WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.660 in a world brimming with complexity few creatures 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:12.839 embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:17.699 precision she dances from bloom to bloom each 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:22.420 motion guided by millennia upon millennia of 00:00:22.420 --> 00:00:28.800 instinct each act in service to the whole and 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:34.560 then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:40.500 of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist, 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:45.460 part poet, they move along their hives with the 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:50.539 efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to 00:00:50.539 --> 00:00:54.219 the bees' needs as best they can comprehend, 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:59.670 and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the 00:00:59.670 --> 00:01:05.549 Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing 00:01:05.549 --> 00:01:12.170 like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their 00:01:12.170 --> 00:01:26.900 journey. One of the best things about beekeeping 00:01:26.900 --> 00:01:30.299 is the community. Beekeepers are always willing 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:33.319 to help each other, share information, and even 00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:35.939 to step up when needed. And today I'll be having 00:01:35.939 --> 00:01:39.280 a conversation with a beekeeper in Utah that's 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:42.719 learning that lesson in a big way. First just 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:46.120 one brief new amazing thing about honeybees. 00:01:46.299 --> 00:01:49.920 Research published in the journal Biology Letters 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:53.200 shows that bees possess a sophisticated sense 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.840 of time, yes time, and it makes perfect sense 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.459 as bees must carefully manage their time while 00:02:01.459 --> 00:02:05.920 foraging to maximize rewards and minimize the 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:08.759 costs of energy and time in returning to the 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:11.919 nest. The results of the research help us better 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:15.819 appreciate that bees are quote Not simple machines 00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:19.520 essentially driven by instinct, but rather complex 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:23.560 animals with inner lives that have unique experiences. 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:26.680 In fact, according to the research, they have 00:02:26.680 --> 00:02:30.280 complex cognition with flexibility in learning, 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:34.879 memory, and behavior. Honey bees never cease 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:41.319 to amaze. Hey, I'd like to welcome to the show 00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:44.310 today Really special guest someone that I've 00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:46.509 been wanting to talk to here for a couple days 00:02:46.509 --> 00:02:49.569 and that is Trenton Frazier And he's coming to 00:02:49.569 --> 00:02:52.669 us. He's beekeeper in Utah Trenton. How are you 00:02:52.669 --> 00:02:56.509 today? I've been better doing okay. That's probably 00:02:56.509 --> 00:02:58.830 the worst question I've ever asked somebody in 00:02:58.830 --> 00:03:02.250 your shoes Because this has not been a fun week 00:03:02.250 --> 00:03:05.069 for you. And you know what? I want to just jump 00:03:05.069 --> 00:03:09.530 right into it Would you give us one minute just 00:03:09.530 --> 00:03:13.460 one minute of? what kind of a beekeeping operation 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:17.360 that you have, and then tell us about the phone 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:19.680 call you got Sunday morning and let's go from 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:23.219 there. Okay. All right. Well, the operation that 00:03:23.219 --> 00:03:26.879 we had is of course commercial. It's large scale, 00:03:27.180 --> 00:03:29.659 but I feel like we do it a little differently. 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:33.319 I focus really on honey and I'm going to find 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:36.280 a way to talk about honey even with this topic. 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:40.479 You watch. And it's been about the quality of 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:44.819 honey. We used to keep bees in our backyard and 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:49.039 then we kept them in our shed and then it moved 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:52.699 to the shop and the shop and the driveway and 00:03:52.699 --> 00:03:56.439 then the whole street. We were just getting big 00:03:56.439 --> 00:04:01.379 and had to move out. So we moved into this, our 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:04.419 warehouse facility about 15 years ago. It's a 00:04:04.419 --> 00:04:06.539 multi -generational operation. My father, he 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:09.580 kept bees with his grandfather and that went 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:12.219 back five generations. It's been a hobby thing, 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:14.759 but we really turned it back into a commercial 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:20.540 business about 15 years ago under the name Beehive 00:04:20.540 --> 00:04:23.379 State Honey. But we didn't want to just move 00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:27.360 into the typical commercial space where we are 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:30.199 processing the honey, selling it off to pay for 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:32.699 operating expenses and things like that. My father 00:04:32.670 --> 00:04:36.389 got to the age of retirement and wanted to continue 00:04:36.389 --> 00:04:39.470 to do something of value. And since beekeeping 00:04:39.470 --> 00:04:43.149 was a hobby, word my father obviously does not 00:04:43.149 --> 00:04:47.050 know the meaning, the definition of 60 hour a 00:04:47.050 --> 00:04:50.209 week hobby. Well, it's a good way to keep busy. 00:04:50.689 --> 00:04:54.550 And it really feels good when you are doing something 00:04:54.550 --> 00:04:59.329 of a farming type of type of nature. And so we 00:04:59.329 --> 00:05:02.819 really hit that pretty hard at first. realizing 00:05:02.819 --> 00:05:05.660 that there's a lot about beekeeping that we did 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:09.600 not know and grew the business to the point it 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:12.519 is today. But then again, did not want to change 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:14.540 the nature of honey. I noticed early on that 00:05:14.540 --> 00:05:16.899 there was a difference between our backyard honey 00:05:16.899 --> 00:05:22.180 and commercial honey, historic honey, and wanted 00:05:22.180 --> 00:05:27.750 to preserve that natural, organic, whatever it 00:05:27.750 --> 00:05:31.189 was that didn't fully understand, but came to 00:05:31.189 --> 00:05:34.610 quickly realize had to do with heating, filtration, 00:05:35.350 --> 00:05:39.509 and things like that. So we yanked all of the 00:05:39.509 --> 00:05:42.089 heating elements, put away all of the filters 00:05:42.089 --> 00:05:44.430 and the strainers. We don't even strain our honey. 