Dear Bee Caretakers,

Tuesday of this week Dan led three other beekeepers on a tour/check up on our hives. Peter's and Annie's hives, one apiece, are active, Peter's maybe needing feeding. Erik and Robert's one remaining hive (one was vacated and its honey extracted at Lise & Dan's new kitchen) was vacated, though three supers hold lots of honey. On to Dan and Lise's and Sherry's: two down, one up. One with honey to extract.

Locality total: 3 wins, four losses.

So we will be ordering new colonies soon.

Also I contacted an Alsea beekeeper of 35 years; he too had lost colonies, the worst record ever for him: 2 wins,10 losses. He is contacting bee people at OSU and will phone me if he learns anything. He wants us to check for foul brood (details of how in the Beekeeper's Handbook in Peter's hands) and he speculates that mites or herbicides might have been lethal. He is puzzled by hives with honey being vacated.

We need to get the press set up and press honey from the vacated supers. I will set up a date very soon (our kitchen!) and I know Sherry wants to get the beeswax processed into candles.

Looking forward,

Erik