Cals B-log

Energy Solutions

2011-02-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

As I was restlessly trying to sleep this morning, I started having those annoying thought patterns I get when I am sick. Maybe you do this too when you are sick. Some particular cause or problem will get on your mind and you just roll it over and around until you are even sicker and just want to go to sleep again but can't. When you do go to sleep you end up dreaming of this same issue and in general get no rest.

I was thinking about how gasoline has gone up so much in recent days with all that is going on in Libia and Egypt. I heard yesterday that if Saudi Arabia fell the same way, we would have $7 per gallon gasoline. I realized if that happened we would face a very different world. Airplanes would probably cease to fly because nobody could afford it. Only Al Gore could afford to drive his SUV. Most of us would have to start looking at public transportation options, but we as Americans have few of these in most places.

I then thought of a CSX railway commercial that proclaims they can move a ton of freight almost 500 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel. How ironic I thought that the riders on the Information super highway may end up looking back at the Iron Horse for delivery from this mess. I recalled a focus that Obama has on high speed rail in this country. It seemed like a viable idea. Of course people are not freight, but break it down in weight and we should be able to get least 4 people nearly 500 miles on a gallon of fuel. We may even be able to get 8 or 16 people that far if we could just get rid of those darn Happy Meals that are blamed for making americans obese.

I then wondered why Japan, China, France and so many other 1st world nations have high speed rail and we don't. At this point a light bulb came on in my mind and I knew the answer. Americans love FREEDOM and PRICACY as well as CONVENIENCE. The mass transit systems of other countries do not offer either of these to the level that americans would be comfortable with. Then I thought about the possibility of "Pod" cars that either hook up or ride on a train for general travel then become detached for that freedom we all seem to enjoy so much. Of course that would not allow stopping on a whim to see a giant ball of rubber bands or a field of Cadilacs planted on end in the ground. It would also mean all of those restaurants and motels at every exit on the interstate would suffer economic ruin. This in itself may be the Happy Meal solution.

At any rate, I think high speed trains are a great idea we need to pursue as a country, but they are not the only answer. I wonder where we will get the money to afford high speed rail implementation. If it would be profitable, why has not a private company tried to go with high speed rail service. I think we like our privacy, freedom and convenience so much that another answer will have to be found. Whatever the answer, oil has to not be the fuel for it. We need to develope viable electric cars that can be recharged by the sun or outlets. We need to find was to capture energy that is currently wasted. Did you ever wonder how trains are able to slow down or stop without burning their brakes out? The answer to that could in fact be the answer to some of our energy problems.

Trains are actually propelled by electricity. Diesel motors generate that electricity. When trains need to stop or slow down, they convert the propulsion of the engines into braking by converting the engines to generators. These generators require much force to generate electricity just like the engines need much force to propell the train. The generators of course generate electricity in stopping or slowing the train much the same way hybrid cars do but on a much larger scale. This electric energy is radiated off as heat of using panels atop the engine vehicle.These train engines generate enough energy to run a small town but it is wasted. This is one area to both capture wasted energy and provide income to the railways.

Suppose this energy was stored in batteries that were off loaded periodically to "service" stations for electric cars and depleted batteries were loaded back on for recharging. People driving electric vehicles would then lease batteries from the railways to power their electric cars, while paying a fee to change depleted batteries for charged ones. Refuling your car would be a simple stop to quickly change out your batteries and pay your fee just as you do now for gasoline. The highway taxes could be added on to the fee just as it is now to each gallon of gasoline.

NOW...do you see why I was so restless and annoyed last night? I hate being sick! I knew if I didn't put it in print I may revisit it again tonight.

Summer Camp

2010-08-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

I spent the week of July 19th at SUMMER CAMP! Yes, you heard me correctly. I never had that opportunity growing up, so I decided to give camp counselor a try. I was a counselor at Laurel Ridge senior high Moravian youth camp. This camp is located on the continental divide in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Laurel Springs NC. Milepost 251 in the Bluffs district of the Blue Ridge Parkway is overlooked by the camp. This is the area of the Parkway where I was a ranger for a while back in 1984.

The camp is celebrating its 50th year and is indeed a treasure of a piece of property. The camp event was a spiritual treasure. Words can not describe the experience, but my faith in the future for our youth was greatly expanded. Much of the music we sang was familiar because it was Vineyard music. I had a wonderful worship experience as well as a renewing in my soul. The food was great, I met wonderful new friends and I saw young men and women making spiritual growth as they are beginning their journey into adulthood.

I have already put everyone on notice, next year I will be back if at all possible. I hope to take Mackenzie with me to experience this wonderful place. If you are looking a great place for your young person to camp next summer, I highly recommend it. Google Laurel Ridge Moravian Camp.

July Bee Week

2010-08-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

I had a great bee themed week the week of July 4th. I started out by speaking to the Watauga County Beekeepers at their monthly club meeting in Boone NC. I spoke about natural beekeeping and using natural comb instead of foundation. It was very well received. I am glad to see so many beekeepers beginning to try and stay away from chemicals in their operations.

I next visited the Honeybee Garden at the NC Zoo in Asheboro. I had not visited this exhibit because it is so far away and made time to do so. NC beekeepers played a huge role in getting this exhibit placed at the zoo. At first I was taken back by it because I was under the impression it was to be a million dollar exhibit. I remarked, "This is not worth a million dollars. What I am looking at is about a $100,000.00 exhibit." I later learned that the million dollar exhibit had been scaled down to $180,000.00 and I felt much better about it. The exhibit is worth that and is very nicely done.

I ended up the week at the NC State Beekeepers Association Summer meeting in Salisbury NC. There I was elected a director of the association representing the Western NC region. A proposal was adopted which will bring about a honey standard in NC which is enforceable. It requires truth in labeling and will end the practice of labeling other honey as Sourwood honey or honey added to high fructose corn syrup as being honey. This standard has been turned over to the NC department of agriculture for tweaking, but I look forward to the standard being applied to honey sold in NC soon.

