WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:03.629 May I have your attention please? The following 00:00:03.629 --> 00:00:10.789 is not the real Jeff Fox review. If your beehives 00:00:10.789 --> 00:00:16.789 have more insulation than your house, you might 00:00:16.789 --> 00:00:23.730 be a beekeeper. If you have a love -hate relationship 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:29.699 with hay fever season, You might be a beekeeper. 00:00:33.060 --> 00:00:37.659 If you cried like a baby when your favorite colony 00:00:37.659 --> 00:00:57.979 swarmed, you might be a beekeeper. I can't wait 00:00:57.979 --> 00:00:59.920 for you to hear today's episode because we're 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:02.500 going to have a conversation with someone whose 00:01:02.500 --> 00:01:06.359 bees produce the world's best tasting honey. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:09.280 Together we'll learn how she does it, where she 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.299 does it, and how you can improve your honey. 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:17.760 But first, here's something a little weird and 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:19.900 interesting from the world of honey bees and 00:01:19.900 --> 00:01:23.140 beekeeping. Have you ever heard of purple honey? 00:01:23.579 --> 00:01:27.099 In the Sandhills region of North Carolina, Between 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:29.739 the capital of Raleigh and Charlotte, visitors 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:33.219 may not even realize what a rare ecological niche 00:01:33.219 --> 00:01:36.140 that they have stepped into. The region is one 00:01:36.140 --> 00:01:39.019 of the last homes for unique flora and fauna 00:01:39.019 --> 00:01:42.260 like the southern hognose snake and the Carolina 00:01:42.260 --> 00:01:45.799 gopher frog, both of which are endangered. But 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:49.760 what it's also known for is something that university 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:53.859 researchers, foodies, and conspiracy theorists 00:01:53.859 --> 00:01:56.939 all scratch their heads over. It's a rare and 00:01:56.939 --> 00:02:00.579 coveted honey in a deep shade of aubergine purple, 00:02:00.819 --> 00:02:03.640 and no one knows for sure what gives it that 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:07.519 color, that hue. In this area, if the conditions 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:10.819 are exactly right and the timing is perfect, 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:14.240 beekeepers will visit their hives and find not 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:18.060 just frames brimming with golden honey, but sometimes 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:21.500 even honey with a deep violet glow. According 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:24.800 to Paige Burns, the Richmond County Extension 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:28.780 Director, it's true, nobody knows what causes 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:32.409 purple honey. According to her, it's speculated 00:02:32.409 --> 00:02:35.530 that it's the alkalinity of the soil changing 00:02:35.530 --> 00:02:39.409 the honey's color as it changes hydrangeas from 00:02:39.409 --> 00:02:42.930 blue to pink. Another thought is that it's wild 00:02:42.930 --> 00:02:46.250 berries surrounding the bee's territory. And 00:02:46.250 --> 00:02:48.689 the idea that probably sparks the most debate 00:02:48.689 --> 00:02:53.150 is that it's the deep violet flower of the invasive 00:02:53.150 --> 00:02:57.189 kudzu vine. Beekeepers in the area have reported 00:02:57.189 --> 00:02:59.729 finding the beautiful purple honey in their hives 00:02:59.729 --> 00:03:03.370 for years, but even so, its appearance is so 00:03:03.370 --> 00:03:07.189 sporadic and at the whim of chance that it continues 00:03:07.189 --> 00:03:10.469 to be a surprise when it does appear. Purple 00:03:10.469 --> 00:03:13.229 honey is most likely to arise under drought -like 00:03:13.229 --> 00:03:16.669 conditions, and it's believed that blue -black 00:03:16.669 --> 00:03:20.750 huckleberries that grow on shrubs rooted in thirst 00:03:20.750 --> 00:03:24.710 -tolerant clay feed the bees that can't locate 00:03:24.710 --> 00:03:28.770 traditional, more water -dependent blooms. Okay, 00:03:28.969 --> 00:03:31.370 I don't have the answers for you, but if you're 00:03:31.370 --> 00:03:33.930 in North Carolina and can answer the purple honey 00:03:33.930 --> 00:03:37.210 mystery, please get a hold of me and we'll get 00:03:37.210 --> 00:03:39.789 you on the show. In the meantime, I would love 00:03:39.789 --> 00:03:47.650 to try a jar. I'd like to welcome to the show 00:03:47.650 --> 00:03:51.449 today our super special guest, Virginia Webb. 00:03:51.490 --> 00:03:54.509 How are you, Virginia? Doing great today, Eric. 00:03:54.590 --> 00:03:56.969 Thank you so much. I'm so honored to be with 00:03:56.969 --> 00:03:59.889 your show today. Thank you for inviting me. The 00:03:59.889 --> 00:04:02.490 big thing that we're going to learn today is 00:04:02.490 --> 00:04:07.180 about Virginia. Because she has the world's best 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:11.039 tasting honey Now that's not from her. That's 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:13.879 from not from me. That's from real live judges 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:16.699 Would you tell us a little bit about that first 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:18.560 and then we'll find out where you are and a little 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:21.860 bit more about you The Center for honeybee research 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:24.839 in Asheville, North Carolina has sponsored the 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:27.720 black jar contest Which is actually a tasting 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:31.500 contest where they solicit honey from around 00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:36.319 the world and it truly is a global international 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:39.519 honey contest where you send in honeys from your 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:43.560 local hives. It's judged in several different 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:46.480 batches because they get thousands of entries. 