Heifer International Bee Project

The Bee Guild has been asked by some of our members about donating to the Heifer International bee program. Here is a link to an article written by a Heifer staff member.
http://www.causecast.org/news_items/7821-business-is-buzzing
It's a very interesting organization with a long history of helping communities develop skills to be able to support and help themselves along with future generations.
The Guild board is considering this and would like input from our members.

Questions to ask before you decide to take me home

If you're new to beekeeping and thinking about capturing your first swarm (it's late in the season for swarms now) here is a basic list of questions you should ask before you head out the door.
1) Is it bees and not wasps?
2) How long have they been in that location? Helps to know if it's a swarm or colony. Sometimes you can tell by how long they have been there.
3) Location of bees, how high up and what type of access will you have to them
4) Name, Phone and address
By asking these simple questions you will know if your up for the job or if someone else on the swarm list should be called. It's also important that you have your own equipment - ladders, boxes and pruning shears on hand.
Part of the mission of the Bee Guild is to help educate the general public on the importance of honey bees and relocate swarms to a more productive site. Explaining what you are doing to the homeowner is a very important part of the process too.

The First Bees - White House Garden

Here are some pictures I got from Toni's blog www.citybees.blogspot.com
She is the bee mentor to Charlie who takes care of the bee hive in the White House garden. Interesting set up they at the WH. Toni goes into more detail about the why and how of the hive.

Guild Field Trip - Wednesday July 22, 2009

We have a tasting scheduled at the Rabbit Foot Meadery on Wednesday July 22, 2009. They will host our group from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. There is a cover charge of $5.00 per person. Mike will give a little talk about mead while we sample 5-10 types of mead or beer made with honey.
There was a sign up list at the last guild meeting and I will be email everyone on that list. If you did not sign up and would like to attend, please let me know. The room can only hold 30 people so I need to give them a head count before we arrive. Here's the link to their website. http://www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com/

It's Honey Time

After months of the bee stuff everywhere in my house, at least the honey harvest has begun. We bottled up several cases of the bear honey and a few cases of comb honey which is something new for us. People have been waiting for our honey harvest so most of the jars have already been sold. It's not as much as we had last year at this time but just as tasty.

June Swarm

It's been very slow in the swarm department this month. Not sure if people aren't calling into the Guild or there just aren't many swarms being spotted. Got a call today after a month dry spell. It was an easy text book capture. The homeowner and her children were fascinate with the whole process, from behind the screen door. :) After the queen was putting in the box about a third of the bees started to swarm again but within 15 minutes everyone head into the box and by sunset we had all five pounds of the girls inside the box.

Saratoga Library Tonight

Remember the Bee Guild June meeting is at the Saratoga library tonight, starting at 7:00 p.m.

The July meeting will be a field trip to the Rabbit Foot Meadery in Sunnyvale. Still working on the date and time of the event.