Sourwood Season was Sour Indeed

2009-08-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

For all of you patient folks that waited another long year for Sourwood honey, after the failure of the 2008 crop, I have more bad news! There is no Sourwood honey again in 2009. Of course you can always find plenty of honey that is labeled Sourwood but no matter how much you hope and how much you spend, it will not be real Sourwood honey.

Last year the drought made Sourwood almost non-existent and what little was made in a few isolated pockets was quickly sold to friends and co-workers. This year, was full of promise due to all the spring rain and the weather turning dryer and hot as the Sourwood trees began to bloom. The trees did bloom but the blossoms had no nectar. It is believed that the drought last fall was so severe, as to have killed the nectar flow for the summer of 2009.

Instead of extracting gallons of this wonderful honey, I am trying to keep my bees alive by feeding them sugar. They have nothing else to eat at this point. I sure hope next year is better and that I can keep my bees alive until then.

Just you remember, there is much more Sourwood honey sold than is actually produced! Do not let yourself be a victim of a dishonest honey broker. Yes, there is no Sourwood honey this year.

A man's home is his castle...

2009-05-27T18:46:00.001-07:00

...even if he lives in a VW bus! I know, I live in Asheville, and if there is one thing that will teach you is you have NEVER seen everything. I am amazed almost daily with some new expression, idea, contraption or invention in and about Asheville.

Last Saturday, I was on my way over to Johnson City Tn when I began to run low on fuel. I stopped at a gas station in Erwin Tn and saw this particular VW bus. It was surrounded by a party of photographers and just gawkers who were laughing and shaking their heads in amazement. The owner came out to drive away just as I was snapping my second photo. He did not seem at all amused by all of the commotion.

I wondered how anyone could come up with such a creation and not expect to attract a little attention. Notice the moat drawbridge door. I guess you just park in the creek and let the door down if you want someone to come aboard. The torch like light fixtures and the stained glass added to the atmosphere, but what really topped it off was the guard tower and complete simulated rock facade. All he needed was a dragon to complete the effect. No doubt he had just come FROM Asheville and probably would end up back there.

Hot Air Balloons

2008-10-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-09T17:53:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-12T18:39:00.001-07:00

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

2008-06-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-06-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

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.

Fire Season

2008-05-25T04:23:00.001-07:00

It has already started! Fire season in the forests varies from each area of the country. Areas of the west are already burning as I write. When I was a park ranger, I was on the inter agency fire fighting team and we flew all over the country fighting forest fires. My favorite ones were in the west. I loved the west and enjoyed getting to see new areas of this beautiful country at government expense. Of course, I was working long hard hours and that beautiful country was on fire! Really though, MOST fire areas were hardly noticed the next season. In fact, fighting fires actually caused the next fire to be even worse! I got paid to fight them, but I knew that it was really futile and that small regular fires were actually a good thing. The small regular fires burned out the duff and kept the forest healthy. In fact, some trees could only produce seedlings after a fire. I saw many fires burn around the trees and do no harm to them. The next spring the forest would be even more alive with fresh green growth and you had to look very carefully to see where the fire had been. When we fight fires, we allow the fuel to build up and when a fire does come, it is fierce and burns everything, even the big trees. It actually sterilizes the soil and new growth takes many years to occur. I saw this latter type in Yellowstone. I fought those fires in 1987 and to be honest I doubt there would have been much difference, aside from a couple of buildings we saved, had we just let nature take its course. Fuel buildup over the years caused conditions to be so volatile that we could do little aside from saving our own skin. I went back to Yellowstone in 1993 and some of those areas that had such high fuel content were still completely dead. Other areas where there was not so much fuel were more alive than ever and the fire actually helped. Of course, I did get to visit the historic Old Faithful Lodge and it would have been gone had we not been there to fight the fire. I do miss the adventure of fighting those fires, but feel that whole policy needs to be looked at closely.

Perspective

2008-05-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at how beautiful and full the Tulip Poplar bloom is this year. Funny thing is, most people NEVER notice it. The blooms are large and showy, but usually are high up in a large tree and sort of camoflaged due to all the large leaves around them. They face up and we usually see the bloom only from the bottom. A Tulip Poplar does not start blooming until it is about 25 years old, so the small trees may give the impression these trees do not bloom. Quite unassuming for a tree that is the major source of nectar in Western North Carolina for honeybees.

I guess I always noticed the Tulip Poplar because we had one in the back yard when I was a kid. I used to climb that tree, when I could sneak and do it, but dad warned me against it because it will lose its branches suddenly and without warning sometimes. Not a good tree for the back yard. Because I was always around the tree it seemed I was always noticing the blooms. From my perspective, it seemed the tree was always blooming and I must have seen it bloom a hundred times when I was a child. Funny thing is the tree only blooms once per year, unless a freeze kills the blooms like last year, and since I was born in September and the tree blooms in May, I have only seen 50 total blooms in my lifetime. I guess the bloom seemed continuous because it blooms for a month and that is a long time for a child.

Spring brings something else besides the Tulip Poplar bloom. Fishing starts getting good for bass, catfish, crappie and blue gill about the time the Tulip Poplar blooms. I remember the Tulip Poplar bloom always signaled me it was time to go fishing again. We had two ponds on the 85 acres of farmland I grew up on. One is about 3/4 of an acre and the other is about 3 acres. I loved going fishing in those ponds and would always beg my dad to take me when I was small. I enjoyed that greatly, but he was busy and it seems he could not take time to do that as often as I wanted. Still, it seems like that is one of my fondest memories of childhood. As I look back, I can only remember going fishing in the pond with him less than 5 times,by the time I was 10 I just went on my own, but from a childs perspective it seemed like we went every day. Dad was good at showing us something once and after that we just did it ourself. I guess when I put things into perspective, because dad showed us the first time, everytime after that seemed as if it were with dad because of association. We always talked about the experience with dad when we got back even if he did not go.