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:49.939 They'll go through several elimination periods 00:04:49.939 --> 00:04:53.399 where they're going to finalize that last 40 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:56.420 or 50 jars of honey where they have specially 00:04:56.420 --> 00:04:59.120 trained judges who know what to look for when 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:02.290 it comes to the taste of honey. And they go through 00:05:02.290 --> 00:05:05.089 them. They're going to be looking for the flavor 00:05:05.089 --> 00:05:07.430 of the area that it's from. They're going to 00:05:07.430 --> 00:05:10.870 look for the flour. Certainly, honey is the soul 00:05:10.870 --> 00:05:13.370 of the flour. That's what they want to taste 00:05:13.370 --> 00:05:15.750 when they taste a jar of honey. They could be 00:05:15.750 --> 00:05:19.189 creamed honey or liquid honey. No infused honey 00:05:19.189 --> 00:05:21.870 or comb honey is allowed in the competition. 00:05:22.730 --> 00:05:25.709 but they eliminate it down to about 40 or 50 00:05:25.709 --> 00:05:28.910 jars of honey and from that a panel of judges 00:05:28.910 --> 00:05:31.769 and I'm not sure how many exactly were in it 00:05:31.769 --> 00:05:33.470 this year, but I think it's about eight to ten 00:05:33.470 --> 00:05:36.389 judges. They have a scoring sheet that they go 00:05:36.389 --> 00:05:39.250 through and they look for the special taste of 00:05:39.250 --> 00:05:42.709 honey and the overall best tasting honey. The 00:05:42.709 --> 00:05:44.889 best tasting honey is not the only award they 00:05:44.889 --> 00:05:47.990 give. They actually give a number of awards out 00:05:47.990 --> 00:05:52.569 during the judging contest. It's funny. I want 00:05:52.569 --> 00:05:55.810 to congratulate you, but shouldn't I really be 00:05:55.810 --> 00:05:59.029 congratulating your bees? Absolutely. They're 00:05:59.029 --> 00:06:00.930 those girls that are out there working in the 00:06:00.930 --> 00:06:03.389 field. They're the ones who deserve all the credit 00:06:03.389 --> 00:06:06.930 and trust me I treat them as good as I can making 00:06:06.930 --> 00:06:10.370 sure they're healthy. I maintain You know, my 00:06:10.370 --> 00:06:12.610 apiaries, I have six of them here in the Northeast 00:06:12.610 --> 00:06:16.069 Georgia mountains. I keep the grass down. I make 00:06:16.069 --> 00:06:19.110 sure that the mite levels are very low. I have 00:06:19.110 --> 00:06:21.350 bear fences up here. You know, bears are native 00:06:21.350 --> 00:06:24.209 to North America, honey bees are not. So I definitely 00:06:24.209 --> 00:06:26.910 keep those up and I just make sure they're happy 00:06:26.910 --> 00:06:29.149 girls while they're up here. That's what it's 00:06:29.149 --> 00:06:31.910 all about, I guess. I mean, there's the whole 00:06:31.910 --> 00:06:35.389 happy cow slogan. If your bees are happy, maybe 00:06:35.389 --> 00:06:39.180 that adds to the flavor. I think it does. They 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:41.579 just want to work that much more for you. I don't 00:06:41.579 --> 00:06:45.199 know. I think it does too. It's a wonderful partnership 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:48.439 we have with our bees. Can you tell us a little 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:51.399 bit about what they're foraging on that is making 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:54.360 that honey so special? Well here in northeast 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:57.699 Georgia I'm able to collect two different crops 00:06:57.699 --> 00:07:00.819 of honey. I harvest in the springtime honey, 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:03.540 which is the clover, the locust, the blackberry, 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:07.939 the tulip poplar, apple trees, blueberries, all 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:10.100 of the flowers that bloom in that springtime. 00:07:10.339 --> 00:07:13.459 I've taken all of that honey off by the first 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:15.500 of June and I'm going to be extracting that out 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:18.060 and that's what I finished doing today. So when 00:07:18.060 --> 00:07:20.639 my bees Right now we're getting ready for the 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:23.720 sour wood to bloom. I've put on dry combs, which 00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:26.199 means the combs are fresh and they're dry. There's 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:28.980 no other honey in there. And I want to get the 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:31.899 sour wood as pure as I possibly can. It's a little 00:07:31.899 --> 00:07:34.399 bit of an art trying to determine when the sour 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:37.040 wood is going to bloom, because sour wood trees, 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:40.560 which is a native tree to North America, it depends 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:46.259 on the weather and the rainfall. Sourwood likes 00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:49.319 a wet spring and a dry summer, and it's looking 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:51.399 like we could have another good year this year 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:55.040 for sourwood. So I've started putting on, and 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:57.000 actually all of my bees already have at least 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:59.879 one super of dry comb on them. The sourwood is 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:02.819 just beginning to bloom in the lower elevations. 00:08:03.300 --> 00:08:05.759 Sourwood does much better in higher elevations. 00:08:06.060 --> 00:08:08.980 So probably the middle of next week, I'll be 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:10.720 checking all my bees and see if they're ready 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:14.069 for a second super. Can I plant sourwood trees 00:08:14.069 --> 00:08:17.689 around here? You're in Utah? Yeah, I don't know 00:08:17.689 --> 00:08:20.430 if they'd grow. You may be able to get an ornamental 00:08:20.430 --> 00:08:22.509 tree. You know, the sourwood tree is known by 00:08:22.509 --> 00:08:25.610 several different names. If you go to a nursery, 00:08:25.709 --> 00:08:28.990 you'll find the sourwood tree listed as the Appalachian 00:08:28.990 --> 00:08:32.070 lily tree or the lily of the valley tree. So 00:08:32.070 --> 00:08:35.509 they are available for sale. Yeah, but would 00:08:35.509 --> 00:08:38.190 they live in a colder climate? I don't know. 00:08:38.190 --> 00:08:40.830 You talked about high elevations. How cold does 00:08:40.830 --> 00:08:45.279 it get? We have snow. The range of sourwood is 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:48.899 generally from North Georgia through southern 00:08:48.899 --> 00:08:52.820 Pennsylvania and mainly in the mountain section. 