00:05:44.930 --> 00:05:48.189 And started to change. And it took about 10 to 00:05:48.189 --> 00:05:50.329 15 years to develop something that is actually 00:05:50.329 --> 00:05:55.089 quite the antithesis of what honey product is. 00:05:55.180 --> 00:05:58.699 Most beekeepers would like a translucent, clear, 00:05:59.339 --> 00:06:04.720 liquid, nice amber honey. I want an opaque, creamed, 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:08.660 not amber and doesn't matter the color. I think 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:12.000 honey varies just like people do in personality 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:16.209 and color and flavor. That's natural. And you 00:06:16.209 --> 00:06:17.829 have to embrace those things. And that's what 00:06:17.829 --> 00:06:21.290 we did. That's what we found to be is really 00:06:21.290 --> 00:06:23.370 kind of a unique thing. And so we coined the 00:06:23.370 --> 00:06:27.370 phrase cold extracted honey, because raw wasn't 00:06:27.370 --> 00:06:30.689 really covering all the bases. Yes, raw means 00:06:30.689 --> 00:06:33.930 that it's not cooked, but raw can be everything 00:06:33.930 --> 00:06:42.769 from 115 degrees to cold. And I just didn't think 00:06:42.769 --> 00:06:45.750 that that was a fair comparison. even if you're 00:06:45.750 --> 00:06:48.250 warming it, you're still adding some heat and 00:06:48.250 --> 00:06:51.430 I finally worked it down to the definition that 00:06:51.430 --> 00:06:54.269 was human integrity or human interaction. So 00:06:54.269 --> 00:06:56.829 I figured if we just cut that out, there is no 00:06:56.829 --> 00:06:59.370 heating element involved, plus we were to store 00:06:59.370 --> 00:07:02.069 it in some sort of an acid proof container, then 00:07:02.069 --> 00:07:06.290 we could preserve that beautiful flavor and that 00:07:06.290 --> 00:07:08.790 texture that I was familiar with all growing 00:07:08.790 --> 00:07:12.329 up. So for me, raw backyard honey was just natural. 00:07:12.709 --> 00:07:16.639 That was part of my life and I just didn't want 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:19.699 to compromise that but Fortunately in the process 00:07:19.699 --> 00:07:23.180 we were able to learn and define a lot more science 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:26.879 and chemistry behind honey and how it crystallizes 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:31.180 get down into the the molecules and how how the 00:07:31.180 --> 00:07:34.019 chemicals work out and separate and how they 00:07:34.019 --> 00:07:38.279 can actually cream and And so we develop we just 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:40.540 keep developing that until we get a nice good 00:07:40.540 --> 00:07:43.839 opaque creamed kind of like peanut butter Honey 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:47.560 that is a wide variety of multi floral textures 00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:50.019 and just give it more of a sophisticated flavor 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:52.060 and every little trick that we learn we implement 00:07:52.060 --> 00:07:57.019 it and Really had something that the community 00:07:57.019 --> 00:07:59.699 and our customers are really starting to just 00:07:59.699 --> 00:08:03.459 appreciate and love so I could you could say 00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:05.980 that developed something that really was meaningful 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:09.569 and Every day I'd get up and find that I had 00:08:09.569 --> 00:08:12.009 purpose. I was starting to do some more value 00:08:12.009 --> 00:08:15.750 -added products like honey fizz soda, naturally 00:08:15.750 --> 00:08:20.110 carbonated, not mead, but more like kombucha 00:08:20.110 --> 00:08:25.769 or honeycomb. Kombucha is actually the label 00:08:25.769 --> 00:08:28.949 we gave that. And things like that, just a lot 00:08:28.949 --> 00:08:32.169 of meaning, a lot of value. One morning, rudely 00:08:32.169 --> 00:08:34.929 get woken up, 4 a .m. Looks like a sales call 00:08:34.929 --> 00:08:36.710 or something. I don't even know why I answered 00:08:36.710 --> 00:08:40.070 it, but something told me to answer it. 4 .30 00:08:40.070 --> 00:08:42.990 in the morning. I just want to give people perspective. 00:08:43.350 --> 00:08:46.970 This is just three days ago, right? Yeah, Sunday 00:08:46.970 --> 00:08:51.009 morning. I never answer my phone call in the 00:08:51.009 --> 00:08:53.950 morning. Ever. I put it on silent or whatever, 00:08:54.049 --> 00:08:57.889 but it was just brrrr -rung and, uh, wife's tapping 00:08:57.889 --> 00:09:01.889 me. Turn your phone off. and I answered it and 00:09:01.889 --> 00:09:04.389 it looked like a weird, it was a restricted number. 00:09:04.570 --> 00:09:07.009 So again, another reason why not to answer it. 00:09:07.509 --> 00:09:10.529 But I just felt like what's going on here, answered 00:09:10.529 --> 00:09:13.809 it. And then I hear this bleep. I'm like, oh 00:09:13.809 --> 00:09:16.509 brother, this is just a marketing call. And by 00:09:16.509 --> 00:09:18.710 now it was dispatch and they said, hey, is this 00:09:18.710 --> 00:09:22.190 the owners of Beehive State? What's going on? 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:26.470 Oh, we're reporting a fire. And what, what do 00:09:26.470 --> 00:09:30.129 you mean? Oh shoot. Someone called in a fire 00:09:30.129 --> 00:09:33.049 and now I'm awake and I'm asking what's going 00:09:33.049 --> 00:09:35.870 on. There's a fire Do we know how big it is? 00:09:35.889 --> 00:09:38.690 Where is it? Is it is it in the building and? 00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:41.669 says yes, there's a there's been a fire reported 00:09:41.669 --> 00:09:45.909 and I said where and she's What side of the building 00:09:45.909 --> 00:09:49.870 is it on and she just said the whole thing? so 00:09:49.870 --> 00:09:56.350 that is pretty much where My final blanked out 00:09:56.350 --> 00:09:59.450 like Couldn't wrap my mind around that. It's 00:09:59.450 --> 00:10:03.110 really hard to comprehend that everything you 00:10:03.110 --> 00:10:06.029 have worked for and put together for the last 00:10:06.029 --> 00:10:10.610 decade plus is just up in smoke, gone. You live, 00:10:10.669 --> 00:10:13.730 what, 10, 15 minutes from there? It's about, 00:10:13.990 --> 00:10:15.990 well, it used to be a 15 minute commute. Now 00:10:15.990 --> 00:10:20.110 it's 20, 25. There's been a lot of development 00:10:20.110 --> 00:10:24.309 around us. Well, without traffic at 430 in the 00:10:24.309 --> 00:10:26.529 morning, hopefully you got there quick. What 00:10:26.529 --> 00:10:29.009 did you see when you arrived? Couldn't even get 00:10:29.009 --> 00:10:31.809 there. Policemen were not letting cars down the 00:10:31.809 --> 00:10:34.909 road, but you could see the flames from our driveway. 