As a child, I did not fully appreciate the blessing of having access to the ponds and was always asking dad to take me fishing at Enka Lake. That was my favorite thing to do as a small child, going fishing at Enka Lake with my dad, but as I look back, I can only recall us doing it once. Funny thing perspective. Quality always trumps quantity and what seems is not always what is.

Enjoying A Homemade Sandwich

2008-05-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

A truly great sandwich needs truly great ingredients. Fresh bread of your favorite type is a must for a great sandwich. A main ingredient that is one of your favorite foods is the next thing that is required for the sandwich to be great for you. What ever your favorite condiment is, liberal amounts but not too much make for a great sandwich. Secondary items can be added and subtracted as your mood, or availability allow. To really enjoy a great sandwich, you need to be alone. A great sandwich may taste great, but rarely is it fun to watch someone eat a juicy sandwich chock full of often colorful and runny ingredients. Don't forget the napkins, because you will need them if the sandwich is anything like I have in mind. Wet napkins, or access to a sink to wash up is a real plus if it can be arranged. To be honest, I often eat my juicy sandwiches right over the sink and just wash up when I am done. I have to plan this sink feast to coincide with the rest of my family being out of the room for a few minutes, or they will be yelling at my manners.

One of my all time favorite sandwiches is the banana sandwich my grand mother used to make for me. It is best with very fresh white bread, liberal amounts of fresh cold mayonnaise on both slices, liberal amounts of cane sugar spread over the mayonnaise, a fresh banana, that has just lost the green and is still firm without the spots, should be sliced lengthwise and placed on one slice of bread. The other slice should be placed on top and the delight to your taste buds is unimaginable. This sandwich is best if washed down with a tall glass of very cold milk or chocolate milk.

I love summer because that is when I get to enjoy one of my other favorite sandwiches. Fresh homegrown and vine ripened tomatoes are a must for this sandwich to be best. Two slices of fresh white bread are needed first. Take the bread and liberally spread fresh cold mayonnaise on both slices. Cross slice several slices of tomato onto one slice and put the top on. This is one of those country delights that needs to be eaten over the sink if possible. You will need to clean up after wards for sure. I sometimes lightly toast the bread first and if you like, you can substitute ranch dressing or your favorite salad dressing for the mayonnaise. If I am really hungry, I will add a slice of melted cheese or even some ham. To be honest, the tomato is the main ingredient even with ham involved. I have tried cucumbers on this sandwich also and it is very good too. When fresh tomatoes are not available, I have substituted cucumbers for tomatoes. Cucumbers are good and will do, but tomatoes are something that I can actually think of and almost drool over the thoughts.

Summertime is a great time to cook out, and hamburgers are one of my favorite sandwiches. A truly great hamburger needs a thick juicy burger cooked well until no pink is left. The bun should be fresh with sesame seeds and plenty of mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup on it. A crisp fresh piece of lettuce adds a nice touch, but the crowning touch of a great summer cookout hamburger is the fresh home grown vine ripened tomato. It adds that wonderful touch to the hamburger that I enjoy in a plain tomato sandwich. Here again, don't forget the napkins and try to get off by yourself to enjoy this juicy delight.

What ever your favorite sandwich is, don't be afraid to experiment a bit with other ingredients that you also like. You will find that you will come up with new favorites and the variety will only add to your sandwich dining enjoyment. I have to go now, I need to make a nice banana sandwich and pour a tall glass of milk.

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

2008-05-11T19:16:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Pedigree - Family history research

Spring Bloom In High Gear

2008-05-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

The spring bloom is in high gear at Sourwood Knoll. Our spring honey, which is mostly Tulip Poplar, has a unique blend of Blackberry and Locust nectar mixed in. This year appears to be a bumper crop for each of these. I actually have more customers that want my Tulip Poplar than the Sourwood. It is a well kept secret that many beekeepers enjoy the Tulip Poplar bend with other wildflowers that bloom at the same time. This mixture can vary according to the local flora. Sourwood Knoll has a unique blend of spring flora. If you have never tried it, you should give it a try.

A walk around the Knoll found the Blueberries are loaded and so are the grapes. Looks like a great year for sure. Lots of other plants have a beautiful bloom also after the poor sping we had last year. Just keep your fingers crossed that the weather will continue to cooperate for both the Tulip Poplar and the Sourwood, which comes in July. Contact me if you are interested in trying the tasty delights my apiary produces!

Earthfare and Beekeeping

2008-05-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

Earthfare is a great partner for the Buncombe County Beekeepers! They ask us to do a community day where we greet people and tell them about honeybees and beekeeping. It seems Earthfare puts their money where their mouth is! They partner with us to sponser 2 scholarship hives to beginning beekeepers and give us financial assistance by donating 10 cents for every recycled or reusable bag customers use in a particular month. In the two Asheville stores, people use a lot of recycled or personally owned bags in a month and this is a large figure of monetary assistance. This is valuable assistance that helps Buncombe County put on the best bee school anywhere in the country. I appreciate what they do and gladly went today to talk to people about bees. I took an observation hive and my beekeeping tools. President Janet Shisler brought our new display unit, that Deb Roberts and the honeybee project so generously donated to our club, as well as some of her great smelling wax and a solar wax melter where I melted some of my wax as a demonstration. It was a good day and lots of interest in bees and beekeeping. Asheville is a hotbed for beekeeping in the United States and with all the great honey plants and wonderful honey we produce, it is no wonder. It was a good day indeed.

