for you to hold onto until then.

Happy Birthday

My maternal grandmother, Lula Belle King Wilson, would have been 118 today! She was a sweet and loving person who had much wisdom tempered with unfailing love. She always took care of protecting her "grand youngins" and, though she died in 1979, I still love her and miss her. Nanny grew up and lived in Brunswick County NC and she was only 13 years younger than her mother, who also lived to a ripe old age. Happy Birthday Nanny!

Cradle of Forestry Pollinator Week

I was privileged to be invited to demonstrate and educate the public about honeybees today as part of the grand finale of Pollinator Week at the Cradle of Forestry in America. It is a chance to go full circle, so to speak, for me as I actually graduated from the Biltmore Forest School of Forest Resources at NC State University. This is the place that famous and prestigious school had its humble beginnings as the Vanderbilts began forestry in America by bringing in Carl A Schenck from Germany to begin modern forestry practices in America. If you have not visited this facility, though it is a bit out of the way in the Pisgah National Forest, you need to do so soon! It is a first class facility and is a crown jewel of the US Forest Service.

I took an observation hive, two regular hives, a bee gazebo and lots of honey as well as bee tools and props. The day was spent answering questions from an engaged public, as well as doing demonstrations on beekeeping inside the gazebo. I also got to sell ALOT of my fresh Locust honey. Some people could not wait to taste the honey and instantly proclaimed it to be excellent and unique. Mackenzie helped me with sales when I was busy with education and my friend Burt Hardwick, who volunteers at the facility and is also a beekeeper, lent a hand. I must say I was pleased with honey sales and I believe each customer will be equally pleased with this unique and tasty delight of Locust honey that we only get to experience about once per decade.

I took this opportunity to explain how and why I keep bees without chemicals. I educated about my efforts to locate wild colonies of bees and use these superior genetics of survivors to boost my queen breeding program. After finding I use no chemicals in my beekeeping, a facility employee gladly paid premium prices for some chemical free wax to use in candles and skin care products. I handed out plenty of cards and shared many smiles. Some new friends were made and some old friends were rediscovered. All in all, it was a very good day indeed. I anxiously await my next installment.

Mackenzie's Birthday

My youngest turned 14 today and we celebrated by going to her favorite restaurant, Asia Grand Buffet, in West Asheville. They grow up so fast! Mackenzie was joined by family and friends and even a birthday cake decorated with a horse and fence. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kenzie! I hope you have many more!

Kyle and Rene's Wedding

I have been to and in a lot of weddings and to be honest most are stiff formal affairs that are not alot of fun. In fact, I have only been to two weddings that were fun! One of those was today, when I attended the wedding of my nephew, Kyle Moody, and Rene Barefoot. Kyle is an engineer with Eaton and Rene is a teacher at Enka Middle. They will be living in a home Kyle built in Fairview. Kyle is also a contractor and is looking to sell this home but they will live there until it does sell. I wish Kyle and Rene many blessings in life and a very happy marriage. They both are great people and I pray will continue to be a great couple.

The wedding was at Taylor Ranch and the reception was catered with a fine barbecue pork and chicken with all the fixings. Kyle is a graduate of NC State and Rene is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill. A chance to dance with either of them was available for a dollar and the one with the most dollars at the end would decide where they would receive season football tickets. Rene won, so it looks like Carolina tickets. I did my best to make sure Kyle got State tickets, by paying a dollar to dance with him. It was a short dance with no contact and brought a few laughs. I could not let a fellow State grad have to endure season tickets at Carolina! It was close, but Kyle lost out. I just wish my own wedding had been such fun. Way to go Kyle and Rene!

Bee Vacuum

There used to be a Bee Vac brand vacuum cleaner when I was a boy, I know because we had one. It was about 3 feet long and about 8 inches in diameter. The suction hose went in one end and it had handles to pick it up and move it. It was very 50's and we used it until the late 60's when we got a Kirby upright to vacuum the wall to wall carpet.

