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Author Topic: I'm Brand Spankin' New  (Read 11842 times)

Offline thomashton

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I'm Brand Spankin' New
« on: October 30, 2004, 01:44:37 am »
Hello everyone!
I'm not only brand new to this forum, I'm brand new to beekeeping. I'm so brand new I don't even have a hive.

I am a 30 yr old National Guard soldier living in Iraq and will be returning early next year to the states. I will be moving to Northern Utah (Cache Valley) and am interested in hearing from anyone in the state with good advice that is state specific.

In real life (not Army life), I  am a field biologist for a private consulting firm and do field surveys to make sure new construction complies with federal laws (NEPA). So, it is my job to know plants, flowers and animals. Beekeeping seems like a rewarding natural extension of my livelihood. Plus, I've been interested in it since I was a boy growing up in Orem, UT seeing my neighbors' whitewashed boxes across the fence and wondering why I wasn't getting stung everytime I went in the backyard. In fact, the only time I ever remember gettiing stung was thousands of miles away while living in the former Soviet Union for a couple years!

Anyway, I thought now would be a good time for me to get my "reading" knowledge up on beekeeping while so far away and hopefully when I return I can find someone willing to let me come and observe and inspection or harvest and get me off on the right foot.

Thanks for all the great posts and to John for the wonderful website.

(Sgt. Tom) Ashton
After 18 months of reading and preparation, my girls finally arrived on April 11th (2006)!

Offline golfpsycho

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« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2004, 02:07:02 am »
Tom
I'm sure there are a ton of beekeepers in the Cache Valley, and up into Idaho.  I'm trying to place a few colonys up into the farmington and smithfield area this spring.  If you can't find anyone closer, your certainly welcome to come play with the bees if it works out.

Offline thomashton

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« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2004, 03:00:09 am »
Sounds great.

I probably won't be home for good until May (although I'll leave Iraq in March). Clearly I won't be able to start a hive next spring, but that will give me a good opportunity to see and help a full season with other people.

Here's keeping fingers crossed for spring '06 :D
After 18 months of reading and preparation, my girls finally arrived on April 11th (2006)!

Offline BigRog

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« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2004, 07:51:57 am »
Welcome, welcome, welcome.

Thanks for the praise on the site.
I too was going to take a year to read and get info.
Then in chatting with John He offered me C3 His third hive
So instead of next spring I got my hive in sept.

http://www.beemaster.com/beebbs/viewtopic.php?t=1257

It has some probs now but I thin I'm on the way to fixing them

You never know
You might end up keeping bees sooner than you expect


Glad to have you here.
"Lurch my good man,…what did you mean when you said just now that 'You've got better things to do than run my petty little errands'…….?"

Offline Beth Kirkley

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« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2004, 08:04:07 am »
Yes! welcome - welcome - welcome

You're going to LOVE having bees! Try out the search engine when wondering about bees, and anything you can't seem to get answered there, just ask away.

Beth

Offline BigRog

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« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2004, 08:19:22 am »
And John got the hive he gave me when he looked in his shed and a swarm had taken up residence in some old boxes and frames he had in there.

You never know.
"Lurch my good man,…what did you mean when you said just now that 'You've got better things to do than run my petty little errands'…….?"

Offline thomashton

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« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2004, 09:46:42 am »
Thank you for the warm welcome (although it's always warm here in Iraq). 2006 looks more realistic for me as I am moving from New Mexico to northern Utah and during 2005 will be buying land and building a new house. I should have plenty of time to bug you all plenty until then.

Again, thanks.
After 18 months of reading and preparation, my girls finally arrived on April 11th (2006)!

