Yesterday I attended my first Beekeepers meeting at Newmillerdam. I would say I was definately the youngest person there by several years so felt a bit out of place at first. The meeting had a guest speaker who was talking about candlemaking and the properties of Beeswax. I found it very informative and when I finally get some bees and eventually have a bit of spare wax, I will then have a go at making a candle or 2!
After the meeting I got talking to someone who does beginner courses in beekeeping starting in May and I was surprised to find they only cost about £35!! Bargain! They also come with the option to buy some Bees at a discounted price at the end, approx £75, however by the end of the course it would be too late in the year for a new colony to produce enough honey for the beekeeper to take. I told the guy I intended to get my Bees prior to the course starting and do the course alongside being a first year Beekeeper and he said this isn't a problem. Maybe I'll still take advantage of the discount Bees with a mind to have a second hive up and running by the summer. One of the main questions I had to ask when at the meeting was whether members of Wakefield Beekeepers had access to a extractor for when the honey crop was ready, unfortunatly that question slipped my mind at the time and I forgot to ask. Oops!! I told the guy who hosts the course that I had already bought and assembled my hive and that I'd already made the frames including putting the foundation in. Unfortunately this was the wrong thing to do as the wax foundation can spoil if taken out of it's protective plastic wrapping. Oh well, I was excited about it all arriving and the foundation isn't the most expensive if I need to replace it. He did say that as long as I don't store it somewhere too cold it should be ok. I will see in the new year how big a mistake I made!!
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