00:10:35.529 --> 00:10:39.669 There were videos coming in on social media showing 00:10:39.669 --> 00:10:42.250 this humongous flame at night all the way across 00:10:42.250 --> 00:10:46.529 the valley. It was going way up into the sky. 00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:54.009 So that right there gave something for us to 00:10:54.009 --> 00:10:57.590 just sob over the entire way down. Arriving, 00:10:57.610 --> 00:11:01.570 we had to get past the security. They let us 00:11:01.570 --> 00:11:03.830 through once they knew I was the owner. I get 00:11:03.830 --> 00:11:06.769 right up to the gate and just start talking with 00:11:06.769 --> 00:11:09.990 the fire marshals, just seeing all of the flames 00:11:09.990 --> 00:11:18.110 and the smoke and the smell. I can hardly even 00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:22.700 recall everything. It was just so So overwhelming 00:11:22.700 --> 00:11:26.360 that I guess a lot of details have kind of left 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:29.220 me now I realize I'm having a hard time even 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:32.659 remembering those first hours but I do know that 00:11:32.659 --> 00:11:35.500 there was a lot of talking with police and the 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:38.879 fire chief and We were beginning to bring in 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:43.899 hives Beehives from our yards. We have more than 00:11:43.899 --> 00:11:47.539 50 locations run over a thousand between thousand 00:11:47.539 --> 00:11:50.799 to fifteen hundred colonies Among those, we have 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:53.720 our yard stretched to 100 miles from Bountiful 00:11:53.720 --> 00:11:57.039 down to North Juab County out to Price, mostly 00:11:57.039 --> 00:11:59.700 throughout Utah County. And we have these yards 00:11:59.700 --> 00:12:05.159 every mile, two miles separated so that we can 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:08.940 have the bees foraging without being oversaturated. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.100 But here in the fall, we're starting to bring 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:14.159 them back. And so we had more than 100 colonies 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:18.090 lined up right down one of the buildings. that 00:12:18.090 --> 00:12:22.090 were separated by a distance. They were saved 00:12:22.090 --> 00:12:24.889 by the fire department because when the firefighters 00:12:24.889 --> 00:12:28.490 first got there, they had to park their trucks 00:12:28.490 --> 00:12:31.850 and their ladders in between these rows of beehives. 00:12:32.269 --> 00:12:34.269 And they're stretching their hoses all through 00:12:34.269 --> 00:12:37.350 the property and try not to knock over any beehives. 00:12:38.169 --> 00:12:43.870 And the chief firefighter is actually a beekeeper. 00:12:44.830 --> 00:12:47.950 He knew my father. He had spoken with us before. 00:12:48.389 --> 00:12:50.409 He's like, yeah, your father's a great guy. And 00:12:50.409 --> 00:12:53.470 we showed up and I saw those bees. It was because 00:12:53.470 --> 00:12:56.450 of that that he zeroed in and he focused on those 00:12:56.450 --> 00:12:59.509 bees. They got a ladder up over one of the adjacent 00:12:59.509 --> 00:13:01.450 buildings on a neighboring property and they 00:13:01.450 --> 00:13:03.929 just started spraying the walls. And because 00:13:03.929 --> 00:13:06.250 of that, there were maybe two or three hives 00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:09.070 that got toasted. But they were going along and 00:13:09.070 --> 00:13:12.690 opening lids and checking and spraying down the 00:13:12.690 --> 00:13:14.769 building, which was just boiling over. I mean, 00:13:14.809 --> 00:13:17.490 the flames were about They were 50, 60 feet in 00:13:17.490 --> 00:13:22.490 the air by the melting ingots of copper. It appears 00:13:22.490 --> 00:13:25.169 that the flame got well over 2 ,000 degrees, 00:13:25.409 --> 00:13:28.970 2 ,200 degrees. And all of our wax, all of our 00:13:28.970 --> 00:13:33.669 honey, all of, I mean, the whole building plus 00:13:33.669 --> 00:13:36.149 was up in flames. And they're these firefighters, 00:13:36.389 --> 00:13:39.970 these brave, brave firefighters are saving the 00:13:39.970 --> 00:13:42.629 bees. I didn't hear about any of them getting 00:13:42.629 --> 00:13:46.929 stung. But some of the news articles reported 00:13:46.929 --> 00:13:50.990 that the firefighters were severely stung and 00:13:50.990 --> 00:13:52.710 fighting the flames. I'll tell you what, these 00:13:52.710 --> 00:13:55.250 guys were so proud of those stings if that was 00:13:55.250 --> 00:13:57.029 the case. I didn't hear it from them. They're 00:13:57.029 --> 00:13:59.610 just like, yep, we saved your bees. And so I 00:13:59.610 --> 00:14:01.789 was really grateful, really grateful for that 00:14:01.789 --> 00:14:06.149 and for those heroes that stepped in and took 00:14:06.149 --> 00:14:08.870 care of that. But really, there wasn't a lot 00:14:08.870 --> 00:14:11.330 they could do about the flames. Everything has 00:14:11.330 --> 00:14:14.399 just been reduced to rubble. Tell me print and 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:17.700 what all was inside that building why a rough 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:21.120 estimate that the building was about 37 ,000 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:24.360 37 ,000 square feet we had three parts of the 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:28.059 building and We didn't we didn't need all of 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:30.159 it We repurposed the building when we first purchased 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:33.159 a prop property and it came with these buildings 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:37.820 But we had a few very key portions. One was the 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:39.899 middle section. That was our wood shop where 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:45.740 we built and fixed B frames the portion that 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:49.440 was north where we had our wax rendering and 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:53.120 our extraction center as well as our bottling 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:57.919 room. We had all of our palletized wax or wax 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.419 renderings or wax blocks and then our prefab 00:15:00.419 --> 00:15:04.500 which is to be melted down all there including 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:07.720 our entire harvest which is in drums so that's 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:11.350 about 20 drums of honey this year which is Kind 00:15:11.350 --> 00:15:13.690 of a low yield, but we lost so many bees last 00:15:13.690 --> 00:15:15.970 year that we weren't able to get as much of a 00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:18.230 honey yield this year. It's a great year this 00:15:18.230 --> 00:15:19.889 year was, but we just didn't have the bees to 00:15:19.889 --> 00:15:22.909 accomplish more. It may seem early, but right 00:15:22.909 --> 00:15:26.029 now is a great time to order your live bees for 00:15:26.029 --> 00:15:30.210 2026 because they do sell out and because Man 00:15:30.210 --> 00:15:33.250 Lake is offering a discount for Be Love podcast 00:15:33.250 --> 00:15:36.340 listeners. Wait, what? I know, you're saying 00:15:36.340 --> 00:15:39.679 live bees, they never go on sale. Well, they 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:43.139 are now. Click on over to Man Lake, order your 00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:46.919 bees any variety, nukes or packages, and anything 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:50.120 in the beginner essentials category. And when 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:53.279 you check out, use the code GETSTARTEDINBEEZ, 00:15:53.460 --> 00:15:55.279 it's down in the show notes so you don't have 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:58.980 to remember, for a discount on everything. So 00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:03.000 get your orders in early and save. And then we 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:06.940 had our stockroom. And the stockroom had a collection 00:16:06.940 --> 00:16:10.100 of residuals of honey harvests over the years. 