Field Day 2017

Dear Club Members,

 

Just wanted to send a quick note about our Field Day this past weekend.  We had a great turnout of new beekeepers who said the Field Day is exactly what they needed to see.  I want to thank Allen Winpigler and Dave Maloney, the only other veteran beekeepers on hand, for helping out.  And a special thanks to Allen for allowing us to, once again, invade his hives to see what beekeeping is all about.  We were able to go in and see eggs, larvae, capped brood, emerging brood, workers, drones, capped honey, queen cups and finally we got to see a queen.  Allen even showed folks how he marks her.  Nearing the end of the demonstration, Allen reached in his pocket and found a queen he placed there a couple of days ago.  She was doing fine, but because she had her, he showed those in attendance how to make a split.

 

The weather cooperated perfectly and the food was delicious.  I appreciate all that everyone did to make the day go off without a hitch.

 

Thanks,

Glen

 

 

 

Field Day 2016

Dear Beeks,

Just wanted to send out a thank you for all who attended today’s Field Day.  We had about 50 folks show up in weather that didn’t seem to be too promising.  However, the weather gods played nice and we had no rain, the fog lifted and temps rose to around 55-60 degrees by the time we decided to head down to the hives.

A huge thank you goes out to Allen Winpigler for allowing us to delve into his hives, and Dean Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald’s Heavy Timber Construction for being gracious enough to allow us to ‘swarm’ onto his farm every year without complaint.

Although we didn’t think we were going to be able to get deep into the hives, Allen soon saw that conditions were favorable to do so.  We saw just about everything we were looking for; brood, larvae, queens, drones, workers, baby bees being born (emerging), and some were able to see some eggs.  We saw capped honey, as well as uncapped nectar, and all different colors of pollen to boot.  We were treated to seeing how Allen splits a hive as a swarm he caught last week was teaming with bees, and quite a few swarm cells were visible.  Allen quickly asked for a new box from his truck and started moving frames around.  Allen had about 15 queens banked in a hive ready for new homes as soon as the weather breaks and we talked a little about those.  We also went into his recently made nucs, which will make it to some of the newbees homes in a few weeks, to see if the new queens were released yet.  Some were, and some weren’t.  Allen proceeded to release the remaining queens and we watched them march into the hives ready to start laying eggs and raising a huge family.

I thank all of you for bringing your delicious recipes to share with everyone.  There was plenty of food and great questions to be answered.  We hope that this experience, the class and field day alike, were well worth your time.  We wish you all the very best in your endeavors to become full blown beekeepers and wish you all have a very successful year ahead.  Please don’t let this be the last we hear from you.  Ask any questions you have through email or on Facebook.  We’d love to hear from you, and see how you’re doing.  We would love to see some pictures posted to the Facebook page, as well.

Happy Keeping,
Glen

x2 x1 x3

May 2nd Field Day a Hit with New Beekeepers

The FCBA held their annual field day at Allen Winpigler’s outyard north of Frederick on May 2, 2015. While organized primarily to help 2015 Beekeeping Course students better understand what goes on inside a bee hive, the event was open to all club members as well. After a potluck lunch and smoker demo by Glen Mayers, participants headed to the apiary where folks were divided into three groups headed by experienced beekeepers Allen Winpigler, Bill McGiffin and Joe O’Connell (ably assisted by Master Beekeeper Robbie Roeshman) who performed the hive inspections. Afterwards, all gathered around Allen who demonstrated a “powdered sugar roll” test on a jar full of bees to monitor for Varrroa mite levels.

Candy Making 2014

Guy Neal, thank you so much for hosting our 2014 candy making party.  And what a party it was!!! Guy’s country property is beautiful and the weather was great.  The group, made up of me, Rose, Lisa, Paula, Kit May, Jack, Dave and Guy was just right for the amount of candy we made.  Thanks to John Klapac who, while out of town for the event, did provide a burner, bottled gas as well as large cookie sheets. We ended up with about 80 – 90 lbs of sugar used and enough for everyone to take home and put to good use.

Guy supplied a wonderfully cooked crock pot turkey with some venison and all the fixin’s.  Lots of chips, sides, sodas and Girl Scout cookies to go around, too.  It was a great day.

– Glen

P.S.  We almost had some big excitement when a huge hawk tried to dive on top of one of Guy’s chickens pretty much right in front of us.  I didn’t know I was such the chicken farmer I was when I started to run and yell to have the hawk fly away after it missed.  🙂

[nggallery id=8]

FCBA Participates at Nature Fest 2014

011
Dave Maloney with his show-and-tell table.

I spent yesterday manning the FCBA beekeeping table at the 2014 Catoctin Creek Park Nature Fest in Middletown MD. The event was well-attended and packed with exhibitors. To my left was the MD Bluebird Society. To my right were folks from Wild Birds Unlimited. Mike Turell was across the way from me with his Bug Buddies and their insect collection. (I even met Rosie the tarantula!) Bird walks, gardening, tree plantings, archery sessions, campfire activities, live raptor and turtle presentations, nature crafts, and, of course, honey bees made for quite an educational experience for kids and grown-ups alike.