Pups and Play

2008-05-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

I have a Boxer who is still very much a pup and a Jack Russell Terrier that is also young enough to be pupish in nature. Both are a bundle of energy and love to play. I laughed yesterday evening as they played "soccer" with Sierra, Mackenzie and my brother Paul's Doberman. They would run around heading the ball and changing directions. Bismarck, the Doberman, would occasionally break the rules of "soccer" by mouthing the ball and running with it. This irked Tucker, the Jack Russell, to the point he would jump on Bismarck and tear into him chewing and growling. Bismarck would drop the ball like "whut?" They played until an aggressive run with the ball knocked it into the pond and everyone just stood there as if to say, "now look what you have done, now what"? They all wanted the ball, but were not about to go in after it. Dobermans do not swim well. In a few minutes Bryleigh, the boxer and only female, started daring to go in. She had never been swimming before, but really wanted the ball. In a moment, she was in over her head and swimming out to the ball. She headed it back to the shore as she paddled like an Olympic swimmer. In a short time, the ball was back and it was game on again! I love a good laugh at the simple pleasures of life. The girls only caught one fish then soccer broke out.
Cal

Jack of All Trades

2008-05-08T19:18:00.001-07:00

I do lots of things, not sure I do that many well, but I learned from my dad that we can surprise our self if we just give things a try. My dad could truly do almost anything. I catch myself falling into that slot a lot. I will try most anything and I usually can get a pretty fair job done on most things I try.

I have this friend at work that knows I do lots of things. One day he was asking me about a tile project he had priced for his basement. He asked me if I thought the price was fair and I said it was. ...Then I said but we can do it for less than half that price. He sort of looked at me and said you can do tile? I said it is not that hard. I did my dining room a couple of years ago and it worked out great. He asked me to look at it and give him a price. I did and told him a very fair price if he would help me. We did it over the course of a half day Saturday and 4 evenings after work. We had a total of about 10 hours in the project and it turned out great. I created a monster! Now Alfredo has started doing projects and asks me to do all kinds of things he can not do.

Alfredo recently asked me to make a flag frame for a special larger sized flag his wife has and wanted it for Mother's Day. I got it done tonight and it turned out OK, but I wish I had more time to do a better job. But, Hey! I am not a flag frame maker. It is solid oak and it was cut on this property milled by me and my father and dried in a pile here too. I planed and sawed it and if I do say so myself, it turned out OK. If you think you can do something you probably can and if you think you can not, you are defeated before you start.

Writing at Helium

2008-05-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I have become a writer! I have always enjoyed communicating stories and found myself actually telling stories to people every chance I got. I always thought about writing, but was sort of shy about it because I struggle with the mechanics of writing. In College, I had to write in freshman English class. I found I loved the opportunity to express my creative side in telling a story, but I really struggled with the mechanics. My English teacher LOVED my writing and would always choose my stories to read to the class, BUT she would give me a split grade. I would get an A for creativity and content but an F for punctuation, grammar and spelling.

My teacher ended up giving me a D in freshman English, but I was required to make at least a C in that class to fill the requirement. I ended up having to take the class again the next semester. Same teacher new semester and this time she pulled me aside and said if you want to pass this class, I will help you any way I can to pull up the weak parts of your writing. She told me I had the creative parts mastered and that was really the hard part that could not be taught. She recognized I could not grasp some concepts of writing easily because I learn differently than most people. She broke down some basic sentences and showed me how to apply those in the correct situations. I took those few basic types of sentences and transformed my writing to the point I could get a C in the class and move on.

From time to time after that I would write certain things like sermons, experiences, funny stories, or wisdom I had gained and have someone else edit for me. I was always happy to share my thoughts but bothered by the fact the editing process sort of took away my ownership of the piece. When I got involved in beekeeping, I started writing my experiences and found my passion for beekeeping melded with my passion for sharing my more profound thoughts and experiences. I began writing on a yahoo list and people began responding with encouragement and the feedback was very positive. A few valued friends encouraged me to write more and to continue to pursue my writing because they really enjoyed reading what I wrote. It was flattering and encouraging, but my weak side kept reminding me of my weakness in writing mechanics.

Quite by accident, while snooping around on the Internet, I found a place called Helium. Helium is a writers workshop and I decided to write a piece on beekeeping. That piece rated very well against other articles on that topic. Before long, I was reading other writer's work as part of the requirement that I also rate articles. I saw some great writing and some terrible work that made me realize mine is not so bad after all. Feedback I received helped me to begin real improvement in my writing and before long I had written over 100 pieces. The neat part is your articles are actually found when people do Google searches and the more your article is read the more you are rewarded in payment. Yes, Helium actually pays you for your work based on a formula including how high your article is rated, how frequently the topic is searched, and how often your article is read. There are some alternate ways to get paid more for individual piece if it is selected for special publication. Don't get me wrong, I am not getting rich here, but I am earning a little payment while having an avenue of expression and means to improve my writing skills and confidence.

I was proud that Dr. Tarpy at NCSU had actually read one of my Helium articles, after doing a Google search on a topic, and he gave me some unexpected positive feedback. I later found that search he did brought my article up number one in the search and explained why I made more money for awhile after that article was written. I thank the people that encouraged me to expand my writing experience and encourage you to check out helium. Just contact me and I will be glad to send you an invitation link so you can begin to enjoy the experience with me.

Next, I plan on pursuing my interest in the verbal part of story telling while I continue to write a book of my life experiences and philosophies for my children so they will know who I really am and why I am that person. Helium has some of those pieces of the book while I continue to write.

Busy Day

2008-05-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

I finally got caught up on my mowing after receiving the latest replacement part for my mower. I hope that is it for awhile in mower repairs. One little snafu though. I was marking a queen that I had raised a couple days ago and after catching her I realized I could not get the cap off my paint pen while holding her. I took my free hand and unzipped my veil sliding it over my head with one hand. I put the marker pen cap between my teeth and pulled it out. This movement near my face must have got the attention of a guard bee that flew straight out and stung me just under my left eyebrow and above my eye lid. I thought I got the stinger out, but could not tell for sure. I continued marking and releasing the queen then finished in the beeyard About 45 minutes later I discovered I had NOT gotten the stinger and it swelled pretty good.