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:55.860 There's great sourwood locations in Tennessee, 00:08:56.659 --> 00:08:59.659 North Carolina, Virginia. The Shenandoah Valley 00:08:59.659 --> 00:09:02.759 is an excellent area for sourwood and even up 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:05.659 to West Virginia and a little bit of southern 00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:08.679 Pennsylvania. By the way, I tried sour wood honey 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.659 for the first time recently. One of your neighbors 00:09:11.659 --> 00:09:15.299 there in Georgia sent me a jar. It was fantastic. 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:18.879 I'm not quite sure how to describe it. I tasted 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:21.419 it and I'm like, wait a minute, is it is it sweet 00:09:21.419 --> 00:09:25.659 or is it sour? Is it there is kind of a sour 00:09:25.659 --> 00:09:28.500 something to it? I don't know. How would you 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:32.279 explain it? The whole palette of it? I certainly 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:35.350 would not consider it sour. If it's sour, it 00:09:35.350 --> 00:09:38.250 may have something mixed with it because up here 00:09:38.250 --> 00:09:41.129 there's virtually no other nectar producing flowers 00:09:41.129 --> 00:09:44.330 blooming except for a little clover, which there's 00:09:44.330 --> 00:09:47.049 everywhere, and then a little bit of sumac. Sumac 00:09:47.049 --> 00:09:49.570 can sour the honey a little bit. I try to make 00:09:49.570 --> 00:09:52.429 sure that I'm in areas that do not have sumac 00:09:52.429 --> 00:09:55.129 trees. That's that a way I can get the pure sour 00:09:55.129 --> 00:09:58.559 with that I can. But it has a very calming flavor 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.440 to it. It's almost a buttery flavor to it with 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:05.899 a little bit of creaminess to it. It feels very 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:08.200 good on the flat part of your tongue and the 00:10:08.200 --> 00:10:11.159 back of your tongue. I don't have a very refined 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:15.279 palate. I have a feeling the sour part just entered 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:19.279 into my brain because of the term sour wood. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:23.059 So I don't know. But anyway, it was super delicious. 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:25.960 That's all I know. Hey, I want to hear about 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:27.940 some of your credentials, because I wrote some 00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:32.159 down the other day. You have three master beekeeper 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:34.919 certifications? That's correct. I've been very 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:37.179 blessed. The University of Georgia, the University 00:10:37.179 --> 00:10:39.799 of Florida, and then Eastern Agricultural Society. 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:43.659 I think that I'm the only person in the United 00:10:43.659 --> 00:10:46.399 States to have three master beekeeping certifications, 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:49.059 and I'm working on my fourth, but it won't happen 00:10:49.059 --> 00:10:51.159 this year. I hope that next year then I'll have 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:54.100 the fourth one. And then I also read that your 00:10:54.100 --> 00:10:56.879 honey has been served in the White House, the 00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:59.659 Georgia governor's mansion, the United Nations, 00:11:00.059 --> 00:11:03.539 like cordon bleu, probably in heaven somewhere. 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:07.240 It's quite a compliment. Yeah, funny that you 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.139 should say that when you go to my honey house, 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:12.519 the aroma of honey from the extractor is just 00:11:12.620 --> 00:11:17.080 fills the air. My dad once told me that he doesn't 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:19.620 know what heaven looks like, but he certainly 00:11:19.620 --> 00:11:22.139 knows what heaven smells like. It's going to 00:11:22.139 --> 00:11:24.679 smell like a honey house with that fresh harvest 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:27.820 of honey being extracted out that just absolutely 00:11:27.820 --> 00:11:30.320 fills the air. And I've always loved that quote 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:33.120 from my dad. I'm going to quote him on that. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.980 That is a good one. So one of the other things 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:38.519 that I was curious about, it sounds like you 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:41.629 know a lot about honey judging as well. Have 00:11:41.629 --> 00:11:44.269 you been a Honey Judge? I've been a Honey Judge 00:11:44.269 --> 00:11:48.850 for nearly 50 years. Okay. I'm very fortunate 00:11:48.850 --> 00:11:52.210 to have worked with some absolutely wonderful 00:11:52.210 --> 00:11:56.009 judges in the past. W .O. Kennedy and Mr. Leslie 00:11:56.009 --> 00:12:00.190 Little from Tennessee back in the mid -1970s. 00:12:00.509 --> 00:12:03.149 I first trained as a Honey Judge there. I've 00:12:03.149 --> 00:12:06.190 also been certified in North Carolina and in 00:12:06.190 --> 00:12:08.950 Maryland. But I've also recently, within the 00:12:08.950 --> 00:12:11.870 last 20 years, become a part of the Welsh honey 00:12:11.870 --> 00:12:15.009 judging program. Although I don't judge that 00:12:15.009 --> 00:12:17.350 way anymore, I think it's too subjective. There's 00:12:17.350 --> 00:12:20.769 too many variables in there. I do still judge. 00:12:20.809 --> 00:12:23.090 I've judged at the American Beekeeping Federation. 00:12:23.370 --> 00:12:26.610 And also, I'm a senior judge at the World Beekeeping 00:12:26.610 --> 00:12:29.190 Federation, or Appamundia, which hosts the World 00:12:29.190 --> 00:12:32.269 Honey Show every two years. And you're headed 00:12:32.269 --> 00:12:36.096 to Copenhagen this year? I am. I'm going and... 00:12:36.090 --> 00:12:38.570 in September and you should be there. This is 00:12:38.570 --> 00:12:41.190 the place to be on this planet for a bee meeting 00:12:41.190 --> 00:12:46.350 in 2025. 10 ,000 beekeepers will be there. 350 00:12:46.350 --> 00:12:50.289 to 400 vendors, you know, that are just fabulous 00:12:50.289 --> 00:12:52.970 from all over the world. I think there'll be 00:12:52.970 --> 00:12:55.629 beekeepers represented on every continent except 00:12:55.629 --> 00:12:58.870 Antarctica. So it's a great meeting. It's a great 00:12:58.870 --> 00:13:02.230 place to be with beekeepers. You have manufacturers. 00:13:02.350 --> 00:13:05.850 You have honey sellers. You have equipment. makers. 00:13:06.210 --> 00:13:09.309 You have hobbyist beekeepers up to people who 00:13:09.309 --> 00:13:11.889 have tens of thousands of hives that will be 00:13:11.889 --> 00:13:15.009 there. The scientific program is absolutely the 00:13:15.009 --> 00:13:17.889 best one in the world. Dr. Jeff Pettis, formerly 00:13:17.889 --> 00:13:21.190 from the Beltsville Bee Lab, he is the president 00:13:21.190 --> 00:13:25.419 of Appamundia and he is absolutely doing a fantastic 00:13:25.419 --> 00:13:27.960 job in making sure we're going to have a wonderful 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:31.860 Appamundia in September. It's being hosted by 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:34.899 the Scandinavian Beekeeping Associations of Denmark, 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:38.600 Sweden and Norway, I believe. And they have been 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:41.740 working on this for four years to make sure that 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:45.740 they welcome the world beekeepers to this program. 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:48.980 And I will add Copenhagen is a beautiful city. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:51.059 If you have not been there, you will love it. 00:13:51.210 --> 00:13:54.870 I'm looking forward to it. Thank you. Lots of 00:13:54.870 --> 00:13:58.970 people have entered honey competitions. And they're 00:13:58.970 --> 00:14:03.049 going to say, Virginia, what is the secret? What 00:14:03.049 --> 00:14:06.389 can I do? Because my bees are just as good as 00:14:06.389 --> 00:14:09.610 everybody else's bees. Every beekeeper lives 00:14:09.610 --> 00:14:11.690 in a different area. And they have different 00:14:11.690 --> 00:14:13.669 flowers that are blooming, that they have different 00:14:13.669 --> 00:14:17.389 honey sources. It's really, you know, you just 00:14:17.389 --> 00:14:19.970 need to harvest your very best honey. That's 00:14:19.970 --> 00:14:22.789 all it is. The best honey in the world, the very 00:14:22.789 --> 00:14:25.570 best honey that you can find in the world is 00:14:25.570 --> 00:14:27.990 the honey that comes from your own beehives. 00:14:31.370 --> 00:14:33.590 Quick break to thank our presenting sponsor, 00:14:33.950 --> 00:14:36.669 Man Lake. Whether you're a beekeeper or not, 00:14:37.070 --> 00:14:39.690 you know that nutrition is key for healthy honey 00:14:39.690 --> 00:14:43.320 bees, native bees, and other pollinators. The 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:46.059 Man Lake app is a great resource for determining 00:14:46.059 --> 00:14:49.059 pollinator friendly plants that thrive in your 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:52.360 area. And its plant identification feature is 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:56.080 super helpful and fun. When I see a plant covered 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:59.620 in bees, I fire up the app on my phone, I find 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:02.500 out what that plant is, and then I can put them 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:06.240 in my own yard. The bees love it. If you haven't 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:08.779 already downloaded the Man Lake app, give it 00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:17.289 a try today. Oh, and by the way, it's free. You'll 00:15:17.289 --> 00:15:19.450 never taste anything better than what those girls 00:15:19.450 --> 00:15:21.690 in your backyard are making. That's the best 00:15:21.690 --> 00:15:24.429 honey you can eat. Now, certainly I was very 00:15:24.429 --> 00:15:26.889 blessed, and this is my second time winning best 00:15:26.889 --> 00:15:29.269 tasting honey in the world. It's not my first, 00:15:29.330 --> 00:15:31.429 it's my second, and I'm the only one to have 00:15:31.429 --> 00:15:35.110 won two times. I was very blessed with a wonderful 00:15:35.110 --> 00:15:37.909 harvest last year, and I was able to enter. But 00:15:37.909 --> 00:15:40.110 there were some other great prizes that were 00:15:40.110 --> 00:15:44.169 also awarded, including honey from Saudi Arabia, 00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:48.809 Turkey, Greece, Spain. Try to remember the other 00:15:48.809 --> 00:15:52.049 ones, but there was about five or six other countries 00:15:52.049 --> 00:15:55.289 that were represented on that final showbench 00:15:55.289 --> 00:15:59.029 with honey that was awarded. And remember again, 00:15:59.070 --> 00:16:01.149 it's not just the top prize, they give other 00:16:01.149 --> 00:16:05.620 prizes too. European honey, I think South Pacific 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:07.899 honey, and then they have regions in America 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:11.259 that they also give awards to. How long have 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:13.419 you been keeping bees? I've been keeping bees 00:16:13.419 --> 00:16:16.360 a long time. My father gave me my first hives 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:21.879 in 1963. I was able to enjoy 4 -H when I was 00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:24.320 in high school, and I was the first state winner 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.120 in beekeeping at the state competition, and then 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.899 I went on to nationals. That's where I got my 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:32.110 