Offline Beth Kirkley

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« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2004, 12:13:49 am »
Couldn't you get bees there in Iraq? Are you on the move too much, with no "permanant" home? (Living from motel to motel for instance.) Bees don't take up much space at all, and people have been known to keep them in the strangest places. People have them in suburbs, with small yards. Some keep them on roof tops in big cities. We even have someone on here that has bees in their APARTMENT with a pipe out the window for the bees to come and go. :) I'm not really sure how that person ever inspects their hive - I would love a video of that. LOL
You don't need large acres of land for bees the way you would for cows, horses, or chickens. The bees fly often 3 miles looking for food, and have even been found to fly 6 or 7 miles.
If you have a place to live while in Iraq, and some flowers or flowering trees within 3 miles or so, and you can convince your neighbors that bees are safe and a great benefit for all............. then I'd go for it. When you move back home you can just give your hive to someone there. Bees are fasinating, and ALWAYS tend to draw a crowd once people know about them. By the time you have to leave Iraq, you would surely have one of your neighbors as a bee enthusiest. (I don't know how to spell that, but you know what I'm meaning.) :)

Beth

Offline golfpsycho

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« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2004, 12:21:21 am »
ummmmmm ......He's in the military.  In a war zone, in a desert country.  When I put my time in, they didn't encourage beekeeping in your off duty hours.

Offline eivindm

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« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2004, 07:38:55 am »
Welcome to the forum, Tom!

I'm updating the member distribution maps here on the forum, and I am always glad to fill in the coordinates for a new country.  Now I got the oppurtunity to fill in Iraq, the second country from the middle east in this forum.  I don't have bees yet myself, and as you, I enjoy reading about it (both in books and here in this great forum) until I can buy some myself.

eivindm

Offline Beth Kirkley

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« Reply #10 on: November 01, 2004, 09:56:03 am »
I haven't been in the military, so I didn't realize what kinds of rules they might have. I had thought they could have some sort of hobbies. Bees sure don't take up much space or time. That's a bummer.
Beth

Offline Ladybee

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« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2004, 07:11:34 pm »
A welcome from Beemaster
by Ladybee

To Sgt. Tom:

Welcome to the forum Tom and God's Speed in returning home, I know your family and countrymen are proud of your sacrifices in the war against terrorism.

With your technical background as a a field biologist it sounds like beekeeping will blend in easily for you and believe the members when they say that it will be very rewarding also.

Just take a look at the membership here and how active they are and you will know that beekeeping is enjoyable, and fascinating to study. I am honored that you found this forum and hope that you get to write us often - our forum could use a hero to follow in these tough times. All of our men and women in uniform are heros, it's just rare that we get to communicate with them - you are very welcomed here.

To the forum members in the States, get out and vote "or" don't complain about who holds office for the next 4, 8, 12 or 16 years - yes, between presidential candidates and their vice presidents you could be choosing which party holds power for nearly 2 decades - don't let your Right to Vote go to waste - vote for all the offices that concern you!

John

NOTE:

John is doing well - he asks me to read the different posts in the forum to him and he hopes to reply as offen as possible. He thanks everyone for their prayers and thoughts and he hopes to be back at the keyboard soon.

Ladybee

Offline Beth Kirkley

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« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2004, 10:39:50 pm »
Thank you Tracey for the update with John. I know things must be hard right now. There's no easy way to express real feeling through posts, but he is truely on our minds - I personally am proud to be considered his friend.

And also, I agree with everything you said Tracey about our troops. I'm VERY VERY proud of them. I wish things in Iraq would hurry up and settle down too. I want our brave soldiers, men and women, back home to their families. I know the sacrifices the families have made, and the loss of life has all been so much. I don't want anyone to have to go through that much. But I am so proud of everyone that has made these sacrifices.

Beth

Offline asleitch

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« Reply #13 on: November 02, 2004, 08:02:27 am »
Quote from: eivindm
Welcome to the forum, Tom!

I'm updating the member distribution maps here on the forum, and I am always glad to fill in the coordinates for a new country.  Now I got the oppurtunity to fill in Iraq, the second country from the middle east in this forum.  I don't have bees yet myself, and as you, I enjoy reading about it (both in books and here in this great forum) until I can buy some myself.

eivindm


As far as I'm aware, their is both a League of Arab Beekeepers, and an Arabic Federation of Beekeepers. I can't quite work out if they are one and the same.