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:18.259 There were more than 40 or 45 pallets of honey, 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:22.620 including some barrels right there that we would 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:25.120 sell throughout the year and then restock and 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:26.700 sell. So it was always kind of growing. I mean, 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:28.299 for the first 10 years we were there, we weren't 00:16:28.299 --> 00:16:30.159 really selling a lot of honey. We weren't well 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:33.830 known. So we had some honey in there that was 00:16:33.830 --> 00:16:37.830 several years old, but all bottled in glass in 00:16:37.830 --> 00:16:41.850 boxes on pallets. And honey has no shelf life 00:16:41.850 --> 00:16:44.370 and it never even degraded in color. Over 10 00:16:44.370 --> 00:16:47.950 years, there was no change in hue or color. You 00:16:47.950 --> 00:16:50.029 can't tell the difference between those jars 00:16:50.029 --> 00:16:53.889 and the jars that we just harvested. And then 00:16:53.889 --> 00:16:57.889 there were the shop section where we repaired 00:16:57.889 --> 00:17:00.519 boxes and And then there were other places where 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:03.080 we just stored. Everything else was for storage 00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:06.420 areas, just for whatever purposes we needed. 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:09.140 But it was everything, our whole operation. I 00:17:09.140 --> 00:17:12.220 just realized today that we lost our bee nets. 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:14.779 Every step I take through the rubble, I remember 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:17.740 something else that we no longer have. And that's 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:20.839 bad because we no longer have our ability to 00:17:20.839 --> 00:17:24.480 migrate. I could get into some of the really 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.099 neat things that people have done to step in 00:17:27.099 --> 00:17:30.559 to make that short, just needed to get some bee 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:34.500 nets for the next stage, which is migrating the 00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:36.500 bees that we have, because all our bees have 00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:40.059 survived, so we've got to keep them going, but 00:17:40.059 --> 00:17:43.819 we just don't have the resources and the materials 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:47.559 to do so. It's all gone. We have our truck and 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:50.509 forklift. So we can palletize our bees and bring 00:17:50.509 --> 00:17:52.650 them in, but we need to start bringing them in 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:56.109 from all of our locations. And once they're in, 00:17:56.410 --> 00:17:58.910 now what do we do with them? We don't have our 00:17:58.910 --> 00:18:02.509 hanger where we actually will keep the bees inside 00:18:02.509 --> 00:18:05.190 a climatized environment so that they can survive 00:18:05.190 --> 00:18:09.569 cold winters. Here in Utah, it can get down below 00:18:09.569 --> 00:18:12.109 freezing, and that's harsh on the bees, especially 00:18:12.109 --> 00:18:15.799 in the bee boxes. It's a typical Langstroth setup. 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:18.380 So unless we're migrating the bees to California 00:18:18.380 --> 00:18:22.019 we could lose a lot of bees to cold and So now 00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:24.480 we have to start investing into getting some 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:28.160 insulation blankets and things to wrap the hives 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:30.140 Well, that's a good concept but try wrapping 00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:33.700 a thousand hives Yeah, and you can still lose 00:18:33.700 --> 00:18:36.380 them. Hey on a personal note print into you and 00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:40.190 your family. Let me just say I'm I'm so sorry 00:18:40.190 --> 00:18:43.769 that this horrible thing happened to you. I can't 00:18:43.769 --> 00:18:46.930 imagine how devastating that must be. These sorts 00:18:46.930 --> 00:18:50.410 of things are very emotional. It's not just the 00:18:50.410 --> 00:18:53.450 business and the money lost, right? There's such 00:18:53.450 --> 00:18:56.829 an emotional connection when that's your family 00:18:56.829 --> 00:18:59.009 and your family business and it's what you do 00:18:59.009 --> 00:19:03.470 all day every day. And so from an emotional standpoint, 00:19:03.630 --> 00:19:05.569 how are you and your family getting along now? 00:19:06.600 --> 00:19:10.319 Mostly worried about my father. He's 81 now we 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:13.759 began the business at his retirement of 65 And 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:16.380 we got to a place to where he was just really 00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:19.359 comfortable and in routine He had a little corner 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:22.839 that he loved to go and repair frames at that's 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:26.880 that's gone And so the last few days he has been 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:30.940 taking the role of just driving and doing errands 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:34.859 we need Anything he's going to the store. He's 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:39.269 going to the shop to get tires fixed and or buying 00:19:39.269 --> 00:19:41.849 materials and we really haven't gotten into a 00:19:41.849 --> 00:19:44.190 lot of needs of materials. We're trying to gather 00:19:44.190 --> 00:19:46.549 things. People have been donating things. I've 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:51.829 been overwhelmed with the amazing generosity 00:19:51.829 --> 00:19:57.210 and outreach of people all around that didn't 00:19:57.210 --> 00:20:00.009 even know existed before. So making friends, 00:20:00.009 --> 00:20:03.329 but it's been hard on him for us, the rest of 00:20:03.329 --> 