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Newsletter for January 2022
Happy New (Beekeeping) Year
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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
Steve LeBlanc, Board
360-202-2266, newbeekeeper32@yahoo.com
Alvin Forar, Board
360-435-3316, alforar@hotmail.com
Seth Smith, Board
360-770-0481, seth_smith@live.com
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Looking Ahead
Next Meeting: January 13th
As we turn the corner into the New Year, we are looking forward to a new
cycle of beekeeping adventures to share among our members. We will
begin with our next SVBA meeting on January 13th at the Burlington Public Library.
As appropriate during this pandemic era, we will follow the practices
required by the Library, which they keep current on their website. We
may also be able to make the meeting available through a remote Zoom
connection - keep an eye out for an invitation through your e-mail if we
can accomplish this trick.
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Holiday Party 2021:
Our Hybrid Get Together
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We held our
first "hybrid" holiday event at our meeting last month, with both
in-person and on-line participants passing around cheers and chat. For
those who couldn't make it, put a note on your calendar and don't pass
up next year's annual celebration.
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When the Weather Outside is Frightful
Cold Temperatures and Bees
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Soon after
bouts of intense rain and Skagit Valley flooding, temperatures have
plunged as snow accumulated atop hives. Combined with some high winds,
the weather tests over-wintering colonies, particularly under-populated
colonies without enough shivering bees to keep the hives adequately
warm. Skagit Valley winters are mild compared to many other regions, and
insulation is not as vital to beekeeping as elsewhere. Here,
uninsulated hives may survive without a problem. But insulation is
nevertheless an important insurance factor, particularly when a winter
has prolonged cold streaks.
Beekeepers, as always, have many different strategies that they advocate and deploy.
Most strategies focus on the top of the hive because the heat (and the
bees) collect there when it is cold. Among the simplest is cutting and
placing rigid foam building insulation on top of the colonies from sheets found at a building supply outlet. Others install quilt boards
or empty honey supers screened from the bees, under the top cover. They
fill them with cedar wood shavings or other material that also absorbs
moisture. You can also buy or make "wintering inner covers" that include a layer of insulation under the top cover and serve as a spacer for top bar feeding with fondant sugar.
Some folks fashion wraps to cover the sides, or use pre-made versions. Old-style beekeepers have used roofing felt fastened to the brood supers with thumbtacks, while others have adapted with Tyvek or solid foam insulation strapped to the sides. Various suppliers will ship winter hive wraps;
you might get in touch with Rob Johnson, our treasurer, who had some
available for sale last fall that he was not planning to use.
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Featured Beekeeper: Susan DeLawter
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Susan DeLawter with some of her honey, and many of her bees.
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Susan DeLawter became interested in beekeeping while living in Idaho,
before moving to our neck of the woods. She began by asking a beekeeping
neighbor if she could join him and observe the process of opening his
hives. Equipped with a too-loose-fitting hood, she immediately received
five bee stings as she peered into the colonies. Rather than being
deterred as he expected, she was fascinated and asked her friend to be
her beekeeping mentor for a year. She then launched her own hives
successfully, even winning a blue ribbon for her honey at a regional
event.
After moving here, she kicked off her Washington adventures by obtaining
two colonies from SVBA-member Seth Smith. She successfully split a
colony and recovered a swarm, so that she is now a 4-colony hobbyist.
She admits that she and her husband are honey addicts, but she
distributes the surplus honey to friends, family members, and a
following of honey fans. She notes that folks looking for allergy relief
from her local honey prefer honey collected during the same timing as
their symptoms - spring honey for spring allergies, summer honey for
summer allergies. Makes sense.
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Susan's colonies aren't drifters: the distinct colors help bees to home in on the correct hive.
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Susan battles
mites with vaporized oxalic acid, including an end-of-year application.
She shares this inside tip for all of the SVBA members: having bored
1/4" holes in the back of the hives for the ProVap applicators, she
puzzled about how to plug them until the next application. She came up
with the perfect answer - golf tees.
The hardest thing about beekeeping for her is ... beekeeping. She notes,
"Taking all the information I get, and then trying to whittle that down
to my own microclimate and application, for me at times is like me
chasing a giraffe with a butterfly net. Challenging and fun!!"
Susan is also the Secretary of the SVBA, and is keeping our records straight.
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A favorite
source of information for many beekeepers comes up frequently in
conversations among Skagit Valley beekeepers, and it is worth looking it
up if you aren't already in the know. The site is the window into the
research, practices, and advice of Randy Oliver, a
prominent beekeeper and biologist based in the foothills of the Sierra
Nevada mountains in northern California. He has lectured nationally and
internationally - and locally for the Mt. Baker Beekeepers Association.
He has authored many articles in the American Bee Journal and his site is filled with links to articles and resources at every level.
This site includes a menu of Basic Beekeeping designed for novice
beekeepers, who can be quickly overwhelmed by the volume of technical
information that seems to follow every Google inquiry about even a
simple beekeeping question these days.
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- New beekeeping woodenware, clothing and supplies. High quality Beeline Industries
and Premier foundation products in stock, in Bellingham, all at the
best prices. Check it out at leszbees.com or contact Les directly by e-mail, call, or text: les@leszbees.com 360-303-0396
SVBA member Les Scott has opened this new venture providing in-stock
beekeeping items to compete in price, quality, and convenience with the
mail-order suppliers.
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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It's time the
New Year, and time to send in your 2022 SVBA membership. Don't delay,
simply mail us your annual renewal fee of just $12.00. For those who
wish to join, it's the same price, and a wonderful introduction to our
beekeeping community and the many programs, events, education, advice
and connections that we offer. What a great chance to subscribe to this
monthly newsletter that will be sent directly to your e-mail address.
The membership form and payment instructions are found at:
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