A Day To Remember

[Hi-Tech]

I know what you’re thinking… Another silly question from Hi-tech but this time, I have no question to ask. I just want to relate an experience.

I met my first local beek (Johnny Carpenter) a few weeks ago and have gotten to know him a bit. I have 3 hives that I started with only book knowledge and he was the first person I got to “talk bees” with in person. He is fairly new at this himself but is progressing nicely. He has about 60 hives or so and is being mentored by Bill Gafford (Alabama) and Walter Miller (Florida), both who have been in this business a long time.

Yesterday, Walter came up from Pensacola Florida to give Johnny a day of his time. I was invited to tag along!

We worked many of Johnny’s hives and I learned more in one day than I have in the last 3 months (when I first got started). There is nothing quite like being shown things by a master. I got to see healthy, unhealthy and dead hives as well as all sorts of pests and problems. I saw hot bees and gentle bees. It was so intense that I dreamed about working hives all that night!

I hope to get to meet Mr Gafford soon as I hear he is one of the best of the best. Third generation beek I believe but I could be wrong. Anyway, he is known very well in the south east as one of the greats and I am looking forward to slipping in for some of his training.

I also want to thank all of you beeks for sharing your knowledge on these forums. Without your informative posts and encouragement, I never would have ventured into this fascinating world I have come to love so much. Please keep on doing what you are doing and never stop helping those of us who are just getting started. We may not know much but we know we like it!

[beemaster]

Glad you are living the dream!!! I've met some great people trough (first) my website which netted me the job of COVER SHOT of Beekeeping for Dummies - now in its 10 print I think) and also about 40 other published photos in print and educational documents, then (later) through the forum meeting online and in person some great people who I have become friends with and many I greatly admire even though I only know them from our writings here.

It is an amazing hobby, but the spin-offs from it can be even more fantastic and overwhelming to experience.

I'm glad the forum (and hopefully my tutoral beekeeping course) helped pave the way to the wonders you are now living - I think it is a lot of Karma, keeping bees (for the sake of learning their world and helping preserve a troubled species) really does filter back at you magical and memorable events that come from your being good in a world where good is often over looked.

In the great scheme of things, we are setting the wrongs of war and genecide right - not in the horrible tragidies that occur, but in the balance of good and evil - which is the big fight that we all are participants in, whether we realize it or not.

I know to many, I sound whacked, to a few open-minded people I'm understood - either way, I've heard and seen first hand that beekeeping can make wonders happen where nothing existed there before. So maybe it is coincidence, but you will never convince me of it. I know in my being that doing good creates good around you, and just think - how your own days have been!!!!

Congratulations.

[Hi-Tech]

Beemaster...

I am right there with ya!

Your beekeeping tutorial was the first website I read and was a big part of me making up my mind to jump into this thing. Maybe one day I will tell the story of what got me interested in beekeeping but not today...

Thanks for everthing!

[KONASDAD]

Your web class was the first intro to the topic as well. I agree about you tai-chi teachings when it comes to handling animals of any species. Animals always sense fear, aggression etc. I was a park ranger for two summers, and the things I saw animals doing. They knew I was their, but they knew I was just observing. I look forward to my first meeting w/ an experienced beekeeper while working a hive. thanx again.

[yoderski]

Hi Tech,
  It is great you can learn from a veteran--I am envious of all that good instruction.  Hey I could have tagged along too, since I am on the way from Pensacola to Greenville.  I am a new beekeeper from South Alabama, too, right on the line between FL/AL in Atmore.  I got my first two hives earlier this spring from an 85 year-old beekeeper fully stocked and they have been thus far very good hives.  He had at one point 100 hives but now down to about 10 as he winds down.  Although I am a newbie, I have learned alot from this forum--It is amazing what all I have learned in the 3 months since I got them.  So far, it has been too good to be true, but I am waiting for something to go wrong.  It is good to have someone around who has worked with bees to learn from, that is for sure.

[Hi-Tech]

Atmore is pretty close... I used to drive down there just to eat at Gerlachs before they sold it. Mayber we can get together sometime...

[Hi-Tech]

Update... I got to go do splits with Walter and Johnny again and this time I took some pictures.   http://hh-farms.com/photos/  

I'm very grateful to get to learn this way....