Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful.
And since we’ve got no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne in 1945
And I wish it would snow or at least stay cold long enough to let the bees settle into their ball and chill ‘til spring truly comes. In the meantime I will fret about their well-being and simply repair, prepare and compare notes with others in anticipation of their 2016 emergence.
I cannot believe that a year has passed since I put my hand up and suggested that I could be club president. The time has flown by and I have truly appreciated all the people who have made our year successful. It has been fun to learn, share and grow as a beekeeper and in turn help some of the new beekeepers that have started on their own adventures. I am committed to the second year of my term and have some specific goals in mind and I am looking for your commitment to seeing them through.
First and foremost is seeing the club grow by encouraging those independent-minded folk to join and share their knowledge. That will entail all of us taking advantage of conversations to remind people of the resources available in the club and the importance of registering their hives. Too many problems arise from abandoned hives or keepers who are unaware of the current threats facing honeybees.
Second: Enhancing our web connection and taking advantage of our presence on Facebook. We have some wonderful resources and incredibly talented people (our own living library) and the world wants to access them from the web. Peter Willis has carved out time from his own busy career to help with the project and we can do more to make it truly useable to us and the “generally curious” public.
Thirdly, the Societies Act of BC has been updated and we, in turn, need to update our constitution. It is a bit of housework that underpins our work and ensures that your club leadership prudently acts on your behalf and builds on the legacy we enjoy today. We will need a committee to make the edits for the club during the coming year.
Finally, I want to make sure that I hand the torch to willing hands who will keep things going. It would be fun to be “President for Life” but that serves no one well in the short or long term. That means I will be convincing, cajoling and coercing anyone and everyone into playing along and doing their part. Our bees show us over and over that many hands make light work and make it fun for everyone.
It’s 2016 and all I really want to do is take a peak inside my hives… but I won’t – yet!