Today I was mowing in front of the ESSO Bee hive (explanation of the ESSO Bees on another blog) and one stung me in the corner fold of my right eye. Same thing happened in that I thought I got the stinger but did not. I found out about an hour later the stinger was still in and it is also swelling pretty good. I usually do not swell at all and within a few minutes can not tell I have even been stung. Obviously the eye is a place that operates under different rules.

I found another queen that I had raised in one of my hives today. She is possibly the biggest queen I have ever seen and laying the most beautiful brood pattern too. I have some photos of before I marked her and after. Since I only have two hands at the present, I could not photograph the actual marking. It is easy to do and though she could sting if she wanted to, she does not even try to do so. You may notice the thumb that is healing up nicely 6 months after smashing it with a hammer. I hit it with a hammer on the edge yesterday. Not very hard, but hard enough to make me think of either passing out or saying something very not so nice! LOL Enjoy

BTW, I added a photo the the previous blog on the colony I removed from the tree. You can see the rubber bands are mostly in place, but they have attached all the comb nicely.
Cal

Bees Bees Bees

2008-05-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

This season has been a very active one for swarms. I told a lot of people they NEEDED to split their colonies or they would swarm. Most of them have called me for advice with swarms and admitted they did not split their hives. Splits are the best way to manage your hive because there is no guarantee you will catch a swarm when it emerges. I have caught three swarms this season, assited with 3 more and given advice on at least 20 not to mention at least that many I had to turn away because I was at work or otherwise could not get to them.

I finished up a little cabinet job I was doing for a lady in Leicester (I got it after assisting her with a bee problem and opened my big mouth about my carpentry experience and she started telling me about all the carpentry work she needed done) about noon and saw I had missed several calls on my cell phone. I returned one to my queen rearing partner, Mike Singleton, and he told me he was out of town and there was a swarm in his bee yard on hwy 110 in Canton. I told him I would go and get it hived and headed back that way. Next I returned a call to North Asheville and a woman told me she had bees in the wall and would like to get them out. I made arrangements to go look and give an estimate for removal and continued to Canton wondering what I would find there.

I arrived to find a swarm about as big around as a volleyball and about 3 feet long. It had weighted down a limb on an apple tree to the ground. It was easy to hive and I was done in minutes. Glad to be able to help Mike and he says we will split it when he gets back in. I wonder if I will get another call today, because I have NOTHING to put them in if I do.

Later in the evening, my sister called me with some interesting news. She had been to South Carolina and on the way back up I-26 back into North Carolina, she saw an abundance of Locust blooms hanging in clusters like grapes. She was excited to tell me, because we all LOVE Locust honey when we can get it. Maybe this will be one of those years when we get some. I also noticed today that the Tulip Poplar in my area is not far off from the start of the bloom. HONEY SEASON is almost here again!

Cal

Honeybees and Rubber Bands

2008-05-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I cut a colony of honeybees from a bee tree in Fletcher NC. After cutting the comb from the hollow tree, I banded the sections into frames using rubber bands and placed the frames in a hive box. This hive box was left in place for the straggler bees to find and re-establish the colony. I figured one week would give the bees time to start fastening the comb back together so it would not get out of place in moving the colony to Candler.

When I arrived to take possession of the colony, the homeowners came out to greet and we had a great time talking about bees. Like lots of people now days, they have a curiosity about bees and concern for there well being. I enjoyed telling them about the amazing things I have seen in bee colonies as well as what was going on with this colony. They asked about how I managed to get the colony out of the tree and other great questions. We built up a rapport and I am not sure which of us enjoyed the conversation the most. Of course, if I am talking about bees, I am having a great time. I really enjoy discussing theories I have and experimental interests as well as success I have had with non-chemical beekeeping.

I chuckled when I went around to the front of the hive and found three rubber bands that had been chewed on, cut and removed to the ground in front of the hive. The homeowners seemed very surprised they had already removed some of the bands, which means the comb is well on its way to being reattached. Like my good friend Edd Buchanan always says, "I would love to know what that bee that makes the final cut on a rubber band thinks when it lets go".

Well, I now have my fourteenth colony in place and am looking at making some nuc boxes from some of the stronger hives. I am at the point, I need some more equipment or I am not going to be able to super all those hives for the Tulip Poplar flow that is about to take off. If you know where some good used equipment is, a heads up on the information would be greatly appreciated.

Cal

CCD The Disappearing Disease

2008-05-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

In early February, 2007 a group of North Carolina honeybee experts met at "Cloud Nine", ( www.cloud9relaxation.com ) in the Fairview area of Fletcher, for dinner. This was an informal get together prior to a weekend advanced beekeeping class. Very quickly, the after dinner conversation turned into a discussion on the "new" affliction facing honeybees in the United States. This is the first some of us had heard of what we now commonly call Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD, but within weeks it would be in all the media. It is called CCD as a way to describe the condition we do not yet understand. I sat in bewilderment as story after story came from our state bee inspector's mouth. He told us what was known about the symptoms and how we have no knowledge of the cause. I quickly checked what he was saying against observations I had made in my own hives and felt some relief that I had not experienced this in my apiary. However, I listened carefully wondering if I may soon see it also.

The bees seem to be disappearing from the hive or leaving a very small cluster of bees on a few frames. There are no or very few dead bees in the hive. Capped brood is left behind with no nurse bees to care for them. Food sources of honey and pollen are present, but after the bees in the hive disappear, other bees do not immediately rob out the stores as expected. Even pests such as wax moths and small hive beetles do not come in and set up shop as expected. It continued to Chuck Norton, who writes for American Bee Journal, who gave the facts that are known about the disorder at that time. We all asked the obvious questions trying to come to a quick answer about the causes and none were found. We did however come up with many theories, possibilities and items that need research even in this small group. Nationally that trend is continuing but researchers and funding are at a premium as such a huge field of information needs to be researched.

