Sunday, December 13, 2009

Summer beekeeping course

Here in Ireland we have a week in the summer dedicated to beekeeping.  There are lectures, workshops, practicals and demonstrations.  The week event is held at Gormanstown in County Meath, near Dublin.  (The venue is usually a boarding school in term time.)  It's a national event and attracts beekeepers from abroad.  I was working this year so I couldn't attend.  

Anyway, I see that at Gormanstown this year the main guest speaker is from the U.S.;  Dr Dewey M. Caron, retired professor of the Univ of Delaware.  
I'm hoping to attend this July if work allows it.   Should be interesting to hear him speak especially given that most of the beekeeping blogs I follow originate stateside.  


On the bee front, there is little to report.  It's been cold here and I guess there's little incentive to venture outside when you have all the food, warmth and sisterly company you need!



6 comments:

Kat said...

What are your winters like over there? Do you get snow? How cold does it get? I don't venture out much if it is cold.
Just curious.

Cliff W said...

To be honest, Ireland is very mild considering its latitude. We're around the same latitude as Edmonton, Alberta! We get the damp, mild air that has crossed over the Atlantic and are affected by the Gulf Stream. Severe frosts are very rare - maybe minus 5 (Celcius) would be quite extreme but not impossible. Snow is as rare, although who knows what's going to happen in the future with the mixed up weather although a white Christmas would be cool! We generally get so much rain at this time of year, I pray for high pressure with the clear skies.

Lynn said...

Hi Cliff. Just wanted to pop in and say hello. Hope you are well. There are 2 excellent bee schools coming up here. One is in Asheville, NC and the other in Young Harris, GA. I've been fortunate to attend both and will again this year. I'll never know as much about bees as I'd like.

Wishing you and Elva have a wonderful holiday season!

Ngaio said...

Happy Christmas to you and yours Cliff - I love the pic of the tree on your post - is it an oak or elm ?
I would dearly love to have beekeeping schools here, there just isn`t the interest, thats why I started the night classes and they have been sooo popular.

Cliff W said...

Thank a million! Wishing you and your family the same. Not sure which type of tree it is. It stands magnificently in St Stephen's Green in Dublin - probably the capital's most well-known inner city green areas - perfect for a few hives ;). Take care, stay well and the best of luck in 2010!

İlhami Uyar said...

I wish you healty ,happy and succesuful years,stay well