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Episode 15 of Let's Talk Clermont. We talk with Patty Reed, co-founder of Save Your Bees, about the world of beekeeping. We get into how her husband got started, what causes hives to swarm, and the challenges bees face today from mites to monoculture. There's also a honey tasting, swarm stories, and some surprising bee facts you won’t want to miss!

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We've been living in it since so long.   All  

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Welcome to   episode 15   of Let's Talk Claremont. I am your host, Patrick.   And, thank you for tuning in to listen, and thank you for everybody who's been listening and showing us love on social media. And, you know, we've had a really   a lot of really positive feedback from, from what we're trying to do,   and that's great. And,   and I really appreciate it. So thank you to everybody.   Today, we're gonna start like we normally do, and we'll,   go over some news.   And we're gonna start with House Bill one twenty   four. We haven't done one of these in a while,   but House Bill one twenty four deals with property taxes.  

And there's a few different bills   knocking around the the legislature that,   have to do with property taxes,   including one that I I think proposes to eliminate property tax altogether.   But, specifically,   house bill one twenty four, it's going to give local authorities more control on property value assessments.   So what happens currently is the Department of Taxation, it gathers and analyzes   property sale data,   and that's gonna help it determine property value for taxation. So much like when you buy a house,   you would look at what other houses   or rather when you sell a house, you would look at what other houses have sold for in your area, and that's how you would try to, you know well, that would be one data point that you would use to determine the value   of your home for sale.  

So in the current system, the Department of Taxation,   may accept or supplement,   the county auditors data with their own appraisal   wherever it thinks sales are too thin. So think rural areas   where, you know, there's not a lot of home   well, it doesn't necessarily have to be home sales, but there's not a lot of property   typically   being bought and sold.   So as it stands now,   the Department of Taxation up in Columbus would look at that and they would say, well, there's not enough sales. We'll   get our own appraisals and we'll supplement   the county auditors data with our own, and they can just do that.  

House bill one twenty four is gonna make it so that the county auditor   gives a representative   sample of open market arms length sales for every class of real property in their county,   and only the auditor   can add independent appraisals   if there are, not enough sales in the area.   And as a quick note, an arms length sale just means a transaction between two unrelated parties   acting independently   and in their own best interests.   So, for example, if your uncle sells you your home,   presuming he likes you and and he's gonna cut you a deal,   that would not be an arms length sale because, you know, he's not acting in his own best interest. He's he's helping you out. So that would not be an arms length sale.  

So overall, what this is doing is it's gonna shift the primary data gathering power to county auditors,   but it also gives the tax commissioner would which would be like a representative from the Department of Taxation.   It gives the tax commissioner an equal right to challenge   sloppy samples. So it kind of balances the power out.   The tax commissioner can't just add appraisals whenever   it thinks   they need to,   but county auditors also can't   either inflate or deflate real property values   because the tax commissioner will look at that and will challenge it.   So, that's,   House Bill one twenty   four.  

Moving on to the county,   we're unfortunately gonna start with some sad news and, normally, I don't go through,   you know, like, car accidents and, you know, drug busts and things like that in the county, but I thought,   this would is important   to bring up.   There were two drownings at East Fork over the holiday weekend, and   our my hearts and and prayers go out to the the families affected by that. That's gotta be awful, especially over   holiday weekend where, you know, you're supposed to be having fun and celebrating the fourth of July.   But,   it is a good reminder that, you know, the swimming areas in East Fork, there's no lifeguards, and you should follow all the safety guidelines,   like staying within marked areas and using life jackets if you go out to East Fork and do some swimming. So,   moving on from that,   Milford.  

Registrations   are open for the Citizens   Police Academy, and I had no idea this was even a thing.   But it is a ten week academy from September to November,   and it'll give you a hands on opportunity to learn how local law enforcement operates.   So there'll be weekly sessions and they'll it'll be on things like accident scene response, defensive tactics,   criminal investigations,   the judicial process,   and and more stuff like that.   You do need to be 18 years and older and, you do need to pass a background check, which makes sense because, I guess, you wouldn't want criminals taking this class to learn how to be better criminals.   But the classes will start on September 3, and you can submit your application   online   at Milford's website.  

Moving on to Union Township,   they have officially green lit a new Mixed Use development called The Cove.   It's gonna be built near the roundabout at Eastgate Bulls Boulevard and Ferguson Drive,   and it's designed to have retail space on the First Floor, I think along with a coffee shop and maybe some kind of drive through food.   And then on the Second Floor, there'll be office space.   Construction is gonna start this month, and it's expected to be completed in March of twenty twenty six.   So that's all we have in the way of news.   So that'll move us right into,   we are a value for value podcast.  

What that means is if you get value from the show, all we ask is you return some value to us in the form of time,   talent, or treasure.   And I I think I'll call this out specifically this week.   Time and talent will be important because I'm I'm looking for people to interview.   I've got, you know, maybe five   four or five weeks of interviews lined lined up, like episodes kind of ready to go.   But if you know anybody out there that you think would, you know, needs a platform to talk about what they're doing,   please let me know. You you can get in touch with us on our Facebook page, Let's Talk Claremont podcast,   Instagram at let's talk Claremont.  

You can email us info@let'stalkClaremont.com.   So get in touch, and if there's somebody that you wanna hear from, we'll try to get them on the show.   No guarantees, you know, I'd but,   it'd be be helpful to hear from you.   You can also follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whatever it is you use to listen   to your podcast and the newsletter.   I started a newsletter.   Don't really know outside of letting you know when a new show   is out. I don't really know what we're gonna be doing with it. It might be, you know, deeper analysis on some of these house bills. It could be,   I don't know, just fun essays,   recaps of the show.  

I don't really know.   So we're gonna try to figure that out when we get some people signed up for it.   Alright. So, for today's interview, we're talking to Patty Reed, and she's the owner of Save Your Bees.   It was a like I said about all these, it was a great interview. What was great so before I actually set this up, I gave Patty a phone call just to talk to her and telling, you know, let her know who I am and what we're trying to do over here.   So I called her about 01:00 in the afternoon and then four hours later,   the conversation was was over. So I knew   this was going to be a great podcast because the both of us can just talk for hours.  

And we talked mostly about bees, you know, how to keep bees, how she started her business,   just everything and everything, bees, honey.   There was a honey tasting which was delicious. She does infused honeys.   I really like the orange and vanilla was was really, really interesting,   in a good way. Interesting in a good way.   My wife, Katie, she really liked the the pumpkin spice,   but they're delicious honeys. And   I think I'm gonna try to get some honey off of her for mead. So, Patty, if you're listening, I'll probably be calling you before too long to try to get,   a large quantity of of honey for to make a large quantity of of mead.  

But it was a really great interview. I'm sure we'll have her back on again,   and I hope you enjoy it.   Why don't we officially start? Okey dokey. And we'll start with who you are and what you do.   You're gonna say it now. Oh, yeah. That should be the easiest question.  

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You would think.   So,   I'm Patty. I started Save Your Bees with my husband, Michael.   It started out you want the whole story? It's a long story. Well, it's a long podcast.   So it started out, oh my gosh, 2000 and   around 02/2010,   I'm gonna say,   that   he was talking about early retirement. Mhmm.   And I said What's he what did he do? He's an electrician Okay. In the local 02:12. Okay. And he's talking about   early taking early retirement because he started young, and he would be eligible. And I'm like, okay. But you better find yourself a good hobby because I'm not having you in this house Right. Seven days a week.   That's just not good. You find yourself a hobby and get out.  

And so he a guy he worked with,   George Anderson, who owns GMB farms Okay.   Was a beekeeper, and so he started   hanging out with him.  

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Oh, there it is.   Make sure the phone's on silent. Yeah.  

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And it was great.   It was great. He's gone every weekend for, you know, six hours a day. He's enjoying himself. It's something that he likes doing,   and I'm not bothered with him. I can have my quiet time. I can clean house without him around because it's hard to clean house around a man. Mhmm. Okay. That's a sexist thing to say. Maybe you're different. But No. Well, actually, I enjoy cleaning. But when my wife's in the kitchen and I'm trying to I I think I can see her getting on edge. Yes.   So it's I'll I'll be cleaning and I'm vacuuming, and he's sitting in the chair, and I'm like, could you move so I could get under here? Or I just cleaned the kitchen, and then I go back, and there's dishes in the sink. What the heck?   So he needs to be gone while I clean. Yeah.  

So, yeah, he started it. It was great.   The first   year,   George would not let him have a beehive. Yeah. He's like, you're just gonna kill it. Yeah. You're not allowed to have one. You need to put in your time here at the farm. I mean, I think, really, George just wanted free labor, but that's just between us. Don't tell anybody else. Anybody else and anybody who listens to this. It's between all of us.   After the second year, George is like, okay. You can have a beehive. Yeah.   And he killed it.   Okay. Kill it, but it died.  

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It happens. It happens. Why why does it why do these hives collapse?   It's a bit like, especially for new beekeepers. If you don't  

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you need a lot of education. People start beekeeping   on   YouTube videos. Yeah. And that's just not. You need hands on. Mhmm. You really, really need to take a class. Mhmm. And then you need hands on.   Obviously, more than a year. Yeah. More than a year.   So, yeah, it's there's so the number one killer of bees   is mite.   It's called a viroa mite.   They   act like a tick   or flea would on a dog or a cat. Okay. So they carry diseases.   They feed on them. So they weaken the bees. They feed on the larvae. Okay. And so it weakens the bees.   If you don't and all it's everywhere.  

It came,   I think,   to America.   I could be wrong about this eighties, I wanna say. Okay. So it's not there wasn't a native Correct. Thing. But honey bees are not native. I didn't know that. Honey bees are not These are European. They're not. They're European.   So but they came here hunting But other other bees were   Native bees, solitary bees. Yeah. Yes. And and there's a lot of people that are kind of against honey bees   because they feel like   honeybees take away resources from the native bees. Yeah. What? And I say no. There seems to be a lot of resources. Humans are taking away resources   Mhmm. From the native bees   and honeybees. Yeah. It's it's not about the honeybee competition. It's that  

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There's acres and acres of soil.  

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There these these lawns.   Yeah. Lawns. Lawns. I hate lawns. You know, that are people want a perfectly green lawn.  

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You know, I've actually heard that,   city bees   are healthier   than country bees, and it's because people in the city will plant flowers and gardens and things like that. But when you get out to the country, it's just, you know, corn for as long as you can see. Well, and then you've got pesticides. And pesticides. And you've got pesticides.  

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So lack of habitat,   mites,   pesticides,   those are the major killer of bees.   That's what's doing it. And who does that? Honeybees don't do that. Right. Humans do that.   So we as the humans, the caretakers   of of the planet,   need to think about our choices. Yeah.   Meaning, that perfectly green lawn is not good for the environment. Yeah.  

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And it's just honestly a pain in the neck. It's a pain. People spend  

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thousands of dollars a year Oh, yeah. To keep weeds out of their lawn. Mhmm.  

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If quote, unquote weeds. Right.  

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If they would just let nature take its course,   their lawns would be a lot healthier. Mhmm. But not their idea of attractive. Yeah. We need to get back to the old ideas of attractive. Mhmm.   A field of clover   to me is beautiful. Mhmm. I'd agree.   My lawn, when it's covered in yellow dandelions and purple violets Mhmm. It's gorgeous.  

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Yeah. But my neighbor Doesn't like that too much. Thinks that's awful. I know. You know? My wife, she started out as a landscaper,   and   she I keep telling her. I'm like, why don't we just, you know, not she's like, no. We can't do that.   Okay. Fine.  

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It's it's hard. It is it's something that has over time, very slowly,   gotten to people's heads Yeah. That this is this is   I've heard now I wouldn't swear to this, but I've heard   that it comes from   when   if you had land   that   was not used Mhmm. You were considered   wealthy and affluent Yeah. Because you could afford to have something that was   useless. Yeah. Yeah. That was good. You owe me a Coke. Right.   And and that just grew. That just progressed  

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over the years. I heard something very similar that it was actually Andrew Carnegie and the, like, robber barons when they came over left in Scotland. Okay. It's because I think in Scotland, the yards were for grazing or but Right. It was a sign of of wealth to have a yard.   And so when somebody like Andrew Carnegie got wealthy, he would have a yard.   And then everybody looked at it. I was like, well, I want one of those too. Right. Right. So I I think it I don't know I don't know if that's true either, but I do think it is   It was a status symbol. And I think it still is to a certain point. Absolutely. Yeah. Abs well, I mean,   because it does take thousands of dollars a year to achieve that. Well, and I go one of the guys I go to the gym with, I told him, I was like, you know, I hate my lawn. He's like, what do you mean? You you gotta have a good looking lawn. I'm like, well, why? Like, what? Right. It was like, don't you want people to I'm like, I I I no. I don't care. I want I mean, I I pulled into  

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here, and I see   your I I see yard. Mhmm. I see toys. I see happiness   Yeah. Where kids can play. Mhmm. You know? Yeah. That's now when I was a kid   back in the seventies, we didn't wear shoes.   It just you had two pair of shoes, one for school, one for church.   Yeah.  

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When you went outside to play need to talk to my daughter because she's got a whole bin of those things and my wife. When we went out to church  

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or to school, you you had your shoes. But if you went out to play, you went out barefoot. Mhmm. Even riding a bike. Mhmm.   And so there were no pesticides, no herbicides, none of that garbage. That was exclusively   crops. I mean, they did exist, but it was for crops. It wasn't in yards. Yeah.   So we got stung by bees. Yeah. I mean, on the regular. Yeah.   Because there was clover everywhere, and we got stung. But you know what?   People were healthier back then. Mhmm. There weren't allergies like there are today.   Yeah. There's a whole lot of stuff that Yeah. Seems to have just cropped up the last twenty, thirty years. Kids do not get stung by bees. Kids are scared of bees. Yeah. My daughter's terrified of them. Yeah. And and it's it's because they don't know. They're scared of the unknown. Mhmm.  

I don't Well, I think my daughter scared them because she got a yellow jacket that hit her when she was young. And and I get people all the time. Oh, I'm allergic to bees. Now I'm not saying that everybody says that is wrong. Mhmm.   But a good majority   after I question them about the circumstances   Yeah. They weren't bees. Yeah. They were yellow jackets. You're allergic to yellow jackets, to wasps. Yeah.   Those things aren't nasty. I don't think Oh, they're the meanest. They're the meanest. They just all they always seem angry. People think bald faced hornets are the meanest.   That's not been my experience.  

They can be aggressive.   But just out in the open,   I have them come to my porch. I feed the bees. Yeah. So I will it's their honey anyway. Mhmm. Yeah. So when I clean out a bucket of honey, I'll put it outside for them to clean up. Mhmm.   I still do also wash it, but you wouldn't know that.   And they'll come to eat the honey in the fall.   I've never been stung by   a a bald faced hornets. They're just they're not that aggressive   Unless I have heard they're really nasty. I mean I mean, you don't wanna go kicking nests or anything like that. Exactly. You you you mess with the nest, they will light you up. Absolutely.   Where   yellow jackets,   also called ground hornets Yeah. Are mean because you're blocking the sun. People are just cutting their grass.  



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Oh, yeah. And they and they go out and then they're just lit up. Come August,  

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I get   dozens a day, hundreds   of calls   for people to come. Can you help me? Yeah.   We don't do young jackets. No. I cannot. We will do,   bald faced hornets   if   it's a situation where,   say, it's hanging 10 feet above a sidewalk in a neighborhood. Yeah. You know?   We will do that.   We do not use pesticides.  

