ONCE AGAIN, I forgot the camera when we had a special guest star. Joan Elliott, who I had invited to come speak to us about gardening on January 15, was having a difficult time thinking of any way she could talk about it in the dead of winter. Serendipitously, her husband Bud found a bee hive on their property and that sparked a thought for her. Across the road, they have a neighbor who raises bees! So, putting the gears in motion, Joan invited Clark and his friend Sam to come speak to us about the care of bees. We all learned a lot!
For instance, I had no idea that bees could decide whether or not to accept a queen. Who knew hives were more democratic than that? I always thought they just lived with who they had, sort of like England. But NO, if the worker bees perceive that their queen is not up to standards, they will begin raising a rival who will either kill the old queen or take off with a portion of the hive and start over elsewhere. I was fascinated and frankly, a little disillusioned that bees and humans could act so similarly. Clark and Sam have said we should all come for the honey harvest later this year, and I for one hope we do. Thanks, fellas!
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