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April Meeting
Thursday, April 11
Central Skagit Valley Library in Sedro-Woolley
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Our monthly meeting is on Thursday, April 11 at 7 PM. We will be meeting at the Central Skagit Valley Library in Sedro-Woolley (110 W State Street).
Here's what's up this month:
- Bee chat - Come early if you can for our informal "bee chat" beginning at 6:30 PM with a few refreshments to which everyone is invited.
- Bee talk - Dewey Caron will discuss the problems that create "deadouts" in honeybee colonies.
- Zoom option -
If you can't come, but want to participate, you can join us by Zoom. An
e-mail with the link will be sent to members before the meeting.
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Help set up SVBA's Hives!
Sunday, April 7th 10 AM to Noon
Terramar Brewstillery, Edison
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Susan DeLawter
can use your help this Sunday setting up our demonstration hives at
the Terramar Brewstillery in Edison. Meet her there at 10 AM if you can
make it. The site is at 5712 Gilkey Ave. Read more about this initiative
under SVBA News, below.
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April Bee Talk
The Ins and Outs of Deadouts
Thursday, April 11th at our monthly meeting
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Dewey Caron will
be the guest speaker at April's SVBA meeting at the Library in
Sedro-Woolley and will discuss the problems and mechanisms that create
"deadouts" in honeybee colonies. He will describe how to conduct
autopsies of hives after colonies perish so that you can diagnose the
cause. This is a good alternative to trial-and-error beekeeping and can
help avoid the time and expense of having to replace failed colonies. He
is the author of The Complete Bee Handbookand brings regional and national expertise.
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Coming up at the May Meeting
Dawn and Les on swarms and splits
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Dawn Beck and Les Scott will
collaborate on a presentation on two relate topics that frequently
dominate May beekeeping: how to successfully split colonies to avoid
swarming, and what you can do when swarming occurs.
As Dawn will explain and demonstrate, splitting a healthy colony into
two separate colonies is a means of multiplying the denizens of your
beeyards. More hives can significantly expand honey production and
provide the benefits of a larger and more resilient supply of queens and
bees. Induced splitting is also a commonly used strategy to forestall
the swarming behavior that divides and depletes a hive. Dawn will talk
about the science and art that are involved in creating successful
"splits".
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But not all
is lost when bees swarm. With luck - and a bit of skill and equipment -
you can recapture swarms from your own hives, or you can find ways to
capture swarms straying from other colonies. There are also ways to
perform cut outs - literally cutting out bees, comb, brood and a queen
from a wayward colony that has become installed in a barn, shed, roof or
tree. Les will discuss the do's and don’ts of swarm catching and cut
outs to quickly add new (and highly productive) colonies to your
beeyards.
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WASBA Master Beekeeper Course
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WSBA sent us this announcement about a special course with the goal of preparing students to become effective teachers or mentors to other beekeepers:
.WASBA has partnered with
Washington State University to create a robust, self-paced program. This
certification is split into two parts:
- A self-paced online class session (open for 2 months) on Extension Foundation Campus learning platform
- Hands-on activities to be completed alongside WASBA (available to finish up to two years from the class session taken)
The class sessions will be
available twice a year (June – August, and January – March). The
two-month class session includes pre-recorded seminars by experts in
various subject areas, reading, quizzes, challenging projects,
participation in virtual conversations with classmates, and a written
exam. The hands-on activities will include a field exam, an extension
and outreach project, and completion of 40 WASBA service points.
For detailed information about participation criteria, fees, and registration for this certification, please visit: https://wasba.org/education/master/ |
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SVBA Demonstration Hives
Appearing soon at Terramar Brewstillery in Edison
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Our group's
demonstration hives are taking shape at the Terramar Brewstillery. A
group of enthusiastic SVBA members gathered there on March 24th to scout
the location and prepare for the next steps. Thanks to Dewey, Trevor, Kevin and Norma, Dawn, Brett, and the two Susans who came. Here's the schedule going forward:
- April 7 - Completing the set-up tasks and bringing in two empty hives
- April 14 - Target date for bee installation
- April 28 - Splitting the hives, if adequate numbers of drones have emerged
Looking ahead, maybe we can persuade the owners to add a batch of mead to their product line. |
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What is the "bee space"?