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My husband does it. He's got his bee suit on. So the bee suit will protect you from will it protect you from just about anything that stings?  

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No. Not I mean,   I am not going to guarantee that you're not gonna get stung Yeah. Through a jacket.  

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Will bees get through the jacket?  

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If they're aggressive enough, they can.   More often than not, I've never been stung through my jacket.   But some beekeepers   are   usually more experienced beekeepers   Mhmm. Are more   as you start doing it longer and longer,   you might get a little careless.   That's like the I was about to say it's it's that thing where you get more experience at something and you'd feel like, oh, I've got this. So they might not Velcro their zipper. Mhmm. Yes. You have to do a zipper and a Velcro. Mhmm. And you're working your hive, and a zipper comes undone, and you're covered in bees, and one finds its way up in there.   So it can happen. It's it's it's rare. I would not give somebody the false assurance  

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that Oh, you're you've got a You're saying.   Yeah.  

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We   I get a lot of flack.   Mostly just this year because I've gotten I this morning, I   had 8,000 followers officially. I crossed   8,000 followers on my Facebook page.   But this year, I've gotten a lot of beekeeper followers, where before it was people that just   like bees. Like bees. So my goal on my page was educate mild education. You don't wanna give people too much. Yeah. I mean, I could go on forever,   and you would have so much information out of me that your brain would explode. Yeah. From it coming so fast.   So I've I've this year, I've gotten a lot of beekeepers   Mhmm. In other countries.  

Really? Oh my gosh. Yes. That's cool. I think 3% of my followers   are from Turkey.  

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Really? And Well, they have they they do a bit of honey over in Turkey, don't they? And,  

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not Lithuania.   Estonia? No. The one that's at at war with Russia. Oh, Ukraine. Ukraine. Yeah. Thank you.   From Ukraine. Really? Yeah. That's interesting. So I've got just because I've gotten better at the reels,   and the reels go out to anybody   that   is interested that Facebook deans are interested in that topic. Yeah. So they're going out all over the place now.   Okay. So I've got all these beekeepers. And those those people   in Ukraine and Turkey, they're nice.   Yeah. They're very, very nice. They say nice things.   I love your boxes. Now I have to use the translate thing. Yeah. Yeah. I can't necessarily You don't know Ukrainian. Right.  

It is kind of a cool language, though. Yeah. It is very cool.   But it's it's ones that are here in The US that'll get a little spicy. What are they critical of?   Not wearing bee jackets. Okay.   Because  

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I feel like a lot of beekeepers, some because I I'll see it on YouTube where guys are just going there any You're seeing a I'm not gonna say staged  

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because it's not staged by any stretch of imagination.   But not knowing   circumstances,  

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you're thinking, oh my gosh. She's not wearing a jacket. Yeah. Well, the Save the Bees lady, the the skinny little blonde. I think we talked about it. Yes.  

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I'm not gonna say anything bad about her, but   she   she does kinda make it a little   glamorized.   Sure.   But she's cute.   So hey. I'll give her that. She's cute.   But, yeah, a lot of my beekeepers, they don't to catch a swarm, swarms are very docile. Mhmm. Now that does not mean you cannot get stung.   That means you have to read the room, so to speak Sure.   To know are they feeling hostile. I have been stung when collecting a swarm. I can guarantee you every time I've done it, it was my fault. Well, how do you know if they're   Oh, you can tell almost immediately if they're if they're   if it's raining Yeah. If it's dark,   if it's cold,   they're gonna be a little testy. Okay. So you're not necessarily gonna put your hands in there. Yeah. Where if it's a 75 degree day and the sun is shining and it's in the middle of an afternoon,   you can literally pick them up with your hands. Exactly. Yes. Actually, that's true.  

So, yeah, it just depends.   So they will pick a part that might beekeepers   don't   wear jackets, and some of them do. Yeah. Some of them do. And you you need   I would never ever tell a new beekeeper,   don't worry about a jacket. You don't need it. Yeah. That's stupid. You do what you're comfortable with. And if you're not comfortable with it, put your jacket on.   Yeah. Yeah. You know? When I first started,   if we were if we were inspecting a hive, now that's a different story. Okay. That is totally different   because you're going into their house. Yeah. Okay?   So let's back up just a little bit. A swarm, that's when they're looking to establish an Correct. Right? So in the spring I thought that they'd be more docile when they're doing that. That. Oh, absolutely. And they said they'd be a little more on edge. Oh, when they're in a swarm state? No. No. Because they're not protecting anything. Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense. Yeah. If if how are you gonna feel if you're outside in your yard and somebody comes up to you versus you're in your house and somebody walks through your front door. Yeah. They might they might get hurt. Yeah. Exactly. You're gonna be a little more like, what are you doing here? Yeah. What's up? You know? Where somebody's just walking up your driveway. It's like, dude, can I help you? Yeah. You know? Yeah. So   it it you just gotta read what's going on. Yeah.  

If it's if it's nighttime, you gotta smoke them Mhmm. To get them to move.   If they're wet and it's cold,   you you you you can't just pick them up because they're gonna be upset. Mhmm. So you've got to coax them with   something to get on something else. One time, I just we spent   probably almost an hour   with with   pieces of wood just kinda picking them up. And they'll they'll what's called festooning Mhmm. Where they kinda hold on to each other. Yeah. I've seen that. Because you can, like, scoop them up and So you can pick up several at a time, but you don't wanna put your hand in there. Yeah. Yeah.  

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Honestly, if I see a bunch of bees anywhere, I'm not seeing that. They swarm  

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let's go back to the very beginning.   When they swarm, it happens in the spring. Mhmm. In the spring, usually in late February, early March, the queen starts laying again depending on the weather.   She'll start laying eggs again.   She lays 2,000 eggs a day. That's a lot of eggs. There's a twenty   twenty one day, something like that.   Life, you know, where they develop.  

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Mhmm. So by the Bees are in a normal hive. 2,000 eggs is Yeah.   Are you are there, like, thousands of bees in a hive? There can be anywhere from  

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30 to 80,000.   Wow. I didn't realize there were that many. And and it can be even bigger than that. Yeah. That's an average.   So very quickly, by the March,   you have population explosion.   Yeah.   And it gets crowded very quickly.   And so   the bees say this is just not working for me. I'm sick of bunk beds, and let's get our own place. So they'll make a new queen. The queen knows that the existing queen knows nothing about this. Yeah. They don't tell her. They don't consult her. Yeah. It's you know,   we're just going to  

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Make a new queen. Make a new queen?   Because they're all female. Right? They are. Well, no. I mean, there are males. The workers are females. You have to have males. Yeah. Do we need to talk about the birds and the bees? No. No. No. I know how it works.  

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They the the worker bees determine   the sex of the bees. The queen does not. She lays an   egg, and then how they treat that egg, how they nurture that eggs is going to determine what it turns out to be. That's so fascinating. You are what you eat. Yeah. Yeah.   And drones, the male bees. Mhmm.   Those poor guys, they kick them out in the winter, don't they? They do. Yeah. They do. If you do not work, you do not eat. Yeah.   That's that's in the book of Proverbs, actually.   He who does not work does not eat.   So that will determine what   sex it is.  

The queen, they take a normal egg just that would be a regular bee. They will build a cell up around it Mhmm.   And feed it only royal jelly. Okay. For all of its life, she gets royal jelly. That's what makes her a queen. Okay. So you literally are what you eat. You wanna be a queen? You gotta have the royal jelly. You gotta eat good food. Yeah. Yeah.   Eat good food. Now What's the difference between the royal jelly and normal jelly? I'd I'd No. It's just what it's called. Okay. So the the the baby bees get what's called bee bread Okay. Which is a honey pollen fermentation.   That's what they get to eat after now they get royal jelly initially. Okay. But then they go to the bee bread.  



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The,   That's so interesting that something they eat can determine that. Yeah. That's wild. Yeah. Yeah.  

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So they they they raise a new queen. A queen actually emerges faster. You would think It take that it would take longer, but, no, not when you're getting all royal jelly.   The new queen emerges.   She stays in the hive, and the old queen has to leave. Oh, really? So the old if if Is there is there any, like  

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I don't wanna, I guess, anthropomorphize it too much, but is there, like, strife between that? Like, how do they Well,  

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the worker bees   try to keep that from happening. Mhmm. They will usher the old queen out if they have to. Yeah.   Say, hey. We gotta go. Because the new queen is she's not mated. Mhmm. So she's a little smaller Yeah. And more agile   and   will kill the old queen Yeah. Quite often. That's the way it's gonna go.   So they just, show the old queen out. She takes three to 5,000 of her favorite children depending on   you can have larger swarms or smaller swarms depending on   this is gonna get really complicated. Oh, that's alright.   So a first cast,   a prime swarm Mhmm.  

Is   they're gonna be the largest. Okay. She's basically, they're splitting the the hive in half every time they swarm. On the first one?   Or the prime? No. All of them. All of them. But it's gonna be smaller each time. Okay.   So you want to if you're managing a beehive,   not allow them to swarm because the more they swarm,   the smaller that hive gets. Yeah. And you don't want that to happen.   So we do something that to   people that don't know can be disturbing. I know it was disturbing to me in the beginning.   You will have to do what's called pinching a queen. Oh, you get rid of it? Yeah. You smush her.  



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How long do they normally live the queens?  

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Well, a worker bee,   including the drones, live about five to six weeks. Okay. A queen can live five to seven years. Okay.   Now   there's a difference in how women,   in my experience,   beekeep and how men beekeep.  

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Okay.  

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My husband   has no problem just requeening at the first sign of trouble. Or if if a queen gets to be two or three years old, he's like, requeine. We need a new one.   Me, my first swarm,   he wanted to requeine. Mhmm. And I wouldn't let him. I said, no. No. I don't I don't wanna do it. I wanna do this all by myself.   That hive   produced honey that we could pull the first year. Really? Because I it takes a couple years for this hive. Takes a year.   It's usually the following year before you can harvest any honey. Now that's not a rule,   but it's   generally the way it is.  

So I said no.   Don't leave it alone. Leave it alone. By the third year, that one swarm   had turned into   six   hives   Really? Because of doing splits. Yeah. Yeah. That's So so you can take a big hive? You you do a split there. This is gonna get really calm. This is where your brain explodes.   So you can do a split. So it's basically a controlled swarm. Mhmm. So there's different ways that you can do that. I won't go into all the details.   There's different ways that you can do that split, but that way you're controlling it. They're not just randomly out in the wild finding a place to live. You immediately put them in a in a box. Okay. So you now that one hive turns into two hives. And this is a problem with people that are new beekeepers   is they don't they're like, oh, I just want one. Yeah.  

That's not the way it works. Right. They're they're designed to grow and spread. Going to propagate. Yeah. They're going to grow. So   your first year, you have one hive, then you have two, then you four, then you have eight, then you have six I mean, it just every hive, if you do it right Yeah. Every hive is going to double the following year.   Sometimes even more. Yeah. Yeah.   So people get into trouble.   We do take surrendered hives.   So beekeepers that get in too deep, they've done it for a couple of years. A lot.   I would say I mean, not   too much.  

But I would say   we've probably had   eight to 10 surrenders   Mhmm. Where people say, I'm done. I suck at this.   Just take it. Yeah. Give it a good home. They they trust us Yeah. That we're going to do something good, you know, take care of those bees.   We also provide a service   for people that are newer beekeepers.   Now we make them participate.   Mhmm. We don't just do it for them,   but they they do have to participate because you got to. You if you're gonna be a beekeeper, you're gonna get stung. Yeah. You're you've got to get into your hive, and that's what a lot of new beekeepers, they they wanna be hands off   or you're gonna kill them. Yeah. You know, bad things, your neighbors are gonna hate you because your bees are gonna swarm, and they're gonna move into their house. Right.  

So we will if you call us, we'll come out and do a split for you Okay. For free,   but we're taking the bees. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's not a bad So it's so yeah. So we're getting free bees out of it. You're getting the education of how to do it. Yeah. That's not bad, Barb.   We don't buy bees anymore. Yeah. In the beginning, we would buy bees because we wanted to grow. Mhmm. We've not bought bees in a long time because you   I oh my gosh. I probably should've checked the numbers before I came to talk to you.   I would say I've probably had   this year, I probably   at least a 100 to a 120   swarms that we caught, that I get calls   of swarms all around the place. Now I don't we don't get all those swarms. I have a bunch of beekeepers around,   Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio. I've   I've gotten calls from the Florida Keys.  

That's a waste. I I've gotten calls from   Tennis or, not yes. Tennessee, but, Texas  

[00:36:44] Unknown:

Okay.  

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For bees.  

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So you've got, like, a giant  

[00:36:50] Unknown:

national bee network. The the I mean, that's I didn't intend that to happen. It was all very organic Yeah. And just just happened.   My name gets out there. Mhmm. And I think because of my name  

[00:37:07] Unknown:

Well, virtually, almost everybody I've talked to on this podcast, I when I try to talk to you yeah. I was like, oh, I'm gonna talk to this lady, Patty, from Saving Peace. Like, oh, I know Patty.  

[00:37:17] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. I I I have made a name for myself, good or bad. I don't know. But,   so because I I have the word save, which that's another story Mhmm.   In   the name. And people are becoming more aware,   and so they're using the word save. I want to save them, not kill them or exterminate them. And so I pop up Yeah. Because of my name. Yeah.   And yeah. And I'm very proud to say   I have found somebody on every single call I've ever had. That's awesome.   So, yes, I had to network Mhmm. You know, down in Florida   in Texas,   but I found somebody to go get them. And I've made wonderful connections doing that. Yeah.  

I I my Facebook beekeeper friends that I have one beekeeper that that does work for me   for four years, probably.   Brandon Reynolds.   Give him a shout out. Yeah.   He works at the Civic Center.   And for years,   he was on the West Side, and he was my go to guy on the West Side Mhmm. For years.   We would talk   pretty long conversations. Nothing like you and I, but pretty long conversations.   And it was like we're best friends. Yeah.   And I'd never met him.   Never. Only talk to him on the phone? Just talking to him on the phone and text messages.  

[00:38:46] Unknown:

Well, he is on the West Side. I mean Yeah. You know? So we never Why would you ever go to the West Side? Well,  

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last year   or maybe the year before, early last year, I think, he moved to Mount Washington.  

[00:38:58] Unknown:

Oh, nice. And he's three minutes from me. He moved from the West Side to the East Side. Yes. Yes.   Has he been acclimated? I mean, I know that's a thing going on here. He is  

[00:39:08] Unknown:

and if you watch my videos, he's in in one of my videos. He's   with me. Yeah. We went and caught a swarm together.   I gave him the swarm, but it was the first one, so I wanted to be there. Mhmm. And closing the store, being able to do I think that's why my business my online presence has grown so much   because   I'm doing the videotaping now. Mhmm. A lot of it.   Not   everything that I do goes on social media. Sure.   Some of my beekeepers, they work alone. Mhmm. You know? So if it's, like, say,   in Hamilton   Yeah. You know, I just wanna know that somebody's going to get it. Mhmm. If if it's not   if they can't videotape it, they can't you know? Yeah. That's fine. You do the best you can, and that's fine.  

But, yeah, it is an understanding with my beekeepers.   Here's the way it work. I get nothing. Mhmm. I get nothing out of this except   pictures  

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Yeah. That I can post online. I mean, that's that's good currency.  