I made a bee vacuum today, and it is not for vacuuming around the house, though it would do that, it is for vacuuming honeybees! I remove bees from structures and trees and a little assistance from a bee vacuum is handy. I have never had one before because they killed too many bees. Most home made bee vacuums are little more than shop vacuums with a cage inside.

I have always said I thought the bee mortality rate would go down if they did not have to bounce down a corrugated tube. I also knew a larger space inside would minimize any impact. I had a job removing bees which were inside the living quarters of a house, and kill bees or not, I needed a bee vacuum. My friend Darrell had one so I borrowed it. He had been telling me how good it worked, and he did not lie. I do not think I killed a bee with it. I basically works like the old bee vacuum my mother had except it is made for honey bees. The bees go down a slick tube and in the end of the canister. The 8 inch canister is 2 feet long and padded at the bottom with foam in case one hits the bottom.

I liked it so well, I decided I had to have one myself. Mine is basically a copy of Darrells ingenious design with a few modifications a carpenter such as myself would make. I bought a 12 inch diameter and an 8 inch diameter "quick tube" concrete form, some screen wire, and some duct tape. I already had an old upright vacuum cleaner the the motor still worked on but my kids had abused until the upright part did not work. From my playhouses, I had various scraps to put all of this together with.

I used a hole saw to put vent holes in the the inner canister and for the vacuum motor suction hole. I also put a hole in the lid for the hose with the hole saw. I used a part from the old upright to put into the lid and attach my hose to make the hose swivel in the lid. I wrapped the inner tube with screen wire and wrapped duct tape around it to hold it in place. Several laps around the tube with the tape makes it stay because tape on tape does not let go. A few screws and some glue did the trick. I am amazed at how well it works. I need to install a vent hole to make the suction a bit less, and I will put it in the outer 12 inch canister, so I do not have to screen it up. Darrells model has the hole in the lid for the inner tube, but that has to be screened over. I am too lazy and figured a vent hole is a vent hole and I will put mine where it requires the least amount of work. Thanks Darrell for your great idea

Now, I am thinking of breaking it in on a colony of bees I know about that are in someones well house. It is tempting, because I really wanted 20 hives before the summer was over and this would make 20!

Enka Triathlon

My nephew, Kyle Moody, and his fiance' Rene Barefoot ran in the Enka Triathlon at Biltmore Lake today. Kyle and Rene are getting married on the 21st. This is the second time they have done that triathlon, and in fact met in the last one two years ago. Kyle is the number one ranked triathlete in his class and won the Clydesdale class in the event this year as well as finishing 28th overall. Rene is the 10th ranked female triathlete and finished second over all in the women's division, losing only to the number one ranked triathlete. My prayers are that they are as successful in marriage as they are in triathlons.

Personal Bee School

I teach beekeeping to large classes or to individuals. I have a current student, named Alex, who just started her personal beekeeping school this morning. She is a really enthusiastic student and a very quick study. I went into some basics of beekeeping when she first arrived and soon moved to the hands on in hive experience. Alex picked up on some of the points I had made and made reasoned statements about the condition of a hive that were correct and used knowledge she had obtained to evaluate the evidence she saw. I was impressed.

She was ready to get her fingers into the hive without waiting and we did just that. I let her light a smoker and I lit mine. We both had a hive tool and just went into the hive to evaluate what we saw. In the first hive, we had a newly emerged queen and another which I just closed up and left alone for now. In the second hive Alex was impressed to see where the bees, which had been taken from a wall in a house, had attached the comb to the frames and were removing the rubber bands. The next hive found lots of drone larvae and a supersedure queen cell that had hatched. Other supersedure cells had been torn into from the side and I told Alex we were looking for a new unmarked queen. She almost immediately said, "There is the queen"! I was taken back, because I had not seen her yet. Alex pointed her out and I picked her up and marked her with a yellow dot. The next hive had a queen that was laying eggs and I had marked before with a red dot. The queen had lots of places to hide because the bottom of the comb had a space between it and the bottom bars of the frame. I was looking for her on a frame that seemed the likely candidate but not seeing her when Alex said, "there she is in the crack between the comb and the bottom bar. See how big her abdomen is? Sure enough there she was!

