2008 South Western Ohio Beekeepers School

[Carriage House Farm]

Turn out rocked.  Well over 300 people in attendance.  I took a whole lot of photos and video and because of stupidity on my end I screwed the whole thing up and lost about half my videos and photos.

The one I lost that would give you a general feel of the size was a a picture of the main hall.  Packed.

The single day course is put together by OSU Extension and the South Western Beekeepers Association.  It happens once a year, every year.  WHile everything is going on there are some vendors off to the side with gear available for those looking to buy.

On a side note: I also proved to myself that with proper planning the and the right selection of memory cards and batteries I could tape a whole conference to put on You Tube using JUST a Cannon elf pocket camera, not a full blown video camera.

You were allowed to sign up for a selection of 1 class in each of the four time slots.  Because I am starting out I avoided the more high end courses, though I did take the more intermediate "Seasonal Management" courses in the first half because I think I have drowned myself in "Things you should know before you start" over the past 2 years.  I am glad I did since it I have a massively better understanding of the region bloom and hive growth interaction and have had "think six weeks ahead" drummed into me now.

The highlights for me were definitely those two courses and the keynote address.

I have started posting the videos I did save (part of the keynote and most of the first Seasonal Management course) on Youtube with my other farm related videos I take over the year.

http://www.youtube.com/CarriageHouseFarm

I have uploaded the Seasonal Management course (in five parts) though not all have posted yet and have 2 of three parts of the Key Note speech up.

An interior to an old, early Langstroth hive:




The above pictures were a part of the "the visible changes of hive design..." and included a normal 10 frame Lang, plastic, and foam

Like the queen cages below:


Dr. Jim Tew OSU Extension Entomologist


That's it.  I had a dozen more and lost 'em.  Proving that digital can be JUST like film.  :)

[Brian D. Bray]

300 is a big crowd when it comes to wantabee beekeepers.  I applaud the course.  Enjoyed the notes looking forward to the rest.