I know. How you can you miss me if I won’t go away! Plans of moving house have been shelved and all the boxes of life’s souvenirs have been thinned or disposed leaving our present abode a lot tidier and, perhaps, even spacious. I will continue as president of the club and look forward to working with a great bunch of people.
Now it is time to focus on the bees and get ready for nucs and packages that have started to arrive will continue into May. Everyone locally is delayed because of the last wave of winter so we will just have to be patient and, in the meantime, make sure our equipment is ready to go. On Thursday evening, after a day that started before 5:00AM, Don Lambert and Bill Hadden, drove back into town with a truckload of bee equipment hot from the Iotron. Many hands truly made light work unloading the truck as headlamps flashed on names and created stacks of plastic wrapped boxes in Alanna Morbin’s driveway. Thank you Alanna, for organizing the trip and Don and Bill for committing the day and night to get the equipment to Richmond and back.
In March, Dave MacDonald, Island Apiary Inspector, gave us a great overview of managing mites and now we need to act on his advice. Regular mite counts, and treatment when necessary, will be critical to a successful season so our April meeting will be about actually treating mites and some of the options available during the year.
Thank you to Rupert Rode who has now officially handed off his role as club treasurer and welcome to Kazlyn Bonnor. Your executive for 2019/20 is:
- President: Bill Fosdick
- First Vice President: Don Lambert
- Second Vice President: Carolyn Hissen
- Secretary: Irene Tiampo
- Membership Secretary: Kimberley Bowman
- Treasurer: Kazlyn Bonnor
Outyard Plans
People are already inquiring about the outyard near China Beach and it is our intention that we will set up again in early July. Tags will be available at our May and June meetings until sold out and you will be able to take up to five hives to “summer camp.”
Apiary Inspector, Dave MacDonald
Don’t forget to register the location of your hives with the Ministry of Agriculture and if you are selling bees and bee equipment contact Dave MacDonald.