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And that's that is how I've   grown to 8,000 followers.   When I first started, when I got to 500   followers, I'm like,  

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this is it. Yeah. This is it. I can't believe it.  

[00:40:28] Unknown:

So, yeah, it is just organically   blown up,   into   my own little   empire that I'm the queen. And I I have all these little worker beekeepers,   and we also do cutouts.   So,   see, I regress. I I I I need to do not do that. That's that's my ADD talk. And let's let's go back to the swarming thing. The swarming. Okay. That's where we started.   So then the swarm leaves.   Viv, it's the old queen,   so she is mated. So she's larger. Mhmm. And although her wings are   the same size as all the other bees, her body's much larger. Sure. So her wings in comparison,   she can't fly very far. She can only fly about 500 feet, and then she has to rest. Do you have to carry her? No. She can fly, but she when whenever she gets tired, she's gonna land. Okay.  

That's when we have a problem. Right? Because it could be on the back of your car. Yeah. It could be   on on a tree and go unnoticed.   Mhmm.   Or in your, like you said, cutouts or in your wall. Or in the walls. And people and I get I get upset, and I have to kinda control myself because people just   they're like, oh, just leave them alone and let them move on. And then there's these memes that go around, you know, if you see this,   they're they're hungry. No. They're not. They're not. You could give them a buffet of honey, and they're not gonna eat it. Mhmm. Before they leave   the   hive, they gorge themselves. Bees have two stomachs. Okay. So they have a digestive stunning stomach and a storage stomach in which they go out and collect nectar. Okay. Okay? They fill that storage stomach full of nectar, go back to the hive, pass it on to the other bees who take it and put it in a cell. Mhmm.  

But when they're when they leave, when they swarm, they gorge themselves on the honey that's in the hive   for the new place.   You know, if you're going on a long trip, you're taking some snacks too. Right? Yep.   They are taking that honey to actually   create comb Okay. So they can start building   and to eat. Yeah.   So they're full. Do you feel like fighting after Thanksgiving dinner? No. You wanna take a nap. Yeah. You know, I hate these people that wanna go for a walk. I'm like,   dude, I could barely walk to the couch.   So they're they're not they're not being aggressive. They're not protecting a hive. Mhmm. Their stomachs are full. They're just looking for a place to to to lay down. To crash. Yeah. Yeah. They're looking for a pad. So when we show up   with a box,   it's just like a furnished condo, free rent. Yeah. You know? They are usually more than happy   to just walk right in.  

And they're boom we go. You don't need a jacket. Yeah.   And unless you're it's an aggressive one, but under good circumstances,   you're not gonna get stung. The times that I've gotten stung   were,   when I made a mistake,   or my husband made a mistake. The last time I got stung   was right here Yeah. Under my eye. That was ugly. Yeah. I was like feel good.   And,   I couldn't see to get it out. Oh, we like the stinger? Yeah. The stinger's in there. So I had to walk back to the truck   to look and see to get it out. So all of that venom got to be pumped into my face.   But how it happened was   we it was a complicated   swarm because it was on a bee balm bush.  

Okay. Is that what it was? Bee balm?   Well, it it's very bushy. Yeah. Yeah. And it was on the trunk in the center. Oh, so you had the light. So it wasn't easy to get to. Mhmm. And so I'm trying to find the queen because if you find the queen, probably And that's a skill in and of itself. And I'm very good at it. Are you good at finding the queen? I'm very good at it. What I I'm better than my husband. Really? I have female eyes,   and we see details   that men don't see.   So there's a physical difference. Mhmm. You know? She's But it's not like ants. Like, it's, you know, the queen ant is or like termites where it says, like, a huge queen and It's larger. It's It's it's probably about a third larger Yeah. Than a regular bee. Her shape is different. Her abdomen,   her back end's gonna be a little pointed because she's gotta stick her bum down into   the cell to lay the egg.  

But there's also behavioral differences, and that's what I look for that he doesn't necessarily always see.   If you're in a if you're in a hive,   you're gonna see   a, like,   spokes on a wheel Okay. Around her. She's gonna have all of her nurse bees, her little entourage Mhmm. And they're all gonna be facing her   all around her. So you look for that little   spokes on a wheel Mhmm. Thing. If she's on the move,   you look for the beeline.   Okay. So all the other bees, they're just dancing   around and moving   Harry Carey.   She makes a beeline. She moves straight, like, part the c,   straight through the other bees. Is that where that term comes from? Beeline? Yeah. There's a lot of terms that we have that comes from old farming and things like that.  

So, yes,   not just the queen, but with any bee. They just it's a straight shoot, you know, wherever they go.   So, yeah, you you look for the behavior   and how they're acting.   I would say in a ball of bees,   okay Mhmm.   I am fifty fifty with being able to tell you where in that ball she is. Well, from what I understand, that's pretty good odds. I'm good. Yeah.   I I am. That is one thing   I am good at. But I worked at it. Yeah. I I,   early on,   watched videos.   I got I follow somebody next next   wait. Girl Next Door, honey. Mhmm. And she has and I use them in my education.   Bee posters.  

Okay. Find the bee. Find the queen. Oh, that's cool. So I practice, practice, practice   whenever I have an opportunity. Yeah. Because I want to be the best. Because if I can't be the best, it's not worth doing. Right.  

[00:47:02] Unknown:

Right.  

[00:47:04] Unknown:

So yeah. So they're they're not aggressive.   They're not gonna you're not gonna get stung.   In a swarm. In a swarm.   So   a lot of my beekeepers don't wear jackets or gloves or anything. Now one of my beekeepers,   Tom, he's,   Maccabees, honey. He's my West Side guy right now.   He does some cutouts for me and got a lot of swarms for me. So we don't get all the swarms. Yeah. I get all the calls.  

[00:47:32] Unknown:

I mean, I imagine you'd have to have acres and acres of land to have that many bees. So I I  

[00:47:39] Unknown:

I pass them on to other beekeepers.  

[00:47:41] Unknown:

Mhmm.  

[00:47:42] Unknown:

But, yeah, he did a swarm. It was probably   25   feet up,   maybe 30. Okay.   And he was in shorts, a t shirt,   okay. I'm brave.   I would not drop   Not five pounds of bees  

[00:48:02] Unknown:

down on my head without some kind of protection, at least a veil. It'd be the shorts for me. I don't want those things getting up on my pants.  

[00:48:10] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. Even if I was brave enough not to wear a bee suit, I would probably still wear jeans and tape them at the bottom. A lot of a lot of beekeepers do that. They won't wear a full suit. Like, I don't even own a full suit. Okay. I just have a jacket, and then I have a separate veil Mhmm. Because sometimes I will want face protection. Yeah.   Because I should have been worn that one day. Okay. Sweet. Back to that story. Oh, yeah.   ADD.   So I'm looking for the queen,   and my husband decides   so we weren't communicating.   So was it our fault? Absolutely. Because we were we were both kinda doing our own thing. Yeah. I'm looking for the queen. He decides that if he shakes them,   that they'd pull loose and then re congregate   and they will be able to see the queen.  

And my face is, like, literally six inches from the swarm when he shakes them and boom, I got it right in the eye.   So, yeah, that was attractive. Yeah.   So, yeah, anytime you get stung   by a honeybee,   it's your fault. Yeah.   Yeah. It's your fault.  

[00:49:17] Unknown:

Because they they're not looking to sting people. No. Unlike as we were talking, I think hornets and wasps, I feel like they come out. Oh, yeah.  

[00:49:26] Unknown:

Out in the open,   like, they're   on a flower. Okay. Well, first of all, let me tell you this.   A common misconception   about   hornets, which are actually in our area,   there are no hornets.   Oh, I didn't know that. We call them hornets. I think because hornets just sounds more vicious Yeah. Than a wasp. Yeah.   But, technically,   even  

[00:49:50] Unknown:

Even like ground bees and yellow jackets, they're Ground ground hornets and yellow jackets. Between a wasp and a hornet?  

[00:49:58] Unknown:

Size. Okay. Typically, there are a hornet's gonna be much, much larger. Okay. Now a bald faced hornet is a little larger. Mhmm. Still not a hornet. Really? Still an aerial wasp. Really?   I didn't know that. Oh, when I when I was first   years ago, when I first learned, I'm like, you're lying. Yeah.   I'm a little skeptical over here. I know. They're called bald faced hornets. Bald faced hornets and ground hornets. But ground hornets and yellow jackets are the same thing. Yeah. They just apply that name to them because   it just sounds more vicious. Yeah.  

And but they're not. Okay.   To my knowledge, unless something changes   recently that I'm unaware of, we do not have actual hornets in   Cincinnati area. Interesting.  

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I didn't know that at all. Or killer bees naturally.   Killer bees.   Well, that was such a big thing a while ago, and it seemed to go away.  

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They're out west down south.   You're gonna find them in Arizona,   Texas,  

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and their southern states. Dangerous as they made them out to be?  

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They're what is so dangerous   is   maybe I shouldn't say this and you can cut it out if you want. The difference hybrid of African bees and European bees. Right? There are there are people that are scared to death of pit bulls.   Yeah. Yeah. Because   not that they're vicious,   but   when they do,   they're relentless.   Yeah.   And they can kill a human being. Yeah. Okay? So that's the same thing with the killer bees.   If you are attacked by them,   they are relentless.   Yeah. That's true. And they can kill you.   Hence the name. Yeah. Killer bees.   But does that now that people are aware,  

[00:51:51] Unknown:

does it happen? You don't really hear about it so much. I remember as a kid, you'd watch the news and I'm like, oh, the killer bees are coming. And, you know, I was like, oh, no. There's killer bees out there.  

[00:52:01] Unknown:

Yeah. And now if you walk outside right now, it's like a 120   degrees   just for people that might see this podcast in the future. Mhmm. Okay. It's not really 120. It's like 94, 95, something like that. But it's really freaking hot out there. It's really hot.   Feels like a 120.   But   the Africanized   bees,  

[00:52:24] Unknown:

don't ask me why they call them that. I don't really know. I think it's because they were a cross bred. For a solid fact. From what I understand, it was they were trying to get docile bees that produce more honey.   And so they took an African bee and they mated it with a European bee,  

[00:52:40] Unknown:

and it went the other way on them. That could be. I do not have enough information in there. I don't know. Dispute that. I don't know if it's true, but I We'll go with that. Understand. We'll just go for that.   But they need a warmer client. Yeah. Okay. So although they would like today   Yeah.   They would love it today. They're they they would not   successfully   overwinter   Mhmm. With our winters. Yeah. Now we have had some winters that are more mild. We had actually a nice winter this past winter. Not it was a it was we actually had winter. Yeah.   But, yeah, they wouldn't survive. Same things with hornets. They tend to like   all of the bugs down south   are bigger. Yeah. I mean, they're just all bigger. Yeah.  



[00:53:26] Unknown:

A little more terrifying too.  

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I wouldn't want to and the humidity.   Scorpions. Yeah. I don't want any of that.   So, yeah, we don't really have hornets here. Now that does not bring mean that we never will or that somebody couldn't bring them here.   But would they survive more than a season?   Probably not. No. I I don't know. You know?   So yeah. Everything we have to date that I'm aware of   that is wasps.   Okay. No matter what you call them, they are wasps.   It doesn't make their sting any less painful.   It is still miserable.   And the problem is people get confused   with what's a bee and what's a wasp. Mhmm.  

Bees,   you will never find   an aggressive   bee   out in the open.   Now if you're getting in their house,  

[00:54:19] Unknown:

but if you if you just like Or you step on them or something. You know? They're gonna And you're barefoot. Yeah.   See if they go. Yeah. Let me go let me go take care of Homer real fast. And it's time for a break.  

[00:54:32] Unknown:

And let my ears ears breathe.   Oh.   Now did it smush the top of my hair? No. You look fine. I because I've got this curly hair. You got curly hair too. Oh, yeah.   If you had long hair, you'd have it like mine too.  

[00:54:55] Unknown:

I did for a little while in college. I had   probably down you know, it looked like it was down to about here, but then you pull it straight,   and it's, like, down to my neck. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Back on.   So I did wanna,   ask you, because we are talking about kind of Africanized bees and things like that. There are different varieties of bees, aren't there? Like, the if I were gonna start if I had said, I wanna start keeping bees. Oh, you mean different different,  

[00:55:20] Unknown:

types of bees, like Like, I think Russians, Russians,   Italians.  

[00:55:25] Unknown:

Yes. Because I remember taking a my wife and I were interested in starting hives, And we took a we went to a class,   and the guy was like, you know, you can use that and the other thing. But after a year, you've got mutt bees. Yeah. It's just  

[00:55:39] Unknown:

Here in The States,   unless   you   get them shipped over   from  

[00:55:46] Unknown:

Italy Yeah. Or Russia Yeah. You're getting mutts. Yeah. I mean And there's nothing wrong with that. Right? It's just  

[00:55:55] Unknown:

It's kinda like the difference in a purebred dog Mhmm.   Or a mutt Yeah. That you get from the pound. Here's the thing. Do you want me to put these back on? Yeah. Are we are we talking?   They're hard to get on. Don't do this right.  

[00:56:10] Unknown:

Yeah. They're a little finicky.   Get my hair out of my way.  

[00:56:15] Unknown:

Okeydokey.   You're gonna have way more health problems Yeah. With a purebred dog Yeah. Than you are a mutt. That's wild. Because the that diverse genetics   Mhmm. Is going to make them healthier in the long run. Yeah. The same thing when a queen mates. This is why   every bee in The States is a mutt. Mhmm.   When a queen mates,   she is going to mate with   a dozen   different   male bees.   We won't even go there.   We won't even go there.   Queen for a day, whore for a day, whatever.   I don't think you heard that.  

[00:57:00] Unknown:

These are pretty good microphones.  

[00:57:02] Unknown:

So   yeah.   Boom. You might you might get yourself a a purebred Italian   queen,   but once she mates   or they swarm   out,   boom. You you you no longer have Italian bees. You're no longer probably very difficult to actually keep,  

[00:57:23] Unknown:

like, purebred bees. I don't even know how you do that. Yeah. Now hundreds of years ago, sure. Because they weren't Yeah. Because from place to place. Italy. Right.  

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But now they're all from someplace else. They aren't native here. So   in my opinion,   might have some people, they're like, oh, look at my Italian queen. I'm like,   yeah.  

[00:57:44] Unknown:

Whatever. Does she have a cappuccinos   driving around on a Vespa?  

[00:57:50] Unknown:

So, I mean, yeah, they're all mutts, which makes them   stronger. Yeah. Now you can have   like, I look at you. Are you Italian?   Yeah. Italian, German. Okay. So I can I'm a mutt. You're a mutt. Yeah. But you to look at you, I see you look Italian. Yeah.   I'm good. Yeah. So I can find that queen.   So, I mean, you might have   predominant genes in how you look,   but you aren't much. Yeah. What do I look like? I'm no good at this game. Try.  

[00:58:22] Unknown:

Scottish?  

[00:58:24] Unknown:

Not even close. Oh, yeah.  

[00:58:26] Unknown:

Oh, I feel like you set me up for failure on that one. I am a quarter  

[00:58:31] Unknown:

American Indian. Oh, Oh, that's right, dude. You told me that And I look nothing like it No. Because I'm a mutt. Yeah. And my genetics pulled from my father   who is Irish. Okay. That was close. You can see the Irish. You can see the Irish.   So yeah. It it's you really don't have pure genetics   anymore. Yeah.  