00:20:08.250 our family. We're doing Fairly well, I mean better 00:20:08.250 --> 00:20:11.670 now than I thought I would be here it was really 00:20:11.670 --> 00:20:14.670 emotionally devastating and it was a wreck and 00:20:14.670 --> 00:20:16.990 I've gone through a lot of those things, but 00:20:16.990 --> 00:20:20.089 it's it's very very interesting when you are 00:20:20.089 --> 00:20:25.029 forced to begin from the ashes how resilient 00:20:25.029 --> 00:20:29.430 the the mind and the heart is you have no choice 00:20:29.430 --> 00:20:34.109 so You start to quickly look forward to the future 00:20:34.329 --> 00:20:37.829 and to try to put together some plans. And as 00:20:37.829 --> 00:20:41.829 much as you have lost an identity or a lifestyle 00:20:41.829 --> 00:20:47.529 or a routine, you quickly pick up on what is 00:20:47.529 --> 00:20:52.450 to come. And that's started, I mean, I'm really 00:20:52.450 --> 00:20:56.549 mostly spending my days on the phone and doing 00:20:56.549 --> 00:21:01.549 emails, dealing with contractors, electricians, 00:21:01.670 --> 00:21:04.279 and excavators. trying to work out insurances 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:09.180 and figure out if there's anything that we can, 00:21:09.579 --> 00:21:11.559 you know, just trying to get the whole thing 00:21:11.559 --> 00:21:14.839 picked up and rolling. So I almost feel like 00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:19.400 I haven't really had time to sit and grieve much. 00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:23.039 But I would say that I've had those moments where 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:26.420 I just had no choice when it gets quiet and there's 00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:29.400 nothing to do. There's no one to talk to. And 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:32.789 suddenly it's now time to sleep. That's where 00:21:32.789 --> 00:21:35.589 you really know where you're at I'm glad you 00:21:35.589 --> 00:21:39.390 mentioned the generosity of people Because one 00:21:39.390 --> 00:21:42.710 of your friends set up a GoFundMe page And that's 00:21:42.710 --> 00:21:45.869 one of the reasons I wanted you on here was to 00:21:45.869 --> 00:21:48.690 let people out there know about the GoFundMe 00:21:48.690 --> 00:21:52.890 that there is so that anybody whether you're 00:21:52.890 --> 00:21:57.650 in Utah or Montana or New York or New Zealand 00:21:57.650 --> 00:22:00.450 or whatever else if you want to help out a fellow 00:22:00.450 --> 00:22:04.099 beekeeper I'll put a link to that GoFundMe down 00:22:04.099 --> 00:22:06.759 in the show notes. This isn't something that 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:10.680 Printen posted or did. It's the community wanting 00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:12.640 to step up and do it for them and we can all 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:15.900 step up and help. Do you have any idea is the 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:18.339 insurance company going to be able to cover much 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:22.720 of this for you? Well probably to make it short 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:28.400 and for lack of better explained words we're 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:33.500 under insured. A quick explanation would be beekeeping 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:36.880 is not a very lucrative business model as it 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:40.039 is. You can ask any commercial beekeeper. In 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:42.519 fact, one of the ingeniouses of beekeeping is 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:45.460 that we can figure out how to make raw materials 00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:49.079 work out of nothing and get the operation to 00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:53.539 float and make it pay. And so when it comes to 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:56.200 insurance, you're trying to cover your basic 00:22:56.200 --> 00:22:59.599 needs. Now we inherited a property or rather 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:02.660 when we first purchased the property and inherited 00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:06.859 the buildings that are part of it, it was a lot 00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:10.279 larger than what we really needed. So I would 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:12.700 say that we really operated our basic operations 00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:16.619 out of maybe 60%, which if we were strategic, 00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:20.480 we could reduce down to maybe 45 or 50%. of the 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:24.500 actual place. And to go over the insurance and 00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:29.019 cover all of the building loss, and the only 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:30.359 reason I say this is because I've worked this 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:34.539 out a lot with the insurance, but it's not gonna 00:23:34.539 --> 00:23:37.480 cover. In fact, it doesn't even cover close to 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:42.960 even half. And so we were insured and most of 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:45.960 that was liability. So that was really important 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:49.569 for us to get Make sure you have general liability 00:23:49.569 --> 00:23:52.289 that if there's any other damages or injuries 00:23:52.289 --> 00:23:54.869 to somebody else or anything that we're covered, 00:23:55.329 --> 00:23:58.210 of course. But then when it comes to beekeepers, 00:23:58.349 --> 00:24:01.369 we kind of have a tendency to, and not just beekeepers, 00:24:01.690 --> 00:24:06.569 but everyone has a tendency to undervalue themselves 00:24:06.569 --> 00:24:09.930 and to say, look, what is the worst case scenario 00:24:09.930 --> 00:24:12.910 and how could we survive through it? Let's set 00:24:12.910 --> 00:24:16.279 the bar there because we really don't have the 00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:20.480 money to pay for this level of insurance for 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:23.839 potential damages. And so that's really the reality 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:26.099 of what I'm sitting at now. I'm looking in saying, 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:30.200 okay, we're now reduced to get whatever money 00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:33.240 the insurance can give us and go from there. 00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:38.680 And that is the very basics. That's the baseline. 00:24:39.700 --> 00:24:44.480 And it neglected a lot of things. For one, disaster 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:46.799 cleanup could just swallow that all completely. 