FEBRUARY 7, 2010

Our time is slipping away. We have less than one month to prepare for our workshop. I want to thank everyone that has helped me thus far. However, I still need volunteers for the woodworking portion of our production. Last year there was not a shortage of people to help with the work stations. There will be the same stations this year: putting boxes together, frame building, wiring frames, and installation of wax foundation.

I have a few speakers for the other sessions, but I still need an individual to go over the costs of the bee keeping equipment and its uses. This slot will basically be covering the protective gear and hive tools that one would need in order to enter into beekeeping. I also would like to have someone to report on sources for bee packages.
This should be a real good workshop. We just need to get the word out. I have made a few flyers hoping that you will take some and post them at your churches and community organizations.

I am sure that we will talk about this more at our meeting this Sunday. We also, have notified the Master Gardeners Club, and the Maury County Extension office. The radio station has a bulletin that is played on 101.6 FM. The Columbia Herald will be promoting our workshop.

GUEST SPEAKER
Our guest speaker today is Bill Mullins. Bill owns “Bill’s Honey Farm” in Meridianville, Alabama. He has a “state of the art” operation that has a first class honey house. Bill has been grafting his own queens for many years. He has over two hundred hives! He has a lot of his family living around him and they too have become beekeepers.

As a matter of fact, Bill at one time was a source for bee packages. I remember a few years back that Tom Voss, Don Lockhart and I took some deep bodies down with frames and he introduced some bees with a new queen. He wanted us to wait 30 days in order to make certain that the queen was viable and we picked them up. I don’t know if he is still doing this, but it would be a good question to ask him.

MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Don Lockhart has had a bad bout with kidney stones this past month. He is back to beekeeping this week. Good for you, Don.

NEWS OF LOCAL INTEREST
I got an e-mail this week from a lady that had bees in a tree limb which was hanging over her roof. She requested that one of us remove them. Her name is Elise Boggs. She and her husband live at 1106 South High Street in Columbia. They can be reached at (615) 423-2932 or (615) 423-6346. Of course, it is too cold now, but perhaps one of you can contact her and arrange for a removal in the spring.

SUGAR IS SHORT!
According to Jim Primus, the prices of sugar will be increasing over the next few months. In case you have not noticed, it has already gone up some. Jim goes on to say that “Sugar output in Brazil’s Center South, the largest producing region, will be lower than forecast this year on above average rain that cut the yields, Levels of sucrose, the substance in the cane that is processed into either sweetener or ethanol, are expected to be the lowest since records began in 1999. Sugar prices will keep rising as sucrose content is going to be even lower. India’s sugar stocks fell to 2 million tons as of Nov. 1st from 2.4 million tons. China’s sugar output will have a shortfall of as much as 2 million tons.

Last fall, I attempted to get an order up for 30 barrels from Mr. Higdon in Chattanooga, but only got 10 barrels committed. If we have to rent a “bob” truck to get it, there must be at least that many barrels to warrant the expense. John Seaborn offered to drive the truck down there. CABA would pay for the truck being reimbursed by a 10.00/barrel freight charge. As I have stated earlier, as an association we have “buying power” and we should utilize this.

UPCOMING EVENTS
1. NABA will be having its “Introductory Bee Course” at the Ellington Ag. Center from March 17th through the 20th. To me this is really an intermediate course that covers a lot of ground on the honey bee. The cost is $10.00/person and $20.00/family. You may contact Jim Primus at (615) 599-0724 or jim_primus@bellsouth.net
2. The 21st Annual Nashville and Garden Show (www.nashvillelawnandgardenshow.com/ It will be March 4-7th. NABA will have a booth there with demonstrations on honey extraction.
3. CABA Beekeeping Workshop will be Feb. 27th (Saturday) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free and lunch will be provided.
4. The Allen County Beekeepers Association in Scottsville, KY. will be having their “Beekeeping School” on Feb. 6, 2010 at the Allen County High School. on Hwy. 231. Registration will be 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. A fee of $10.00/person or $15.00/family will be charged. For more info contact John Pace (president) at (270) 651-6507 or jlpace@glasgow-ky.com . There will be several speakers there from Kentucky State and Tennessee. I have printed their schedule, which I will attach to this news letter.

CABA NEWS
Our CABA directory is in the works. Jamie Ledford has been working on it diligently while trying to work her two jobs. I have helped too. Hopefully, everyone will be entered along with their phone #s & e-mail addresses. This should really help our “new-bees” when they need some assistance. If by chance you do not see your name in the final draft, please, let us know.
I have not heard from Jack Coleman on our CABA logo. As you know, we voted on one of his designs last month. Hopefully, we can get that in the pipeline so that we will have shirts and caps for Mule Day. Hmmm.

FEBRUARY PLANT FEATURE
Robinia pseudoacacia—Black locust

 
This is a native tree for Middle Tennessee. It is a fast grower. It will average about 2’ growth per year. I had a seedling pop up on my fence line three or four years ago and it now has about a 3” caliper. It put out blooms last spring. According to Michael Dirr’s book, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, it will average about 30'-50' ht.with a spread of 20’-35’. The national champion is 96’ by 92’! The flowers are “perfect 1” across, white, extremely fragrant and borne in dense racemes”. These racemes or clusters are 4’-8’ long in mid April to May. Because they are exceedingly fragrant, they are a tremendous “bee attractant” that produce the best honey (to me). I have often said that “It tastes like it has melted butter in it”. It is a light colored honey. Once established, it will send off a myriad of wild shoots that will develop into trees. Europeans treat it like a weed. The Black Locust has needle like thorns that do hurt

 
According to Mr. Dirr, “It is an ‘alley cat’ tree which can survive under the toughest of conditions; good for strip mined areas, highway cuts and fills, sandy, poor soils, shelter plantations and reforestation areas. It is not recommended for the home landscape.” In short, it is good for the bees, but not for the home.
Well, that is about all that I have to report for this month. I will attach Jim Primus’s recipe for making sugar water which should be a 1:1 ratio for spring feeding.

JANUARY 3, 2010