15: Treasure Valley

truebizzhive
Oct 25, 2021
5 min read

Updated: Dec 2, 2021

I've been limiting my social media intake, but also, I've found the most interaction with beekeepers in Facebook Groups, so....limit scrolling on social media..?

That seems to be working.

My family lives in the Treasure Valley, the Boise-area, and I needed my bee fix.

I posted on the Treasure Valley Beekeepers Club Facebook page:

I just LOVE how open so many beekeepers are to sharing their apiaries and their girls.

Robin Conrads got in touch with me and generously invited me to her home to see her apiary.

It was cool to see how Robin keeps her bees in such a different climate from North Idaho.

The wind is a real issue out there in the high desert, yikes!

I lived in Twin Falls for 4 years and I hated the wind. I don't typically complain about weather- I chose to live in a full four season climate in Coeur d Alene, and so I love all 4 seasons.

But wind? NO THANK YOU.

So, high winds that would mess with the girls? I'd struggle keeping bees in that climate.

But I love that Robin does it despite the weather obstacle. In fact, she mentioned that she initially got into beekeeping to help pollinate their small orchard, but quickly discovered that the wind made for much difficulty providing the bees with their foraging needs. (Robin, please correct me if I'm wrong).

We inspected 3 of her 4 hives on my visit. I have not been good at spotting queens in the past but spotted the queens in 2 of the 3 hives we opened. I’m progressing!

Funny that Robin and I both lost sight of the queen in one hive and became concerned that she either flew off or we squished her. We looked and looked and could not find her again!

Well, Robin updated me a few days later, the queen was there and all was well.

I also learned how helpful a frame stand can be during inspections. I want that!

Some hives, like this horizontal Langstroth hive (aka "long hive") have these frame holders built in.

I'd love to build something like this with my Grandpa: https://youtu.be/3x3zJAcjo6s

Robin also had a hive tool that I hadn't tried before that I really liked. It was similar to this one:

I found the little hook at the end to be very useful.

Along with my bee bar, I'll need to get a tool with a hook like that.

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Robin's husband, TJ, was a hoot-a-half too. Apparently TJ and Robin own the magazine, Traditional Bowhunter.

TJ gave me a tour of his office and the main part of their home to show me his trophies.

I'm not a hunter myself, but his collection was still quite impressive. The stories behind each were even more intriguing- he used a longbow for all his trophies. I don't know much about hunting, but I thought that shooting something as large as a bear or a caribou would require a rifle, nope! I took a bunch of pictures of his trophies and they gave me a copy of their magazine so I could give it to my outdoorsman-father-in-law. He'll dig it.

Nice people, the Conrads, I still feel much gratitude for their willingness to let a stranger into their home for an afternoon of bees and bows. And Robin has touched base several times since that day.

Robin recommended that I look into the Treasure Valley Beekeepers Club and contact a man named Mike Morrison who lives in Meridian to ask further questions about beekeeping. She said he's a major player in the local game, and I'm pretty sure she referred to him as "a hoot" as well. Given my impression of TJ, Robin describing Mike Morrison the same way inspired much excitement to get in touch with him.

Well, she was right. Mike Morrison is indeed "a hoot". I'd also add "and a half" to him also; like TJ, Morrison (as he's most commonly referred) is a hoot-and-a-half.

Morrison is a hoot-and-a-half.

I've still yet to meet him in person, but we chatted on the phone for almost an hour, and I got to listen to his stories and learn his 'bee religion'. I'm not 100% certain that the picture below is him, but it seems right according to my Google Image searches.

From what I gather, Morrison is the main guy who sells equipment in the Treasure Valley area and is also involved in apiology research.

He even mentioned something about artificial insemination of queen honeybees...?

Fascinating.

Him explaining the details of that process is what earned him the "and-a-half".

He often referred to himself and others like him (eccentric beekeepers) as "bat-shit crazy". I've never heard that term used so frequently about one group of people during one phone call session! 😆

🤹‍♂️ 🐝 =🦇💩🤪

Censoring it to "bat-slack crazy" just doesn't quite work. So I apologize to my potentially offended or young readers! I did sensor below.

Morrison suggested that I attend the Treasure Valley Beekeepers Club the following Tuesday. I asked if I needed to be a member to attend and I loved his response,

They shouldn't give you any [slack] because you're just here visiting from Coeur d Alene. But, but if they do, just tell them 'Morrison sent ya'.

I told him that I don't mind getting slack, but didn't want to be disrespectful by joining a Member's Only meeting. He assured me that newbees were welcome, but I still may get slack.

I asked him what kind of response I'd get if I gave [slack] back...I do have an ornery father-in-law, after all.

He paused, then affirmatively and definitely replied,

You'll fit right in.

So, I decided to attend my first beekeepers meeting.

The main thing I learned at this beekeeper's meeting?

Everyone knows Morrison!

Here’s a snippet of our text conversation, I’m the green:

The meeting itself was much less social than I expected, more formal and educational, but still interesting. Also less social because I missed the break-time chat. I had to run and some cash so I could buy a shirt to support,,,, #SupportLocalYo!

I won one of the raffle drawings...oddly enough, it was 16 farm fresh eggs, nothing to do directly with bees. 😆

Light heathered gray is almost my worst color, but I've been rocking that tshirt because it has the venn diagram that I love:

Since the meeting, I've been in touch with Morrison but we haven't been able to meet up yet. I'm hoping that next week we'll meet and he'll show me his operation. 🤞👩‍🦰🤞

I admit that without direct involvement with the bees, my motivation has waned a bit...I really wanna play with bees! Too bad most girls in this area are winterized.

I guess it's common to do hive inspections and mite treatments around Thanksgiving, to that's gotta be my new focus.

Another reason my motivation has waned is that I'm unable to afford beekeeping equipment right now. My plan is to collect bit by bit as I can, but I'm afraid it may all come at once and I'll not get what I need to be successful.

So, I had a new thought.

In Blog 13: Barter Buzz, I explained all how Tracy and I traded for services (and a few adorable goods). Well, I'm creating a Facebook page right now that showcases a few of my graphic designs, the approximate value of the work, and goods and services that I'd be interested in trading.

Tracy thought it was a good idea as many beekeepers she knows are into barter and would likely be open to it.

It may be a way for me to get what I need and during their off season when the beeks want branding or updated branding to any products they sell- it could be a great time to set it up.