Then we heard from some local Western North Carolina commercial beekeepers that had seen CCD or some similar variance in their hives. I listened in horror as some commercial beekeepers told about their experiences and those of their peers this past winter. I heard figures like 40%, 50%, 60% and even 80% losses in their commercial apiaries. What would this mean for the upcoming apple pollination contracts they held? What about strawberries and blueberries? I got choked up when a very respected commercial beekeeper sat back with a look of hopelessness and slowly said, "My bees are dying. They are dying and I don't know what to do."
Then when I addressed another beekeeper as a commercial beekeeper and asked what hobbyist and smaller beekeepers could do to help commercial beekeepers like him, he replied, "I am no longer a commercial beekeeper. I am now a hobbyist beekeeper. I don't have enough hives left to be considered a commercial beekeeper." I was really getting down when a case example was discussed about a commercial beekeeper in Pennsylvania whose hive numbers went from 2000 last fall to less than 700 in February. (I later learned he only had 7 survive the winter.) Edd Buchanan, master beekeeper and member of the CCD task force in NC, mentioned he remembered a similar but smaller die off of bees in the 1950's. He also mentioned that records show something like this happened in the 1800's too. Is this cyclical? If so, the cycle seems to be getting shorter.

My suggestions for ways small beekeepers can help the situation is to NOT give up. We need the honeybees! Hobbyist and small beekeepers can afford to experiment, and try things that commercial beekeepers whose livelihood depend on the bees can not. I am personally selecting queens from my best survivor stock and propagating those in an effort to bring better genetics into the equation. I also am looking for surviving bees in the wild to save their genetics before we loose something we did not even know we had. The feral or (wild) bee populations have almost vanished. Any that are left may hold some answers we need to conquer this issue using genetics of resistant bees. Everyone needs to take notes on their bees and make observations so that can potentially be passed on to researchers. I recommend if you are interested in bees, take a beekeeping course and get involved by keeping a few hives. Several of us in the Buncombe County Chapter are participating in a co-operative breeding program. Local queen breeder Mike Singleton and commercial beekeeper Greg Rogers are helping us by putting on small seminars to teach us how to be successful with our breeding programs. All beekeeping organizations must get involved to do their part in the effort to find needed answers to this perplexing problem.

As for answers to our questions, we still have few even months later. As for questions, those keep adding up by the hour. Though the beekeeping community is down, the one thing I did not hear from the Buncombe County group was quit. I know this will undoubtedly put some commercial beekeepers over the edge financially though. As for the NC apple crop, the Easter weekend freeze sort of made pollination of that crop a moot point. Likewise for blueberries and strawberries as well as SC peaches. Now, even the honey crop our bees depend on is threatened. The major producer of nectar,which bees collect to make honey, in NC is Tulip Poplar and it appears this crop is also going to be extremely small or non-existent as a result of the freeze. No honey means feeding our bees to keep them from starving. This can get very expensive very quickly. Fruit producers are not the only ones who will have to raise prices to try and make ends meet.

Though lots of theories of causes for CCD were raised at the meeting at "Cloud Nine", even more have been raised since. The theme seems to include causes such as pesticides, genetic modifications of crops, parasites, more severe forms of our bee diseases. Even theories of Cell Phones as the cause have been put out there,though that one has been debunked. The main thing is to not rush to judgment on any of these until we have the proof. We do need to get the proof as quickly as possible and try to set the beekeeping industry right before it totally goes under. Albert Einstein once said if we loose the honeybee, mankind would have only 4 years left. That point has been debated, but it sure would make for a very different life for mankind. Could the honeybee be the proverbial Canary in the coal mine? If so, this issue may be more urgent and complex than we even know.

I have also noticed that much attention has been paid to fruit and crop growers in regards to disaster assistance. This is very much needed as the agriculture structure we depend on in America to put food on the table is much more fragile than most people realize. I also believe some sort of relief needs to be offered our commercial beekeepers should they need it, as we can ill afford to loose anymore beekeepers. In fact, we desperately need to encourage young beekeepers to get involved in this profession as our ranks are aging fast. A program to support and develop new young beekeepers is needed. The Buncombe County Chapter has taken a first step in this regard by offering a hive of bees each year to a promising young beekeeper. This is called the Edd Buchanan Scholarship hive and the first one was given at the end of out annual free bee school in January. Other beekeepers, or potential beekeepers who are interested, can sign up for next year's course and you could win one of our scholarship hives. (we gave out 12 this year thanks to corporate sponsors generous donations). You also do not have to be a beekeeper to be a member and participant in the Buncombe County Beekeepers Chapter or a beekeeping organization in your area. Membership dues are reasonable and much is done to promote and protect beekeeping in Buncombe County and beyond.

Please do your part and support your local honey producers when you buy your honey products. We are also under siege from foreign imports of honey which have flooded the market and made it difficult to sell our quality product at a profit large enough to make business work. Call and write your legislators, both state and national, to tell them to support research and assistance programs for our honeybee industry. Be bee friendly by thinking before you use pesticides. Honeybees are at our mercy when we use pesticides on crops, yards or even trees in our yard. Educate yourself then educate others about this very important insect. Visit the Buncombe County Beekeepers web site to learn more about bees. (www.wncbees.org) Donations to assist in funding our free bee school as well as scholarship hives are welcome. Scholarship hive sponsors and bee school sponsors do get mention at our school, in our newsletter and on our web site. Even a small part you play may make a difference as we appears our task may not be as easy as looking for a needle in a haystack, we may be looking for a microbe in an ocean.

