I have two comments for the list. Congratulations to Pennsylvania
beekeeper, Gary C. Lewis on your good hive report. My partner and I were in
the same boat awhile back, with no one to readily share our excitement
about our own first hive inspection from the Nebraska state bee inspector.
Charlie was a superb inspector; he was kind and supportive, offering
opinions and advice to our questions and always couched in terms of his own
experience or the latest research knowledge he was aware of. Plus, he had a
deliciously sly sense of humor. While we didn't get a clean report like
Gary, we were grateful to learn that we definitively had varroa. We were
able to begin Apistan treatment and requeen three hives, two of which seem
to be progressing very well. Our aim is to get the hives through the winter
and off to another healthier spring.
 
As relatively new hobbyist beekeepers (4th year/4hives) and a learning
lurker on this list for a very short time, I would like to add a plug for
using our state associations as a source of information for beginners.
Finding out early on what we're doing well and not so well is very helpful
in making us better beekeepers.
 
Additionally, I would like to second the observation by the delightful
"somewhat spikey" Madeleine Pym in her recent post. I, too, am not a
gentleman. I work right alongside my male partner on all bee tasks and I
have long born some discomfort concerning the past and remaining vestiges
of sexist language in the bee literature and in the bee world. Examples
from history abound, not the least egregious is the long held mistaken
belief that the worker bees were male. Examples continue to accrue in
contemporary life. We attended a beekeeping auction recently and the
auctioneer resorted to sexist stereotyping about some of the equipment,
such as wheeled carts for saving male backs, and smaller wheeled carts for
when the "wife helped out." I hope Madeleine and I are not the only women
on the list and that our fellow list members will think more broadly and
inclusively when addressing the membership. For the record, one of my
favorite beekeepers is the wonderful Sue Hubbell, former librarian turned
beekeeper and author in midlife.
 
Happy Beekeeping to all,
S Johnson and J Morris