Every morning I pet Roger on the head and say, “See ya at the end of the day”. I won’t have to say that too many more times and my workday countdown has begun. By the end of the June I will pack up the contents of my desk and begin my next career. After 41 years, I will join the rest of the baby boomers and consider myself officially retired. Every day someone else asks, so are you counting down the days and are you excited? I haven’t been counting down the days but now that the final month has arrived I feel the panic of tasks left undone and the potential hand-offs that don’t get handed off. Like a good robbery, I want to leave a tidy pile and a clean getaway.
Day of the Honey Bee
If you made it to the legislature then you know that the kick-off to “Day of the Honeybee” was very successful; and a lot of fun. Who knew that the Minister of Agriculture, Lana Popham, grew up with a beekeeping father or that Premier Horgan was a neighbour of club members, Werner and Karen! The Minister of Finance, Carol James, made an appearance and Sam Sullivan, former mayor of Vancouver (and now MLA for Vancouver/False Creek) was seen checking out the honey for sale. Stan and Cheryl Reist, created an imposing display of hives on the legislative lawn, while Kate, Lindsay and Rupert had good success selling their wares to the tourists who wandered in to check things out. And Stan Lee, from Creston (also part of the BCHPA) showed off his brand new flatbed truck for hauling beehives by getting the Premier to play swamper and unload the hives using a state-of-the-art gantry. We are all delighted at the $100,000 the provincial government has set aside for bee research and will look forward to the fruits of the investment in future bee seasons.
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Outyard
Even as you read this, the third nectar flow is beginning. The maple has bloomed, then the chestnut and local flowers and now the blackberries are just starting to peak out. If only the temperature would pop to make the nectar truly flow. And now we are laying plans for the outyard. Tags will be available for sale at
the June meeting in anticipation of setting up your hives in the outyard at China Beach. For less than the cost of one jar of honey per hive you can purchase a tag for your hive in the out yard. Every hive placed in one of the four fenced areas must have a 2018 tag attached and visible along with your name and contact number. Each yard can hold 20 to 30 hives and it is important to leave enough space around each to allow you and other club members to work. Hives must be treated for mites and inspected to confirm that they are disease free before placing in the yard.