first Scholarship. I also continued working with 00:16:32.110 --> 00:16:34.870 beekeeping organizations in Tennessee and I was 00:16:34.870 --> 00:16:37.940 a former Tennessee state honey queen. I did have 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:41.740 a few years after college and after just a few 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:43.799 years that I wasn't keeping bees, but I have 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:46.279 to tell you, it was only a couple of years. I 00:16:46.279 --> 00:16:48.840 started keeping bees again when I lived in Atlanta, 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:51.919 Georgia, downtown Atlanta, Buckhead. I was called 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.639 the Buckhead Beekeeper for many years. And I 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:58.259 started keeping bees in the urban setting. But 00:16:58.259 --> 00:17:00.840 then I also bought a farm up in Northeast Georgia, 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:03.399 and I kept bees up there for several years. And 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:07.430 then I found a man that I really... loved very 00:17:07.430 --> 00:17:10.609 much Carl Webb, and he was a little older than 00:17:10.609 --> 00:17:12.890 I was. He had already retired. I was working 00:17:12.890 --> 00:17:15.769 for a bank at that time. I was an officer with 00:17:15.769 --> 00:17:19.670 a bank. And keeping bees on the side, my family 00:17:19.670 --> 00:17:22.390 was always a hobbyist beekeeper, but we did keep 00:17:22.390 --> 00:17:27.069 up to about 75 or 80 hives. But we fell in love 00:17:27.069 --> 00:17:30.650 and got married, and he had a couple hundred 00:17:30.650 --> 00:17:33.450 hives, but we grew our beekeeping business to 00:17:33.450 --> 00:17:36.970 about 600 hives. And we kept that for many, many 00:17:36.970 --> 00:17:40.250 years as a husband and wife operation. He died 00:17:40.250 --> 00:17:42.970 just a few years ago, but I continue that tradition 00:17:42.970 --> 00:17:47.789 and I'm loving every minute of it. Again, I'm 00:17:47.789 --> 00:17:50.009 working in the bees not every single day, but 00:17:50.009 --> 00:17:52.410 I'm certainly working with my business every 00:17:52.410 --> 00:17:54.970 day that I can. Well, this show is all about 00:17:54.970 --> 00:17:58.150 the love of the honeybees. Just what is it that 00:17:58.150 --> 00:18:00.990 you love about them? I can tell you've got it. 00:18:01.269 --> 00:18:03.670 You've got the spark. I can just say honeybee 00:18:03.670 --> 00:18:05.730 and you start smiling and your cheeks get a little 00:18:05.730 --> 00:18:08.450 rosy. Well, some things that I've been very proud 00:18:08.450 --> 00:18:10.609 of is I've really enjoyed teaching others about 00:18:10.609 --> 00:18:13.410 bees and beekeeping. I have a couple programs 00:18:13.410 --> 00:18:15.309 later this year that I'm going to be doing wax 00:18:15.309 --> 00:18:18.690 programs with and also some mentoring programs. 00:18:19.190 --> 00:18:21.309 But one thing that I've been very proud of is 00:18:21.309 --> 00:18:23.490 teaching young people and children about bees 00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:26.150 and beekeeping. And I have several videos that 00:18:26.150 --> 00:18:28.849 you can find on YouTube, educational programs 00:18:28.849 --> 00:18:32.529 about keeping bees and what the honeybee is and 00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:35.170 how important it is to our agricultural society. 00:18:35.849 --> 00:18:39.950 You can also find some videos on there for preparing 00:18:39.950 --> 00:18:42.569 Honey Show entries, and those are very, very 00:18:42.569 --> 00:18:45.009 popular. And a lot of people from all over the 00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:48.750 world contact me every week. I get a little email 00:18:48.750 --> 00:18:50.829 from someone who said that they watched my videos 00:18:50.829 --> 00:18:53.670 and really enjoyed learning about how to show 00:18:53.670 --> 00:18:56.650 honey. Some other things that I've been involved 00:18:56.650 --> 00:19:00.089 in is that I have worked with the prison program 00:19:00.089 --> 00:19:03.470 for the state of Georgia, Lee Arendale State 00:19:03.470 --> 00:19:05.769 Women's Prison. We do have a beekeeping program 00:19:05.769 --> 00:19:08.430 there. It is shutting down because they're moving 00:19:08.430 --> 00:19:11.210 the women to another centralized prison program, 00:19:11.349 --> 00:19:14.410 but I've been with that for six years. I've also 00:19:14.410 --> 00:19:17.950 worked with USAID and teaching beekeeping abroad. 00:19:18.430 --> 00:19:21.329 in Central America, South America, the Caribbean, 00:19:21.690 --> 00:19:24.849 and in Europe. So I've done some traveling with 00:19:24.849 --> 00:19:27.529 the beekeeping also. We had somebody else on 00:19:27.529 --> 00:19:30.890 the show recently from Canada that was talking 00:19:30.890 --> 00:19:34.390 about doing a beekeeping program with the prison 00:19:34.390 --> 00:19:38.509 that's in her area with incarcerated men. And 00:19:38.509 --> 00:19:41.089 it just sounded like they were having such an 00:19:41.089 --> 00:19:44.109 amazing experience. And it was really helping 00:19:44.109 --> 00:19:48.819 with their rehabilitation, with their Oh gee, 00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:51.839 their emotional focus and state of mind and everything 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.240 else. What kinds of benefits did you see for 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:56.849 the women that you worked with there? You know, 00:19:57.170 --> 00:20:01.049 prison work is very difficult. It's a vocational 00:20:01.049 --> 00:20:03.869 program that they offer, along with some other 00:20:03.869 --> 00:20:06.529 life skills that women can use. They do welding, 00:20:06.869 --> 00:20:10.390 carpentry, small engine repairs, mechanics, and 00:20:10.390 --> 00:20:13.410 cosmetology. So beekeeping was a new program 00:20:13.410 --> 00:20:16.650 for this prison for women. It's been in the men's 00:20:16.650 --> 00:20:18.750 programs for a number of years, but this was 00:20:18.750 --> 00:20:20.990 the first women's prison that we had been able 00:20:20.990 --> 00:20:22.789 to go through, and that's in conjunction with 00:20:22.789 --> 00:20:26.269 the Georgia Beekeepers Association. Most of the 00:20:26.269 --> 00:20:28.329 women that we have that are in this program, 00:20:28.690 --> 00:20:31.829 they have never been inside a beehive. They don't 00:20:31.829 --> 00:20:34.750 know