August Newsletter

You  might notice that odd September date looming over the August Newsletter!  Ooops, I guess I let Back to School season wreck my nice schedule.  I hope you will all join us for the contest and as always, don't forget to bring a side dish or dessert to share with the other members.

Alamo Area Beekeepers Association

Next meeting:  Tuesday September 17, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

At Helotes Independent Baptist Church

15335 Orange Tower Road

Helotes, TX 78023

Alamo Area Beekeepers Association

Rules for September 2013 Contest

By

Don Fraser, VP AABA

The AABA has a honey, wax and photo judging contest each September.  There are several goals: education and good fellowship.  The AABA is fortunate to have members who are both very knowledgeable about honey, wax and photo bee competitions and have achieved success at both the local (AABA) and state Texas Beekeeper Association (TBA) level.  Both new and more experienced beekeepers who choose to enter the contest will gain valuable insight into how the honey, wax and photo contests are run at the state level each November at the TBA meeting.

If you plan to enter the TBA contest in November please follow the TBA guidelines.  For the past few years the AABA has followed modified guidelines with respect to the honey and wax contests in order to have a larger number of contestants.

Do not place any identifying marks, name tags etc on the honey jars, wax or photos.  Place your honey, wax and photos in a container (box, folder etc) and hand that container to the person handling the contest entries.  She/he will place an identifying tag on your entry and take it back to the judging area.

Honey Contest

Our goal is to educate and to have fun. Please provide a 1 lb sample of your honey in a clear (non- colored) glass jar. The jar may be of any shape/size…if you have less than 1 lb of honey to submit for the contest that is okay since we are using modified AABA rules. 

The judges will evaluate all contestant entries and divide the honey contest entries into one or more categories (depending on the number of entries). Please make sure

that you honey is filtered (points will be deducted for bee body parts) and that you have a very clean bottle with no finger print smuges. Do not place any writing or other identification on your contest entry. All honey entries must have been produced by the contest entrants’ personal beehive during the 2013 season. The honey

judges will provide a brief overview of the process that they use to evaluate the honey.

Award winners will be recognized during the September 2013 AABA meeting.

In order to aid our judges experienced AABA beekeepers are encouraged to provide samples (current or prior year’s honey) in one or more of the following TBA honey judging categories that were used for the 2012 TBA contest: Water White, Extra White, White, Light White Amber, Amber, Chunk Comb, Square Section, Round Section and Creamed). The honey samples in the nine TBA categories will be used by the judges to help educate the less experienced AABA members. 

Wax Contest

New beekeepers may not have 2 lbs of wax to submit for the contest. Therefore, we will judge any and all wax entries. The wax may be any shape or size. Do not place any writing or other identification on your contest entry. The wax judges will provide a brief overview of the process that they use to evaluate the wax. Award winners will be recognized during the September 2013 AABA meeting. Note: For those who wish to enter the November 2013 TBA contest, the TBA has four categories for beeswax: 2lb block natural, 2 lb block bleached, candles – tapers (one pair molded, dipped or rolled) and craft (carved, molded, rolled, painted, decorated, coated). Block entries (flat bottom of at least 24 square inches and depth of at least 1 inch).

Photo Contest (6 classes):

Historical emphasizes beekeeping in the past. There are no restrictions on formats. 

Black and white, color prints and slides will be combined in the same classes (Bees in Nature, Bees and Man, Historical and Products of the Hive).  Each print will be limited to 8” X 10” overall.  Slides photos must be submitted as a print. Essay will be a group of prints mounted on a mount board (any type) not exceeding 16” X 20”, depicting a bee story or event.  The order of essay photos must be clearly indicated. Brief captions may be used.  Snapshot entries will be a 3” X 4” clearly depicting a relation to any facet of the beekeeping industry.  The photo artist is encouraged to provide the following

information on the back of the photo entries: camera, camera settings, and film type. This information will not be used in the judging. Photos must be from 2013 and taken by the photographer who enters the photo contest. Photographers are encouraged to enter one or

more of the six photo classes. Multiple entries are encouraged but should be limited to no more than three per class.  Award winners will be recognized during the September 2013 AABA meeting. The photo judges would like to make the following recommendations with respect to judging the photo contest. There will be only one (1) winner in each of the six photo categories. In addition, a Grand Prize Award will be given to the best overall photo (chosen from one of the six category winners). The Grand Prize winning entry is expected to be “unique and compelling.” The judges will prepare 8 ½ by 11 award certificates for the 1 st place finisher in each of the aforementioned six categories. Photo entrants are encouraged to be in attendance at the AABA Sept 2013 meeting.

