Bees and Trees

Our exciting weekend activity this past weekend was attending a county extension seminar on beekeeping and raising fruit trees.  I must admit I have been pretty excited about this event.  Driving out we weren't so sure how many people would also be interested about these topics but we turned the corner and saw that the parking in the field was filling up with a group of around 30 people gathered.  It is always reassuring that we aren't the only crazy ones out there.

The first item of business was donning the beekeeping veils and checking out the hives.  At first it was a little strange to stand around with bees flying this way and that.  It was a cool day and they had smoked the bees both of which calmed the activity in the hive.  A frame was pulled from the hive and was covered with a living mass of bees.  We could examine the honey comb, brood, and worker bees hurrying about.  We also got a chance to see a queen bee since they had ordered a new one for a new hive and the queen had just arrived in the mail.  As with any new skill or hobby there is a whole new language of terms to learn to discuss-- drones, queens, workers, supers, frames, Africization, brood, etc.

The next speakers talked about diseases that may occur with bee hives-- mites, viruses, colony collapse disorder.  I must say I have never before been so interested in an entomology presentation.  There was discussion about the increase in disease over the past 30 years in bees.  Some might be due to pesticide use but also bees from different parts of the world accidentally or intentionally being transported to the US.  Honeybees aren't native to the US and most bee stock is European in background.  However Asian and African strains are beginning to show up and introducing different diseases.  Another presenter shared the process of how to put the hive boxes together to get started and other general tips to get started.  Beekeeping sounds like a hobby that might take a little bit of skill and knowledge but doesn't require a ton of time if you don't want it to be so involved which is pretty attractive to us.

The last demonstration was from one of the county extension agents on planting and caring for fruit trees.  I have heard this gentleman speak about horticulture topics many times over the years since I was a kid in 4-H.  Arthur has previously talked about the beauty of craftsmanship and I have the same appreciation for someone who is an expert in the field sharing a wealth of knowledge.  In a computer age we do have the benefit of using tools like Google to find information but this doesn't replace asking an expert directly.  For instance, one of the attendees made a comment about a tree that had some bark split during the winter.  The expert knew what type of tree they had planted, what mistakes they had made a few years ago while planting the tree-- turning it into the wind rather than keeping it in the same orientation as at the nursery, and a simple fix to solve the problem all in a 2 minute response.  I had a similar experience with a patient a few months ago.  He had owned a greenhouse and nursery for 40 years so we were discussing gardening.  I made a comment about using grow lights in the basement for spinach, lettuce, and kale and that I couldn't seem to get the spinach to grow after replanting a few times.  His response-- it won't grow because it has to be at about 48F to germinate (our basement is cool but thankfully not that cool) so no matter how hard I try it isn't going to happen.  That was kind of a "well duh" moment for me but I am sure I would have made that mistake a few more times before giving up in frustration.  Experts just have invaluable experience that can save us all from making those mistakes ourselves.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-13/bee-in-an-apple-blossom/7085178

While right now bees and fruit trees are not in our immediate plans since we have our hands full with our worms and a blueberry plant, maybe someday we too will achieve the dream of a backyard apiary.  Omnia Vincit Amor.