00:24:47.859 --> 00:24:51.400 And we had about 37 ,000 square feet, as I mentioned, 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:55.799 of building space. So all that roofline and all 00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:59.279 that debris and all that trash, I can't get in 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:02.019 there with a backhoe and a trailer and take care 00:25:02.019 --> 00:25:05.799 of that and be done anytime soon. In order for 00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:07.420 us to get back up on our feet, we need to have 00:25:07.420 --> 00:25:09.980 that cleared out in within a couple of months, 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:11.599 a month or two, that's got to be cleaned up. 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:15.660 starting to look at contractors and excavators 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:18.039 and things that can do that. And that quickly 00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:22.059 just, I mean, those prices, no one considers 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:25.339 that as part of the, well, you should. And I 00:25:25.339 --> 00:25:28.380 think I'm being pretty open and transparent here. 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:32.299 I don't think most people would want to divulge, 00:25:32.500 --> 00:25:36.079 but I really feel like if there are other beekeeping 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:39.480 operations out there, that what I have learned 00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:42.990 over the last few days, they really would want 00:25:42.990 --> 00:25:46.789 to listen to and take in some advice because 00:25:46.789 --> 00:25:49.769 if anything were to happen, you know, I mean, 00:25:49.829 --> 00:25:52.269 you are dealing with wax, you are dealing with 00:25:52.269 --> 00:25:55.130 smokers. That's what I hear a lot of the time 00:25:55.130 --> 00:25:57.910 people are asking or speculating, did you forget 00:25:57.910 --> 00:26:01.349 to put out your smoker or were you melting wax? 00:26:01.430 --> 00:26:04.849 And actually, no. Investigation is inconclusive 00:26:04.849 --> 00:26:08.859 as to what caused the fire. However, the Area 00:26:08.859 --> 00:26:11.819 of origin that they found the fire in there were 00:26:11.819 --> 00:26:14.460 there was not an area where we use any kind of 00:26:14.460 --> 00:26:17.240 flame There's no wax stored there. There's no 00:26:17.240 --> 00:26:19.839 honey stored there. We don't even have any power 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:23.079 tools in that area that would cause That kind 00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:25.460 of friction that was actually a corner of the 00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:27.460 room where we stapled together frames with a 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:32.740 pneumatic stapler So it's just an air hose What 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:35.180 caused the fire right there in that corner is 00:26:35.180 --> 00:26:38.819 just a mystery to me according to surveillance 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:43.140 and everyone's alibi, I guess if you say their 00:26:43.140 --> 00:26:48.559 story, there wasn't anyone in that shop for three 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:51.619 days. The last anyone had been in there, I had 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:54.019 been in there Friday, no one came in Saturday. 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:57.980 And the last that anyone had worked in that corner 00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:03.019 doing stapling or framing was Wednesday. So you 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:04.359 would have had to either have something that 00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:08.430 was smoldering for three four days to finally 00:27:08.430 --> 00:27:11.410 go up Sunday morning or you have someone who 00:27:11.410 --> 00:27:14.970 sneaks in and they didn't rule out Larson but 00:27:14.970 --> 00:27:16.829 someone really would have had to you know come 00:27:16.829 --> 00:27:20.230 in through the back gate jump the fence crawl 00:27:20.230 --> 00:27:24.109 in there and do something and either way it's 00:27:24.109 --> 00:27:30.009 very unexplained. The need to clean up a mess 00:27:30.009 --> 00:27:33.839 is included in what you get from insurance. So 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:36.000 if you're going to use part of that money to 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.519 pay for cleanup, you have that much less money 00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:42.579 to pay for like rebuild. So there really is no 00:27:42.579 --> 00:27:46.960 money for rebuild. Along with that was something, 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:51.700 and I'm not an insurance expert, and maybe some 00:27:51.700 --> 00:27:56.180 people are better informed by their agent, but 00:27:56.180 --> 00:27:59.900 there's something called loss potential. which 00:27:59.900 --> 00:28:03.200 is the income or income loss potential that you 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:06.940 had for the following year or up to a year after 00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:10.700 the disaster. So how are you going to pay for 00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:13.900 employees? How do you usually make your money 00:28:13.900 --> 00:28:16.180 and are you going to now be able to do that? 00:28:16.619 --> 00:28:19.720 Beekeeping is half pollinating and fulfilling 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:23.500 contracts. The other half is honey sales. So 00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:26.380 all of the other associates and colleagues that 00:28:26.380 --> 00:28:28.940 I have know of in the beekeeping field are producing 00:28:28.940 --> 00:28:32.599 honey and selling that all off at bulk to packers 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:34.980 so that they can pay for the other half of their 00:28:34.980 --> 00:28:37.680 operational expenses. And both of these together 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:41.200 don't amount to much of a living. It mainly pays 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:44.279 up the operation expenses. And if you're really 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:47.019 good at cutting corners and you're doing everything 00:28:47.019 --> 00:28:51.089 yourself, then you're gonna be taking that money 00:28:51.089 --> 00:28:53.210 for yourself. So that's one of the reasons I 00:28:53.210 --> 00:28:56.690 think why beekeepers all have to be really hard 00:28:56.690 --> 00:28:59.970 workers is because we have to make things work 00:28:59.970 --> 00:29:02.289 ourselves in order to keep the business model 00:29:02.289 --> 00:29:06.230 going. By all intents and purposes, having something 00:29:06.230 --> 00:29:08.549 like this happen, there's really no reason for 00:29:08.549 --> 00:29:10.869 me not to close up shop and say, look, I'm gonna 00:29:10.869 --> 00:29:13.569 go do something else besides beekeeping. This 00:29:13.569 --> 00:29:15.829 is not something that we can recover from. I 00:29:15.829 --> 00:29:19.900 mean, if I'm sane, that's what I would be saying, 00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:27.700 but I can't imagine doing anything else. I have 00:29:27.700 --> 00:29:31.480 employees, I have foremen and others who rely 00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:35.720 on this as their full -time living and their 00:29:35.720 --> 00:29:38.579 income. I have too much of a community and too 00:29:38.579 --> 00:29:42.119 many customers who have grown to love our product 00:29:42.119 --> 00:29:44.900 and our business. Even if I didn't want to do 00:29:44.900 --> 00:29:48.420 it anymore, we have too much of intellectual 00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:51.759 asset properties and customers and value there, 00:29:52.099 --> 00:29:54.759 our business name and our logo and just being 00:29:54.759 --> 00:29:58.299 known in the community to just let it go. I would 00:29:58.299 --> 00:30:02.319 sell it to somebody else who wants to try. But 00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:05.440 beekeeping has been in our family for five generations 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:11.900 and I can't be the one to just let that end. 