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Newsletter for September 2022
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Fall is Here!
Join us for our September Meeting
(In-person or On-line)
Our meeting this month is on Thursday, September 8th, at 7 PM at
the Burlington Public Library.
We will catch up on the stories from our booth at the Skagit Valley
Fair, and share thoughts and advice on this critical month in the cycle
of beekeeping, as we
turn the corner into fall. Keep an eye out for a Zoom meeting link from
Brad Raspet for those who want to attend and stay at home at the same
time.
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News from the Fair
Awards, Displays, and Tons of Fascinated Visitors
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Rob Johnson on the right, queen spotting with a few of the many young visitors to the
SVBA booth at the Skagit County Fair
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We had a
superb turnout of thousands of curious visitors this year at our
display and booth at the Skagit County Fair. Under the patient
coordination and stewardship of
Rob Johnson,
our members pulled together a fresh set of displays and staged the
first honey judging we have sponsored in many years. SVBA volunteers
staffed the booth for the 4-day event, intriguing those
who stopped by with information and insights into the art and science
of beekeeping.
The observation hive was a focus of attention, and we had a cooperative
queen who appeared frequently for viewers. Having given away all of the
"I FOUND THE QUEEN" stickers to successful queen spotters, Rob noted
that he will have to remember to stock up with
even more next year.
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This was the first year of our reinstituted honey judging event at the Fair, spearheaded by our certified judge and SVBA
Secretary Susan DeLawter. After an expert review of the submitted entries, the top ribbons and best-in-show accolades were awarded to Gretchen
Taylor in the Open Honey Light Class, and Jon Moore
in the Open Honey Amber Class, with other ribbons awarded to deserving entries.
We are hoping to inspire many more entries next year, and are thinking
about sending a friendly challenge from the Skagit Valley Beekeepers to
the Snohomish and Mt. Baker apiarists to see if they can match our
quality - what do you think?
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The 2022 Make Over:
A Refreshed SVBA Booth and Display
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Thanks go out to Heather Oates,
who took on the decorative
make over of the SVBA display booth this year. She added her flair and
many new features to fill out our corner of Building D with the help of
the DeLawters. It was spectacular and caught the attention of even the
mildly curious. Combining the traditional
displays with new features, the SVBA looked spiffy.
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Our 2022 display with its decorations, displays - and volunteer Audrey Cecil behind
our unique folk-art observation hive
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We noted
that the new, enormous, plastic-enclosed examples of Giant
Northern Hornets were a big hit, and the topic of many conversations.
We now have a few hundred more folks who can identify them if they show
up in our part of the Northwest.
Many thanks to the volunteers who staffed the newly-decorated booth, including Brad Raspet (who opened the fair as he has done for years),
Heather Oates, Scott Rhodes, Susan and
Bret DeLawter, Eileen Butler, Gretchen Taylor, Kevin and
Norma McDonald, Don Johnson, Les Scott, Alerd
and Pat Johnson,
and Steve and
Audrey Cecil. And a tip of the beekeeping veil to
Rob Johnson, who staffed the booth, scheduled the volunteers, and enthralled fairgoers throughout the Fair.
The observation colony was donated by Seth Smith and
Bruce Bowen,
and then raffled off to the booth volunteers. Steve Cecil and Eileen
Butler ended up with the nuc, which they have installed in their bee
yard and are looking forward to getting
them through the winter - so that they can produce an award-winning
honey entry at next year's Fair.
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Featured Beekeeper
Les Scott of Les's Bees
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Les and some of his stock of beekeeping equipment and tools
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Les
Scott is an accomplished and retired commercial fisherman who has
plunged into beekeeping, first as a hobby and now as
a business. His newfound business venture, Les's Bees, owes thanks -
in part - to his association with the SVBA. It's a great story, so
follow along.
Les had a longstanding fascination with the natural environment and the
biological sciences, but traded an academic route for his talent and
passion for fishing. He became involved in an International fishing
venture and spent a great deal of time in Alaskan
waters, passing through Bellingham on his way to and from the fishing
grounds. He ended up with a home in Bellingham as a port of preference.
Recalling that his grandfather was an avid beekeeper, he launched into
it himself. Just a few years ago, he put out an ad to find some
beekeeping equipment, and ended up with both the beekeeping kit and a
generous, local mentor.
As he started to build up his beekeeping equipment early in the Covid
era, he found that it was increasingly difficult to get affordable,
prompt supplies from the big mail-order companies. He learned about a
regional manufacturer - Beeline - through the SVBA
and went down to Rochester, Washington to stock up for himself and some
of his beekeeping friends. Chatting with the business manager in
Rochester, the idea dawned on them that an outlet in Bellingham could be
a great venture for both of them.
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Stocked
with a wide range of supplies and tools, Les is now operating out of a
building on his property and offers convenient,
quality, and competitively priced components for virtually every aspect
of hobby and small-scale commercial beekeeping. He has a robust bee
yard that keeps him occupied and a knack for marketing. In his front
yard he has installed a serve-yourself honey outlet,
crafted from a couple of brood supers.
Les is a big supporter of the SVBA, and he's a big asset for our beekeeping community.
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A place for hives is available, and land the owner is looking for an interested beekeeper -
Jeff
Johnson of Mount Vernon has a large property and is interested in
hosting some bee colonies. If you are interested, contact Jeff Johnson,
1855 Burkland
Rd., Mount Vernon (anacortesJJ@yahoo.com and tel. 360-33-7116.
Another place for hives, another host looking for a willing beekeeper - Blenda Wright stopped by the booth at the Fair and asked if any beekeepers would like to put a colony on her property.
If you are interested, contact Blenda at 218 Lilac Drive, Mount Vernon, 530-470-3850.
Les's Bees has a full line of beekeeping woodenware and supplies in Bellingham - For
those who need to stock up, it is a good time to get in touch with
SVBA member Les Scott, who has gone into business providing a wide
range of beekeeping supplies. Check out at leszbees.com or
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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SVBA Membership
Renew or Join Now
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If you haven't already sprung at the chance, your 2022 SVBA membership dues are a doorway into our community. You
can simply
mail us your annual fee of just $12.00. It is a wonderful introduction
to our beekeeping world with the many programs, events, advice, and
connections that we offer. The membership
form and payment instructions are found at:
http://skagitvalleybeekeepers.org/SVBAMembership.htm
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Brad Raspet,
President
360-708-9424, brad.raspet@gmail.com
Dawn Beck, Vice President
206-719-3666,
dawnrunner@live.com
Rob Johnson, Treasurer
360-770-6170, rsjohnson2u@yahoo.com
Susan DeLawter, Secretary
818-259-9059, susandelawter@sbcglobal.net
Steve Cecil, Newsletter
617-719-7870, cecilbees121@gmail.com
Alvin Forar, Board
360-435-3316, alforar@hotmail.com
Heather Oates, Board
360-391-7357, hoates@gmail.com
Seth Smith, Board
360-770-0481, seth_smith@live.com
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