Sorry it's late folks, but attached is the November - December 2009 club newsletter.  As soon as I get the latest edition, I'll publish it here for download.  Click the following link to download, save and print!

Nov- Dec 2009 "The Bee's Mead" newsletter:  

Sean Kelly
Web Editor

Here's a look at upcoming events at Pierce County Beekeeper's Association:

Jan 4, 2010 General Meeting will be Election of Officers and the Bob Stump award nominations. Lou Matej will give us an introduction to the Master Syallabus.
Lou Matej, Jim Smith, Karen Kelly, John Timmons, and Mark M will be helping with class registration for new classes 30 minutes prior to class time-6:00pm.
Yearly PCBA membership dues are now $20.00 starting 1/1/2010 due to the cost increase of the usage of the Research Center for our monthly meetings.
 
It is important for beekeepers to lift their hives to see if they need to put syrup into their hives- you can tell by the weight of the hive if it is needed.  Add syrup on days that are approx. 45-50 degrees, so as not to freeze your bees.
 
Due to Holiday closures of the Library the Boarding Meeting changes are as follows- Jan. and Feb. meetings will be on 1/11/2010 and 2/8/2010 in the South Room at the Main Puyallup Library - still at 6:00 pm.
 
Spring Fair will be coming - John Timmons will be heading this up.
Also John has graciously offered a Field Day to his property to show how hives are made and the process of putting the hive/frames together - picnic included on a Saturday in June.
 
Feb. General Meeting our speaker will be Kirsten Northfield from WSU speaking on her research.
 
We will be having 2 raffles in 2010- one in March and one in June- also an auction in November - we need our members to please start bringing in items for these events.
 
Return of PCBA library books - a time limit for check out of our books is 3 months - please return them to our librarian Sue McCarthy.
 
PCBA hats are $10.00
 
The Puyallup Public Library has sent a Thank You to the PCBA members for the donation to purchase beekeeping DVD's/books for the members and public to utilize. Just an FYI you can go to any library and have these books loaned from one library to another so it does not matter where you live... you can still access these books.

Active Members: 107 plus 5 Comp & Other Bee Clubs
10 new members
5  renewals
14 members up for renewal and 4 member(s) dropped since  April.

Due Sept. Robert Matthews, Esther Short  [n.s.]

Due Oct. Lincoln Mettler, Kevin Beninger, Raymond  Cross, Susan  Koch, Kathryn Long, Robert Pietila, Sharon Remagen, Robert Rice, Terry  Skinner

Due Nov. Andy Matelich, Annette & Mike Smith, Rudy Steele


Member Renewals: Walter Babb,  Richard Collins, Bob Hartman, Nick Hilger, Franclyn Heinecke,

New Members:  Gerald Baker, Patrick Cain, Calvin Brodie, Norman &  Erin LaVerdiere, Carlos & Ann Lively, Carolyn Mayer, Ken Roosa, Mark Rosenkranz, Sonja & Tom Spithaler, Michael Stevenson

If you get the Discovery's Planet Green channel, tune in this Saturday Oct 24th at 5:00pm.  They will be showing a documentary called "The Last Beekeeper", following 3 commercial beekeepers dealing with Colony Collapse Disorder.

Click here to read more about the show.

Sean Kelly - Webmaster

Dr. Steve Sheppard from WSU's entomology department will be speaking November 2nd at our general meeting.  It's recommended that everyone takes samples of their bees to be brought back to WSU.

Also, fall is almost here.  It's that time of the year we check the weight of our colonies and feed syrup/pollen if needed to build the number of young bees to overwinter.  Don't forget to check for Varroa Mites and treat if needed.

Hope to see everyone at the next meeting!!!

Sean Kelly - Webmaster

It's that time of the year again and if you haven't already, you need to register your colonies with the state of Washington's Department of Agriculture.  You can download and print the form from the following website:  WSDA's Plant Protection Bee Info.

Thank you!

 Sean Kelly - Webmaster

If this is not the first time you have visited our website then you have probably noticed that things have changed.  The changes should provide the necessary framework to make easy updates to the site.  We will be working hard to ensure that the website is updated regularly with information on beekeeping, upcoming speakers, events, and news.

 PCBA Webmasters