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Author Topic: I am going to Brushy Mountain  (Read 7934 times)

Offline Understudy

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #20 on: August 20, 2008, 02:54:27 pm »
I went to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm Tuesday. From 421 in Wilkesboro directions are a snap, and there are at least 3 bright signs on the road that direct visitors to the Farm. But it is in the country -- beautiful country -- Brushy Mountain Road runs along a high ridge, lots of farms, orchards, etc.

Here are some pictures. I'm not great at estimating acreage, but I'd say a hundred at least. The buildings and grounds are well-kept, neat and organized. Not much of a showroom, but as has been pointed out, this is primarily a mail-order business. I heard some comments among the employees about some things being back-ordered; dunno what's up with that. What I did see was a UPS semi 1/4 filled within a half-hour. It's an impressive operation. I picked up a couple of 8-frame mediums from the Bargain Barn for $12 each, some frames, and a screened bottom board.

Something else -- when I was in the shop there was a nice-looking man with a long ponytail who seemed to be working on a problem with the computer, so I assumed he was their computer fixit guy. Later he mentioned he was from Florida, and was harvesting Leatherwood honey. Could this have been Understudy?

http://picasaweb.google.com/hjdunlap/BrushyMountainBeeFarm

Yes that was me. I remember you getting the items from them. I was actually showing her the beemaster forums page. Shameless plugging even on a trip.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline eri

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #21 on: August 20, 2008, 03:44:32 pm »

Yes that was me. I remember you getting the items from them. I was actually showing her the beemaster forums page. Shameless plugging even on a trip.

Sincerely,
Brendhan


Small world, eh? If I'd stayed in the office and not gone to the Bargain Barn maybe we would have discovered each other sooner and we'd have had photos to post :-)

I showed Beemaster.com to my county Ag Agent last week and at some point will use it to demo for the County Beekeepers as an alternative communications format to the current Major Domo listserv (ick). Everybody be good now, you never know who's watching!

When I was on a business trip in New Jersey several years ago I was given directions in terms of the average number of minutes it took to get from one road to another. No road names, of course, no mileage, just vague landmarks. Thank goodness for Internet maps now, when they're accurate.

  -- eri

On Pleasure
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And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy.
People of Orphalese, be in your pleasures like the flowers and the bees.

Offline Understudy

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #22 on: August 20, 2008, 03:53:26 pm »
The trip is gorgeous, don't get me wrong in that aspect. But it is hard to appreciate when you are trying to make sure you haven't made a wrong turn on a road. I made several. All this while getting directions from a person at Brushy Mountain.

Wilkesboro is North of where I was coming from. I guess they don't get to many customers from the southern areas. I caulk this up to part of the adventure of life. If had been easy to get to I wouldn't have a story to tell. :)

When I arrived I was very impressed with the size of the facility and the number of buildings on the property. It is definitely not  small time. I went down to the store and met Laurie. Laurie was working the register in the store. Now I kinda of expected the set up where everything is a display item only. I am use to dealing with that with other warehouse type operations. I had a chance to talk with Laurie and had a wonderful conversation. I showed her the Beemaster Forums and a couple of the cool things on the site. :) I also discussed what has been a problem with just about every bee supply place out there. Where you order something they take a week to process it and then ship it to you. Basically the answer was there has been an increase in beekeepers and a decrease in supplies. The one thing that may have saved the wood as a raw material is the housing crunch means that wood for houses is now going to build hives. I went on a tour of the assembly warehouse and meet Greg who was the person who explained the wood issue. He also mentioned they may have to expand the operation because it is still hard to keep up with.

I found it very interesting to learn they make all their own parts except for frames. Someone else mills the frames and sends them them frame parts. I also met Ken in the shop warehouse where they fabricate everything. He showed me some of the current items being made and how they get everything fabricated load it on pallets and drop it off next door to Greg and his crew to assemble if needed and ship out. The operation is amazing. They also have very little scrap. What little they do have is usually pieces to small to be used for any other purpose. Some of it that can be used but isn't perfect goes in the discount bin.