I am proud to teach students like Alex and I believe Alex will make a GREAT beekeeper. I am also pleased to hear she is going to keep bees without chemicals like I do. Best of all, I arranged for Alex to meet my friend Darrell, who is removing a colony of bees from a structure tomorrow morning. Darrell is giving Alex the colony of bees in exchange for her assistance! I loaned her a bee suit and some hive equipment to put the bees into. This time tomorrow, the hum of happy bees will be heard at Alex's house, just one day after her first beekeeping lesson. Talk about hands on!

I Meet The Most Interesting People While Beekeeping

I spent the day today working with Mike Singleton in the Queen rearing yard. We had a busy day and really only had contact with each other except for one customer from Morganton NC. Of course, Mike knows everyone in Canton and while at lunch at the Black Bear Cafe, Mike had a steady stream of friends come by the table. If you ever are in Canton, and need lunch, go to the Black Bear Cafe and get the grilled chicken salad. It is delicious and very reasonably priced, not to mention all you want to eat.

Sometime after lunch, we got some queen cells to install in queenless hives. The last batch were to go into hives at his yard in Crusoe NC. Mike has a mating yard there that borders a mobile home park owned by his mother. We circled down the drive into the mobile home park to turn into the mating yard, and when we rounded the curve we were sort of stunned by what we saw. It was completely unexpected and at least slightly over the top, even for a "country redneck trailer park". There was a Ford Taurus with the hood up and someone was bent over the fender with their hands in the engine compartment and working on the vehicle! Oh, that does not sound unusual? Well that someone was about a 45 year old lady! Well even that was not all that unusual I guess, except she was wearing a very small orange bikini!

I looked over at Mike, and said, "you know, you don't see that everyday"! Mike slowly but deliberately responded, "No, you don't". We pulled into the mating yard, (FOR BEES!) and parked in the edge near where the mechanic work was being done. I must admit, it was hard not to look, because it was one of those things that well, YOU KNOW YOU ARE GONNA LOOK! This sight would have made ANYONE look male or female! LOL! Well, as we were feeling ashamed for glancing at this spectacle, Mike made small talk, by asking if she wanted to help work some bees. She raised up, and smiled with a cigarette bouncing around in her lips while her eyes squinted at the sting of the hot smoke that was rising up into them. She then pulled a greasy hand up and grasped the cigarette with some very greasy but manicured nails. This is precisely when I noticed the view we got while rounding the curve in the trailer park drive was not all that was over the top. To make it descrete, Mike and I missed nothing due to not eating lunch at Hooters! Free of the smoking stick of slow death, she resonded that she did not quite think she was dressed for beekeeping today. No kidding, I thought, and not really quite dressed for working under the hood of her car in the driveway of her trailer park. By this time I so DESPERATELY wanted to take my cell phone out and grab a photo of this spectacle for proof we actually witnessed it! I resisted the urge but I considered it while she proceeded to respond to my observation she was a brave woman for attempting repair on her car. She responded that she had paid attention as a girl while she watched her dad work on their vehicle at home. Then she learned more from her EX-HUSBAND about car repair. I wondered if they somehow inspired the uniform of the day by the way they dressed to work on the car. I sure hoped not anyway.

At this point, I realized she had just given me far more information about her personal life than I really cared to know and so Mike and I smiled and went about placing queen cells into the queenless hives he had pre-marked. We were installing queen cells, but we were still laughing about what we had witnessed. Mike had to go back to the truck to get something and then received a phone call. At this point, I thought what the heck, so I started walking back towards the truck pretending to look up a phone number as I turned on my cell phone camera to clandestinly obtain proof that we actually saw what I am describing. As I walked closer, I was going to snap the photo then raise up my cell phone as if I were answering a call. Honest, I have never done anything like that before, but you really had to see this to understand! The phone did not capture the photo, and I did not want to be too obvious. As I turned direction to meet Mike at another hive, she finished up her job and went into the house. She promptly returned with a sun dress on then jumped into the newly repaired car and drove off.

