Greetings Toe Cane Beekeepers,
Great News:  Regular club meetings will resume on March 22, 2022, with our first IN-PERSON meeting of the year in a new location, with a great speaker.

Lewis Cauble, State Apiary Inspector for our region, will be our guest speaker at 6:30 p.m. on March 22 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 15 Hemlock Avenue, Spruce Pine. The meeting will be in the Fellowship Hall with plenty of room for a big crowd.  Come and hear Lewis tell us “What Three Things You Need to Get Right to be a Successful Beekeeper.”  No doubt he’ll have some tips on swarm management and control of varroa mites. 

There will NOT be a pot-luck dinner at this meeting due to continuing concern over Covid, but we hope to resume dinner meetings in the future.

Future Speakers

Our hard-working speaker committee (Susan Spruill, Ann Coomber and Kristi Benningfield) have lined up other stellar speakers for the coming months including Bob Binnie on April 26.  Binnie is a well-known YouTuber and owner of Blue Ridge Honey Company.  He’ll talk to us about the various uses of the double-screen divider board (Snellgrove board).

Also in the works are speakers Ana Heck of Michigan State University, talking about Queen Pheromones; Ang Roell of They Keep Bees, discussing their work with producing top-quality queens, and Allison McAfee of NC State University.

President Ed Geouge will be offering his Blue Rock Apiary as the site for a special meeting this spring where we will get hands-on opportunities to learn about our favorite subject — honey bees.  Stay tuned for further details on all these speakers and be sure to check our terrific new website for updates and news. (toecanebeekeepers.net)

Recent Donation

We owe special thanks to the Mitchell County Farm Bureau for a recent donation of $200, which will allow the club to offer educational events that are open to the public, as are all our club meetings.

Time to Renew Membership

Although all meetings are open to the public, paid members of the club get many additional perks including ability to borrow extracting equipment, mentoring for new beekeepers and listing on the swarm-collecting list.  If you haven’t renewed your membership for 2022, please do so.  We are now able to renew memberships and pay online via our secure website.  Just go to toecanebeekeepers.net and click on the Join link. Or mail a check to Ann Coomber, treasurer, 375 Bee Branch Rd., Burnsville, NC 28714.

Other News

A few other news items:  We are continuing to pursue a partnership with Mayland Community College to set up a club apiary near the Mayland campus outside Spruce Pine.  This will allow us to have a demonstration/educational site for beekeepers in the area as well as school groups and others.

The club also is planning for our Members-Only Picnic and Day in the Bee Yard in June or July, a booth at the Mount Mitchell Craft Fair in August, and our now-famous Mayland Honey Tasting Contest in October.  More details will be shared as they develop.

Thanks to all of you who have continued to support our club, and especially to many NEW members.  It’s going to be a great 2022 season.