Well, another year is under way. How quickly the time seems to fly by the older we get. The days turn into weeks and then into months. 2011 seemed to have just started and it is already over. So many things I wanted to do and now the time is gone. Well, my little ladies it looks like we are going to have to start earlier this year in order to accomplish what we wanted to do last year, make and collect more HONEY!

Roger and I put another ten pounds of fondant in with the bees a week ago, this is the second time this winter I have feed them fondant and even though it was 60 degrees out they were not happy with being disturbed. Roger was watching from the safety of the truck and commented that he had never seen so many angry bees. I told him he should have been in the apiary with me to hear and feel them bumping into me. Luckily no one got in my bee jacket and they quickly settled down once I put the cover on their hive..

Now onto my extractor. Santa had me wait a while to order it and good thing I did too. Today I ordered a Rotoblast H-1000 Honey Extractor with Stand from King Honey Extractors. It looks really nice and the price was very good compared to several others I was looking at. It is all stainless steel, has metal gears, a Plexiglas top, legs that go all the way up the sides and there is no shipping charges!. Everything inside is stainless steel and it has a honey gate. The handle comes down so it cranks on the side and not the top, I suffered from tennis elbow once from plastering and believe me I don't want to get it again.

Here is a picture of the extractor I ordered. I think it will be just what we need and I won't have to worry about asking someone if I could use their extractor when they are extracting. We will now be able to do it when we need to and I am hoping we will need to do it a lot this year. I am already getting orders for my honey and with four hives, I am hoping for considerably more honey then I got before. Roger even wants his own bee jacket and gloves to wear when he helps me. See, I said he was going to get involved with the bees. Getting bee clothes is right in the middle of being a beekeeper and with his retiring this year we will be able to do this together.

I have information on some beekeeping classes coming up that our members are providing for people in the surrounding area. The SCBA class has been postponed to this fall. This will allow attendees more time to prepare their hives for the next spring. The following is from our bee inspector, Eleanor Balson:

A Beekeeping Basics Class will be held on February 11th in Mount Vernon at the Jefferson County Extension Building. The class will run from 9am to 4pm with topics presented by St. Clair Beekeeper members Tim Lindley, Lonnie Langley, Ken Kloepper and Eleanor Balson, as well as Howard Tanner of Little Egypt Beekeepers, and Peter Hansen and Mike Gerard, Illinois Apiary Inspectors. There will be refreshments, lunch, door prizes and vendors of equipment present. The cost of the class if registered by February 1st will be $25 and any profits will be divided between St. Clair Beekeepers Association, Little Egypt Beekeepers, and the new beekeeper's club in Carbondale, which will likely announce its name at its meeting on January 13th. For more information, call Eleanor Balson (510) 285-7879 or email bubblebubb@gmail.com

I will announce other beekeeping classes in my next posting. Well, I am past my allocated space and it is almost tomorrow so I have to wrap this up. I am hoping to have some pictures from the banquet in November and as soon as I get them I will sprinkle some in The Bee Yard. 

Remember, our first meeting of 2012 is January 27th at 7:30 pm at the St. Clair Farm Bureau, a map is enclosed. And bring a snack to share after the meeting and some pocket change for the raffles. Also remember that membership dues are due now until April 1st. I am enclosing a copy of the membership form. You will need to complete one even if you are already a member so your information can be updated. If you do not want to use the supplied form from here you can go to the association web site and complete the one there then print it out. Additional forms will be available at the meetings. 

See you there!

Brenda

PS: Here are the addresses for the online membership forms and the IDOA hive registration form.  Check the hive registration form for instructions on where to send it or bring your completed form to the meeting  

Link to "Join SCBA Membership Form" 

Link to " IDOA Apiary Registration Form"

Remember, we can only except cash, check, or money orders with your membership form.  See you at the meeting!

The sale of patches has slowed up a bit. Remember the patches make great gifts. I ironed one onto a couple of my hats. They stick better if you follow the directions and not iron on a porous surface like an ironing board cover or on a towel. I put a glass corning ware pot into the hat, and it fit like a glove. The heat reflected back to the patch and melted the glue beautifully. Using the round pan also helped keep the round hat shape. So far they have held on pretty good. - Brenda