Mike and I then discussed how this would apply to the, "you might be a redneck if..." lines. and agreed it may fit better in a PRICELESS commercial. At any rate, we laughed all the rest of the evening and it made our day! We really did hate the fact we had no evidence of the spectical, but hopefully my description here will give you an idea of what beekeeping is like on a day in the beeyard with Cal and Mike!

Spring Showers

One of the great things about living in the Southern Appalachian mountains of Western North Carolina is those sudden rain showers in the spring that cools the air leaves the air clear and fresh as well as make the plants grow green and lush.

I have come to love these sudden short rain showers because they bring life to the land and are refreshing to the very soul when you have been working outside in the hot sun. I try to keep my camera close by and when I see one of these storms, I know it could be followed by clouds rising up from the ground, clear air for a great view of the mountains and the always wonderful rainbow. It seems here at Sourwood Knoll, we are always viewing some beautiful weather scene as we look across the way to Brown Knob.

This evening I had to drive up to a friends house to get my honey extractor and it was pouring the rain. I could tell by the distant sunshine that it would pass quickly and if I hurried home I may get to see a rainbow. As I expected, the rain stopped and sun began moving in as I drove up my drive. I went straight and got my camera and as I came outside with it, the rainbow was already developing. Here are a couple of the photos I made. Enjoy!

Eventful Day for Bees

I went to a house off of Fairway Drive in Etowah this morning to remove a colony of honeybees from a dead hollow tree that was too close to a home. A very nice young couple greeted us and we took a look at the tree. Plans were made and action begun in no time. After the tree was felled, my friend Darrell and I split the trunk open with wedges to reveal a nice section of honeycomb.

It was so hot today, I decided to see if I could do this project without suiting up in the hot bee suit and gloves. The bees were very gentle, and did not react as we pounded the hammers on the wedges and barely reacted as we opened the trunk like a good book, slowly and carefully! I started cutting out the comb with a knife and sized the removed sections to fit into brood frames. Darrell started cutting and banding also. In no time we had removed all of the comb and had it installed in the frames. I used no protective gear, not even gloves, and cut the comb out as well as banded into frames with only one sting from a bee that I accidentally mashed. Not bad, considering we completely violated their very home. A very good trait in this colony is gentleness, but that will not be passed on because I was forced to use other genetics to produce the new queen.

There was no brood in the entire comb collection. I only saw about 4 or 5 drone cells, which workers can produce, so it appears there were no laying workers or there would have been much more drone brood. It also was very clear there was no queen, or we would have seen some brood or eggs.

Darrell and I vacuumed up the rest of the bees with a special bee vacuum and I took them home to install in the new nucleous hive I used for the small amount of brood. A nuc is only five frames instead of the standard 10. I then found a hive that had a queen cell in it and shook all of the bees off of that frame. I then put that frame with a queen cell in the nuc for them to raise a queen.

All was well as I admired the new nuc colony and my cell phone began to ring. The caller had gotten my name from the Buncombe County Ag Extension office. He had a bee problem and asked me to take a look. I headed over shortly afterward and found a very nice gentleman in West Asheville with a keen interest in bees. I told him I did not think the removal would cost more than the standard fee and told him I could do it right then if he wanted. He agreed and even provided some tools as I quickly uncovered the bees behind his lap siding under a window in his living room. I began removing the comb one section at a time and fit the sections into frames then secured them with rubber bands. In no time I had the bees cut out and the comb fastened into a hive body. I left the hive near the area where I had cut out the comb and promised to return tomorrow to collect the rest of the bees and seal up the hole.

Two hives of bees gained in one day was very good and two very interested clients got an education about how wonderful and amazing our honey bees are. I love doing work for people and always seem to meet the nicest people that way. We really have a lot of very wonderful people in this world still, even if the other type is always in the headlines. I wonder if I can get 3 colonies removed tomorrow? I do have the possibility of 3 more colonies this week even if I get no more calls. I am up to 19 hives now and, if I can count my chicks before they hatch, I could have 22 by Friday. I love helping good people and saving the bees at the same time. All in all, beekeeping is rewarding for me all the way around.

What Happened to the 2008 Tulip Poplar Honey?