Note. Please check the TBA (Texas Beekeepers Association) website for contact information and instructions for rules and entry forms for the November 2013 TBA contest.

Martha Stewart's Honey Cake with Caramelized Pears will add flavor to your fall and entice you to use your delicious honey yield to flavor the decadence of the season.

KEEP SCROLLING.....I MANAGED TO MESS IT UP AND CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX THIS GAP.  ALL THE OBVIOUS METHODS WERE EXHAUSTED!!

PHOTOGRAPHY: CHARLES SCHILLER

INGREDIENTS

• Unsalted butter, softened, for pan
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons best-quality honey
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• Caramelized Pears
• Freshly whipped cream, or nondairy whipped topping,
•  for serving (optional)

COOK'S NOTE

If you keep kosher and would like to make
dairy-free versions of these recipes,
substitute margarine for the butter,
and soy milk for the regular milk.
The cake can be made (without the pears)
one day ahead, and stored in plastic wrap
at room temperature.

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform
pan.  Dust with flour; tap out excess.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda,
salt, and cinnamon in a bowl; set aside.
Mix eggs and sugars on high speed in the bowl
 of an electric mixer fitted with the
paddle attachment until pale and thick, about 3 minutes.

1. STEP 2

   Whisk together honey, milk, oil, and zest.
   With mixer on low, add honey mixture to egg mixture;
    mix until combined, about 1 minute.
   Add half the flour mixture; mix until smooth.
   Mix in remaining flour mixture. Pour batter into pan.

STEP 3

Bake until dark golden brown and a cake tester
inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes.
Run a thin knife around edge of cake;
carefully remove sides of pan.Transfer cake to a platter.
Top with pears. Serve with whipped cream or topping,
if desired.

SOURCE

Martha Stewart Living, September 

© 2013 MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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July 16th Meeting Moments and Reminders

You may have missed last night's meeting and know that you were also missed!  We had an awesome display of how to extract bees from all sorts of locations.  There were many people with great stories of their dangerous and HOT extractions.  I am hoping to get some of these stories to share with those of you who were unable to be in attendance.

Sitting next to some older(25+) and wiser beekeepers, I was promised a story or two for our next newsletter out in August.  Please send me your stories, pictures and recipes to share with our readers!  I am so excited about all of the stuff happening in the AABA.

I would like to extend a very special THANK YOU to Emily Tankersley (her husband is the one who sells those delicious goat's milk soaps at the meetings) for volunteering to be the Area Chair for the Honey Queen Program.  This program mainly targets girls in the 14-24 age range who have a love of bees, beekeeping and a desire to educate the public concerning the newest advances in beekeeping as well as the tried and true methods passed down through the generations.

Stay tuned for the detailed information on September competition of Honey, Wax and Photography!  If you established beekeepers don't get your stuff together, those young whippersnapper scholarship winners are going to nab it out from under you!!!

Friends, I also ask that you keep the Bell Family in your prayers as Curtis Bell(father) returns to activity duty serving our nation and fighting to keep us safe and free.  Nathan, Joshua, and Alex are 2013 AABA Scholarship recipients.  Vonda and Curtis have served abroad in many capacities and recently moved stateside.  Please make sure you extend both prayers and a helping hand if you have the opportunity.



Again, I ask that you please share any news, stories, recipes or needs/wants in the beekeeping world to me and I can place them on here for us to become more unified and communicative.  Thank you and have a great rest of this beautiful month of JULY!!

Mimi

July 2013 Meeting Agenda

COME JOIN US FOR OUR JULY MEETING!!

Below you can find our agenda so you can prepare questions, bring items for the auction, bring food to share with your fellow members, and find out how you can win the honey, beeswax, and photo contest in September!!

Alamo Area Beekeepers Association

Next meeting:  Tuesday July 16, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

At Helotes Independent Baptist Church

15335 Orange Tower Road

Helotes, TX 78023Map to location

MEETING AGENDA

Ø  President’s Welcome & Visitors Intro by Rick Fink (5 min)

Ø  Approval of the May 2013 meeting minutes (5 min)

Ø Treasurer & Membership Report, Richard Trevino (5 min)

Ø  Presentation – Rick Fink – Techniques, Equipment and Issues – Collection of bees from swarms, buildings

Ø  2013 Youth Scholarship Program – Hive Update from the Scholarship     Winners (2 minutes per Scholarship Recipient)

Ø Program intermission & potluck dinner

Ø AABA September 2013 Meeting-Honey, Beeswax and Picture Contest

Ø  Texas Beekeepers Summer Clinic – June 1, 2013 – Attendee Report

Ø AABA Newsletter – Blog Format – Mind Your OWN Bee’s Wax - Mimi Stricker (5 min)

Ø Question & Answer Session

Meeting Agenda – submitted by Don Fraser

Action Items:

R. Fink – review final agenda and action items; mail to both AABA and non-AABA members; reminder to members regarding pot-luck.  The AABA will provide the meat dish with members asked to bring side dish-vegetables, dessert, salads etc.