While I was in the store I bought Honey B Healty, Some conical screens , a queen rearing DVD, and commercial bee pheromone.   I want to try the pheromone against the lemongrass oil. Laurie also gave me a jar of her honey which I will use with the culinary programs the association does over the school year. I also bought a bunch of honey straws. Fortunately the TSA did not steal any honey this time. (Put TSA Theives in the search for that story).

Overall the staff at Brushy Mountain is really nice to deal with. The backlog and shipping costs are an issue but I think that they will try to deal with the backlog. I doubt UPS will do much about the shipping. Maybe if we could get them to open up a few branch offices say in South Florida. :)

Sincerely,
Brendhan

In the time I was writing this. I received a call from pdmattox. He will post the full story but my thoughts are with you Beemaster.

The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #23 on: August 20, 2008, 03:56:02 pm »
Quote from: Eri
...heard some comments among the employees about some things being back-ordered...
Which is exactly the reason why I got so frustrated with them this summer. I can understand if an order is going to take an extra week or even two to fill. That's not a big deal to me. What I don't understand is why things could be on backorder for months without any real explanation or additional communication, and (even more irritating) why a business would still be accepting orders for that item. It seems to me like there should be a point when you say "We can't accept any more orders on that item until we get caught up a little bit."

Quote from: Eri
If I'd stayed in the office and not gone to the Bargain Barn
Yeah, but let's face it - the Bargain Barn is the #1 reason to go to Brushy Mountain in person. 8-)
"You will come to learn a great deal if you study the insignificant in depth." - Buckaroo Banzai

Offline sc-bee

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #24 on: August 20, 2008, 04:34:41 pm »
Been there twice and didn't know there was a bargain barn, and no one bothered to tell me :'(!
John 3:16

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #25 on: August 20, 2008, 04:40:21 pm »
Yeah, it isn't signed up very well. I wouldn't have found it myself if I hadn't been wandering around one morning this spring when I went to pick up my packaged bees.

You know where the main office/store thing is? If you're standing on the front porch of that building just look up the hill and to your right, over towards where Steve has his hives in the open field. The Bargain Barn is over that way. It's where they put all their rejects, seconds, and clearance items.
"You will come to learn a great deal if you study the insignificant in depth." - Buckaroo Banzai

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #26 on: August 20, 2008, 06:30:41 pm »
Brendhan,

There is just something in the way Tarheels give directions that drive others mad.  Up rivver from me are 2 Tarheel communities; Darrington and Concrete.  Directions along the Sauk Valley Road will still refer to Ba'r Reese's place (Ba'r Reese was an old
Tarheel in the 1950's who used to trap bear in the spring and fatten then on corn and butcher them in the fall) and he's been dead for nearly 50 years.  The other part is taking the second road (deer track) past the dead oppossum about a mile past the old cedar stump.

Tarheels are great people, they'll cross the street to shake you hand and they'll cross the street to bloody your nose.  City slicker's have a hard time understanding them. 

The way you identify a Tarheel is that he's driving an old pickup truck with a gun rack (guns included) and 2 or 3 coon hounds and a gallon jug in the back.
Life is a school.  What have you learned?   :brian:      The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election!

Offline eri

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #27 on: August 20, 2008, 10:39:59 pm »
The way you identify a Tarheel is that he's driving an old pickup truck with a gun rack (guns included) and 2 or 3 coon hounds and a gallon jug in the back.
Ah, Brian, you know not of what you speak. You are referring to rednecks, or an old definition of rednecks.

While some Tarheels are rednecks, and conversely, some rednecks are Tarheels, Tarheels are native residents of the great state of North Carolina (never to be confused with South Carolina), the state itself is the Tarheel State, home of the sometimes spectacular sports teams of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels.

Here's how it is:
I'm a Tarheel born and a Tarheel bred and when I die I'll be a Tarheel dead.

The ONLY Tarheel "communities" are here in North Carolina. Always have been and always will be. We Tarheels don't take kindly to misrepresentation  ;)

Esse Quam Videri
On Pleasure
Kahlil Gibran
....
And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy.
People of Orphalese, be in your pleasures like the flowers and the bees.

Offline heaflaw

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #28 on: August 20, 2008, 11:34:07 pm »
Eri:  Well said.  But don't be too hard on him.  If a person is not a native Tarheel, they cannot be expected to understand.