Well, this has been a very good spring for blooms of all types! The Locust bloom was one of those that happens about every nine years and the blackberry bloom was huge after being frozen last year. Everything seemed to bloom double this year following a disastrous 2007 spring.

I was very excited to see my bees were bringing in LOTS of Locust honey because this honey is truly wonderful and beats even Sourwood for color and taste! The blackberry honey is very tasty too and both of these blooms combined seemed to have my bees all abuzz. I noticed the Tulip Poplar began blooming, but I never saw the trademark dark color showing up in my hives. Several beekeepers had commented to me that they were not seeing Tulip Poplar honey in their hives. I had my theory on what was happening, because most years we would be producing loads of Tulip Poplar, but this year none. Every beekeeper in this area looks to Tulip Poplar to provide winter stores and get a little for sale. Then they all look to Sourwood for the money crop. A honeybee has to visit from 20 to 100 blooms to fill her honey stomach on most types of plants, but the honey stomach can be filled on 1 Tulip Poplar bloom. This makes Tulip Poplar very efficient for maximum production.

Yesterday at the Buncombe County Beekeeper's field day, I had a chance to talk about this Tulip Poplar issue with my friend Greg Roger's who owns Haw Creek Honey. Greg has about 400 hives and I figured if anyone had seen this lack of Tulip Poplar and had a good explanation, he would. Greg confirmed my suspicion when he said the bees started on the excellent Locust and Blackberry blooms and just stayed with them even when the more productive Tulip Poplar started blooming. The bees did not switch over to gathering nectar from the Poplar until the Locust and Blackberry blooms had ended. By this time, the Poplar bloom was nearing the end and very little Tulip Poplar honey was produced.

Greg and I discussed the plus side of this situation being we now have a very rare and premium spring honey to sell. The negative side we agreed is that we have about 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of honey we should have had if the bees were working the Poplar. I can get a little more money for the Locust honey, but not enough to make up for having half as much honey as usual. I love Locust honey, but give me the Tulip Poplar every time for being a productive beekeeper.

Track and Field

Today I learned that a new world record was established in the 100 meter dash. Usain Bolt from Jamaica set the new record with an amazing run. How ironic his last name is Bolt! He ran like a bolt of lightning for sure by finishing first in the 100 meters at 9.72 seconds. He specializes in the 400 meters and only runs the 100 usually for practice because the 400 is so grueling. At 6' 5" tall, he is amazingly tall for a 100 meter sprinter.

I watched this video over and over because the 100 meters is one of my favorite events in sports and is amazingly difficult and full of stategy for an event that is over so quickly. It brought back memories of when I was in high school and full of dreams about setting records in track and field.

I mostly did field events, including the high jump (6'4" was my best), Broad Jump (23' was my best) and Triple Jump (43' was my best) I also did some hurdles when needed as well as 400 and 100 yard dash. At the time, in high school, I was fairly tall compared to competitors and was considered a very good size for the 400. I did run it once in practice and I thought I was going to die when I finished. It is an exhausting all out sprint as fast as you can run for a quarter of a mile. My time without ever having practicing it before was 58 seconds (the current world record for 400 meters is 43.18 seconds held by Micheal Johnson) and was very good for a high school kid that was doing field events and not really that conditioned. It was so exhausting, I did not ever want to run it again, unless I had to, so I never trained at it. I really should have worked on it a little and competed more in it, but field events were just too easy for me and I was spoiled by them. I did do some short distance hurdles and once ran the 100 yard dash in 10.1 seconds. I really could run sprints pretty well, but without practice and conditioning, I just mainly stuck to my best events that involved jumping.

I can not wait until the Olympic track and field events because I love to watch these incredible feats of human speed, leaping and endurance. I also have much respect because I know what kind of training and ability is needed to be at a world class level in these events. Running a sprint is so basic and I think that is what makes it so beautiful. I find it amazing because these humans can actually outrun a quarter horse in these short distances.

Bee Removal

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Lyne called me to let me know about a bee removal from a lady's house. I called and made arrangements to take a look. After work I headed out to the Fletcher area and found a very nice and athletic looking lady, named Christie, had a bee problem. Christie was prepared with a long extension ladder, screw drivers, and a couple of step ladders that I needed since I came straight from work and had none of these things.