anything about bees or beekeeping. So they're 00:20:34.750 --> 00:20:38.029 starting from the very, very basics. It's wonderful 00:20:38.029 --> 00:20:42.289 to see the light in their eyes and talk about 00:20:42.289 --> 00:20:44.630 what they're doing with the beekeeping program, 00:20:45.690 --> 00:20:48.230 extracting their own honey, treating the bees 00:20:48.230 --> 00:20:51.420 for mites. If a swarm happens that they're able 00:20:51.420 --> 00:20:53.819 to get, they're able to go ahead and capture 00:20:53.819 --> 00:20:56.359 that swarm. They go through the same process 00:20:56.359 --> 00:21:00.259 that you and I do. We also have, with the University 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:02.839 of Georgia, a master beekeeping program at the 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:05.319 prison systems here in Georgia. And a number 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:07.900 of the inmates in Georgia have been able to reach 00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:10.279 that master beekeeping level. And that's something, 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:13.619 too, I'm also very proud of. That's fantastic. 00:21:14.420 --> 00:21:17.059 What does it do for someone personally, though? 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:19.579 Can you give us an example of one person that 00:21:19.579 --> 00:21:22.059 you saw? And I don't know how well you get to 00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:24.039 know them. Maybe you don't have a chance to get 00:21:24.039 --> 00:21:26.500 to know them well enough. I could cry at this 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:28.980 one. We actually wrote about this. Julia Mahood, 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:33.019 who heads the program at Lee Arendale, she and 00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:34.859 I wrote an article for one of the B magazines 00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:37.500 a few years ago, and about April. I'll just give 00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:41.140 her first name, April. She is a lifer. She will 00:21:41.140 --> 00:21:43.819 be up for parole in another five to 10 years. 00:21:43.940 --> 00:21:46.730 She was the first time offender. When she was 00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:50.109 incarcerated, her family pretty well cut her 00:21:50.109 --> 00:21:52.730 off, even though she kept, and she does have 00:21:52.730 --> 00:21:56.670 a couple children. They're adults now, but she 00:21:56.670 --> 00:21:58.849 did keep their name on file if they wanted to 00:21:58.849 --> 00:22:03.490 visit. So she's always been very sweet, always 00:22:03.490 --> 00:22:07.390 a helper and everything. But when it comes to 00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:09.890 visitation days, and that's mostly on Saturdays 00:22:09.890 --> 00:22:13.539 and holidays, She's one of the individuals that 00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:17.420 stays in her cell or in her block because she 00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:20.539 doesn't have a lot of visitors. And then one 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:24.119 day at Saturday, the guard came out and said, 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:26.819 April, you have a visitor. And she said, oh, 00:22:26.859 --> 00:22:29.079 it must be my sister who comes to visit once 00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:32.759 or twice a year. So she went up to the guard 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:35.140 house where they have to go through a screening 00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:40.099 to get into a visit with family members. and 00:22:40.099 --> 00:22:42.700 she looked through the window, and that's when 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:46.420 she started shaking very bad. It was one of her 00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:50.079 daughters. She had not seen them since she had 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:51.779 been in prison, and she's been in prison more 00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:56.559 than 20 years now. And she was just amazed. So 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:59.799 when she went into the greeting area where they're 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:02.859 allowed to meet with family, the visitation hall 00:23:02.859 --> 00:23:05.599 there, they have to set on two different, or 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:10.829 a table. with one person on each side. And she 00:23:10.829 --> 00:23:13.730 just says, why are you here? I've written you 00:23:13.730 --> 00:23:17.430 all these years. I've sent you Christmas cards, 00:23:17.549 --> 00:23:20.069 birthday cards. I've never heard from you. And 00:23:20.069 --> 00:23:23.670 I just never understood why you didn't call or 00:23:23.670 --> 00:23:26.349 why you did not call, why you didn't visit or 00:23:26.349 --> 00:23:29.089 send something to me. And her daughter looked 00:23:29.089 --> 00:23:33.309 at her and said, well, I took a beekeeping class 00:23:33.309 --> 00:23:37.549 up in Bumpkin County, North Carolina. And they 00:23:37.549 --> 00:23:41.069 talked about a prison program here in Georgia. 00:23:42.009 --> 00:23:45.089 And they mentioned Lee Arendale. And you had 00:23:45.089 --> 00:23:47.130 said in your Christmas letter that you were starting 00:23:47.130 --> 00:23:49.690 to teach to learn about bees and beekeeping. 00:23:50.170 --> 00:23:53.109 And I thought I would come and share some of 00:23:53.109 --> 00:23:55.970 what I've learned with you. That is so awesome. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:24:00.000 It really is. It melts my heart. It really does. 00:24:00.460 --> 00:24:03.039 And we have women in our program that are lifers 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:06.059 without and some will come and go, but we do 00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:08.779 have success stories. And especially in the men's 00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:11.480 side, we've had a number of very successful people 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:13.920 who have gotten out of being incarcerated and 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:15.960 they've gone to work with commercial beekeeping 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:19.099 organizations. So there is a lot of success there. 