About Honey Flavor

2008-04-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

Natural raw honey, much like wine, has very distinct "vintages" depending on year or location of production. Many people go to the local grocery store and buy their honey off the shelf from something like "Susie Beehive" brand and assume that all honey is bland and tastes pretty much the same. Once these people actually taste pure natural raw honey purchased from a local beekeeper, they rarely venture back to the honey section of the local chain grocery store. These people usually start looking for tailgate markets or roadside honey stands to get their fix. There is much that can be said about honey flavors and a few of those points will be explained here.

Big "Susie Beehive" type producers have market demands that must be met. They have to have the quantity to meet demand and a consistent quality in flavor and appearance. Being consistent does not equate with being the best, it just means there is an acceptable quality and it does not vary much. To meet demand, these producers must purchase honey in addition to what they are able to produce, or they may even purchase all their honey because they are just packagers and distributors. This means, honey of the largest volumes and lowest prices are typically chosen. Which in turn means that Clover honey, which is a reasonably good tasting, pure looking and low priced honey makes up the bulk of the honey distributed. Imported honey is also used to fill demand and the sources of these honey purchases are often found in a country that even imported it from another country. All of these honey varieties tend to get blended together to give all honey this generic taste and appearance.

Honey stored properly, will never go bad. This means the honey has to have and keep a moisture content of 18.6 percent or less to prevent fermenting. This particular tolerance is kept to by all honey producers who want to stay in business. Fermented honey is not tasty, unless it is actually processed as "honey wine" or Mead, but that is a very different type of fermentation process. All honey turns to sugar eventually. Some honey tends to turn to sugar quicker than others, but when you blend all types of honey together, you must take this into consideration and heat the honey or "Pasteurize" it. The heating process is not for preserving the honey, it is for slowing the sugar granulation process. If you have a jar of Tulip Poplar honey, it will typically turn to sugar fairly slowly. However, Blackberries bloom during the time that Tulip Poplar does and often the two are mixed by the bees. Blackberry honey turns to sugar very quickly and once that chemical process of crystallization starts,it will continue by turning the Tulip Poplar to sugar at the same time. This blending process, that big producers use, ensures that their honey is probably going to turn to sugar quicker on average than some premium honey varieties will and is the reason for the heating process. The heating process is well over 110 degrees F and actually changes the chemical composition of the honey. The taste suffers as some of the good enzymes the bees put into the honey are destroyed. This process also hobbles the nutritional and healing qualities of the honey. The price paid for a long shelf life due to mass marketing is unacceptable to honey connoisseurs. They happen to know granulation does not hurt honey. It can still be eaten or a warm water bath will convert the granulated honey back to liquid. Care must be taken to keep the heat below 110 degrees F to avoid harming the flavor and nutritional value.
Honeybees can fly 5 miles or more to collect nectar. However, bees do not fly any further than they absolutely have to. This means that honey produced in some areas will have very distinct flavors from one apiary to another. Even 5 miles can produce honey vintages that are very different from the same bloom period. Small producers do not tend to blend honey, so the natural diversity is something that can be experienced and is very delightful to the taste buds. I am a beekeeper and my spring honey is usually very dark in color due to the high volume of Tulip Poplar in my area. My friend keeps bees in another area about 5 miles away and his spring honey is very light in color due to a high volume of Black Locust in his area. These two honey varieties are both premium honeys, but they are very different in taste. Some people prefer the taste of one and some prefer the taste of the other. Neither one is really better than the other and personal preference is key in marketing these different vintages. My Summer honey is usually very light in color due to my area having Sourwood, but my friend has a dark red honey in the summer due to having Sumac in his area. Again, both honey types are excellent honey but personal preference is key in marketing them. If we got together and blended all these honeys together, we would end up with a generic honey much like the big "Susie Beehive" producers and packers.

Different years bring different climate influences and this will also affect the flavor of honey in a specific location from year to year. Last year brought a spring freeze at the exact time Tulip Poplar was blooming in my area. My bees had very little to forage on in the spring and as a result they sought out blooms they would normally not visit so much. My spring honey last year was very light compared to usual. When harvest time came, I discovered the source of this light color. My bees had visited a patch of Mountain Laurel that is in my area because there was nothing else. Mountain Laurel is a close relative to the Sourwood trees that produce one of the most delicious honeys that exists. Mountain Laurel honey is not so delicious. It is actually poisonous with a content of neurotoxins. This honey will cause paralysis or death if enough is eaten, but don't worry because it tastes so bad that nobody could eat that much. This honey was not marketable and was left for the bees because it does not harm them. I take note of various climate and micro-climate conditions during each bloom and educate my customers as to what each variety of honey I produce may contain. I can sell honey at the same table as my friend and we both have unique products that have their own fans. If the honey were to be blended together, there would be no incentive for a customer to buy one over the other. With the diversity of plants in this country, it is a shame to blend all those varieties together, after all variety is the spice of life.

Another issue with honey flavor is when packers or producers try to extend profits by mixing high fructose corn syrup with their honey or feeding cheap sugar to their bees during honey production. This is not really honey at all and the flavor is terrible to a honey lover that has experience with real honey. Selling honey blends is not illegal, if that is clearly stated on the label. Sometimes the economics of the business may tempt a producer to label this as honey to make more money. This practice is rarely found in local producers that have to look their customers in the eye and rely on repeat business from those customers. Honey can take on the taste of smoke or chemicals used in the hive. I use no smoke to remove my honey supers because of this. There is nothing worse than tasting smoky rags when you sit down to enjoy your delicious treat. I know of some beekeepers that use menthol treatments for tracheal mites. This treatment, if administered at the wrong time will alter the taste of honey and give it a minty taste. I use bees that are genetically resistant to tracheal mites and stay away from this treatment. There are no chemicals used in my hives and this adds to that natural flavor that honey is supposed to have.
A new trend in honey marketing is infusion of various flavors into the honey. This practice is not very widely done because of the issues related to introducing anything into a pure product. I do not want that liability nor that extra work. Besides, I figure how could I improve the flavor of such a wonderful natural product. However, premium prices are paid for carefully processed honey with infused flavors. Many of the same marketers that infuse honey also produce small packages of varietal honeys that are purchased from small producers from a wide range of areas. These varietals are often sold in packages of very distinct colors and unique flavors contained in artsy collector bottles. This market is a niche market but very profitable for producers who can tap into those people desiring to experience the various unique flavors of honey produced in exotic areas.