R. Fink – Discussion of Swarm and Beehive collection.  Topic to include techniques and equipment used to collect swarms. Issues and techniques associated with collection of established hives in buildings and other structures.  Discussion to include responsibilities of the home owner and beekeeper.  Additional topics to include: how to hive the swarms (and keep them in the hive); combining two different colonies of hives to improve the strength of a hive; hive health issues associated with swarm collection when introducing swarms to established healthy hives in your apiary; questions to ask the homeowner with respect to prior attempts to kill hives in buildings or trees with insecticides and risks associated with the potential for insecticides in honey and beeswax comb collected during extractions.  Discussion may also include legal issues that need to be addressed regarding extractions of bees from homes and other structures.

Action Item - AABA Bee Scholarship Winners - List of recipients (see below).  Expectations for scholarship winners – take care of the bees, work with mentors, come to AABA meetings and provide a 1-2 min overview of their beekeeping activities.  The use of pictures, poster boards etc is encouraged.  Parents are encouraged to help their children with their 1-2 minute presentations; it is a great opportunity to learn presentation skills before a friendly and supportive audience.

The list of scholarship recipients include:

Parents	Children
Vonda and Curtis Bell	Nathan, Joshua and Alex (family award)
Laura Day	Jacob Boubel
Jenni Wilson	Nathan Wilson
Richard Lynn and Joni Lea Huber	Brenton Huber
Kelli and Stephen McKinney	Mayce, Ryland, Cadyn and Eyslie (family award)
Michael and Sue Laprise	Luke Laprise
Ricka Mueller	Abby Mueller
Mimi and Thadd Stricker	Chloe

Action Item - Mimi Stricker – print out 3-4 copies of the newsletter/blog for distribution at the meeting; discuss the type of things that the blog will contain e.g. meeting schedule, agenda of AABA meetings and events, interesting stories that relate to beekeeping from AABA members and state, national beekeeping organizations; links to beekeeping-related articles on bee health, marketing of products and services.  Remind AABA members how to access the blog web site.

Blog: Mind Your OWN Bee's Wax
Post: Alamo Area Beekeeper's July 2013 Newsletter
Link: http://aabanewsletter.blogspot.com/2013/07/alamo-area-beekeepers-july-2013.html

Action Item – TBD – 5 minute overview of events at the June 2013 TBA Meeting. 

TBA Summer Clinic http://www.texasbeekeepers.org/

Thursday, 16 May 2013 20:13 | Date: Saturday, June 1, 2013 Registration: begins at 10:30am Cost: $15 adults, $8 children (includes lunch) RSVP to Jimmy Oakley at info@wcaba.org by May 28, 2013 Location: Walker Honey Farm / Dancing Bee Winery 8060 E US Hwy 190, Rogers, TX 76569 o     Agenda : Walker Honey Farm and Dancing Bee Winery Tour o     Apiary Tour – hive inspections o     Palletized Langstroth Hives: hive treatments (protein, sucrose, Eos etc) o     Kenyan Top-bar hives used in Swaziland Beekeeper Training Program o     Honey Production Facility – extracting, comb storage, equipment: box dipping, standard operating equipment used at WHF o     Wine Production – fermentation, bottling and aging

2013 Events

Jan 15	Meeting *
Feb 2	Bottling Party 9am-1pm Pearsall, TX
Feb 2	AABA San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Booth Set-up
Feb 7-24	San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Come meet us at our booth
March 19	Meeting *
April 13	Field Day  Majestic Ranch, Boerne TX
May 21	Meeting *
July 16	Meeting *
Sep 17	Meeting * Honey, wax and photo contests
Nov 19	Meeting * Thanksgiving Dinner

Bi-monthly meetings are held 7-9 PM on the 3rd Tuesday 
of the ODD numbered months (Jan-March-May-July-Sept-Nov)
at Helotes Independent Baptist Church 15335 Bandera Rd
Helotes, TX 78023