Aaron and friends,
 
Apologies for lying low these last weeks.  I am indeed alive and well and
happy, albeit a bit tired and a little sore in the lower back.  I didn't
mean to get you worried, and I appreciate the call from Aaron on my
answering machine last night.  Sorry to have missed him, but anyhow it
jogged me to get back to the keyboard and bring everyone up to date.
 
As you all may remember, we signed a sizeable pollination contract this
past spring and made a considerable expansion up to just short of 3,000
hives.  These two projects have taken all my energy -- and then some.
 
I don't have a life these days.  I haven't been windsurfing and I haven't
been flying, and I haven't dared get involved in BEE-L or Best of Bee or
maintain my website.  I haven't taken weekends (with a few exceptions) and
I've put in more than a few 26 hour shifts behind the wheel of a truck
and forklift and pushing a hive tool.
 
All in all, pollination has been the hardest thing I've ever tackled and
we did a great job.  Our customers -- as far as I have heard -- were
delighted with our bees and deliveries.  It wasn't without cost though, we
blew engines, broke driveshafts got stuck to the hubs, had flat tires,
bent axles and got dirty and tired.  I had the flu during the main
delivery effort.  At one point our entire staff quit.
 
There are tales to tell, I guess I could have written a few things, but I
was afraid that once I began writing, I would not stop.  My inboxes
contain several thousand messages.  Not all are personal by any means, but
there are enough to keep me busy for days.
 
I'm coming back to normal now, and have a air ticket to Vancouver to visit
friends and family this weekend.  I'm screwing up my courage to open my
inboxes and start digging as soon as all the honey is pulled and the
Apistan all in.
 
I appreciate your concern and realize it would have taken only a few lines
to keep my friends form worrying.  as I write this I am being paged for a
meeting and must run.
 
My best regards to you all.
 
I'll try to write more soon.
 
Allen