Hi Walter 

My submission began as a wintering report to Doug and a comment on both 
his Report and the G&M article and it was 'sent to him' as such for 
information purposes. Hardly what you called quote... "your diatribe on 
the state of our beekeeping here."  Seems to me it was mostly about my own 
experiences and some speculation based on what I have been through and 
read. I am simply concerned and trying to help since there have been many 
extraordinary losses in recent years and the fewer that go through that 
crisis the better. I prefer win-win scenarios. So I made a sarcastic jab 
about the weather, but I hopefully made a point and I would be glad if I'm 
wrong.

you wrote:
>"... but I can say this, that we here in Canada  are 
>fortunate to have a system amongst us which has allowed us to put in 
place  
>solutions for the problems we encounter and that  works on solution for  
impending 
>situations."
For the most part I tend to agree with this statement and would even say 
that Ontario probably has more gov't support for the bee industry from 
OMAFRA than any other province gets from their agricultural depts.. Doug 
McRory and his peers have gone to a great deal of effort to assist the 
industry. That doesn't mean mistakes haven't been made or that I shouldn't 
question anything. Statistics show that Ontario peaked at 115,000 hives 
around 1990 to about 75,000 today. That's a pretty significant decline.

>The proper use of the tools along with a good knowledge of  beekeeping is 
>called management.
Perhaps Walter you could share some of your history, stats and management 
experiences with us as well, and in what part of Ontario you operate. 

>Man is his own destiny.
Are you sure that's in the Canadian Constitution? :)

In light of recent discussions on BeeLine I thought some others would 
appreciate reading about my experiences since my letter became so much 
more than what I started. Sorry it came in such a large package....Allen 
D.!  I appreciate the responses and of course, Bob always has some 
interesting comments and ideas. Thanks.


Take care, 
Rob Termeer
Cornwall, Ontario, Canada

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