[00:58:53] Unknown:

You just   And healthier bees for it.  

[00:58:56] Unknown:

I think so. Yeah. But what we have is the mites. Yeah.   Okay. And   mites are the number one killer of honey. Can you do for mites?   We treat them. We use acyclic acid Okay. Which sounds very scary, doesn't it? Well, it is anything you'd put acid by. Right? Okay. What about citric acid? Yeah. What is that? In every single piece of It's orange juice. Yeah. It's orange juice. It sounds horrible when you And what would salicylic acid have? Salicylic acid is actually I feel like they have that in  

[00:59:28] Unknown:

skin creams or   or maybe that's a different kind of acid.  

[00:59:33] Unknown:

You're speaking of   okay. I don't know what you're speaking of. Know what I'm speaking of either. Hydralonic  

[00:59:40] Unknown:

acid? That could be it. Or is that   aspirin?   We're digressing again. We are digressing. So you use silicilic acid. Salicylic acid,  

[00:59:51] Unknown:

o I'm sorry. Oscillic acid. Oscillic. Oscillic acid. Oscillic. Did I say can you cut that part out? At this point, we're too far in. Totally cut that part out.   Assilic acid,   jeez,   which is basically that powdery substance   that they put on,   Sour Patch Kids. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's all it is. So it is in our food. Yeah. So it's not now   I I believe now they might have rescinded it. I don't know. But,   they have approved it for use with honey supers on Okay. Saying that you so we put it in, Well, let's back up just real fast. The super is where you actually collect the honey. So you have a hive where you give the bees So you've got your structure is gonna be two boxes. Mhmm. A brood box and a honey stores. Okay. So that's the honey you don't touch. That is left for the bees. That's what they need to survive the winter.   Anything above that is called a superstructure.  

Okay.   Hence, called A super. A honey super. That's the honey that we can take.   What was what was I saying?  

[01:01:07] Unknown:

It was, oxalic acid. It's just been So with the honey supers  

[01:01:12] Unknown:

on, okay, you're it is   we drill a hole   and you heat the salicylic or let's see. Do it again. The oxalic acid,   and it turned it into a vapor. So they do wear a mask. Okay. Not just a COVID mask, a respirator mask when they do it because it would be dangerous for us to breathe. Okay. Not to eat, but to breathe. Well, because they're turning it into a vapor. Yeah.   So you don't wanna breathe that.   So, yeah, they just poof. They heat it,   poof it into the hive. It's been approved to my knowledge. They might have rescinded it, but it was approved,   couple years ago for use with the honey supers on, which means   it it's okay to be in the honey. Okay.  

We Does it affect the taste or anything? No. Okay. You know, honestly, I would say no, but I couldn't prove it because   we don't   we take our supers off Okay. Before we use it. So   it doesn't   the the mites are,   in the brood.   So in the babies, you've got egg, you've got a pupae, you've got the brood. So if the bees are up in the super, then  

[01:02:22] Unknown:

it wouldn't matter anyway?   What do you mean? Well, if you take the super off and there presumably, there would be some bees in the super. Oh, no. We get rid of those. Oh, okay. Yeah. We pull our honey first. Oh, okay. We pull our honey first. I see. I see.  

[01:02:38] Unknown:

So yeah. The the the mites   get in there. Now they multiply   three to one. So you've got one   bee   to three mites. They'll lay an egg in that cell.   By the time that bee emerges,   there could be three mites in there  

[01:02:56] Unknown:

feeding off of the larvae. So it goes fast. Like, those things spread fast. Fast.  

[01:03:01] Unknown:

Very fast.   And they they feed on them in their developmental stages, which means that they can come out with,   deformities   Mhmm.   Or just die.   Sometimes   if the problem gets bad enough, the bees will   uncap and throw away  

[01:03:19] Unknown:

the So they'll try to do it themselves. Yes.  

[01:03:22] Unknown:

And and some,   they have tried to breed the bees   to make them more hygienic.   Mhmm. So you you get them off by cleaning. Mhmm. Like, you've seen   monkeys,   chimpanzees that'll, like, pull the lice off of each other and stuff like that and eat it. Yeah. Bees don't eat it, but they will pick the mites off   by grooming each other.   So, yes,   the the salicylic  

[01:03:50] Unknown:

acid Oxysilic.  

[01:03:52] Unknown:

Oxysilic acid. Why is that in my brain? Oxysilic acid.   Let me write that down so I keep saying it wrong.   Gets into the the brood Mhmm.   But it won't go through the capping. So we do a treatment in December   when there there's no honey Mhmm.   That we're going to consume. There's no honey and there's no brood. Okay. So that's gonna take our mite count down to   zero.   Nice. So when going into spring, we have zero mites.   Where do they come from?   The guy down the street   who wants to do natural beekeeping   Mhmm. And doesn't treat his bees.  

[01:04:37] Unknown:

So you do   it preventatively?  

[01:04:39] Unknown:

Yes. Okay. We do. Because we're we're a larger Mhmm. Operation.   If you've got two hives, you're not gonna buy the equipment to do the acyclic acid. You're gonna do other treatments   that are either strips or little pot that the,   bees will walk across and scatter it throughout the hive. Okay.   So yeah. That's if you're just doing one or two hives to buy all the equipment for the oxalic acid just is a lot of money. Make a lot of sense. But when you're up in the hundreds   Yeah. You know, you   it would take you'd waste more money   out there trying to hang these strips in every hive that you have Yeah. Instead of just going   down the road Yeah. Of each hive.  

So, yeah, that that keeps it under control,   but we still pull our supers. Yeah. We don't leave them on there.   So, yeah, I don't honestly   know if it changes the taste. Okay. I do not know.   So yeah. Where do I I don't know.   It seems like it would,   but I don't know that for sure. Oh, that's fair   enough.   And where are we? Are you trying to find the lily pad? Where what? Yes. A lily pad. I need a lily pad.  

[01:06:05] Unknown:

We can talk about honey if you want. You brought a whole bunch of honey. I did. I brought you lots of honey to taste. I'm very excited about this. What I want  

[01:06:13] Unknown:

is I want your honest I'll give you honest. 110%  

[01:06:17] Unknown:

honest opinion. I will be honest. Because because  

[01:06:21] Unknown:

it's,   early on when I started doing all the infusions and getting all creative, I'd have people   And everybody said, oh, that's amazing. I'm like, you know what? I appreciate that you love me dearly, and you want to reinforce everything that I do. Yeah. But I need an honest opinion. I need you to be a 100%   honest. Yeah. Because   your love for me is great.   But  

[01:06:48] Unknown:

But I don't wanna be given I tell people that my mead all the time. I'm like, I really appreciate   everything, but I need to know if this is palatable.   Yeah. Because I'm gonna give it to people.  

[01:07:00] Unknown:

I get accused of being brutally honest   because   I just feel like I would rather somebody tell me a hurtful truth Yeah. Than a sweet lie. I also don't wanna walk around like, oh, my meat's great and then people behind me. That's why people that can't sing think they can sing because their families doesn't have the heart to tell them you suck. I know.   So we're gonna start with Alright. The orange. Let's give it a shot.  

[01:07:29] Unknown:

Now now Also, I'll make I'll be brutally honest with you as long as you're brutally honest with me about that.  

[01:07:34] Unknown:

Oh, well, you already said what you told me I'm not gonna like it. Oh, okay. Because you said it's really dry. Oh, it is very dry. So, I mean, I'm like, I'm sure I won't hate it. Well, okay. But it's it's not my husband will love it because he likes that. Well, then So it just I'll have to have his honest opinion. It just depends. It's Is this is just orange? That is just orange honey.   It's infused with I use the zest.   That's tasty. You like that one? I do like that one. The kids love that the best. Yeah. That's a kid favorite.  

[01:08:07] Unknown:

So how do you make the infusions?  

[01:08:10] Unknown:

I have lots of large Mason jars like those up there. Okay. Yeah.  

[01:08:15] Unknown:

My wife makes kombucha too, so we have tons of Mason jars. Yes. Yes. And I don't have anything for you to set those on. Oh, that's alright. It's just, we'll just do this.   Oh, you know, I'll just put on there. I like it pretty clean because it'll You have to remember  

[01:08:29] Unknown:

which one's your favorite. Okay.  

[01:08:33] Unknown:

I like the orange. Orange and honey. So far, the orange is your favorite. So far, the first one. Which one's this? This is the vanilla. Okay. I probably should have led with this. Is this a a crowd pleaser?  

[01:08:44] Unknown:

It's it's a very,   very mild   like, it's not gonna hit you for a second. Like, you kinda gotta work it around on your tongue.   It is mild. Yeah. Now this is made with the summer honey.  

[01:09:01] Unknown:

There it is. See?  

[01:09:04] Unknown:

At first, I was like, oh, she's kinda crazy. I don't taste any vanilla. And then it hits you. Really subtle. And then it kinda hits you. It's gotta get right here. It's gotta get to these taste buds right in here.  

[01:09:14] Unknown:

That's interesting how that worked. Yeah. Because at first, it was just honey. You're like, okay. Yeah. I know. That's that's yeah. That's good. But then when it Oh, there it is. It's like Yeah. Yep. That that's everybody's reaction.   That's tasty too.   I think   of the two, I I'm still favoring the orange. The orange. Yeah. Yeah.  

[01:09:35] Unknown:

The those both of those are my favorite. I drink an herbal tea. Okay.   Now you're a coffee drinker. I am a coffee drinker. So that's gonna change your your taste buds. Mhmm. So you're probably gonna favor   the richer Yeah. Ones.   This one is   the lemon ginger. Wait. Oh,   which is also a big favorite, but not for everyone. Some people hate lemon. Some people hate ginger. I'm a little hot and cold on ginger. So I do separate those as well.   So I all do I do also make just a plain lemon and just a plain ginger.   Now you're gonna first get the honey Mhmm. Then you'll get the lemon Mhmm. And then the ginger's gonna pale   in. How do you did you just It's amazing, isn't it?  



[01:10:23] Unknown:

Is it because it's in the I've never had I've never eaten anything  

[01:10:27] Unknown:

where the flavor comes out. Change everything. Honey changes everything. Absolutely.   Because it's an infusion   Mhmm. The molecular   structure   is kind of encapsulated   Yeah. Yeah. By the honey. So the first thing you're gonna get is just the sweetness of the honey. Mhmm. Now when you were with Crystal from Gracious Farms Yes. Shout out to Crystal. Love her to death.  

[01:10:53] Unknown:

Did you try the fire cider? I absolutely did. It was delicious.  

[01:10:56] Unknown:

That It was crazy how much I enjoyed it because But if you think about apple cider vinegar Mhmm. Garlic, ginger,   onion, horseradish  

[01:11:04] Unknown:

Shouldn't work.  

[01:11:06] Unknown:

But when you put that honey in there Mhmm. It changes   everything.   Yeah. And what would otherwise be   disturbing or offensive?  

[01:11:17] Unknown:

Because I don't know if I would've drank it if it was just apple cider vinegar with onion and hash radish. But the honey, which uses my honey, changes everything. It really truly does. Now do you like pumpkin spice? Oh, wait. Which one was your favorite? I I'm still with the You're still with the orange? Yeah. The vanilla is a close second, though. I'd I'd like this, but I'm I'm not a huge ginger fan. Okay. Yeah. It was good. What I'm liking the most, you know,   that's one of my duties around here is opening jars.  

[01:11:49] Unknown:

Oh, yay. You got it. Thank you.  

[01:11:52] Unknown:

Well, I wake up at five in the morning and go to the gym. If I couldn't open up a jar, I'd be wasting my time there. Right?  

[01:11:59] Unknown:

This is pumpkin spice. This is pumpkin spice. Okay. A recipe I,   created.   I I well,   I actually kind of,   cannibalized   Sure. A couple of recipes.   I am not a pumpkin spice fan.   I don't hate it,   but it's not something that I'm like, oh, pumpkin spice latte.   But I did make a pumpkin spice tea.   Okay.   My husband walks in the store and he's like, what is that smell? I'm like, I'm making tea. It's just a blend that I made.   Because   around the holidays, I'm like,   man, Starbucks is raking in millions.   Millions.   I know. I need a piece of this. I need a piece of that Starbucks. I need a piece of this. So I made a pumpkin spice tea, and he's like, you need to make that into a honey. And my husband   does not   love the infusions. Yeah. He's a purist. He Well, I was about to say with this one,  

[01:13:02] Unknown:

I'd lie like it,   but   I didn't get the honey, which is what I've liked about the other ones. Well, but here's what It's like that pumpkin spice just kinda hits you almost immediately, which is much different than the other ones. Well, there's multiple  

[01:13:14] Unknown:

things in the pumpkin spice where the others are singular. Right.   So there's probably no room for anything else. Right.  

[01:13:23] Unknown:

The  

[01:13:28] Unknown:

I did it again.   So, yeah, I I   I adjusted the recipe because, you know, you can't put tea in there. Right. Right.  

[01:13:41] Unknown:

Just the spices. Have you ever tried tea though? That would be interesting.   Like a tea infused honey,   a black tea infused honey, something like that. I mean That'd be weird. I would consider that a waste  

[01:13:53] Unknown:

of resources. Yeah. Fair enough. Your tea and then put honey in it. Put honey in it.  

[01:13:57] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. As I'm thinking through that suggestion, I was like, yeah. That'd be a little silly.  

[01:14:02] Unknown:

I mean, I get lots of suggestions   Mhmm. And I'm willing to try most anything. Mhmm.  

[01:14:09] Unknown:

There was this   it's a it was called a Russian tea.  

[01:14:13] Unknown:

Mhmm.  

[01:14:15] Unknown:

And I used it,   to infuse,   like, grain alcohol.  

[01:14:23] Unknown:

Oh, okay.   And   So you're pulling the tea out?  

[01:14:27] Unknown:

Yeah. So we did let it steep in the grain alcohol.   And what's interesting about it is it's smoky.   So you got kind of the tea flavor, but it it was almost like Scotch the way   that it it flavored   the alcohol. Yeah.  

[01:14:43] Unknown:

It was it was interesting. And then what did you do with the alcohol?   Drink it. Just straight?  

[01:14:48] Unknown:

Yeah. I don't know. Actually, I oaked it. I put an oak spiral in it for Okay. I might have it knocking around here somewhere.   I would say it's an because it was an experiment. Did you think I could do that? Oak first?   Oh, so you can buy them at, like, Oh, already made? Yeah. So they'll when you're   brewing or whatever, you can get oak spirals in different chars Okay. In different oaks. You can go, like, French oak, American oak. You can get cherry, all kinds of different woods. Sounds good. Yeah. I don't know. I've never used cherry. I don't think you get an actual cherry flavor from the wood. I'm not sure, though. I'd have to try it.  

[01:15:21] Unknown:

Well,   I like the smell   when I was a kid, so maybe it's   just something from my childhood. But my father smoked   cherry tobacco in his pipe. Oh, yeah. And I love   Yeah. The way that smelled.  

[01:15:38] Unknown:

I would love I I've tried smoking a pipe.   I have a couple pipes,   and I love the way it piped the bag all kinds of pipe tobacco. I don't love I don't and I hate cigars. I smile. I love cigars.  

[01:15:51] Unknown:

Now do you like root beer? I love root beer. Because I'm really excited about this root beer. This was a little bit of work to put together. Mhmm. I did a lot of research because I hate root beer. Okay. I literally   Yeah. Hate root beer.   But I have two children that love it. Mhmm. One that has traveled, like, forty five minutes   to find this certain type of root beer that's supposed to be amazing.   Yeah. I love root beer. So he was my taste tester. So I researched,   Appalachian recipes because root beer was originally a tea, not a soda.   There was no carbonation in it.  

So I researched old recipes and then twerked it slightly Mhmm. Or tweaked it. Not in the word.   What kind of shirt are we having here?   I   worked it. Yeah.   Because, like, in those recipes, I felt like it needed a touch of vanilla.   Mhmm.   Just a touch of that that essence.   And they didn't have vanilla hundred year hundred years ago in this country. Right. You know? It wasn't something that was readily available,  

[01:17:04] Unknown:

in the Appalachian Mountains anyway. It it does it. It did it again.   Would the I don't think the pumpkin spice did it, but the rest of them, it's like you get the honey. Mhmm. And then it's like the root beer is coming in after the fact.   I'm still favoring the orange, but this is a very close second. Really? Yeah. I'm shocked.  

[01:17:23] Unknown:

Yeah. I like this a lot. Oh, okay. There's something about the orange. So so people are like, well, what would you use   root beer honey for? Just eat it. Well, yeah. There's that. There's that. But if you if you're thinking about cleaning up your diet Yeah. And you're wanting to get chemicals,   preservatives,   artificial garbage out of your diet, get a plain Greek yogurt. Mhmm.  

[01:17:46] Unknown:

You've got root beer yogurt. You know what my wife made? And, actually, some of these infusions would probably be delicious with this.   She took because we have an ice cream maker sitting right over there.   She took   milk, obvious, or a hip cream. Mhmm.   Honey to sweeten it. And then because I go to the gym, we have, like, a chocolate protein powder.   And she made this   delicious chocolate   ice cream just using honey to scoop it. And it's better than any ice cream I've ever had in my life. Yeah. Any ice cream I've ever had. So   you could have root beer ice cream. Or pumpkin spice ice. Or pumpkin spice ice. Right up her alley. Yeah. Yeah. So You better get out of here before she comes back because  

[01:18:28] Unknown:

she might be buying gallons of your of your honey. Well, this is a gift. This one's a gift for you. Thank you. That is a present for you. Is this just straight up honey? That is,   oh, I'd have to amber. Yeah. You say Or this is spring honey? Spring honey. Oh. That is an extra white That's a precious resource.   Yes. Yes. I think And, actually, while we talk about that, there are different honeys. Right? Like spring, fall Yes. And I brought I brought the spring and the fall for you to take so you can taste the differences. And then and then all kinds of things in between. Now before we get too far, like, because I'm thinking about mead.  

[01:19:03] Unknown:

If I wanted to do, like, a vanilla mead,   could I infuse the honey first   and then go through the fermentation process, or would that be weird, do you think? No. I would I would use it straight  

[01:19:14] Unknown:

Okay. And then with a a straight light honey Okay. And then add the vanilla beans   straight to your The the brew. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I wouldn't because this is expensive.  

[01:19:26] Unknown:

Yeah. Okay. I mean, this is kinda Well, I'm thinking if I get, like, a bunch of honey,   could I do the infusion before the fermentation?   But I don't I guess I don't know what the advantage is. Okay. So here's the thing.  

[01:19:40] Unknown:

Your   honey is very thick. Mhmm. Very viscous.   So it takes a lot of time   to get it to infuse.   Okay. Where if you're talking alcohol,   once once that yeast is done eating Mhmm.   Then it's very thin. Yeah. Once it's done eating that honey, it's very thin. Which is And pull more salt. So you just put your beans directly into your   mead and it's gonna it's gonna take on that flavor a lot easier. Yeah. I also make my own vanilla.  

[01:20:14] Unknown:

Okay. And the first time I ever made it, my husband Like vanilla extract. Right? Like, you don't you're not growing vanilla. Are you growing vanilla? Oh, no. You can't do that. No. No. No. No. No. No. Like, if you're growing vanilla beans in Ohio, I'd Yeah. That's I'm gonna be a millionaire.  

[01:20:30] Unknown:

So, yeah, the first time I made it, I'm like, here to my husband, I'm like, taste this. And he tasted a little bit. He's like,   oh, that's good. Mhmm. That's good. We   stood in the kitchen   doing   shots   of Fenella,   And he's like, I could sell this. Mhmm. I could sell this.   I   mean, you don't sell alcohol because we do not have a liquor license.   It was just it was just his   we could sell the recipe.  

[01:21:04] Unknown:

Mhmm. Yeah.  

[01:21:06] Unknown:

And,   yeah. We we got kind of, like, a little intoxicated   on tasting On tasting vanilla. Vanilla extract.  

[01:21:15] Unknown:

My wife's got a couple of those knocking around. But then I ran the numbers.   Mhmm. And  

[01:21:21] Unknown:

no. There's a reason why there's no such thing as   vanilla   real vanilla extract liquor.   Yeah. Because it's Wildly expensive. Ridiculously   expensive. Real vanilla beans are Very expensive. Wildly expensive. So that is why the vanilla so if if if a person is torn between the vanilla and the orange,   because I'm I guess I'm not a good business person because I'm gonna tell them cheaper one. Yeah. I'm gonna say get the orange. Yeah. Because you're gonna get 10 ounces   for half. Yeah. You know, twice as much for half the price. 10 a 10 ounce jar of orange honey is $10. That vanilla was really interesting, though. A 10 ounce jar of vanilla is $19.   Yeah. 20 if it's made with the spring honey. Yeah. So, I mean, it's if if you're torn   and if you do   treat yourself to a vanilla,   hide it.  

It is not for children. They do not have a refined enough palate  

[01:22:18] Unknown:

to constitute It was I can't I know I'm going on and on about this, but I can't it was so   it was it was pleasurable. It was like that you've got all of the honey,   that honey flavor,  

[01:22:30] Unknown:

and then that just really nice little subtle vanilla on the back end that just kinda finished the whole thing off. And that's why people need to do taste testing with me. And I tell people, if it's your first time, come to one of my markets.   Yeah. You know? Come to one of my markets. I have this is just some of my honeys. Yeah. What else do I have?   Well, the coffee honey Okay.   Which I gave you a little sample of, which you can open it and taste it if you want, or you can save it. Well, we gotta do these for I might save it because   I've got lavender,   elderberry,   plain lemon, plain ginger.  

It depends on what I'm doing with it. That's fair. It really depends. So the coffee honey, I take kefir. Do you know what kefir is? I do know what kefir is. Yeah. I drink eight ounces of kefir every day. Okay. Good for your gut.   And I put coffee honey in it, and that's my breakfast.   Oh, that I bet that's pretty good. And so I've got my breakfast and my caffeine, boom, all in one. And it's   great. And it and it sweetens it because kefir   even if you get the flavored grind I don't like kefir. I just know what it is. Oh, okay. So it is,   from it's like yogurt. It's like a soupy yogurt. It's like a soupy yogurt. Yeah. But it has   a gazillion times more probiotics for your stomach. Yeah.  

And it's much easier digested.   Okay. So it really helps the gut, helps things  

[01:23:59] Unknown:

progress. Yeah.   Helps things progress. Keeps everything moving. Yes.  

[01:24:06] Unknown:

So, yeah, little coffee in that, and it's and it will it'll so for breakfast, because I'm not a breakfast eater. Mhmm.   But I can have that,   and I'm good till noon. Yeah. You know? It it's because I just can't sit and eat. I can't stand to eat   solid food in the morning. It's just it's a weird thing. It's me. It I was that way  

[01:24:28] Unknown:

I was that way honestly until Katie started cooking breakfast. I was like, well Sometimes   my husband will cook, like, special occasions cook me breakfast. You know? But if I eat breakfast, I'm done. I like, I don't eat a lunch. I can just go straight to dinner.  

[01:24:43] Unknown:

It's just not so this is right here. That's the spring honey. The spring honey, which you have right there. Because it's all just wild flowers. Right? Richmond? Moscow. Moscow. Okay.   And then we have actually hives on 02/22.   Oh, do you? And that we still have to harvest that one. Okay. We haven't harvest that. So I'll get you some of that when that time comes.   Okay. Now   as far as benefits,   is honey that's harvested   two miles from you versus   honey that's harvested   five miles from you. Any better for you? No. Not really.  

[01:25:17] Unknown:

But there are some beekeepers that will   travel the country.  

[01:25:22] Unknown:

That's a whole another conversation.  

[01:25:24] Unknown:

Yes. So commercial beekeepers. So when you see And you guys don't do that. Right? We don't do that. I guess I should say what what the idea is is you take your hives and you go to different,   blooms like apple or almond or whatever. Right. So help your beekeepers. Commercial beekeepers.  

[01:25:39] Unknown:

So they have thousands of hives. Thousands.   That's a lot. Yeah. Okay. I can't even imagine loading those up on a on a truck. They have they have machines that do it. I mean, it's yeah. They're it's all industrialized. Is it good for the bees? I mean, I  

[01:25:54] Unknown:

I can't imagine as a bee, you'd like to be moved around too much.  

[01:25:58] Unknown:

Here's the   thing.   Unfortunately, it's a necessary thing. Yeah. I mean, fortunate for the beekeeper that's doing it, I guess. Well, yeah. But I mean, if you have if you have acres of an apple that   over planting   of almond groves Mhmm. Which we need, I guess. Yeah. They need to be pollinated.   And the the area that they're in, because they can't grow here Mhmm.   They need pollination. Yeah. And the native bees   can't handle it. Yeah. They can't. So they have the and commercial beekeepers   send their bees big   semi trucks full   of gazillions   of bees   and bad things happen. Yeah. So there's if you if you read on social media or news or whatever, it say there's there's 40%   losses, 60%   losses   of honeybees.  

Yeah. And I'm like Oh, you mean just not not the bees that are traveling in general? Because that's what it's gonna say. Mhmm. It's gonna say there's there's 60%   loss of honeybees. Mhmm. And I'm like, okay. That's not we   had a point   04%   losses in our hives this past year.   So those are commercial numbers that people read on social media,   and in the news.   That's not   people like us. Yeah. You know? We   I don't wanna throw out names or anything.   But there are some of the larger beekeepers  

[01:27:36] Unknown:

Mhmm.  

[01:27:38] Unknown:

That you would find their honey in, say, Kroger. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. If you've if if if you have enough hives to put your honey in Kroger, you're a big beekeeper.   Okay?   You cannot   produce that much honey   in just three seasons. Yeah.   Some really small beekeepers,   this is the only harvest they have is that spring harvest. Okay. Because they they need to leave enough for the bees. So if you have one hive,   every   hope you have   of survival for those bees rests in what's in that hive. Yeah.   If you have two hives, and that's just still teeny tiny numbers from one to two, you've got a resource. We call it a resource hive. Now that it's could be either one. It's just if one hive is doing better than the other,   that's a resource hive. Okay. The good hive is your resource hive. So say hive a  

[01:28:34] Unknown:

loses their queen Mhmm. For whatever reason. Yeah. Let let me let him in real fast. The poor guy.  

[01:28:40] Unknown:

That husky in it is probably burning up. He's gonna come in and play with me.   Yes.   It is brutal outside.   Alright. Come on, And he's black. Yep. Oh, no. You don't want the water. You just oh my gosh. I touched him in the heat off of him. Yeah. Oh, poor baby.  

[01:29:03] Unknown:

Okay. Sorry about that.   Commercial beekeepers,  

[01:29:10] Unknown:

collapse So yeah. So if if you have   two hives, your resource size, say you lose   your queen Yeah. In in in hive a,   you can then   pull a frame of eggs,   just new eggs. They have to be under twenty four hours old. A frame of eggs out of your resource hive, put it in   the hive a Mhmm. And they'll make their own new queen. Oh, okay. Problem solved. Yeah. If hive a is   sorry.   Having a hard time finding honey because they flew the wrong direction. They're right next to each other, but this one, a bee flies that direction and this one, they fly that direction. This one fly finds a huge lavender field Mhmm. And tells everybody they're not telling this hive. Right. Right.   They're just telling all of their sisters   they head out to   the lavender field. Where over here, they're just going from residence to residence   on local flowers that  

[01:30:08] Unknown:

Yeah. Whatever they can find.  

[01:30:10] Unknown:

Mom planted. Right. So they're short on on honey.   So you can take a frame of honey Yeah. From this one because they're doing fantastic and give it to this hive. So   the more hives you have, the more resources   you have for survival. Gotcha. So we have a lot more than two. Mhmm. Yeah.   So we are able to make sure that when I   save a swarm   in,   say, the July 4 Mhmm. Which we actually had a swarm, that is very late. Yeah. So there's an old beekeeper saying, I don't agree with it.   What is it? A   swarm in July, let it fly. It means don't bother with it. It's not gonna survive.   But that doesn't apply to me   because I can give it a new queen. I can give it more honey. I can give it whatever. I've got those resources. Yeah.  

So that's valuable.   So you cannot what happens with commercial beekeeping, why their numbers are so high,   is they will   let's say I'm a commercial beekeeper. Mhmm.   And I put my hives on a truck with a professional truck driver, and I pay that company to deliver my bees.   And off he goes. Yep.   You may have seen in the news. I see it a lot because I see beekeeping stuff.  

[01:31:37] Unknown:

Those trucks can tip over. Yeah. They're they can have accidents. How would you like to be involved in an accident with a truck full of bees? Right?   Right?   And you've got Oh, man. Billions  

[01:31:50] Unknown:

Yeah. Of angry bees. Yeah. Not just   bees.   Yeah. Angry bees.   Every beekeeper is gonna be putting on a jacket for that one. Yeah. Yeah.   So but say they get there safely. Mhmm.   They set them up in the fields,   and nobody   does anything. They just let them go. They just leave them there until the truck comes in   April to pick them up. Mhmm. Now they're full of   honey, but who knows what else they're full of? Yeah. You know? Mites   and who knows what else.   Now I have a friend who's a smaller commercial beekeeper. Mhmm.   He sends his bees down south, but he also goes down there Yeah. Twice   to three times during the season to check on his bees because he doesn't trust somebody else to do it. Yeah.  

But the huge, huge companies, they don't do that. No. You know? When they've got thousands of hives, they're like, bye bye. Yeah. You know? I'll just make more bees. Yeah. But that's what that's where those numbers are coming from Okay. From companies like that. The smaller beekeepers that you're gonna see at the markets, at the farmers' markets selling just fine. They're not doing that. Yeah. You know?   Now if you're a new beekeeper,   yes, like my husband, he lost his first hives. You know? But   he learned.   Yeah. And now he is one of the best beekeepers around. Mhmm. And I am not   I am not   prejudiced   at all.  

Yes. I do have to say he's my favorite beekeeper because I am married to him. But you don't have to comment on his skill. But   I'll tell you, he he will see things. So I also so we're done, for the most part, done with swarm season. Mhmm. And now it is cut out season. Yeah.   Although the swarms we didn't catch,   and somebody just let them fly away Yeah. Moved into somebody's house. Now a small percentage of them may have made it to a tree Mhmm. But not many because we don't Do a lot of them get into houses? A lot. Really? Because because I mean, I guess it's a good place for it to be We are taking   away their natural habitat.  

Yeah. You know, since they've been in this country. Okay? So in other countries, their habitat might be the side of a a cave. Mhmm.   But here, it's trees.   We don't really leave a lot of dead trees laying around No. Or hanging around. Yeah. We cut those down,   unless you're on a in a forest. Mhmm. We cut those down. So they don't have   if they're   in a, Relatively urban place. Yeah. Yeah. They have nowhere to go. Except your wall. Except the site. Because it's wood. Yeah. It's a tree. And it's probably nice and cool. And there's nothing there. Yeah. So why not?   And for the most part, they're not gonna damage. Mhmm. They're not   where if you get,   a squirrel   in your attic, you wanna have that squirrel   ethically  

[01:34:50] Unknown:

removed. Yeah.  

[01:34:52] Unknown:

It's important homework. Because they can do damage. I love squirrels.   I love squirrels. So I absolutely   would never   kill a squirrel   intentionally.   They can be safely removed. Mhmm.   There are companies that will safely relocate them.   We actually   rehabbed a squirrel Oh, yeah. Which is kind of illegal.   Don't tell anybody.  

[01:35:16] Unknown:

Again, just between us. Just between us and everybody that's listening.  

[01:35:20] Unknown:

But but I I'm also a smart person   that did the proper research to know the right way to do it. They're not pets. They're not meant to be pets. They need to be rehabbed and put back out in the wild,   where they can survive. Mhmm. Where if you domesticate   them, they're you know, I have cats also. I have dogs. I have cats. I have squirrels. I have bees. I have chickens. Yeah. I've had   squirrels. I've had skunks. I've had Skunks. Skunks. Oh, man. His name was Pepe.   Real original there. Yeah.   I had to keep him or teach him to be afraid. Yeah. And that's hard to do. You hear about all the time. Kids. Yeah.   You know,   you have to teach them stranger danger. Yeah. Or just that the stove is hot. Yes. You have to teach them that being afraid is is good sometimes.  

You need to be smart. So people would like, oh, can I pet him? Can you bring him to my birthday party? No. No. Sorry.   No. And I needed to protect him from the cat and teach him to be afraid of my cat. Yeah.   And we'd go outside.   He'd go I mean, all over me. I remember the day he learned that he wasn't magnetic when he tried to jump to the refrigerator   and just went   straight to the floor.   But, yeah, I had to let him go, and that was hard. That was harder than getting rid of my kids. I mean, letting go of my kids.  

[01:36:53] Unknown:

Getting rid of.  

[01:36:55] Unknown:

I'm sorry. I misspoke.   I do that a lot.   Yeah. We so we we put   here's the great thing about squirrels. I know this has nothing to do with bees. Patty, shut up.   But I can't help it.   They can be litter trained like a cat. Really? They can be trained to go to the bathroom in a litter box.   They put themselves to bed at night.  

[01:37:20] Unknown:

These squirrels are already better than my children. I know. Right?  

[01:37:24] Unknown:

And they smell   like   cinnamon.   Squirrels?   Yes. Really? The first time because it sounds like you're describing a magical I know. I said unicorn.  

[01:37:36] Unknown:

I'm I'm not a unicorn. They use a litter box. They go to bed when they're told. Right? And they smell like cinnamon.  

[01:37:42] Unknown:

It's crazy.   They're much better than my children. He would get up on my shoulder, and I'd go like this, turn my head, and just,   and he smelled like cinnamon. I thought maybe it's something I'm feeding him. Yeah. No. Is he getting into something in my house?   And then I looked it up.  

[01:37:59] Unknown:

Squirrel smell like cinnamon. It's a defense  

[01:38:02] Unknown:

mechanism   because cinnamon is hot.  

[01:38:05] Unknown:

Oh, okay.  

[01:38:06] Unknown:

So it is a it's a self defense against, like, an a a a a bird Yeah. An eagle or whatever trying to eat them. That would yes. And they would drop them because they think this is hot. I don't want it. I didn't know that at all. They smell like cinnamon.   Who needs a air freshener?  

[01:38:25] Unknown:

Just get a squirrel.   Just fill your house with squirrels. Yes.  

[01:38:30] Unknown:

And and he loved me. Yep. And so I I never thought I could fall in love with a rodent.   Yeah.   The skunk, on the other hand  

[01:38:41] Unknown:

Is that a different story? He did not smell like cinnamon on the resume. He he was dissented.   Okay.  

[01:38:47] Unknown:

But they still have kind of a icky, musty   smell, and they're a lot of work. Are they? They are you have to make them fresh fruit every day. Really? Or at least every week. Now this is sounding more like my children.   Exactly. Yeah. You they and I never felt   he never cuddled. Yeah. He never came and laid down. He was funny. He was cute. Yeah. We enjoyed him. Like, we How'd you come across a skunk?   Especially a decent Okay. You're wanting to go on another rabbit trail.   This is how we have four hour conversations. I don't know. Do you have ADD? I think you have ADD. No. I just like talking to people.  

[01:39:29] Unknown:

Oh, yeah. I mean, come on. You had you owned a scull or you had a skunk. That's not So my cat that I'd had for ten years when I first got married Mhmm.  

[01:39:38] Unknown:

So after after   being getting divorced, my ex did actually get custody of my cat Okay. Who was 18 years old. Okay? So I was extremely   attached to him,   but moved into an apartment   that I couldn't have a cat. Yeah.   So I went a few years without having a cat, and it was very hard for me. So when my now now husband and I got married   and we moved into   a condo Mhmm. The first thing I said is I want a cat. So we got a cat. And she lived to be about 10 years old.   When she died, she had a stroke Mhmm.   And could not   function from the waist down anymore. Okay.  

So   I said my goodbyes. Mhmm. And I went   to my son's graduation party, and I said to my husband,   take care of it. I don't wanna ever talk about it again. Yeah.   And I went to the party and proceeded to   cry and drink a lot. Or drink I meant drink and cry a lot. Drink and cry a lot in that order.   Honestly, I don't remember.   But, yeah, something like that. You get the gist of the story.   And so my husband   decided,   about a week later maybe to ease my pain I got you a a skunk? By buying me a albino  

[01:41:07] Unknown:

Okay. Skunk.   Okay.   I really like your husband. He sounds like a fun guy.  

[01:41:13] Unknown:

I'm sorry about your cat. Here's a skunk. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he did that with my cat that died   a year ago too. You got a skunk. No. He got me a kitten this time. Okay.   But,   yeah. I guess he just doesn't like to see me in pain, or maybe I don't cook as well when I'm in I don't know.   Because that there's another story attached to that too.   We could talk for days. I know.   I don't even know what time it is. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wine at 05:00, dude.   That's all I'm saying.   Wait. Can we open this now? Probably  

[01:41:48] Unknown:

no. You have to chill it. That's the all that's the other thing I'll tell you is it's better chill. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's mead almost always is. Yeah. Yeah. I did make a  

[01:41:59] Unknown:

k. Rabbit trail.   I did make a   pirate's blood   Wow. Several years ago. Why do I know that terminology? It's it's called pirate's blood mead. Okay. And it's it's not real blood. There's no real blood in it. No real blood in it.   It's made with a hibiscus tea.   Okay. And so   hibiscus   turns it bright red. I love hibiscus too. Looks like pirate's blood. Yeah.   And it was better refrigerated.   Yeah.   I mean, I'm sorry. I said that. It was better. It was better. Temperature. Not refrigerated.  

[01:42:36] Unknown:

Really? Yes. That's interesting.   Of almost every meat I've ever had Ivory? 100%?  

[01:42:42] Unknown:

That is typically the way it goes. But this was actually better   not refrigerated.   I mean, I would say okay.   No. A typical refrigerator is gonna be around 40.   Mhmm. Something like that.   I wouldn't say, like, room temperature being   75   degrees,   it needed to be like a 60. Sure.   So I actually had a special refrigerator   that was warmer that I keep my essential oils in it. Okay. So I'm also a certified holistic aromatherapist.  

[01:43:14] Unknown:

Oh, there you are. Which that's another  

[01:43:16] Unknown:

story. Oh, but but that story actually connects to all this.   It actually connects.  

[01:43:23] Unknown:

I'm excited to see how this all comes back and connect. I know. Right?  

[01:43:27] Unknown:

Next week.   I have an autoimmune disease. Okay. We talked about that on the phone. Yes. I have an autoimmune disease   that was debilitating   Mhmm. For several years,   where I was basically nonfunctional.   Mhmm.   It was even hard to eat.   And so in part of that process,   I of of finding answers,   I researched natural medicine,   any kind of alternative medicine that I could come across. Yeah.   And aromatherapy   was one of those. So I immediately went to school and became a certified holistic aromatherapist. So that actually ties in very well with the bees Mhmm. Because, hence, the healing balm Yep. That I sample that I gave you,   and the lip balm. So I also do   various holistic medicine that has the I I the healing balm. Actually, that one doesn't. But, I make   healing balm that has propolis in it. Okay. Propolis is something that bees   create   to seal up the hive, to secure it. It's antibacterial,   antifungal,   antimicrobial.  



[01:44:45] Unknown:

So So is honey for that matter, isn't it? To a probably a lesser extent because you can make mead out of it. So it's not  

[01:44:51] Unknown:

but the reason you make mead on it of it is because of,   I believe the peroxide level that's in it Okay. That the yeast starts to eat. Yeah. And then it eats eats on that sugar.  

[01:45:04] Unknown:

Well, I know for making meat, it's   honey is not actually one of the better things to make alcohol with it. You have to kinda give it some nutrients. The bible would disagree with you. What?  

[01:45:15] Unknown:

Because that's that's that's the oldest alcoholic beverage   known.   Yeah.   It is I I wait. I think I think the wine that Jesus made was probably made. Yeah. And and back in the day, they did a lot of it was like,  

[01:45:31] Unknown:

what you call like a pie mint Yeah. Which would be grape and,  

[01:45:35] Unknown:

honey. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So the term honeymoon   comes from honeymead.   It was traditional,   in in Judaism   Mhmm. To give a bottle of honeymead  

[01:45:50] Unknown:

to newlyweds. I did not know that. Because it's sweet.  

[01:45:57] Unknown:

It's supposed to be to   a sweet marriage Mhmm. A happy   sweetness.   I'm not sure exactly all of it. And I'm thinking to,   increase fertility.   Yeah. Because you were extremely blessed   if you conceived on your wedding night. Mhmm.   Yeah. So I'm guessing the Mead was also to, you know, progress that a lot Yeah. As well.   But that's where the term honeymoon comes from. I didn't know that. Yeah.   So, yes, you you can do all kinds of things with that. So back to  

[01:46:35] Unknown:

Honeymoon?   The squirrel. No. I'm sorry. The skunk.  

[01:46:39] Unknown:

Yeah. The skunk. That that was that was that didn't actually last long. No. That didn't last long. Because I wasn't at the time, I worked I did nails for thirty seven years. Mhmm.   And I just did not have the time Yeah. To give him all the attention that he   did. It's a lot of work. Yeah. It's a lot of work, especially a baby. Yeah. He was a baby.   But, yeah, he   last year, my cat died. That's a nightmare. We won't talk about that. But,   he was he was 16 years old   and very difficult to lose him as well. And then I went and did a class. So   let's get back to the business. Mhmm. I do education.  

Okay.   There. Let's tie it all in. There it is. I do education.   So I will do to certain groups free education Mhmm.   To kids,   because   changing   the world,   you can't get through to adults that have been programmed. Yeah. Like, we were talking about the lawns. Mhmm. You need to get to the kids. Mhmm. And the kids will get to the parents. Yep. Okay. So you get to the kids. You teach the kids   about bees and the value and how you shouldn't do anything. Use pesticides, herbicides, yada yada.   Then they're going to go to their parents and say,   oh, you know that's poisoning.  

Yeah. And the parents   many parents will think twice. Mhmm.   If not go, oh my gosh. I need to stop doing this at least in front of the kids. Yeah.   So I do free education for kids. Okay.   I will do small groups   Okay. That I do for free if I'm allowed to sell the honey. Okay. So I will set up a small table of honey.   And And what's the education around? Is it just bees in general? Bees. It depends on the audience. Sure. Depends on the audience.   I have   posters that I'll show.   I've done   the value   of   beekeeping   in homesteading  

[01:48:48] Unknown:

Okay. With I do you find that homesteading is becoming more and more popular? I wish it was more Yeah. Than it is. But it seems like there's a definite trend of people trying to There's also definite  

[01:49:00] Unknown:

huge expense to have enough land, and not everybody can do that.  

[01:49:05] Unknown:

But everybody can do something. Yeah. You know? Well, and bees are one of those things. Like, if if you want to homestead or You could have bees here. I know. Absolutely. My wife and I talk about it every year.   I think we'll eventually try to at some point,   probably after the birth and things settle down. Are a little older and Yeah. Yeah. Because it's it's a lot. But it's a kind of thing But I feel like it's a lot easier than having a cow. You know, it's like if you have a I want a goat. You want a cow? That's my next thing. But I live in the middle of Anderson Township and I wife wants a cow. And I I said a milk cow. Do you know how many how much milk a cow produces a day? It's like seven gallons or something. Yeah. Well What are we gonna do with all that milk? She's like, I'll make cheese.  

[01:49:48] Unknown:

Well We have three kids. Cheese,   butter Yeah. Sour cream,   whipping cream. I mean, there's   so much. I made my first butter a couple weeks ago. My wife actually made cheese. Yeah. Really good cheese. Mozzarella?  

[01:50:03] Unknown:

No. It was   what was it? A camembert, I think. Okay. I think it was a camembert. She took a cheese making class from some guy in Cincinnati.   And she did a she did a mozzarella, but I think it was   more but with I think she found it to be more difficult than   the Camembert.  

[01:50:23] Unknown:

Once you get the hang of it Yeah. It because it's a temperature thing. Yeah. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy. Yeah.   But making your own mayonnaise  

[01:50:33] Unknown:

Yeah. She does that.  

[01:50:35] Unknown:

So ridiculous easy. And   Why anybody buys mayonnaise is beyond me. Yeah. It's it's it's better. It's easy. Very easy.   A lot cheaper. Yeah. I have eggs. Yeah. So   I or I have chickens, so I automatically have eggs. So you have tons of eggs? Yeah. I don't know. Tons. We only have four that are laying. Okay. But that's four eggs a day, and there's only two of us. Yeah. And my son comes over once a week and steals some eggs, but that's beside the point.   So, yeah, their homesteading   is is more of a of a mentality   Mhmm. Of being more self sufficient. Yeah.  

Now that could mean that I learn how to make   butter. Mhmm. And my neighbor down the street has chickens. Yeah. So   that   butter has just turned into butter and eggs. Mhmm.   You know? And the neighbor over there   has bees.   So that now has turned into butter eggs and   so it's it's not just   I need a huge farm that I can do everything myself. Mhmm. It's getting networking  

[01:51:46] Unknown:

Mhmm. With other people with the same mentality Well, finding which one of those things you like to do. Yeah. You know? Like, if you the bees aren't for you, well, fine. You know? Maybe  

[01:51:57] Unknown:

herbs are. Yeah. Something like that. You know? Exactly. So, yeah, there's there's more to it than just buying a huge piece of property. Yeah. Now that's awesome. If you've got the money to do that, that's awesome.  

[01:52:07] Unknown:

And the time. I mean, that's I live  

[01:52:10] Unknown:

on a half acre in the middle of the suburbs. Mhmm. Which for being in the suburbs, I have a decent size   yard. Yeah. But you're not gonna find a huge piece of land unless you have a million dollars. Yeah. At least enough land to actually  

[01:52:25] Unknown:

To do something like that. Right? Right. And then you there's all kinds of regulations. Way in the work. I mean, it you know, you go on Instagram and you see somebody that's living this homesteading life, and you get the highlights. Right? Like, you get the Oh. Oh, look at all this fresh eggs and milk and all the what a wonderful life. But what you don't see is the sixteen hours that they're doing Yeah. Harvesting cabbage or something. You know?  

[01:52:48] Unknown:

I rarely   post on social media   getting stung.  

[01:52:53] Unknown:

Mhmm. Yeah. Why would you? Yeah. It's like, oh, here. Let me post all the crappy things about beekeeping.  

[01:53:00] Unknown:

Yeah. I mean, so yeah. There are some. There are some. Yeah. Because if it's entertaining sting Yeah. Like Michael had, it's monster swarm. Monster. I mean okay. I've got my hands, like, four feet apart here. Right? It was huge.   It was huge.   And he was not prepared. He wasn't on a swarm call. Yeah.   Okay.   So he did not have a jacket to put on, and they weren't really aggressive, but there was a lot of them. Yeah. So when he shook them into the box and, yes, any good beekeeper   always   has a box Mhmm. On it. Just all at all times. Now some bee and I wanna get one. They're called EZ Nukes.   Okay. So they're, like, either,   like, poly   plastic   or Okay. Cardboard.  

Okay. I wanna get one of those. Okay. Because   Turn around a big wooden box. It's it's hard. Do you have a wooden do you have a I don't. That's a car that car's new. So I don't I don't have anything in that. And I've been doing markets.   Right. So   but in my other car,   one of my seven vehicles,   we're trying to downsize the vehicles. Yeah.   But, yeah, it it they they go in the trunk, but they can't stay in there long. Okay. Where in the truck so if he's available,   he we take the truck, one of the trucks. Yeah.   And we put we just put him in a full size box because he's got lots of muscles to do that. And I I mean, I do it, but it's not   easy or fun Right. To climb up a six foot ladder with   a box. A box. Yeah. That has frames in it. Yeah. So, I mean, it's not 60 pounds, but it's   it's probably a good 20 pounds   with all the frames in it or more and climbing   up a ladder Yeah. With that. And it's and it's big too. It's not like it's It's not it's awkward.  

Yeah. It's not The weight is not the the only thing to factor in. Give me a 25 dumbbell. Pound dumbbell. I can do it. Yeah. So, yeah, it's awkward. It's it's complicated.   So, yeah,   they   Easy nukes. I need, like, a little bell.   Little reminder. What are we saying?   Oh, it was easy nukes? So, yeah, I want I wanna get one of those so that I can,   you know, carry things myself   Mhmm. And not be dependent.   Did you wanna try any more, honey? The way you've been You're eyeballing it. Have that. You keep eyeballing the honey. Yeah. I am. And I'm just over here, like, guarding it. Like, you're not allowed to I wanna try the spring honey, definitely. So   taste testing is easy with a lot of things. You know? You bring a plate. You take one.  

Honey can be messy. Mhmm. And I'm I don't like people touching   the honey. Oh, that's fine. So I always have to give it to people. It's fine by me. People do it themselves. It gets everywhere. There's honey everywhere.   So I very carefully properly   put it on this the the little stick and then hand it to you. That's fair enough. Yeah. So As long as the end result is me putting some honey in my mouth. That's the spring one. That's the one that I I I gave you.   Very light   and comby. Have you ever eaten honeycomb?   A while ago. I don't even know if I can remember what it was like. I I should've brought you some honey we'll have to come back and do that again. So that's the spring. Spring honey is primarily   heart aura   from trees.  

Okay. So the first thing, like, you've seen those things that dandelions are the first food of bee that's not true. It's trees. That's it's trees.   It's magnolia trees, dogwood trees,   black locust trees. We haven't gotten any black locust honey this year. I'm hoping,   that we'll get some had black locust before. Well, we have hives right here. Okay.   So hopefully,  

[01:56:53] Unknown:

when we pull that honey, hopefully, there'll be some black locust in there. Because people would use so, like, I don't mean I'm sorry. I don't mean to interrupt you.   When you go to the store, you see shelves of, like, you know, black locust honey, orange blossom honey, stuff like that. How do they actually  

[01:57:08] Unknown:

determine that price? Seen black locust honey in the store? Maybe Jungle Jim's.  

[01:57:13] Unknown:

Jungle Jim's has that whole, like Okay. That's possible. Because they they've got a whole bunch of But those aren't local probably. They might have No. No. No. They might have some that's local. There's a it's honey from all over. Yeah. Yeah. So there's they have tons of different varietals.  

[01:57:27] Unknown:

If it is specific. So   the problem with   honey   labeling   is   anybody can say anything they want. So that's not regulated? What's the thing that's regulated   is in the label. Mhmm.   There has to be an identification   to where that honey came from.   Okay. And that location is where it's bottled.   Okay. Not necessarily, which kinda makes sense. Yeah. Not necessarily.   Now I put on there where exactly where it came from. Okay. You read that. It came from Moscow. Gotcha. I can even tell you that came from Flourish in Rome. Oh, okay. Nice. There's a that's from the hives at Shout out to Flourish. I   love them. I love them. I'll tell you. You and her both crop up all the time when I'm talking to people. She is. And don't tell her I said this because she's, you know, she's very shy in that way. Mhmm. She's, like, the smartest person. Oh, easily. She is so,   so smart. I mean, I could tell that just from an hour conversation with us. They they're I mean, they both are. They both are. And their kids are adorable. They're I I love them both. I had she,  

[01:58:38] Unknown:

gave me one of their pork chops.   Those things were   outstanding. Yeah. Outstanding.  

[01:58:45] Unknown:

They they and and so ethical. That's the thing.   I can get jaded Mhmm. Being in this business because I see things. Mhmm. And I talk to people. I see some things that are that are upsetting sometimes.   From beekeepers   and just people at farmers markets Mhmm.   Was I won't mention any names,   but I was at a farmers market. This was years ago before we had the store.   And   went to talk to you know, I like to support other vendors. Yeah. Yeah. So at the end of the day, I'm gonna go see what I can buy from you or trade if you wanna trade. Mhmm.   And I go to this guy. It's Farmers Market,   and he had vegetables. Mhmm. I'm like, okay. I'll take some of that. I'll take that. I'll take that. And then in conversation   with him, he shares with me that he had purchased them   at Kroger.  



[01:59:42] Unknown:

No. He didn't.  

[01:59:43] Unknown:

And was selling them At a markup? Yeah. I I I don't know the prices. I don't I don't know. It it might not have been. And he said I mean, he'd have to be, or else why would you do that? He well, I asked him. You would lose money if you didn't sell it. Mean about it. I was   so taken back by the whole  

[02:00:02] Unknown:

thing. And I'm even be something I would assume. And he said because,  

[02:00:07] Unknown:

apparently, the market had lost their person that actually did provide   fruits and vegetables Mhmm. That he didn't want it to hurt the market by not having somebody there selling.  

[02:00:21] Unknown:

I guess that's fair enough.  

[02:00:23] Unknown:

I mean, that's kind of a  

[02:00:25] Unknown:

twisted way of I'm not gonna say it's deceitful, but it's awfully close.  

[02:00:30] Unknown:

But and and   there's a a woman at another market. Again, this is before I opened the store. So we're looking at five to six years ago.   Was looking in places to to sell Mhmm.   And went to this place that was nearby. It was a year round thing. You could go you pay for a year. So you can go set up a market any time you want. Mhmm.   Not just on the weekends.   And so I looked into selling, and they said they already have somebody   that sells honey.   This was not a beekeeper.   She bought the honey off of   I'm not even gonna say where. Okay.   A big name place that starts with a. That's all I'm gonna say. Okay.  

And and bottled it and sold it.  

[02:01:22] Unknown:

Really?  

[02:01:23] Unknown:

At a farmer's market.  

[02:01:25] Unknown:

I didn't even know things like that. You know, it's funny. I'd when I was talking to Crystal, she kind of insinuated that, at least in the term in   herbalist world Mhmm. That, you know, it's not like you go to school and get an herbalist degree. Right. You know, people can just say they're an herbalist and whether or not they actually know.  

[02:01:44] Unknown:

And that's why you need I actually just made a paste a post on my Facebook.   Get to know your beekeeper. Yeah. Or get to know anybody that's giving you food. Right. Exactly. You know? Get to know them. Where are they operating out of? Do are they knowledgeable?   Yeah.   Because   if I ask this woman about bees,   she wouldn't have a clue.   She wouldn't have a clue. Right.   You know? So you you need to get to know them. Talk to them. Ask them questions. Mhmm. You know? What's what's what's this do? What's this like? How does this you know? Ask them questions and get to know them. Yeah. And make sure that you're getting   legitimate   product. Yeah.  

Because there are and it's sad to say people go to a farmer's market thinking Well, I did just until this very moment,  

[02:02:32] Unknown:

I would go to farmers markets and I would never even assume Right. That somebody was doing that. You just think that it is what it says it is. Yeah. Yeah.  

[02:02:42] Unknown:

There   was another market   that I checked into   doing,   and they said, sorry. We have,   we've got somebody that sells honey.   I'm like, okay. Who is it?   They told me I did my research.   They're not even local.   It's real honey. They are beekeepers,   but it's not local. Yeah. Why would you turn down somebody that lives in your community where you're having this   farmer's market   for somebody that because it's on the label Mhmm.   Has the address of where it's bottled. Yeah. So as long as it's bottled here It can be from anywhere. People think it's and that's   certain honey that is that you would find at jungle gyms or even Kroger has some honey that Some honey's fake honey, isn't it? Like, it's not even You know what? We don't even think about those. Okay. We don't even count those. Okay. But that is a thing. That's a thing. That's totally a thing.  

You're going and I'll call them out. I'll call them out every day. Yep.   I won't call out persons, but these companies.   So what happens is   they   because you have to label where it's bottled Mhmm. Not necessarily   where it comes from. Now some companies are are more transparent,   and it will say a product of   wherever. Wherever.   But a lot of companies don't. They just they put like, I think Kroger, honey,   says   Cincinnati, Ohio. Mhmm.   Yeah. But that's not where the honey's from. And people but people don't realize that. If you know the rules, you'd know what to look for. Right. So   big companies,   these   funny honeys,   they will   they buy   so okay.  

Buying   honey from China.  

[02:04:44] Unknown:

Mhmm.  

[02:04:46] Unknown:

You're not allowed to do that. Okay. I mean, I don't know that I would say it's I mean, I yeah. I think it's technically   illegal. I think it's technically illegal. Yeah.  

[02:04:55] Unknown:

Well, yeah, I imagine most produce, you can't just Yeah. Buy in bulk from other countries.  

[02:05:01] Unknown:

But   name another country.  

[02:05:05] Unknown:

France.  

[02:05:06] Unknown:

France   can buy from China.   And then France can sell to The United States. The American company buys it from France.   Yeah.   Well, now once they get here, that's not allowed. Mhmm. So what they have to do is they have to remove the pollen because that's the only way you can trace it back to where it comes from. Yeah. It's by the pollen that's in it.   Now that's an expensive   process to get GCM best reports on honey. Yeah. You know? So you're not gonna do that on the honey that you buy at the farmer's market because, you know, that's, like, hundreds of dollar. Right.   But they will superheat the honey Mhmm.  

To the point that it's pasteurized.   Yeah. They press it through ultra fine filters, which removes all of the pollen that's in the honey. That sometimes changes the viscosity   of the honey so it's thinner.   And to raise that viscosity   back up to the thickness of   honey, they add the very, very healthy  

[02:06:09] Unknown:

corn syrup. Corn syrup. There it is. I knew you were gonna say corn syrup.  

[02:06:14] Unknown:

Because it's odorless. It's tasteless,   and it's   viscous. Yeah. So they add that to get that viscosity   back up, put it in a jar, and sell it. Yep. It will not crystallize.   Mhmm.   It   is considered parv, which means,   you can use it for Passover and certain things that require a certain   standard. Mhmm.   So it is so, like, when when you would have a Passover dinner,   they would use that honey because it's pasteurized.  

[02:06:51] Unknown:

Gotcha.   Man,   seedy world of honey.  

[02:06:56] Unknown:

Yeah. So   that's why you have to watch out for all those inexpensive honeys. Like this size bottle right here A 10. In Kroger of,   say, Sous Vide Honey. And, yes, I will mention them. Mhmm.  

[02:07:11] Unknown:

Is that the one that comes with a little teddy bear bottle? Yeah. Probably.  

[02:07:15] Unknown:

Would be, like, $5.  

[02:07:17] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it might've I mean, it's gonna vary. Something's too cheap to be You know, it's like if it's too good to be true It probably is. Probably is. Yeah. Yeah. So  

[02:07:28] Unknown:

that's what happens. Now as far as there I'm not gonna say that's all the honey Mhmm. And Kroger. Okay. I I shouldn't be picking on Kroger. It's not Kroger. It's any supermarket.   I try my best not to drive. I think you started it, though. I did. You started the name drop. Listen. If Kroger comes after us, I'm gonna send it to your house.   The Kroger mafia shows up or whatever. You know what? If you sold real honey, then it would be.   There are   in in supermarkets in general. It is not just Kroger. It's Walmart. It's Target. It's all of those places that carry   commercial   honey.  

There are some that are legit Mhmm. Raw honey. I think actually Kirkland   They just had a big no no thing of the Kirkland brand that they were busted for adulterating their honey. Really? I didn't I missed by a year ago. I've made money from their quote, unquote raw honey. It turned out okay.   Well, I don't think it's been recent.   Okay. The the the   report was a year ago Okay. Approximately.   So which means the actual occurrence was probably five years ago.   So I don't know.   But there are legitimate   raw honeys. Yeah. Okay? And when you're looking for the benefits of honey,   any raw honey   is gonna have some benefits. Yeah.  

But my issue is when it   not that the the maker of the honey intends to deceive Mhmm. But it's the people's lack of education as to what the address   on the label is really means. Right.   So there are honeys in   department stores. Well, this is Kroger specifically,   that the address on the label is local. Mhmm.   It is it is bottled here in this area. The honey might not be made. But the honey's not because it's commercial beekeeper. That doesn't mean it's bad honey. But if you're looking for health benefits because the pollen   local raw honey It's gonna have pollen in it. Well, local raw honey is gonna have local pollen. But if if that honey is   produced   in   Arizona   Mhmm. Arizona doesn't have ragweed.  



[02:09:47] Unknown:

Right. That's that's kinda what I was getting at. It's like if you're looking for health benefits and, like, to alleviate Let's talk about that for a minute because that's something I deal with on a regular basis.  

[02:09:57] Unknown:

The miracle benefits of allergies and honey. Mhmm.   And where there's a disconnect.   So you will hear one of two things.   You will hear people say, oh my gosh.   Local honey cured my allergies. Mhmm. I've heard that. And then you will hear people say, that's an old wives' trail. I tried it. It doesn't work. Heard that too. Here's the problem.   See that, honey? Mhmm. See this, honey? This is a fall, honey.   That honey   is not going to give you that miracle benefit   for   ragweed.   Because it comes from the trees. Because it comes from trees. Yeah. Yeah. What's in it is tree pollen. Yeah. Yeah. Not gonna help you for ragweed pollen.   And the most common allergy in Cincinnati   right here Mhmm. Is the spring allergy is   oak tree pollen.  