What ever your current preferences in honey are, I would be willing to bet that you would choose a local raw honey over the "Susie Beehive" brand every time once you taste the difference. The key is to try different vintages until you find the one you prefer. There are literally thousands of different honey vintages out there from small beekeepers across the country. I will bet once you find your favorite you will become friends with that beekeeper and if you can not get his honey, you will just do without.

Help Stop The Decline of Our Honeybees

2008-04-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

Honeybee populations are declining and this is a dangerous trend that we must do something about. I have begun using my passion for beekeeping to help educate new beekeepers. I discovered that I am so passionate about beekeeping, that my passion leaks out all over everyone I come into contact with. I also have a particular interest in the science, documentation in writing, still photography and video. My talents have dovetailed very well with my beekeeping. Here is an example of my latest challenge to others involving beekeeping, that will hopefully end up helping honeybees stop their decline. After all, at least one third of our diet is because of a honeybee.

I love beekeeping! In fact, I felt a little strange when I first got the urge to keep bees because not many people besides me seemed interested in beekeeping. I guess you could say it reminded me a little of a county song I had heard before and I will just say I was a beekeeper when beekeeping wasn't cool. I just heard a recent popular song with the lyrics, "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?" Of course being the obsessed beekeeper that I am, I changed the words to "Don't you wish your hobby was hot like mine?"

It is true, beekeeping is hot at the moment. It seems everything with a bee theme is instantly hot. Don't believe me? Just ask anyone if they have heard or read anything about bees in the last week and I bet you almost all of them have. There is currently a keen awareness and interest in our beloved ladies. This really dawned on me in a big way tonight when I saw a movie advertised from Jerry Seinfeld, one of my favorites, called "Bee Movie". Of course there is nothing funny or light about the plight of our bees, but all the attention and interest is great. We can benefit from a bit of fad, if we will help direct the interested people to the real bees when the fad grabs their interest.

I guess you could say beekeeping is riding a wave at the moment. It is an exciting time to be in beekeeping, partially because the stakes are so high. As Winston Churchill said during the darkest days of World War II, "This will be our finest hour". I believe how we react to the honeybee crisis can become our finest hour. When the stakes are high, the risks we take to experiment, and innovate are magnified in our successes. I am happy so many people are interested in becoming hobbyist beekeepers because the more minds that are studying and experimenting, the more great discoveries we will benefit from.

I recall this past summer, which went way too fast, that one central theme surfaced in every event I worked for the Buncombe County Beekeepers Chapter, from Nectar Collector Day at the Western North Carolina Nature Center, to The recent Heritage Garden Craft Weekend at the North Carolina Arboretum. People were excited about BEES and they were very interested in helping them. I found the superficial conversations were out the door and most people engaged me in interesting intellectual conversations that were both stimulating and thought provoking. I had several very intense conversations that pushed an hour in length with interested individuals. Many of those signed up for the annual free bee school.

The surf is up, and I challenge each of you to wax up your bottom boards and hang ten with me! Let's ride this wave of interest to get funding and inspire great minds to study our bees. Even minds like mine can add to beekeeping, so you have no excuse not to contribute your part also. Don't be afraid of wiping out, because every great discovery has been in the shadow of a certain risk. One thing is sure if you take no risks the great successes will elude you. Take the occasional failure as part of the road to success and keep on keeping on. It has been said that "to whom much is given, much is required" This being true, North Carolina beekeepers need to be playing a lead role in our nation and the in world of beekeeping to help stop the decline of beekeeping because every third bite you eat is because of a honeybee.

Buncombe County Beekeeper Chapter President, Janet Shisler, recently visited England and being the beekeeper she is sought out British beekeepers by attending a London beekeepers meeting. She told me they are a bit dismayed at the loss of bees and feel their government is doing little to help. They are sort of looking to the U.S. for answers. I say lets help find those answers. One of my favorite lines from a movie is from, "The Right Stuff". When the astronauts walked out in front of the crowd, one of them said something close to, "They are looking for Buck Rogers and that's us". I find that inspiring. If others are looking to us for answers we need to be about finding them. When someone needs a hero, why not try the cape on for size. L.L. Langstroth, who invented modern beekeeping, just took an observation and studied it. His discovery has had a profound impact on our beekeeping even today. We all have that potential too. Only if we rise up to meet the challenge can we meet our potential.

A large part of the community joined us and invited a friend to the free Western North Carolina bee school this past February at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville North Carolina. Look for other opportunities to learn more about this important insect. Join, or renew your membership in your local bee club. Participate in club meetings fund raisers, schools and field days. Give back some of what you were given so that others may enjoy what you have. Help us to pull off another wonderful bee school to further promote our beloved art, craft, occupation and passion.

As you can see, I do have a passion for bees, but that passion is extended by my issuing a written challenge to encourage others to be passionate too. Learning to help the bees shows more about who you are, than who you want to be. Beekeepers need to step out and make the commitment to start keeping bees and then receive specific refinement to become better beekeepers. Uneducated beekeepers tend to fail in crisis moments. All beekeepers need to become passionate, they also need to be insightful and able to communicate. I look forward to sharpening those beekeeping skills with things that I can either learn or change to make me a better beekeeper. We do not have to sit by and watch one third of our food supply disappear if we choose to try and stop the Decline of our honeybees.