2014 Field Day for Bee Class Students

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!

IMG_0390 (Large)
“Friendly little critters,” said Allen.

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.

2014 FCBA Field Day Scheduled for April 26th

Hi!

Here is a chance to peek into another member’s bee hives – Allen’s!

The Frederick County Beekeeping Association is planning its Beekeeping Class 2014 Field Day for April 26th (11am-2pm). Students as well as FCBA members are welcome to attend. Of course this is assuming we will have good weather on April 26th! If it turns nasty on that day (rainy, cold, windy), we’ll need to postpone the event. Should that happen, we will email you by 9AM on April 26th.

The field day will take place at Allen’s Apiary which is located at 10801 Powell Rd., Thurmont, MD 21788. The site is on the West side of RT 15 about 9 1/2 miles north of Frederick. See map below.

Here is the program:

  1. Potluck picnic
  2. Review of the use of a smoker
  3. Opening hives and ‘reading frames’ (this is all hands-on, so be prepared to get close to smoke and bees)
  4. Discuss strategies for feeding, swarm control, pest and disease management discussion

For the Picnic, we will have a barbecue. The FCBA will be providing general supplies including hamburgers and hot dogs, beverages and condiments. Please bring a dish to share. Suggestions are desserts, summer salads and appetizers.

Also, please bring your own chair if you need one.

You are welcome to bring your family members, team members, children and friends.

Anyone (including guests) who wants to participate in the hive inspection must have a veil and gloves. This is important. You will not be able to participate within the bee area without a veil and gloves. The bees will probably be docile as they usually are, but wearing protective clothing is considered a best practice.

If you want to practice lighting your smoker, please bring your smoker, fuel, matches and a hive tool.

– Rose

xbees

 

 

FCBA Represented at 2014 Ag Expo

FCBA members Laura Ritchie and her husband, Wes, organized and participated in the 2014 Ag Expo presented at the Frederick County Fair Grounds on March 27, 2014 for the benefit of 5th grade students at Spring Ridge Elementary School. Laura’s table was full of teaching aids with which she explained the life cycle of honey bees and how they contribute in Nature as pollinators. The second table was organized and manned by Wes Ritchie. Wes brought and explained the basic beekeeper hardware and how it is used, including the parts of a bee hive as well as the protective clothing worn by the beekeeper. Dave Maloney assisted Wes and gave samples of honey for the students to taste.

 

Laura Ritchie Beekeeping Station Organizer

 

Wes and Laura Ritchie
Wes and Laura Ritchie

 

Wes Ritchie and Dave Maloney
Wes Ritchie and Dave Maloney
5th graders being given instructions before the event begins.
5th graders being given instructions before the event begins.
Laura teaching the students at her Station.
Laura teaching the students at her Station.
Wes explaining the parts of a bee hive.
Wes explaining the parts of a bee hive.

See more images here, including Laura’s Play Dough Honey Bee!

[nggallery id=4]


The below article explains the event:

Grant Makes a Difference
Posted by Dian Nelson at 3/20/2014
Students to Present at Ag Expo

Thanks to generous donations to the FCPS Gifts for Education fund, a grant is helping fifth graders at Spring Ridge Elementary and their teacher specialist Dawn Getzandanner will get to participate in this year’s Ag Expo at the Frederick Fairgrounds.

On Thursday, March 27, all of the school’s fifth graders will visit 12 hands-on stations at the Expo, designed to teach agriculture and environmental science lessons. A smaller group will present a program on pollination that they learned through their “Best of Bugs” unit.   “This opportunity will allow students to further their knowledge of the FCPS life science and environmental science curriculum and continue our partnership with The Great Frederick Fair,” says Getzandanner.

“I am proud to have dedicated staff who value real-life learning experiences for students. The Ag Expo is a one-of-a-kind experience that represents project-based learning at its finest,” says Principal Deborah Thackston. “Our students have spent the winter months of their afterschool extended-learning STEM sessions exploring curriculum through the Engineering Is Elementary unit entitled “The Best of Bugs” with enrichment teacher Regina Farnsworth. As experts, this group of students will participate in the Expo as presenters and attendees.”

Many local businesses and organizations have also volunteered time and expertise to enhance the experience for students. Supporting the hands-on learning stations are Catoctin Mountain Orchards, Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist author Michael Judd, Flower Fashions of Frederick, the Frederick County Beekeeping Association, The Great Frederick Fair, Home Depot on Buckeystown Pike, Hood College, Lucas Village Community Garden, Master Gardeners of Frederick County and Seed of Life Nurseries.

The Community Foundation of Frederick County accepts tax-deductible donations for the Gifts for Education fund and has distributed over $120,000 in more than 200 grants since the endowments were launched in 1998. Anyone wishing to donate may call 301-696-6805. The next round of grants is in September 2014. Schools wishing to apply may contact  Deb.Huffman@fcps.org.


 The below appeared in the Frederick News Post on March 28, 2014.

2014_03_28DaveAgExpoBees