00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:21.480 Again, I'm very proud to be a part of it and 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:24.420 the Georgia Beekeepers Association has been the 00:24:25.009 --> 00:24:28.690 cornerstone of that organization of helping prisons 00:24:28.690 --> 00:24:32.750 and the beekeeping program in many of the prisons 00:24:32.750 --> 00:24:34.869 here in Georgia. I think there's five or six 00:24:34.869 --> 00:24:37.990 that we're now in. That's very cool. All right, 00:24:37.990 --> 00:24:40.009 I want to shift gears a little bit in the last 00:24:40.009 --> 00:24:42.849 few minutes that we have here and ask something. 00:24:43.369 --> 00:24:47.079 I very often ask beekeepers if you had advice 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:50.420 for a brand new beekeeper, what would it be? 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:52.240 But I want to do something a little bit different 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:55.160 with you if you don't mind. And that is I have 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:58.019 met some beekeepers over the last few years that 00:24:58.019 --> 00:25:01.660 after their first or second year or third year 00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:05.500 of having bees die and then maybe die again, 00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:09.880 they just give up. So if someone is maybe in 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:13.000 that situation or getting close to it, what advice 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:15.619 do you have for them? You know, they put in all 00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:18.000 the money for the equipment they have, they bought 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.339 the suits, the smoker, they've painted their 00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:23.500 hives, they're really pretty, and they get through 00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:26.000 that first winter and come January, February, 00:25:26.140 --> 00:25:28.819 the bees are gone. How disappointing that is. 00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:32.220 I just have to tell them, please, first of all, 00:25:32.299 --> 00:25:34.400 you need to be a part of a local beekeeping club. 00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:36.809 You need to find out what's going on in your 00:25:36.809 --> 00:25:39.130 area. The next thing is you need to remember 00:25:39.130 --> 00:25:42.430 you have to check for mites. Mite loads are very 00:25:42.430 --> 00:25:44.970 much the reason why a third of the bees are dying 00:25:44.970 --> 00:25:49.130 worldwide every year. We need beekeepers. It 00:25:49.130 --> 00:25:52.369 is so important that we have honey bees. I tell 00:25:52.369 --> 00:25:54.809 people all the time, it doesn't matter if you 00:25:54.809 --> 00:25:57.269 live in an urban setting or a rural setting. 00:25:57.569 --> 00:26:00.220 You can be able to keep bees. Now, there may 00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:03.579 be exceptions where you live in a pud or an HOA 00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:05.559 that doesn't allow it, but you may be able to 00:26:05.559 --> 00:26:08.819 find a farmer or a neighbor who allows you to 00:26:08.819 --> 00:26:12.160 keep bees. It's so important. And when you go 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.940 to that beekeeping club, talk to the leadership 00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:17.579 of that club. Tell them your struggles. See if 00:26:17.579 --> 00:26:20.140 you can find a mentor. That would be the best 00:26:20.140 --> 00:26:23.240 thing to happen with the bees. I have a number 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:25.420 of people that I mentor with the beekeeping, 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.900 and it's really important. It's important also 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:32.359 that we have a healthy beekeeping industry. You 00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:35.319 know, someone once told me that Einstein said 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:38.539 that if the bees die, mankind would die in four 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:42.240 years. Well, that's not true. Maybe Fred and 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:44.400 Einstein said it, but it certainly wasn't Albert. 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:47.579 We have a number of fruits, excuse me, vegetables 00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:52.980 that need no vector or beneficial insect to live. 00:26:53.259 --> 00:26:57.849 Wheat. corn, rice, and barley need no beneficial 00:26:57.849 --> 00:27:02.009 insect to produce food. But look how dull our 00:27:02.009 --> 00:27:04.150 plates would be without those beautiful vegetables, 00:27:04.410 --> 00:27:07.410 fruits, nuts, and lagoons, without the honeybee. 00:27:07.890 --> 00:27:10.470 I tell people all the time, you know, how important 00:27:10.470 --> 00:27:13.410 honeybee is to our agricultural industry because 00:27:13.410 --> 00:27:16.769 we cannot be a free and prosperous country if 00:27:16.769 --> 00:27:19.750 our food source is controlled by someone else. 00:27:20.299 --> 00:27:24.259 After you pass dirt, water, and sunshine, the 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:27.200 next most important thing we have to grow food, 00:27:27.259 --> 00:27:32.400 to feed 8 billion people on this planet is pollination. 