April 26th was a picture-perfect day for our FCBA 2014 Field Day held for the benefit of the students of FCBA’s January 2014 Beekeeping Class for Beginners. A great pot luck barbeque was held at Dean Fitzgerald’s farm North of Frederick where Allen keeps many of his hives. Thanks, Dean, for providing the meeting area and for the use of your grill!
Lunch was followed by a how-to demo in smoker lighting led by Rose. Then it was out into the field to inspect some of Allen’s hives. Allen demonstrated how to install a nuc into a deep brood box. Then we broke into three groups led by Allen, Rose and Bill to conduct hive inspections. Students dug deep into the hives looking for brood, honey, pollen, queen cells and, of course, the Queen! After the hives were closed up, we all again gathered around Allen who demonstrated how to hive a swarm that he had noticed earlier hanging in a nearby bush. He even grabbed a handful to show how docile they were!
Returning to Dean’s, we had door prize drawings, and students went away with their winnings including hive bodies, wax foundation, hive tools, honey buckets, a veil and even some day lilies!
Of the event, VP Rose said, “I counted 15 new beekeepers who showed up and all were exposed to some great demonstrations. In addition to the smoker practice and hive inspections, Kristien marked a queen, and Allen I both demonstrated a sugar roll which monitors mite count. We got a very nice compliment from one couple who also attended a short course in PA. They said our course and field day were even more helpful both in terms of content and how they were conducted. I think FCBA members are the best!”
Thanks to Kim, Dave and Mike who contributed photos to the below gallery.