It has been a busy week. We finalized the purchase of a few hundred pounds of blueberry honey from a beekeeper in Massachusetts, and 900 pounds of beeswax from a beekeeper I met 30 years ago who lives outside of Devine, Texas. His name is David Park and I didn’t know that I knew him until I pulled into his place today and recognized the huge oak tree growing just outside his honey house. Around 1980, about the time I developed a passion for beekeeping, I found his name in the American Bee Journal and called to ask him if I could tag along as he worked his hives. He graciously agreed and on a warm day in February I got my first taste of commercial beekeeping as we worked in his bee yards scattered between San Antonio and the Mexican border. I don’t remember all the work we did, but I do remember that it was hard, hot work, even in February, and that I was very tired at the end of the day. After all these years I had forgotten his name, but I still remembered that old oak tree.
Today we traded stories, shared a few trade secrets related to beeswax processing and sampled some of his fresh pecans. His son, also named David, and also a commercial beekeeper, dropped by and it was nice to visit with him too. I admire what both of these men have accomplished with their bees over the years. I left there with 900 more pounds of beautiful golden-yellow beeswax and without a single photo (even though reminded by Thien) until I got home. The first batch is in the wax melter right now and early tomorrow morning I will run it through the micron filter and see how it looks. Can’t wait! Then it’s off to teach beekeeping class while Thien holds down the fort at the Elks Lodge craft show. Come by and see us if you can!
Gretchen Bee Ranch 
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