December 2015
Nelson County Beekeepers nelsconcountybeekeepers@gmail.com
What’s The Buzz
Volume 1, Issue 8
December
What’s Happening Inside The Hive? At this point all should be quiet. Bees coming in and out to catch some fresh air before the real cold air settles in.
Officers President-Doug Brink Vice Pres.—David Donathan Secretary-Pat Swartz Treasurer-Susan Zhunga
Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture Inside this issue: General Meeting Minutes
2
Fall Flow Wild Flowers &
3
Nancy’s Lip Balm Recipe
3
Oxalic Acid: Effective & Easy on Bees, But . . .
4
Smoker Maintenance
8
Honey-Quinoa Breakfast Bake
6
Meeting Notice
6
Bee School
7
Beekeeper Chores Entrance reducers or mouse guards put on, if this is something that you use. Feed put inside. Sugar, Winter Patties (AP23) or what ever combination of winter feed has worked for you. Boxes need to be tested for winter by “tip test” lifting slightly to check the weight, making sure that there is plenty of honey stores. A two deep 10 frame box should weigh between 50 to 60 lbs. If the hive is light, all is not lost, you can supplement with heavy feeding, like winter patties (AP23) and bulk sugar. Observations and Ideas Make sure bees are protected from the wind if possible. Some sort of wind break would help to keep them from freezing. It appears the the wind does more damage the just the cold air. This is also the time when we need to be thinking about potential orders of bees for next springs. Some losses are inevitable. http://www.nkybeekeepers.com/uploads/beecalen dar.pdf
Page 2 General Meeting Minutes October 2015 Nelson County Bee Keepers Minutes November 19, 2015
Doug welcomed and thanked all of the members for their participation throughout the past year. He passed out club business cards so each member would have one to give to anyone interested in our club. Officers were elected: President – Doug Brink, VP – Dave Donathan, Treasurer – Susan Zhunga, Secretary – Pat Swartz, Hospitality – Debbie Ritchie
Doug Brink has NCB TShirts ($11) and Hooded Sweatshirts ($23) for sale.
Doug encouraged club members to volunteer even if it is only a small project as the same few people have been doing everything. He announced the Christmas parade information and asked for participation.
Janet Brown is selling NCB Hats and Visors for $10.00. The club gets $2.00 from each sales.
Dave Donathan gave the report on the Bee School to be held on Saturday 21st. in Springfield.
Larry Marks is selling the Marks' Frames for $12.00 for a set of three frames. Comes with instructions.
Susan reported that there is $1839.91 in our account.
The speaker was Chris Coulter of Coulter Farms. He spoke about his experiences in Malayasia and about bees and tropical plants.
Gene reported on the bee packages that will be ordered and must be paid for in December. Nucs will also be available.
Page 3 Officer Election Results President—DOUG BRINK VP—DAVID DONATHAN Treasurer—SUSAN ZHUNGA Secretary—PAT SWARTZ Hospitality Chair Meeting- DEBBIE RICHIE
To pay your 2016 dues
Page 4 Ordering Bees For Spring 2016 The club will be making a bulk purchase of 3lb package bees and 5 frame nucs. We will be finalizing the order at the next meeting December 17th. If you have friends who may not be a member but would like to purchase bees you are welcome to order for them. The more packages we order the cheaper they are for everybody.
Package Bees $95-$92 each: We will be purchasing 3 lb packages with a mated queen from Guthries/ Dadant. If we buy 30 or more the price is $95 CASH (no checks), if we order 50 or more the price drops to $92 CASH. This a Club and Cash discounted price so you will need to bring CASH (exact change please) to the December 17th meeting. The bees should be here mid April and pickup location will be the Extension Office Parking Lot.
5 Frame Nucs $125: We will be purchasing 5 frame nucs from Sutton Bee Farm in Lancaster KY. These will be 5 frames in a plastic
reusable nuc box. These require a 50% deposit with the balance to be paid by the March meeting. Cash or check is fine for these, we will be depositing money into our account and paying with one club check. Please make checks out to Nelson County Soils Lab. The nucs should also be here mid April and pickup location will be the Extension Office Parking Lot. If you can't make the meeting but would still like to order bees you can always contact me to get cash to me BEFORE the meeting for 3 lb Package Bees or drop a check or cash off at the Extension Office for 5 frame nucs. You need to order BEFORE the meeting if you don't plan to be at the meeting. I will be placing the orders the following morning(Dec 18th) and once it's been ordered we aren't changing or adding to it!
If you want to order on your own here are some other local options:
Dadant/Guthries: 3lb packages $105 / 5 frame Nuc $169 Kellys: 3lb packages $110 / 5 frame Nuc $190.80 Thanks Gene 502-409-0989
Page 5 CHRISTMAS PARADE WOW, thanks to all of you that worked so hard on the Christmas Float and the Christmas Parade. The photograph of the float was in the Kentucky Standard on Sunday the 7th of December. A big thanks to Susan Zhunga, Debbie Ritchie, Doug Brink, David Delaney (Honey Bee), Spring & Baby Bee Lucy Olmsted. A special thank you to Henry Wilkerson for all his hard work.
Making floating bees, wooden bees, spot lights, and so much more. His hard work and the volunteers made this years parade another great success.
DON’T FORGET TO JOIN US ON FACE BOOK!!
Page 6 Financial Report for November 2015 Beginning Balance 1/1/2015 $1170.17 Expenses as of 12/15/2015 ($1750.56) Income for this period
$3099.80
Bank Balance 12/15/2015 Petty Cash
$2519.41
$100.00
Details of this report can be viewed by members at any time. Susan E. Zhunga Treasurer Great bank balance for the club. This is a direct result of the hard work put in by the member volunteers and steering committee through progams and fund raisers.
Road work - $450 Bardstown Fair - $989.20 Springfield Bee School - $644.10 State Fair - $163.50 Also thank you to those who have volunteered for programs to promote beekeeping and the Nelson County Beekeepers.
M e e t i n g
December 17th @ 6:30 p.m. CHRISTMAS PARTY – POT LUCK AND CHRISTMAS TREATS. PROGRAM – TAMMY HORN POTTER – Speaking about Oxalic Acid
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RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Nelson County 317 S Third Street Bardstown, KY 40004
University of Kentucky
Cooperative Extension Service