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:14.880 It's not the only thing, but it's one thing that 00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:18.480 keeps reminding me that hey there's purpose in 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:21.779 this. I appreciate you sharing all of that so 00:30:21.779 --> 00:30:25.160 much. I know it's hard and hopefully it's a little 00:30:25.160 --> 00:30:27.859 bit therapeutic talking about it just a little 00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:30.339 bit and I know there's people out there that 00:30:30.339 --> 00:30:32.799 are going to want to step up and help. If there's 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:36.000 any other thing else that you can think of that 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:38.559 people can do to help you know get with me on 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:41.900 that we'll post it on social media or wherever. 00:30:42.329 --> 00:30:45.509 But let's end up the interview today with just, 00:30:45.670 --> 00:30:48.329 I can tell how much you love beekeeping. This 00:30:48.329 --> 00:30:51.849 isn't just a responsibility that you have to 00:30:51.849 --> 00:30:54.890 keep doing it. This is something that you must 00:30:54.890 --> 00:30:58.890 really love and it's genetic for you now. This 00:30:58.890 --> 00:31:01.650 has been passed down all these generations. Give 00:31:01.650 --> 00:31:05.170 me an idea on a perfect beekeeping day. Maybe 00:31:05.170 --> 00:31:08.009 it was last summer sometime. What's your day 00:31:08.009 --> 00:31:10.630 like? What do you love about it? That is a very 00:31:10.630 --> 00:31:15.849 good question. I have grown to love the whole, 00:31:15.930 --> 00:31:20.910 when you get to pick up a subject and learn about 00:31:20.910 --> 00:31:24.430 it, you find out that there's far more to it 00:31:24.430 --> 00:31:27.910 than you ever thought possible. Take the simplest 00:31:27.910 --> 00:31:34.849 concept, in this case bees, and bees are the 00:31:34.849 --> 00:31:39.740 producers of more than six products. No other 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:42.380 insect on the planet produces more than one for 00:31:42.380 --> 00:31:46.539 human consumption. Bees produce six, including 00:31:46.539 --> 00:31:50.039 wax and honey and propolis, which are the main 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:54.440 big three. Each one of those is a very deep topic. 00:31:54.480 --> 00:31:57.539 You could get into the nutritional benefits and 00:31:57.539 --> 00:32:00.960 all the practical uses for these products and 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:04.720 how they are good for health or good for value 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:08.589 barter trade to prepare against disaster. And 00:32:08.589 --> 00:32:11.069 they're just, they're topics that lead to so 00:32:11.069 --> 00:32:14.690 many other things. And then learning about bees 00:32:14.690 --> 00:32:17.349 and getting to know bees, we're actually beginning 00:32:17.349 --> 00:32:21.789 to do a lot more with bee therapy, where the 00:32:21.789 --> 00:32:24.609 environment around bees is healing and cleansing. 00:32:25.549 --> 00:32:28.230 And the last year of my life has actually been 00:32:28.230 --> 00:32:32.250 developing a program around that, including making 00:32:32.250 --> 00:32:36.170 a honey fizz soda, like honey kombucha. It just 00:32:36.170 --> 00:32:39.829 doesn't end. So for me, the warehouse was more 00:32:39.829 --> 00:32:43.930 than just a turnkey operation. It was a playground. 00:32:44.809 --> 00:32:48.109 It was a sandbox. It was the opportunity to explore 00:32:48.109 --> 00:32:52.230 and build. The last thing that I built in that 00:32:52.230 --> 00:32:56.950 shop before it closed down was a little contraption 00:32:56.950 --> 00:32:58.730 that you could put against the entrance and the 00:32:58.730 --> 00:33:01.349 bees would come and fly up into a jar so that 00:33:01.349 --> 00:33:04.309 you could unscrew that and put it into a little 00:33:04.309 --> 00:33:07.990 container. that people could take away because 00:33:07.990 --> 00:33:10.089 I would sell bees to people who wanted to buy 00:33:10.089 --> 00:33:13.750 bees, just a few bees. I sell it to them as pets, 00:33:14.690 --> 00:33:18.970 but what they use them for is bee venom therapy. 00:33:19.849 --> 00:33:24.309 They have Lyme's disease, which bee sting therapy 00:33:24.309 --> 00:33:28.930 has proven to relieve. By proven I mean there 00:33:28.930 --> 00:33:32.950 is a chemical in honey in the bee apatocin called 00:33:32.950 --> 00:33:38.309 melaton Which is the primary? compound for dealing 00:33:38.309 --> 00:33:41.529 with the bacteria infection that is in the Lyme's 00:33:41.529 --> 00:33:43.990 disease and just kills and breaks down that shell 00:33:43.990 --> 00:33:47.069 on that bacteria and it just relieves the symptoms 00:33:47.069 --> 00:33:50.730 these customers are either taking a Beasting 00:33:50.730 --> 00:33:54.289 every other day for only three seconds up to 00:33:54.289 --> 00:33:57.289 30 bee stings a day and leaving those stingers 00:33:57.289 --> 00:34:00.589 in there for up to 30 minutes and finding incredible 00:34:00.589 --> 00:34:02.849 relief to the point to where the bee sting isn't 00:34:02.849 --> 00:34:05.769 anything compared to the symptoms. I mean, they're 00:34:05.769 --> 00:34:08.349 going to those extents to relieve those symptoms. 00:34:08.690 --> 00:34:13.769 So now I'm feeling like this is even more than 00:34:13.769 --> 00:34:18.130 just what bees are supposed to be. And for me, 00:34:18.130 --> 00:34:22.849 it is a journey of life. I could begin on a study 00:34:22.849 --> 00:34:26.769 of just water alone. and learning about distilled 00:34:26.769 --> 00:34:31.289 water and end up learning about space in the 00:34:31.289 --> 00:34:35.030 universe. Any topic that you get started on, 00:34:35.150 --> 00:34:38.409 no matter how small it is, it's so complex that 00:34:38.409 --> 00:34:41.150 it leaves me from beekeeping into gardening, 00:34:41.550 --> 00:34:45.010 regenerative gardening, and creating nutrient 00:34:45.010 --> 00:34:51.269 dense foods to therapy and medicine. It does 00:34:51.269 --> 00:34:56.679 not end. On the one end where we are working 00:34:56.679 --> 00:34:59.659 with private landowners who want to host our 00:34:59.659 --> 00:35:03.539 bees and love the barter trade that we have going 00:35:03.539 --> 00:35:05.280 with them and the connections that we have with 00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:09.239 so many friends and colleagues to just our personal 00:35:09.239 --> 00:35:11.559 exploration with our interests in