In a message dated 97-11-24 22:09:32 EST, you write:
 
<< As this is written, they are moving hives south once again to South
 Carolina
 for the winter. Only this year they are using a truck with a trailer and
 expect
 the fuel cost to be much less than last year.
 
 So, it would appear that they have been able to hang in there and will
 make it okay ! >>
 
   Gary has brought in his first load, and the bees seem to be in good shape.
We've had a good time visiting with him, his wife, and two daughters. He just
left on the way to North Carolina, where his son is in school.
 
    They are a really nice family, and appreciate the help that this group
and others gave them after the disastrous vandal attack this past spring.
 
    Gary and his 14 year-old daughter spent a day hacking brush to clear a
couple new bee yards, then they put in the bees and fed them. They are hard
workers, too.
 
    The truck is an old timer, but Gary seems good with mechanical things, so
he keeps it going. The worst problem they had is the pintle hitch on the
trailer, which is too loose, and the trailer tended to whip back and forth,
limiting their speed to about 45 mph.
 
    I just got back a load that I leased to a young northern beekeeper, and
was pleased to find them heavy and with good clusters.  :<)
 
[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm