HCBA January Meeting

Brrr..Yes it is cold outside but...

HCBA will be having it's January meeting!!

Thursday, January 18th at 7pm

Willimansett Heights Improvement League

Chicopee, MA 

our topic will be Mid-Winter Hive Assessment

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL BEEKEEPERS!

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

MASSBEE Annual Fall Meeting

HCBA is hosting MASSBEE ORG. Annual Meeting this year!

It will be held at Westfield State University in Westfield, MA

Saturday,November 11th 

Here is the link for information on the gathering.

https://www.massbee.org/events/fall-meeting/

Should be a great day of bee information with speakers and vendors and good folk to meet.

Our October HCBA Meeting.

Our Next HCBA Meeting is Scheduled for October 12th at 7pm.

We will be talking about the Big E, what worked and what didn't.

Dispursement to sellers.

And general Bee Talk!

WHIL 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA  01013

HCBA Big E 2017

Hello out there!!!

Well this is it..the beginning of another year for us at the Big E!

Both Booths look super thanks to a lot of helpful hands and eyes making them look even better than before.

We have lots of new items for sale too!

Smile and have fun!!!

BIG E 2017 HCBA

ANOTHER HCBA YEAR AT THE BIG E!!

We are all looking forward to attending the exciting Big E this year.

Our booths at both the MASS building and Stroh building will be in full swing!

We will have new products to sell and as always is our mission to talk BEES!

Spreading information and the good word of the work they do for us all.

Our Honey Candy Bagging Night! August 17 6pm start

We are getting ready for the Big E!

First said. Many hands make light work.

We start at 6pm.

Last year we had a banner year of helpers who attacked the candy bagging in record time.

More time for pizza, drinks and bee talk!!!!

118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee. MA 01018

Bees LOVE Lavender!

Club member sent lavender loving bee picture for us all to enjoy!!

Thank you Pam!

HCBA Annual Picnic

Our Annual HCBA  Picnic will be held on July 20th!

Starting a bit earlier 6pm so we can enjoy the daylight.

We provide hamburgers and hotdogs and the hot grill.

You provide whatever you like, a favourite picnic food, it would be fun if we could include honey in our recipes!

Bring a lawn chair so we can relax on the side lawn and have as always some good bee talk.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

WHIL, 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

HCBA June 22nd Meeting

Hello Out There in BeeLand!!

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 22nd.

7-9pm

118 Mount Vernon Road

Chicopee, MA 01013

Guest Speaker Mary Duane will be teaching us the ins and outs and dos and don'ts of preparing your honey products for honey contests.

We also will be having our elections for board members, if you have any nominees please prepare to present them at this meeting.

And a surprise is in store for all who attend, we will be celebrating someone's 80th birthday..any guesses?

Hope to see you all there!

HCBA April 20th Meeting

Well this is it for our 2017 Bee School!!

Our class will be receiving their certificates proudly.

We will be having an auction of bee related items and as always

enjoy some delicious sweet treats!

See you there!

WHIL 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

HCBA March 23rd Meeting

Howdy Beekeeps!

Our next meeting will be March 23rd, Thursday.

7-9pm

Guest speaker Ken Warchol, MA Bee Inspector will be talking about some of the

challenges in beekeeping.

WHIL, 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

HCBA March 9th Meeting

Our next HCBA Bee School meeting will be held this Thursday, March 9th at 7-9pm.

Our guest speaker will be Jeff Rys with the topic of "Bears and other invaders"

WHIL, 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

Lovely Early Pollen

Member Mark Lantzakis bees have been very busy bringing in pollen!

HCBA February 23rd Meeting 7-9pm

Our February 23rd Meeting will be a combined effort!

Speaker Tom Flebotte will cover the topics of sourcing your honeybees and installing them into your hives.

Andrew Preissner will be discussing Queens and covering Dynamics of the Hive.

Should be a fun filled night!

And support your local farmstand! Buy local honey and maple syrup!

Yes the sap is running in NEW ENGLAND!

WHIL, 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

HCBA January 26th Meeting

Our January 26th meeting discussion has been changed.

Lee Duquette will be speaking on how to build hive parts.

Come on time you won't want to miss a minute of this fun evening! 7-9pm

WHIL, 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

2017 Bee School Begins

Hello Bee Peeps!

Our HCBA 2017 Bee School Starts

Thursday January 12, 2017 at 7-9pm

Willimanset Heights Improvement League

118 Mount Vernon Road

Chicopee, MA 01013

There will be a short introduction from HCBA BOD

followed by our guest speaker Ken Worchol.

See you all there to welcome our new bee lovers!

Christmas 2017

Wishing All A Beautiful Christmas and Much Happiness in the New Year!

Wishing All of you a Delightful Thanksgiving!

We All Have so much to be thankful for!

HCBA Annual Christmas Party to be held on December 9th

Hello All you Wonderful Beekeepers!

Our Annual Christmas Party is right around the corner so I hope you have sent

your RSVP's to Cheryl.

It is always so much fun with a great meal, good bee and not bee talk and a super wonderful

raffle with proceeds going to Toy for Joy. 

We also do a Yankee Swap to end out the evenings fun, bring a wrapped gift,

 (one per attendee valued at $15)

and let the chaos insue, you never know what you may end up with!

Friday, December 9,2016

6-9pm

The Villa Rose

Ludlow, MA 01056

HCBA Novermber Meeting on the 10th

Please join us November 10th 7-9pm.

We will be having a bee related auction. 

So if you have any items that you no longer have use for please feel free to donate them.

As usual we will have some good bee talk, coffee and treats.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN BEE LOVERS!!

WISHING ALL OF YOU THE SPOOKIEST HALLOWEEN EVER!!

Our HCBA October meeting will be held on the 13th

Howdy Bee Keeps!

October 13th, Thursday at 7pm

Willimansett Heights Improvement League

118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

Fall is definately here in New England.

Time to get those hives ready for winter!

HCBA Member has a traveling hat

Our wonderful member Tom Porter is traveling the world

taking along our newly designed HCBA hat!

Lucky Tom, lucky hat in Venice, Italy.

Club member is a traveling man!

Traveling Beekeeper is enjoying some of the beauty out in 

Colorado.

Thanks Mark!

September is National Honey Month!

Beekeepers be proud of your hardworking bees!

We add to the sweetness of the world.

How sweet it is! Since being established in 1989, September has been deemed National Honey Month here in the United States to promote beekeeping and the use of honey as a natural and very beneficial sweetener.

 

Artisanal honey is experiencing a renaissance, seducing chefs, foodies and cheese lovers to appreciate this ancient sweetener for all its culinary glories.

Once reserved exclusively for royals, honey was used to pay taxes during Julius Caesar's reign. Honey is made from the nectar of flowers by honeybees and beekeepers around the world who harvest thousands of varieties, each with a unique flavor profile determined by the type of plants visited by the honeybee. 

With more than 300 varietal honeys produced in the US, each with their own individual color, aroma and flavor profiles, there is no shortage of honeys to explore! Honeybees will travel up to four miles to gather nectar just to make honey!

Big E Photography Contest ~ Club Member wins ribbon!

Congratulations to club member Mark Lantzakis!

Mark was thrilled to be awarded a ribbon for creative arts with his honeybee photography.

Way to go Mark!

BIG E 2016 Honey Show Winners!

HCBA is proud to announce the winners of our honey contest

Best in Show Mike Koleczek

Our display at Farmarama

Light     1^st         Mike Koleczek

              2^nd        Jim Stefanik

              3^rd        Tom Flebotte

Light     1^st         Lee Duquette

Amber  2^nd        Bill Romito

             3^rd         Annette Isner

Amber  1^st            Tom Flebotte       

              2nd      Dan Gleason

              3rd        Marilynn Zielinski

Dark     1st         Lee Duquette

Amber  2^nd        Mark Lantzakis

             3^rd         Mike Cavanaugh

Dark     1^st         Mike Koleczek (Best in Show)

             2^nd         Jessica Martin

             3^rd         Sean Martin

Comb  1^st         Lee Duquette

             2^nd        Mike Koleczek

             3^rd         Tom Flebotte

Chunk  1^st        Mike Koleczek

             2^nd     Zach Flebotte   

                 3rd       Tom Flebotte

BIG E 100th ANNIVERSARY 

HCBA is celebrating the event with new and beautiful additions!!

Our members have been hard at work making our booths even more interesting and educational!!

We will have a HONEY SHOW this year with guest Judge Mary Dwain.

Come and join the celebration!

Suffield CT Bee Trap

Andy and my first attempt at a bee trap out. Of course it had to be on Main Street!

Everyone has been super nice and supportive at saving the hive.

One large egress which we coned and a nice new home for them. 

At present, all seems to be going well. We hope to be there when the remainder of the tree is dropped.

More pictures to follow for sure!

HCBA 2016 Big E Honey Contest

Hello Out there HCBA Beekeepers!

We are having a honey contest this year at the Big E.

The display will be at our space in the Farmarama Building.

Be thinking of which honey you think is prize worthy!

This will be fun.

Details will be available soon!

HCBA AUGUST 11th Meeting

Hear Ye!! Hear YE!!

Our next HCBA meeting will be held on August 11th  7-9pm

This is a big one guys so please show up with your dancing shoes on.

We will be packing our honey candy for the Big E and many

hands make light work.

We also invite any of you who would like to sell their beekeeping related items they no longer need or have created. Sort of a mini bee tag sale if you will.

Pizza and beverages for all!!

118 Mount Vernon road, Chicopee, MA 01013

Gearing up for the 2016 BIG E!

HELLO BEE LOVERS!

We are getting our ducks in a row as the 100th anniversary of the BIG E approaches.

So please visit our webpage and select your shift so we can dazzle the crowds 

with loads of bee loving poeple at our booths.

We are located at the Massachusetts Building and Farmarma.

All club members are welcome to sign up.

HCBA Annual Picnic July14th

Hello you beautiful bee people!

Well here we are again heading into summer and it is time

to gather and eat, drink and be merry.

Our Annual HCBA Picnic will be held on Thursday July 14th.

Starting at 6pm so we can enjoy the good summer weather.

until...whenever...

Andy will be grillmaster and the club will provide grill, hamburgers, hotdogs, condiments and untensils.

You bring a chair and your favorite summer picnic specialty.

Last year we had a wonderful assortment of things to sample.

So come and enjoy the evening rain or shine. 

As always lots of bee talk!

WHIL 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

National Pollinator Week

It is National Pollinator Week!

Bee Proud you are a beekeeper!

National Pollinator Week is a time to celebrate pollinators and spread the word about what you can do to protect them

Nine years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. Pollinator Week has now grown into an international celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles.
The Pollinator Partnership is proud to announce that June 20-26, 2016 has been designated National Pollinator Week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Pollinator Week was initiated and is managed by the Pollinator Partnership.

June 9th HCBA Meeting

Howdy Bee Peeps!

Our next HCBA meeting will be held on June 9th

7-9 pm 

The topic will be dealing with allergies.

Hope your hives are growing strong and non swarming!

WHIL, 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

HCBA May 12th Meeting

Howdy All you wonderful bee interested people!

Our May 12th meeting is right around the corner.

7-9pm at WHIL, 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

The topic will be Hand Cream and discussion of wax products.

It's a beautiful thing!!

Fenway Park Bees!

So thrilled to see this at Fenway Park this weekend..

Not only did the Red Sox whomp the Yankees but the park just added

new bees to their roof top garden area!

GO SOX!!!

Tom and Tom on their bee adventure to Georgia

We are so grateful for Tom Flebotte and Tom Porter for making the long journey

to Georgia to pick up those gorgeous packages of bees!

You guys are the best!!

HCBA 2016 Bee School Graduation

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Announcing our newest group of bee school graduates!!

What a great group of beekeepers they will bee!

HCBA Celebrates Earth Day at Springfield Museum

What a great day we had representing HCBA and our bees.

It was a lovely event attended by a welcoming crowd.

Special thanks to club members and recent bee school graduates Tommy and Jane Stanziola.

They jumped right into making bee headbands and talking bee talk.

People love bees!

HCBA April 21 Bee School Meeting

The April 21st Bee School Meeting will be here soon!

We will have two guest speakers.

Kim Skyrm, Ph.D.
Chief Apiary Inspector/Apiary Program Coordinator
Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources

and

Mark Creighton, our Connecticut Bee Inspector

Also we will be having a discussion on beeswax products and first aid.

There will be a raffle for all 2016 students, with the grand prize being a beautiful hive and bees!

Make sure you get a seat for this fun fiilled meeting!

7-9pm WHIL , Chicopee, MA 01013

Honey Recipe

Something delicious and a bit summery!

Sweet As Honey Spinach Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing by Beetrix Royale Fresh salad for a light lunch that can be beautifully packed in a mason jar. Add grilled chicken or fish for a complete meal on-the-go. Ingredients Dressing: 3 tablespoons - honey 3 tablespoons - balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon - Dijon mustard 1 clove - garlic 6 tablespoons - extra virgin olive oil 3/4 teaspoon - salt 1/4 teaspoon - ground pepper Salad: 1 cup - grape tomato, halved 2/3 cup - cucumber, cubed 4 ounces - grilled chicken breast, sliced 1/2 cup - jarred roasted red pepper, diced 2 cups - baby spinach, torn into bite sized pieces Directions Add all dressing ingredients into a blender and mix, or add ingredients to a bowl and use immersion blender to make dressing. Set aside. In two pint sized mason jars, build salad by adding the following into each jar in the following order: 1 ½ tablespoons honey mustard dressing, ½ cup grape tomato, 1/3 cup cucumber, 2 ounces grilled chicken, ¼ cup roasted pepper, 1 cup baby spinach. Close lid to jar and store up to 3 days. When ready to eat, unscrew lid, shake out all ingredients into a bowl and enjoy! Note: Store extra dressing in a sealed container in the refrigerator up to one week. Yield: Makes 2 servings http://www.honey.com/recipes/detail/43/spinach-salad-with-honey-mustard-dressing Nutritional Information per serving (Single Salad with Dressing) Calories: 240 Total Fat: 10g Saturated Fat: 1.5g Trans Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 50 mg Sodium: 310 mg Total Carbohydrates: 17g Dietary Fiber: 4g Sugar: 10g Protein: 20g : % Daily Values* Vitamin A: 40% Vitamain C: 45% Calcium: 8% Iron: 15% : *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 Calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

HCBA April 7th Meeting

HCBA April 7th Meeting!

7-9pm

The topic will be Fall and Winter Management with our

guest speaker Jeff Rys

and

Extracting Honey with our guest speaker Bill Romito

Looking forward to seeing you all there 

and remember dandilions on our lawns are good bee food!

Willimansett Heights Improvement League, 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA 01013

Planting for Bees

Here is a beautiful list of plantings for our delightful little foragers

Wanting to plant flowers, shrubs and trees that benefit local bee populations? This is your definitive guide of what to plant. Of course, do your research into these plants. You don’t want to accidentally plant something that’s incredibly invasive in your area, right?

Spring and Summer Bulbs

• Purple flowering onions (Allium spp.)
• Golden crocus (Crocus x luteus)
• Bishop Series dahlias* (Dahlia)
• Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)
• Grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum)
• Siberian squill (Scilla sibirica)

Perennials and Biennials

• Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
• Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
• Lesser calamint (Calamintha nepeta)
• Cornflowers (Centaurea spp.)
• Gas plant (Dictamnus albus)
• Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
• Globe thistles (Echinops spp.)
• Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)
• Blanketflowers (Gaillardia spp.)
• Cranesbills (Geranium spp.)
• Fall sedums (Hylotelephiumtelephium)
• Knautia (Knautia macedonica)
• Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)
• Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
• Meadow sage (Salvia nemorosa)
• Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
• Fall asters (Symphyotricum spp.)

Annuals

• Cosmos (Cosmos spp.)
• California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
• Sunflower* (Helianthus annuus)
• Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens)
• Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena)
• Breadseed poppy (Papaver somniferum)
• Portulaca* (Portulaca spp.)
• Blue anise sage (Salvia guaranitica)
• Profusion and common zinnias* (Zinnia spp.)

Herbs

• Chives and onions (Allium spp.)
• Borage (Borago officinalis)
• Horehound (Marrubium vulgare)
• Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
• Mints (Mentha spp.)
• Catmints (Nepeta spp.)
• Creganos (Origanum spp.)
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
• Rue (Ruta graveolens)
• Sage (Salvia officinalis)
• Thyme (Thymus spp.)

Shrubs

• Heather (Calluna vulgaris)
• Blue mist bush (Caryopteris x clandonensis)
• Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
• Winter heath (Erica carnea)
• Lavenders (Lavandula spp.)
• Sumacs (Rhus spp.)
• Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)

Trees

• Maples (Acer spp.)
• Alders (Alnus spp.)
• Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
• Hazels (Corylus spp.)
• Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
• Fruit trees, especially apple, plum, and cherry (Malus and Prunus spp.)
• Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica)
• Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
• Willows (Salix spp.)
• Basswood/linden (Tilia spp.)

Weeds

• Viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare)
• Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
• Clovers (Trifolium and Melilotus spp.)

 Thanks Russ!