life, there 00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:16.079 is just an endless topic. And so for me, it's 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:19.400 my day -to -day life is about exploration, about 00:35:19.400 --> 00:35:24.849 learning and about personal development. And 00:35:24.849 --> 00:35:30.369 I wish that everybody could have that freedom 00:35:30.369 --> 00:35:33.969 to do what they want, the kind of work that they 00:35:33.969 --> 00:35:36.250 want to do, to get up every day and say, this 00:35:36.250 --> 00:35:38.769 is the career that I have chosen. I'm not going 00:35:38.769 --> 00:35:42.510 to a job that pays, but I hate, and I can't wait 00:35:42.510 --> 00:35:45.150 until Friday. My least favorite day of the week 00:35:45.150 --> 00:35:48.769 is Saturday. And my favorite day of the week 00:35:48.769 --> 00:35:52.730 is Monday. And I'm saying that with absolute 00:35:52.809 --> 00:35:56.090 sincerity and truth. In fact, I can't tell you 00:35:56.090 --> 00:35:58.389 how many times I'm like, ah, Saturday night and 00:35:58.389 --> 00:36:01.889 the week is over. I'm just, you know, because 00:36:01.889 --> 00:36:07.750 we close up our shop on Sunday and we don't go 00:36:07.750 --> 00:36:10.590 in. We don't allow anyone to open the gate. We 00:36:10.590 --> 00:36:13.949 take that day to rest. And then come Monday morning, 00:36:14.090 --> 00:36:17.230 it's like, yeah, I got to get back on that project 00:36:17.230 --> 00:36:19.409 because I'm focused. I was focused on something 00:36:19.409 --> 00:36:24.199 I did want to mention. And I'd be remiss not 00:36:24.199 --> 00:36:28.179 to mention a couple of things that came out of 00:36:28.179 --> 00:36:30.300 this. There have been an incredible outpouring 00:36:30.300 --> 00:36:33.159 of generosity. But I did want to mention a couple 00:36:33.159 --> 00:36:36.800 of scenarios, a couple of examples, if that was 00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:41.260 OK. The first one was us not being able to winter, 00:36:41.460 --> 00:36:43.300 overwinter, and house our bees the way we typically 00:36:43.300 --> 00:36:48.599 do. There was an outreach of some beekeeper in 00:36:48.599 --> 00:36:53.429 California. who has yards where they've invited 00:36:53.429 --> 00:36:56.829 us to be able to send our bees so that they can 00:36:56.829 --> 00:37:00.570 be down there for the winter. This is a huge 00:37:00.570 --> 00:37:04.070 blessing and a big potential help for us because 00:37:04.070 --> 00:37:07.630 not only are the bees kind of in our hair now 00:37:07.630 --> 00:37:09.889 where we're trying to clean up, we've got thousands 00:37:09.889 --> 00:37:12.030 of bees all over the place. In fact, You know, 00:37:12.030 --> 00:37:14.510 on a warm day, we get tens of thousands of bees 00:37:14.510 --> 00:37:17.769 all over the ash and rubble sitting there licking 00:37:17.769 --> 00:37:19.829 up the honey. And I'm thinking, well, great, 00:37:19.849 --> 00:37:23.550 that's one way to reclaim all the honey. But 00:37:23.550 --> 00:37:25.650 what kind of toxins are they bringing back to 00:37:25.650 --> 00:37:29.349 the hive? And it's going to snow. We have somebody 00:37:29.349 --> 00:37:31.670 who has just said, hey, we want to help. We'll 00:37:31.670 --> 00:37:33.590 let you we'll open up a yard and have you bring 00:37:33.590 --> 00:37:37.849 your bees down here and you can feed them down 00:37:37.849 --> 00:37:41.480 here and and they'll be they'll be able to you'll 00:37:41.480 --> 00:37:46.099 be protected there and that is just one miracle. 00:37:46.460 --> 00:37:49.239 The other one was I got a call from a gentleman 00:37:49.239 --> 00:37:55.360 who saw the news report and immediately called 00:37:55.360 --> 00:37:58.920 us and said that he was a beekeeper. He had been 00:37:58.920 --> 00:38:03.019 a beekeeper with his father and he had recently 00:38:03.019 --> 00:38:07.300 retired and he wanted to just help us out and 00:38:07.300 --> 00:38:11.969 donate his equipment and that was just me just 00:38:11.969 --> 00:38:14.809 almost just got overwhelmed with the emotion 00:38:14.809 --> 00:38:19.829 there just because thinking about it he and I 00:38:19.829 --> 00:38:23.590 went and I met him one of the most sincere generous 00:38:23.590 --> 00:38:28.130 people who I've ever talked to and so on the 00:38:28.130 --> 00:38:31.030 one hand this tragedy has left us devastated 00:38:31.030 --> 00:38:33.289 but on the other hand it has opened up a pathway 00:38:33.289 --> 00:38:37.969 to meeting people and creating connections that 00:38:37.969 --> 00:38:42.719 are incredible. and wildly supportive and comforting. 00:38:43.320 --> 00:38:45.239 So I just wanted to mention a couple of things. 00:38:45.460 --> 00:38:50.599 Those are only two. We've had dozens of incredible 00:38:50.599 --> 00:38:54.119 things that I could go over. Whenever you have 00:38:54.119 --> 00:38:59.440 to rise from the ashes, there are always new 00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:02.019 windows and opportunities that open to make that 00:39:02.019 --> 00:39:05.639 happen. And you can't work it out in your mind, 00:39:06.519 --> 00:39:11.190 but it always comes. And I would encourage people 00:39:11.190 --> 00:39:14.269 to really honestly, let's make it real. Look 00:39:14.269 --> 00:39:17.449 at your insurance. Make sure you not only have 00:39:17.449 --> 00:39:20.789 the coverage that you're going to need for equipment 00:39:20.789 --> 00:39:26.409 and for buildings, but make sure your agent is 00:39:26.409 --> 00:39:30.170 explaining to you other options. For example, 00:39:30.769 --> 00:39:34.880 income loss potential and Especially on your 00:39:34.880 --> 00:39:36.739 large pieces of equipment because there's there's 00:39:36.739 --> 00:39:38.920 a material loss and then there's building coverage 00:39:38.920 --> 00:39:41.420 and then there's general liability and Things 00:39:41.420 --> 00:39:44.340 like that. Yeah, it's a good lesson, you know 00:39:44.340 --> 00:39:46.159 really check and make sure everything's being 00:39:46.159 --> 00:39:48.480 done, right? Well print and I appreciate your 00:39:48.480 --> 00:39:51.639 fantastic attitude so much It's a great example 00:39:51.639 --> 00:39:54.500 for all of us and from the beekeeping community 00:39:54.500 --> 00:39:57.340 and from my family our love and support to you 00:39:57.340 --> 00:40:00.420 and your family I know you're gonna bounce back 00:40:00.420 --> 00:40:03.750 right on your feet and be going going forward 00:40:03.750 --> 00:40:07.090 fantastic so keep it up my friend. Thanks again 00:40:07.090 --> 00:40:13.329 we'll talk soon. Okay. Thanks for joining us 00:40:13.329 --> 00:40:16.130 on Be Love Beekeeping presented by Man Lake. 00:40:16.570 --> 00:40:18.650 If you like this content I hope you'll share 00:40:18.650 --> 00:40:21.510 it with a friend, follow and subscribe to this 00:40:21.510 --> 00:40:24.889 podcast and even sign up for our newsletter at 00:40:24.889 --> 00:40:27.929 BeLoveBeekeeping .com Also, just a shout out 00:40:27.929 --> 00:40:30.510 to Vita B Health for their support, we appreciate 00:40:30.510 --> 00:40:33.530 them. Vita's Varroa Control range of products 00:40:33.530 --> 00:40:37.809 includes Epistan, Epigard, and now Veroxen, Extended 00:40:37.809 --> 00:40:41.670 Release Oxalic Acid Strips. Thanks guys. And 00:40:41.670 --> 00:40:44.150 remember, if you're not just in it for the honey 00:40:44.150 --> 00:40:47.150 or the money, you're in it for the love. See 00:40:47.150 --> 00:40:47.909 you next week.