It's the thing you can never find in your beekeeping shed.
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March Auction and Potluck Feast
A good time and a good haul
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Our annual
potluck dinner and silent auction was a notable success - attendance,
participation in the auction, and the array of food consumed seems to
grow each year.
The March 14th event featured two rows of tables stacked with donated
auction items, which drew close inspections and strategically timed
bidding, up to the last minute.
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SVBA Treasure
Domie Bourgeois reports that the gross income from the event topped out
at $1,773.00. That's nearly a 50 percent increase from our 2023 event.
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Thanks to everyone who contributed, and enjoy those great buys!
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Following up on a conversation at the March event, Judy Markus
has nominated a couple of cocktail recipes for your consideration -
each features honey as the secret ingredient. We had run across "Bees
Knees", but the other one is news to us. If you have a chance to try
them, drop your newsletter editor a line with your reviews at cecilbees121@gmail.com.
Stories claim that Bees Knees was invented at the Paris Ritz Hotel, but
then migrated to this country and became popular because the strong
honey flavor could cover the bad taste of bootleg gin. |
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Bee's Knees Cocktail
1/2 oz. honey simple syrup (equal parts honey and water in warm water until dissolved, and then cooled)
1 oz. lemon juice (1/2 of a lemon)
2 oz. gin
lemon peel
Shake or stir mixture with ice, strain into a glass
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Queen Bee Cocktail
1 1/2 tsp. honey simple syrup
club soda
1 1/2 oz. bourbon
1 tsp. lime juice
sliced lime garnish
Pour the ingredients in this order and don't mix them, because it looks cool:
syrup, soda, bourbon, lime juice
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So far, this spring has started out warm,
sunny, and increasingly flower-filled. Former SVBA President Brad
Raspet's checklist for April includes:
Early April
- Clean the entrance, bottom boards, and remove guards/reducers on occupied hives.
- Consider reversing brood supers or rearranging frames.
- Begin feeding syrup at a ratio of 1: 1, sugar; avoid opening hives for any prolonged time it is cold.
- Prepare bee yards and empty supers for new bees or nucs (1 deep box,) and install reducers.
- Move overwintering nucs to deeps.
- Remove all 66%+ capped drone comb in deeps to reduce mite loads (if you use this method).
Mid-April
- Consider providing pollen patties during brood build up.
- Medicate as appropriate: HBH syrup drench or Nosevit syrup drench for Nosema.
- Start your new hives and nucs if you have gotten them.
Late April
- Start adding honey supers to those colonies that are not being fed.
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Les's Bees always has a
range of beekeeping supplies in his Bellingham supply house, and owner
Les Scott might even arrange to drop off on-line purchases for SVBA
members at our meetings if you get in touch in advance . Go to leszbees.com. Or you can contact Les Scott directly by e-mail, call, or text: 360-303-0396.
If you have supplies and equipment that you may be interested in
swapping, selling, or just plain giving to other interested members of
the SVBA, send a brief description, price, and contact information to
your editor, cecilbees121@gmail.com.
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Membership in the SVBA
Join or Renew
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Annual
membership dues are for a calendar year and there is still plenty of
time to renew, join or rejoin your SVBA membership. Annual dues are only
$12 (or $13 using our online payment system). It's a high value
investment and supports the wide range of programs and events that we
offer. The membership form and payment instructions are found on our
website or by clicking HERE.
The online payment option can be accessed by clicking HERE. |
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Skagit Valley Beekeepers Association
Brett DeLawter President. 818-416-2208
Dawn Beck Vice President 206-719-3666, dawnrunner@live.com
Domie Bourgeois Treasurer domie.bourgeois@gmail.com
Brenda Crossley Secretary brendacrossley49@gmail.com
Steve Cecil Newsletter 617-719-7870, cecilbees121@gmail.com
Don Johnson. Board homebrewtwo@gmail.com
Jim Kohl. Board
Heather Oates Board 360-391-7357, hoates@gmail.com
Seth Smith. Board 360-770-0481, seth_smith@live.com
Chris Zimmerman Board gocougs87@gmail.com
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