|
Tim Holbrook
a 70-year old
beekeeper and farmer in pownal, vermont
a hive on tim
holbrook's farm where
the bees are busy at work
Summary
a brief overview
of the interview with Tim Holbrook
Tim Holbrook is a 70 year old farmer who lives in Pownal, Vermont, with
his wife, Francis, where he owns sheep, cows, and does beekeeping.
Before moving to Pownal 25 to 30 years ago, Tim lived in New York and
West Virginia, but did not own his first farm until he moved to Pownal. Tim also
built a barn for his daughter on his property where she owns, trains,
and sells horses. Along with his vast property in Pownal, Vermont, Tim
also owns a camp on an island off of Maine where he likes to spend time
during holidays.
 |
The interview with Tim Holbrook was focused on beekeeping, but he
also showed us around his farm, giving us a brief history and
introducing us to his 10-day-old lamb. Tim owns a few bee hives,
two of which we saw, in which he produces and gives away his
honey. Friends and family of his have become accustomed to getting
the honey, so instead of selling the finished honey, Tim gives it
away. The bees are kept in boxes, called supers, where the bees
build their hives, produce honey, and the queen lays her |
| a lamb
at tim's barn that's just a few days old |
eggs.
The queen bee must stay separated from the worker bees, so between
the top two supers and the bottom two, there is a device |
called
an excluder, a screen-like sheet that is large enough to allow the
worker bees through, but small enough to keep the queen bee separated.
When bee hives become too strong, they will "swarm," which
means they will spread out and form new colonies. Beekeepers can also
expand their hives themselves by either buying packaged bees or a single
queen and spread out bees from their own hives.
|
Beekeepers have also been faced with a
mite lately that gets into the hives and kills the bees. "It's
discouraging when you go in there and find them all dead," Tim told
us when he mentioned the mites, which have only been around for the past
ten years or so. Another major "nuisance" to beekeepers has
been bears. Bears like to get into the hives to get honey and eat
the bee eggs. Because of bears, beekeepers have to put electric
fences around their hives if they are off near the
woods. |
two of tim's beehives surrounded by an electric fence
|
|