00:27:32.980 --> 00:27:36.079 Keeping a healthy beekeeping industry also keeps 00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:38.960 a healthy agricultural industry. That's a great 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:41.619 answer. I'd also love to add to that, if you 00:27:41.619 --> 00:27:45.380 don't mind. Part of what I love about beekeeping 00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:49.279 is that it's not easy. There is so much to learn 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:52.019 and to keep learning and you think you know it 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:54.240 and then you need to keep learning because something 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:57.700 changes. We've all heard the old saying, ask 00:27:57.700 --> 00:28:00.900 a question to 10 beekeepers and you'll get 11 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:03.420 different answers. There's a lot of variations 00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:07.680 of that too. I find that even with myself. I 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:10.160 can ask myself the same question and get five 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:13.500 different answers. Beekeeping is not that easy, 00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:16.460 but the challenge is part of what's so great 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:20.059 about it. And there are a lot of success stories, 00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:23.000 and I'm sorry that people lose their bees, but 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:26.359 you need to keep those bees. We need those bees 00:28:26.359 --> 00:28:29.579 in urban, suburban, and rural settings. It's 00:28:29.579 --> 00:28:33.180 so important to maintain. Even small beekeepers 00:28:33.180 --> 00:28:36.140 are very valuable. I want to encourage people, 00:28:36.259 --> 00:28:38.960 if they do lose their bees, many times I'll help 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:41.980 them get a hive started again in the springtime, 00:28:42.140 --> 00:28:45.410 either through a swarm. or I may do a split that 00:28:45.410 --> 00:28:48.630 I don't need, or I could easily just do a split 00:28:48.630 --> 00:28:51.069 from a hive and let them have another hive to 00:28:51.069 --> 00:28:54.609 get started again with. And I really am enjoying 00:28:54.609 --> 00:28:56.730 doing that for a number of beekeepers here in 00:28:56.730 --> 00:28:59.930 Northeast Georgia. You are the sweetest thing. 00:29:00.769 --> 00:29:02.910 All right. This is my favorite time. I get to 00:29:02.910 --> 00:29:05.849 ask you, can you tell us a wild and crazy beekeeping 00:29:05.849 --> 00:29:09.759 story that you've had? Oh, my. You've probably 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:12.660 had a million of them, but pick a couple. Yeah, 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:15.599 I've had one to where I've accidentally backed 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:20.660 the truck into a little marshy area and it's 00:29:20.660 --> 00:29:24.609 loaded with bees and it's dark and it's... wet 00:29:24.609 --> 00:29:28.730 and it's cold and it's, yeah, I've had done that 00:29:28.730 --> 00:29:31.109 only a couple, well, just one time I've done 00:29:31.109 --> 00:29:34.269 it really, really bad. And we've had to get a 00:29:34.269 --> 00:29:35.890 wrecker to come in and pull us out. And we've 00:29:35.890 --> 00:29:38.930 never had a wrecker had ever come to pull anybody 00:29:38.930 --> 00:29:43.089 with honey bees on their truck before. So that's 00:29:43.089 --> 00:29:46.369 a pretty wild story for me. Was the wrecker afraid? 00:29:46.670 --> 00:29:49.029 No, he wasn't. I had an extra suit. Well, my 00:29:49.029 --> 00:29:51.750 husband did, too. We had extra equipment on us. 00:29:51.950 --> 00:29:54.589 But no, he just pulled us out. And thankfully, 00:29:54.589 --> 00:29:57.250 I was able to back it into the right location 00:29:57.250 --> 00:30:00.029 the next time. Oh, good. How many hives do you 00:30:00.029 --> 00:30:03.730 run, by the way? I'm running about 150, 160 hives 00:30:03.730 --> 00:30:07.089 right now. That's about all that I as an individual 00:30:07.089 --> 00:30:09.990 can really handle by myself. I was just going 00:30:09.990 --> 00:30:12.930 to ask you do all that by yourself. That's a 00:30:12.930 --> 00:30:15.650 lot. I have a part -time worker who works about 00:30:15.849 --> 00:30:20.170 8 to 12 hours a week when needed. Sounds like 00:30:20.170 --> 00:30:22.710 there's a ton we can learn from you. Give me 00:30:22.710 --> 00:30:24.829 a link. I'll stick it in the show notes to your 00:30:24.829 --> 00:30:27.750 YouTube channel. So I've learned a couple of 00:30:27.750 --> 00:30:32.150 things here today. One is if I ever want to do 00:30:32.150 --> 00:30:36.849 well in a honey show to enter one that Virginia 00:30:36.849 --> 00:30:41.210 Webb is not competing in. I don't enter very 00:30:41.210 --> 00:30:43.650 many honey shows anymore. I tell you I don't. 00:30:43.690 --> 00:30:46.509 And it was just a whim that I entered this one 00:30:46.509 --> 00:30:48.730 this springtime. I was really shocked. I said, 00:30:48.829 --> 00:30:50.650 I think I'll go ahead and send in an entry. I 00:30:50.650 --> 00:30:54.150 know that Carl had sent me a link for it. And 00:30:54.150 --> 00:30:56.890 I said, OK, I'll send a couple entries in. So 00:30:56.890 --> 00:30:59.630 that's the only reason why I did it. But yeah, 00:30:59.730 --> 00:31:01.670 you're not going to see my honey and many honey 00:31:01.670 --> 00:31:04.309 shows anymore. You're welcome to go ahead and 00:31:04.309 --> 00:31:07.400 enter. And please do. Do you have any other secrets 00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:10.299 to making great honey and keeping super happy 00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:14.859 bees? I just try to make it as pure as possible. 00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:18.259 I add nothing. I take away nothing. It's just 00:31:18.259 --> 00:31:21.140 extracted from the honeycomb and just lightly 00:31:21.140 --> 00:31:24.059 strained. And that's the best honey you can try 00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:27.839 is your own honey. All right, Virginia. Eric? 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:30.339 Yes. What an honor it has been to be with you 00:31:30.339 --> 00:31:33.059 this evening. Thank you again for the invitation. 00:31:33.420 --> 00:31:35.859 Well, thank you. It's been a lot of fun and please 00:31:35.859 --> 00:31:41.900 keep in touch. Will do. Thanks again for joining 00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:44.720 us here on Be Love Beekeeping presented by Man 00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:48.700 Lake. Remember right now to follow or subscribe 00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:52.119 and share this podcast. Also a quick shout out 00:31:52.119 --> 00:31:55.819 to V2B Health for their support. Vita's Varroa 00:31:55.819 --> 00:31:59.400 Control range of products includes Apistan, Apigard, 00:31:59.859 --> 00:32:03.279 and now Varroxan, Extended Release Oxalic Acid 00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:06.519 Strips. Thanks guys. And remember, if you're 00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:09.319 not just in it for the honey or the money, you're 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:11.359 in it for the love. See you next week.