I go to Brushy Mountain about once a year.  The store is small, but it is interesting and items are well displayed.  I like the ambiance of the old farm house.  They should have a large porch with rockers where beekeepers could sit and talk looking out over the valley with hives a few feet away. 

If you have plenty of time and a full tank of gas, go the back way through Hiddenite.  You get a feeling of time slowing down to the pace of the old South of 2 generations ago.  And the drive if gorgeous. 

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #29 on: August 21, 2008, 12:25:18 am »
The way you identify a Tarheel is that he's driving an old pickup truck with a gun rack (guns included) and 2 or 3 coon hounds and a gallon jug in the back.
Ah, Brian, you know not of what you speak. You are referring to rednecks, or an old definition of rednecks.

While some Tarheels are rednecks, and conversely, some rednecks are Tarheels, Tarheels are native residents of the great state of North Carolina (never to be confused with South Carolina), the state itself is the Tarheel State, home of the sometimes spectacular sports teams of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels.

Here's how it is:
I'm a Tarheel born and a Tarheel bred and when I die I'll be a Tarheel dead.

The ONLY Tarheel "communities" are here in North Carolina. Always have been and always will be. We Tarheels don't take kindly to misrepresentation  ;)

Esse Quam Videri


I said we have 2 Tarheels communities here in NW Washington.  They were brought in to log the north cascade mountains after the Norwegians and Sweeds ran out of steam.  The area is crawling with them.  But if you want to qualify that a Tarheel is no longer a Tarheel once he moves out of South Carolina, far be it from me to correct you,  I'll leave that for those who've left NC.
BTW, a real Tarheel, direct from NC, proprosed to my wife for me.....he had a 4X4 truck complete with run rack and hound dogs and would be offended at your  statement.  He was a good man and I miss him...he's a Tarheel dead (died riding a snowmobile on the loweriglaciers of Mt. Raineer).

FYI, countrified Tarheels are the epitamy of Redneck everywhere else in the USA except for NC, SC, and GA.  Ask Jeff Foxworthy.  :b)
Life is a school.  What have you learned?   :brian:      The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election!

Offline sc-bee

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #30 on: August 21, 2008, 12:56:19 am »
Kinda getting off subject but  :-D:

>Tarheels are native residents of the great state of North Carolina (never to be confused with South Carolina)

Wow what a cheap shot --- wonder why they call it NORTH carolina : YANKEE  :evil:!!!

My blood runneth ORANGE :-D :(!
John 3:16

Offline eri

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #31 on: August 21, 2008, 09:03:18 am »
Ya'll all know I'm funnin' you about this whole Tarheel pride thing, right? Fact is that now in any gathering of folks, work or play, it's hard to find a native (both sides of my family were in NC before the Civil War, longer on my father's side), much less a true native from the Cherokee or Lumbee Indian tribes.

Winding through confusing but beautiful back country roads like those on Brushy Mountain used to be the norm but now are the exception, and these days "Southern hospitality" is marketed as a commodity I barely recognize.

As for shotguns, ain't much left to shoot but them gall-durned deer!
On Pleasure
Kahlil Gibran
....
And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy.
People of Orphalese, be in your pleasures like the flowers and the bees.

Offline sc-bee

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #32 on: August 21, 2008, 11:03:31 am »
>Ya'll all know I'm funnin' you about this whole Tarheel pride thing, right?

I assure you no offense has been taken by anyone  :-* ;)!

Tarheel Blue pretty color --- but not as exciting as TIGER ORANGE ;)!
John 3:16

Offline dhood

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #33 on: August 21, 2008, 05:32:01 pm »
My son and I went on a road trip to Brushy Mountain back in May. I can second that it was as hard to find as you said. And the directions that I got off of Mapquest :-x didn't have a clue. We had to stop and ask for directions. needless to say it was an all day trip. If your going, be prepared, leave early and compare maps. Some of them have things wrong around that area.

Offline randydrivesabus

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Re: I am going to Brushy Mountain
« Reply #34 on: August 21, 2008, 08:58:08 pm »
for some reason it must be a lot easier going there from anywhere but south of it. if you get on 421 and get off at the right exit its pretty hard to get lost.