Christie assisted me in deciding exactly where the bees were located. I saw an interest in her eyes so I took time to educate her about bees as I looked. At first I thought the bees may be in the eve of the house. Removal of a vent and a quick look inside showed that to not be the case. I could not hear bees in the wall and went inside to again hear no bees. A look at the entrance hole made it appear the bees went straight back into the house from the vent just below the eve. This vent was to small to see much, and I decided to go inside and take a look in the attic. As I went up into the attic, I noticed this house had once had a flat roof then later a pitched roof had been added. I knew then where that little vent hole went. It was to vent the space between the ceiling and the flat roof. A quick look around in the attic showed this to be where the bees had to be.

I told Christie that I could remove those bees, but really did not have the time. I also told her they would have to be removed from inside the house. I really needed a bee vacuum to do the job and I would have to borrow one. I told Christie if she was game for removing the sheet rock in the area where the bees were, I would leave her a bee suit and veil I happened to have in the car. She said her and a friend would expose the bees and I could come take them out. I agreed if she would do that and repair the damage I would not charge her for removal.

I must admit, I was quit taken by the spunk this lady has. She seems to be a take charge person that is not afraid of a little adventure. I talked to her a little about bees and some things I am doing with bees and gave her my card. I told her to call me when she got the bees exposed and I would come over and get them out. I also told her once they were exposed she may need to close off that room until I could get them.

I went on vacation for a week, and got a call from Christie that the bees were exposed. She and a friend had cut out a section of sheet rock and some bees came down on them. They closed off the room and called me. I told her I could not get to it for a few days and she was quite alright with that. On Memorial Day, I called Christie and she was fine with me doing the removal. She asked when I would want to do it and I told her when I could be there. She said that will work out perfectly.

I called my friend Darrell to borrow his bee vacuum and he said, "no problem, can you mark a queen for me while you are here"? I said, "no problem". I marked Darrell's queen and loaded his bee vacuum, which by the way is an excellent prototype he should have patented, and headed off to Christies.

I got to Christies and she came to the door in her NC Highway Patrol uniform. I had timed it just perfectly with the end of her shift and we quickly headed to the bee room. I had to cut a little more sheet rock out to be able to work, and Christie hauled in step ladders, a flashlight a pry bar and a much needed bottle of water. Things quickly got hot and I made mention of how warm I was getting and next thing I knew I had a fan blowing on me. I love working for people like that. Christie was a "trooper" for sure, because she stayed and assisted me with the whole thing. She put on the bee veil I had provided and helped to vacuum up bees and even got a bowl to salvage a little Locust honey. YUM! Christie was surprised at how tasty the honey was and I had my share too! I left her a bowl of Locust honey comb and she stuck a sock in the vent hole as I vacuumed up all the remaining bees after the comb had been cut out. I told Christie it was ready to seal up and rounded up my tools and the brood comb I had carefully placed in a bucket.

I talked to Christie a moment before I left and told her how impressed I was at the way she jumped right in to work in the bees. What else could I expect from one of NCSHP's finest? I then told her she needed to become a beekeeper! She has an interest and I expect I will see her at our next bee school. She seemed interested in my fainting goats and declared she was coming out to see them. I love to meet new friends and it seems my bee keeping activities always allow that. Christie is a great gal and I hope she does not get too discouraged cleaning up all that mess I left. I suspect, before too long, the hole in the ceiling will be repaired good as new.

I got home with the bees and banded the comb into a shallow super. It was the best size for the comb and it actually fit perfectly. I dumped the bees into the super of brood comb and almost immediately smelled the welcome home scent of the nasonov pheromone's lemony smell being fanned about. They are attaching that comb as we speak. And best of all, Darrell's bee vacuum did not kill a single bee that I could find.

A good day indeed! Now, I just hope to not meet Christie on her home turf patrolling the interstate. At least I am careful about the speed as I go to work, so hopefully our next meeting will be to laugh at the fainting goats as they fall over when startled.