This morning we skipped church to go over to the Honey Bee Festival in the town next to us. In fact, we're within walking distance from the city line. We drove over there yesterday afternoon, but it was crowded and it was hard to find a place to park in their downtown area. So we decided for this time, we'd go on Sunday morning instead.
Saw a few Tractors -
Picked up some local honey...one of my favorites.
But the highlight was the bee beard - sorry that the picture quality is not as bright and clear. He was in a screened-in box - They put the Queen on first and then using pheromones and light smoke, the bees started moving on up, creating a beard. They have been well-fed and are pretty docile at this point.
My funny husband asked if he could volunteer and because he already has a beard, they would have to shave it off so he passed on it. He was disappointed.
Here's the video of the final moments when he shook them off -
They weigh about 5 lbs.
Talked at length to a beekeeper - things I never knew. The bees here in Shasta County are called Italian Queens and the county raises these gentle bees and ships them across the country. It's a good business here in our county.
Sometimes these festivals have the same old vendors and I get bored but I did see some new ones like the Blown Glass - I talked with the gal whose husband teaches the glass workshops
They don't know how much longer they have with this hobby and they are very glad they didn't quit their day jobs to pursue this as a business - due to the rising costs of electricity. The wife told me this is a very expensive hobby and will no doubt be a thing of the past within the next few years.
They were so pretty - the ones with color take more energy to produce. I plan on making a purchase of at least one - as a keepsake. One day Blown glass art will be hard to find and very expensive.
Which blown glass pumpkin/gourd do you like the best?
We listened to music - watched people - and saw our old next-door neighbor who lived here when my parents were alive - Jason is a CHP. I remember when he was like 20 years old, and he bought the house next door - He was quite the
work-a-holic working as many jobs to afford the down payment.
He then rented out the 2 of the 3 bedrooms and from there, got a job with the Highway Patrol and then eventually got married; had 2 little ones, and then they lived in it as a family for a while, until they sold it, built a house and moved to the country. I was always impressed by his work ethic -
We always see him since now he does the CHP information booth at all the festivals here in Shasta.
Then we drove back home, taking the backroads...
