Hello Everyone,
I am so excited to find Beemaster.com and this forum. I am very new to beekeeping; my first package of bees doesn't even arrive until the end of this month. Good thing too as Mother Nature decided to play an April Fool's trick on us and hit us with four inches of very wet heavy snow. What kind of reception would that be (no pun intended) for those poor bees arriving from Georgia :bee:? I belong to the Worcester County Beekeeper's Association and am currently attending their eight week Bee School. What a huge interest in beekeeping there is...our bee school has about 300 students. The club members are so knowledge and so passionate about teaching beekeeping that you just can't help but feel welcomed and appreciated. Anyone in the area, if you are interested in beekeeping you are more than welcome. Just last night one of our speakers told us that anyone is welcome to the "hands-on" meetings even if don't want to raise bees yourself but have a desire to just see how it's done. My first hands on experience will be this weekend as I watch some club members "shake out" their newly arrived packages.
I've got a question for new beekeepers: I've had pets all my adult life and felt a great responsibility toward them and I felt the same way about the bees in my hive. (OK...I"m not going to name all my bees...but the person I bought my bees from recommended that I name the queen and that I am going to do). In fact I was reluctant to even start a hive this year because I felt I should have had a year's worth of watching others just in case I would do something to hurt the bees. I must admit I was a bit upset when I was told that novices often lose their first hive over the winter.
Well, I'm off to finish nailing my frames and supers together. Happy beekeeping everyone.
Jan
Worcester, MA
Hello in war-chester good to see you on Beemaster welcome
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
(http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-forum/welcome.gif) (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)
Welcome, I belong to WBC so I'll probably see you there.
Hi Jan,
Welcome from here in Leominster as well. We are also members of WCBA...I'm usually doing sound at the indoor events.
deknow
Dean Stiglitz
Welcome to the site!
Welcome, Jan. See you at WCBA mtgs.
Jan hope you can go :?
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,23082.0.html (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,23082.0.html)
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
Good luck wishes from Dudley, MA. I am also a WCBA member.
-- Steven
Welcome, just up 495 a bit from you. MCBA member as well. Taking the course is a great step toward providing good care for your new charges, you should be just fine by the time they arrive. If it's not too late, and your supplier can oblige, get a second package; two colonies give you the abiltiy to compare between them and learn quicker. Of course, two turns into ten faster.... ;) Bets of luck.
Welcom to the forum! :-D
Don't worry about the prospect of losing your girls over the winter. You can do everything right, and they'll still die. You cannot control the weather. You simply do your best, enjoy the experience and roll with the punches. Good luck!
Welcome to this great site Jan. My wife and I belong to PCBA and NCBA and hope you can make it to the Mass Bee Field Day this summer. You'll be surprised how much you can learn in one day. Wish you the best with your bees this year.