This website might be interesting for members...

http://yazbek.com/honey/rashidyazbek.php

As far as I know, the chap who ran the arab beekeeping association in Iraq in the 1990's, lost all his colonies in the first Gulf war - he is now working as the geneticist at Buckfast Abbey - continuing the work done by Brother Adam (as their was no monk with his skills and experience in bee breeding techniques).

Adam

Offline thomashton

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« Reply #14 on: November 02, 2004, 10:02:44 am »
Thanks to everyone for their kind words. I have even got a couple private messages saying the same. It is greatly appreciated. I marvel at the support of the people at home and whether they agree with why we're here or not, how much they support us. I have recieved boxes upon boxes and tons of letters from complete strangers who just want to show they care. Thank you for doing the same in this forum.

Beth, we do have a surprising amount of leverage in free time at times to spend at hobbies, but mostly it is for things in the immediate area that won't take us away in case we're needed at a moments notice and we are strictly forbidden against pets which is too bad as there are some massive scorpions out here that are really cool not to mention mongooses and cobras (don't think I would take one of those as a pet). Most of my off hours are spent watching movies, playing the mandolin, reading or on my laptop designing the house I am going to build when I return.

If anyone is interested in seeing pictures of me in Iraq, I have a website set up with family pictures but there are specific sections there concerning this deployment. You can find it at:
http://www.ashtonink.com/photos
After 18 months of reading and preparation, my girls finally arrived on April 11th (2006)!

Offline Robo

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« Reply #15 on: November 02, 2004, 10:24:22 am »
OK folks,  I have decided to "adopt" Sgt. Tom and send him some beekeeping books while he is in Iraq.  Hopefully this will give him some retreat and take his mind off the daily threats of war when he has some down time.  I have already PM'd him and got all the info.

If anyone else would like to show their support and contribute,  PM me and we can discuss offline.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



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« Reply #16 on: November 02, 2004, 02:34:15 pm »
thomashton,
I love your "half cut" photo on your website. I typically look pretty much the same when I roll out of the rack in the morning.
Speaking of "pets", I spent some time in Arizona a few years back and I just don't remember ever considering adopting a scorpion as a pet. They always seemed to be too ready to "bite the hand that feeds them" to readily endear themselves in my heart if you know what I mean.

Offline Lesli

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« Reply #17 on: November 02, 2004, 05:39:09 pm »
Having done my civic duty today, I can happily welcome you to our little hive on the Internet. I hope you'll be home safe and sound, too. And, by the way, once you get a bee in your bonnet... er... helmet, you may find you want a colony or two of your own a lot sooner. I, too, thought I would wait until next year, but the fever hits and that's it!

Even in May, you can probably buy a nuc or two.  :wink:  And I'll tell you that bees are a great way to destress, something I'm sure you'll need post-duty and during that even more stressful time: building a home.

One way or another, though, this is a great place for newbies.

Best!
**************************
Lesli

Offline Robo

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« Reply #18 on: November 02, 2004, 08:59:30 pm »
After receiving a few PMs, it was apparent that I jumped into this without thinking it though. Since most of us here are hobbyists and a good portion newbees,  our bee book collections are very sparse.  So even if you don't have any beekeeping books to share, but want to help "adopt" Sgt. Tom PM me and I'll fill you in on the details.
 :D
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline 1frozenhillbilly

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« Reply #19 on: January 19, 2005, 12:13:57 am »
i cant believe you slipped in here without me noticing you for so long welcome aboard and its nice to see you youngsters carying on where us old vets left off we really appreciate the sacrifice you give to our country as we've been there ourselves, carry on soldier and may god bless you
vegetarian???  isn't green stuff for growing meat?
I'm now KL4GU general ham

 

anything