[02:10:49] Unknown:

Really?  

[02:10:50] Unknown:

Oak trees. The all of the the yellow dust that you see everywhere, that's from oak trees. Sense. Yeah. That's oak trees.   So the male parts   fall out of the trees and as it hits the branches, it poof poof poof. And that pollen can travel for five miles.   It's too bad that the people on the podcast can't see my gestures because   I talk with my hands as well.   I'm making little poofings with my fingers.   And that's how it's pollinated. Bees don't pollinate oak trees. But yet, it's the most serious   allergy in the Cincinnati area. Okay.   All honey,   local or not, is going to be somewhat beneficial because it's got the antioxidants   and the immune boosting properties. Mhmm.  

I make an allergy tea. Okay. It is the only thing. Typically, I leave all of that magic to Crystal. Right.   But years before I met Crystal,   I did my hardcore research. And and the thing about research   is you have to be able to look past the first thing that pops up on Google. Absolutely.  

[02:12:01] Unknown:

That is one thing that, at least from my world of marketing, people don't understand   how people are gaming.  

[02:12:07] Unknown:

Google can be wonderful. Yes. If you ask it the right question. But you've got to research your sources, not just your question. Yep. And you have to make sure you're getting credible sources.   So I   created this blend, and it's not a it's it's not a secret. Mhmm. Okay? You put on the label what's in it. Right.   But I I know   where you get   your herbs. Mhmm. And I know Crystal probably said this. I don't remember. But   if you're just buying   whatever   off of that other place that I talked about earlier that I didn't say the name that starts today? Yeah. That place.   If you're getting you don't know what you're getting? No. You don't know what you're getting.  

So you need to   make those connections   Mhmm. Or get it from somebody.   I think Crystal sells just about every herb you would ever need. Man, I so I don't know if you saw the picture. That was just a I've been in her house. I know. She told me that's just a fraction of her apothecary.   Yeah. That's a lot of herbs.   It was crazy. Yeah. You got a awesome   awesome jar collection Oh, yeah. Filled with stuff, but it doesn't compare to hers. No. It does not.  

[02:13:21] Unknown:

My my wife wants an apothecary. And when I showed her that picture, she was like, I think she was drooling a little bit. So you need to  

[02:13:28] Unknown:

make sure you know where you're getting your stuff. Yeah. You know? You can't just order it online.  

[02:13:34] Unknown:

Also, you know, not just know it, but,   you know, those relationships are important. Oh, yeah. Like, Crystal's a great person.  

[02:13:41] Unknown:

Sarah's a great person. Like, they're just good people. What's interesting is that you connected with all three of us Mhmm.   Totally separate. Independently.   It wasn't until after the fact that you knew that I knew them and they knew all of that. So that you must be doing a tremendously wonderful work   getting your sources.  

[02:14:01] Unknown:

I'm just I'm just looking up for people that would be interesting to talk to. How did you find me?  

[02:14:07] Unknown:

Instagram.  

[02:14:08] Unknown:

Okay. Yeah. It was I think you started following me on Instagram, and I was like, oh, I'd love to talk to somebody about bees. I like bees. I make mead. Did I? Mhmm.   I think you did. I wouldn't have been able to to message you on Instagram if I didn't. Or maybe it was Facebook.   It was one of the two. No. I wanna say it was Instagram. In the way I met Sarah,   it was, again, it was another kind of cold email to the Ohio Farm Bureau. Because I was like, I'd like to get somebody on about farming and talk about farming.   And then I got plugged into Sarah. And, actually, I think   I think   no. It was,   k k skiff   from the parks department. Okay. Because I wanted to talk to somebody about herbalism and   wild forging and things like that. And so she said, oh, you gotta talk to Crystal Ridge.  



[02:14:56] Unknown:

She's she's the best. Yeah. She's the best. So my I had my store for four years,   a little over four years.   And,   it   it it it   COVID caused it to grow. Mhmm. Yeah.   It I actually I'm probably one of the few businesses that got better because of COVID. Yeah.   Because people wanted   a place to come that wasn't disease infested like Yeah. That store that we're not gonna mention again. Yeah.   And all of a sudden, I was inundated with these other   makers   Mhmm. Who had no place to go to sell their stuff. Mhmm. And I have a store.   And I'm I I just said, well, you know, until somebody with a badge comes and knocks on my door and tells me I have to close, I'm I'm open. Yeah.  

And so I started building up all of these other   makers. Yeah. I had somebody that I I sold doll clothes. I sold books   Really? Jewelry,   and then crystal Mhmm. Jams, jellies, granola. I mean, all a wide variety of stuff.   So that's how I came across  

[02:16:10] Unknown:

Crystal. Crystal. Yeah. Yeah.  

[02:16:13] Unknown:

And so I sold lots of different stuff, all kinds of stuff. So when I closed the store,   I   couldn't do that anymore. Yeah. You know, I'm doing I'm just gonna stick with my things and even stopped making a few things that I'd made before. Yeah. I made soaps and stuff like that. Now I do that.   I make liquid soap Okay. Like a like a foam soap. Oh, sure. Yeah.   Because that's doesn't take as long. So when you make bar soap, it has to lie.   Lie too. For a while. I guess you'd probably have to do that with hand soap too.   So I just kinda I I I scaled back a lot of the things. I mean, I even made jewelry. Oh, really? So I scaled a lot of that back to just stick with my husband would have liked it if I had scaled more back.  

Yeah.   But Crystal's Firesider   Yeah. Is the one thing that I still sell. Yeah. Because I got so many people addicted to it, and I couldn't just That's good. Drop them. Yeah. It it I am You know the other thing, she gave me a bag of tea, like a calming tea Mhmm. That Katie has been drinking. She said it's  

[02:17:17] Unknown:

it's fantastic. Crystal described it as like a hug for your heart. And I asked Katie, I was like, is that and she's like, yeah. It's really nice.   It it calms me down. Yeah. So so,  

[02:17:27] Unknown:

but yeah. Fire cider was I make an allergy tea. Okay.   And I have I still make that because I got so many people addicted to it. Yeah. You know? Where they're like, I I can't breathe. Yeah.   March, April, May, I can't breathe without it.   So the allergy tea for things that the honey   does not cover, such as the oak tree allergies. That's actually how I developed the allergy tea Mhmm. Because my husband is severely allergic to oak trees, and guess what's in my front yard? A big oak tree. A huge   oak tree.   I'm like, you know, someday it's gonna hit get hit by lightning and fall down. And he's like, could've been yesterday, and I've been fine with it.   And he ended up in the emergency room multiple times   because it affected his lungs. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't, like, teary eyed. Yeah. Scratchy eyes, scratchy throat. It was I'm I'm dying here. Yeah. And he would have to go to the emergency room.  

So, again,   I do my research   and came up with this allergy tea   that helps with   allergies that honey   is not the magic cure for. Yeah.   Because you need to match what you're allergic to, and most people don't know what they're allergic to. Yeah. They know the season that they're allergic Yeah. But they don't know what it is in the air. And  

[02:18:51] Unknown:

And the Ohio Valley too. It's like well, if I heard that that pollen just comes right down the River Valley Mhmm. And it's just for   pretty much the whole year until winter and everything dies Right. Somebody's got allergies. So this fall honey, this is what started it. That's  

[02:19:09] Unknown:

The fall honey is that miracle pure. Okay. That's gonna be all the because it's got that ragweed. Because the primary thing in the fall Ragweed. Ragweed starts to bloom   August   through September Mhmm. Around in there. It it's gonna depend a little on rain, drought, that kind of thing.  

[02:19:29] Unknown:

Oh. Excited for the fall. It's got a lovely  

[02:19:32] Unknown:

dark It's it's dark,   rich,   caramelly   kind of taste to it. I I think you're gonna really like that one. But I could be wrong. I've been wrong before. Be honest. 100% honest.  

[02:19:50] Unknown:

No. I like that very much.   I you know, I like it equally as much as the spring honey.   I like them for different reasons. You know, the spring honey's kinda got that light That's my least favorite. I like it a lot, though. It's my least favorite. It's my husband's for well, besides buckwheat. My husband loves the buckwheat. It's the favorite. I wanna make up every when you get into mead making,   everybody tells you stay away from buckwheat. Correct. That is that is the best advice. Do not try to make mead with buckwheat. Though. I've heard people be successful. I I'm not sure if they have to   have you had buckwheat meat?  



[02:20:24] Unknown:

My husband made buckwheat meat. How did it go?  

[02:20:30] Unknown:

Yeah. It It's like molasses,   isn't it? Exactly.  

[02:20:34] Unknown:

Exactly.   So, yes, it is it in my experience,   which is I mean, not vast,   but I've made   made it for years and several batches.   The lighter your honey,   the better. Yep.   Now if you're like you made this one,   it's just straight mead. There's nothing in it. Awesome. So it's not really gonna matter as much. Yeah. But when you want to make a cherry mead Mhmm. If you use a darker honey,   you're not gonna get that that taste. Because, I mean, what was the honey that you just tasted? Very caramel, rich,   strong taste. Yeah. So that makes it good for cooking. Yeah.   It makes it good for to put in coffee. Yeah.  

Or with my husband, he drinks a black tea. Yeah. So in a black tea, the the the flavor of a black tea can hold up to that honey. Yeah. I drink herbal tea. It just drowned it out. Yes. Yes. So for me and what I my purpose is the orange,   the vanilla   Mhmm. The spring honey is the best in what I   Yeah. Drink. So it's gonna be individual for everybody. So I also make other magic things Okay. Besides the   body butters and lip balms. And it's just so many people loved it. Actually, my husband's boss.   Yeah. And so I have to make it because he always wants it. Yeah. That's his boss. Yeah.   That's okay. He would change bosses if   What is this? That is ginger.  



[02:22:08] Unknown:

Okay.  

[02:22:10] Unknown:

So I   do my ginger a little different   than some people do. I'm not gonna give away all my secrets, but it has a little bit of heat to it.   Mhmm. Did you say you like ginger or you didn't like ginger? I'm not a fan. You're not a fan. But what about that?  

[02:22:28] Unknown:

It hasn't changed my mind on ginger. Right. But do you hate it? No. I don't hate it. Okay. Okay. That's fair. I wouldn't munch on it, though. But that's just because I don't like ginger. Right. It's not that I don't like ginger. It's not one of my my husband hates lemon. Really? Everybody has their thing, and that's okay. That's okay. It's good, though. I don't wanna say that it's not good. That's fine.   You know, if I had an upset stomach, that would be really nice, though. Okay. So I also make these little licorice drops,  

[02:22:56] Unknown:

and I hate licorice. Yeah. My husband loves licorice. I love black licorice. But it is the best for your gut. If you have indigestion   or anything like that, chew on one of these   and everything settles down. Yeah.   I hate licorice,   but   if I have an upset stomach, I'm gonna go eat one. Yeah.   Ginger is the same, but it's a little different. Ginger is more for nausea.   Okay. I'm talking,   like, the licorice is good for  

[02:23:29] Unknown:

I'm about to vomit? No.  

[02:23:31] Unknown:

Gas Oh, okay. Indigestion,   that kind of thing. Loading in your stomach Yeah. Yeah.   Where the ginger's not as effective. Okay.   But, yeah, if you've got nausea, the ginger every day of the week. Yeah.   So, yeah, everything's got a different purpose. But he absolute he he'd eat them like candy. I eat the ginger like candy. Yeah.  

[02:23:53] Unknown:

No. Like I said, it's not it's not that it and, you know, oddly enough, I do like ginger ale,   but it's just like straight ginger.  

[02:24:01] Unknown:

Well, I mean, and it's a little different. It's a little diff like like, if you've got   oriental   ginger in your head Yeah.   Yeah. No. That's not  

[02:24:12] Unknown:

Like like I think about  

[02:24:14] Unknown:

That can be hot.  

[02:24:17] Unknown:

I'm also not a huge like, I I don't like ginger in food. Right. You know? That is something about again, not to say that that was   horrific or anything. It's just not my cup of tea.  

[02:24:28] Unknown:

And I appreciate your honest   opinion. I really do. Well, I told you I'd be honest with you. Well, I mean, I tried to take bring some of the more mild ones   for the honeys.   But, yeah, the ginger you had, I wanted you to try that just because I wanted you to try that. And then we also have bee pollen.   Now we take   the pollen from the bees   a little differently than a lot of people do. Okay. Also,   there is a   it's it's called a pollen trap. Okay. Basically, it is designed   to be just big enough for the bees to go through when they come into the hive. Mhmm. And it will knock the pollen little pollen balls. If you see, they're little balls. The the bees will collect the pollen, mix it with nectar  

[02:25:17] Unknown:

Mhmm.  

[02:25:18] Unknown:

And then pack it onto   the hairs on their back legs. Mhmm. So you'll see the bees flying around with their saddlebags on their legs. So what it this does is it as they go in, it knocks us off and it goes into a trap.   It's not that I have a problem with   taking it from them. We only take it from strong hives. Mhmm.   Because they use the pollen too. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. The baby bees need the pollen more than anything. They absolutely have to have a pollen source to feed the baby bees. Mhmm.   It could be my female beekeeping  

[02:25:58] Unknown:

Mhmm. Mentality  

[02:26:00] Unknown:

is   I feel like it   damages.   It can damage the hairs on their legs by ripping it off like that. Yeah. Yeah. And so I don't like that way to do of doing it.   So we we have another way that's a little less   aggressive. Super private. Just give give me your hand. Yes.   Oh, that's a lot. That is? Should I eat all of it? Well, I it's you should be fine. Okay.  

[02:26:30] Unknown:

But I mean, I'm not I'm not gonna explode or something. Well I've never had bee pollen. No. No.  

[02:26:35] Unknown:

Roll it around on your tongue.   It should be a little squishy but firm,   a little powdery but sweet.   People will put it in a salad or a smoothie,   or tea.   I like the way it tastes, so I will just take it straight. I did do it slightly bitter, I think.   It can have a slight bitterness. That's what I call like a dry. Yeah. Yeah.  

[02:27:02] Unknown:

And you'll see like chamomile. That's what I'm thinking of. Yeah. Yeah. It's got a chamomile,   like, that kind of,  

[02:27:09] Unknown:

fresh cut And so grass like that. Different batch to batch, year to year, beekeeper to beekeeper.   What colors are in there? Like, you'll if you look closely, you'll see some that are white. Yeah. See some that are amber. Yeah. Yeah. See some that are gray, and you're like, gray pollen.   So it's gonna have different colors in there. Now I do   dry mine. Okay.   Not everybody does. If you don't dry it, it can ferment.   Okay. So you have to keep it in the refrigerator.   And since I go to markets and stuff, I find it best to dry it slightly so that it has a less   chance of fermenting on you.  

It also improves the the the shelf life. Yeah. Without removing because I cooked it at at 200 degrees for about twenty to thirty minutes.   Okay. So it's not   cooking cooking it. Yeah. Yeah. You're not losing any of the benefits of it. It's just dries it out a little bit so that it is a little more If you didn't dry it, would it be, like, weird and gummy or something?   I think it's slightly sweeter.   Okay. And it's definitely mushier. Okay. It's way mushier. Because what it does is it just evaporates   Yeah.   The water up out of there. Yeah. Yeah.  

I mean, it's still you could just, like Oh, no. It was mushier. Still press it. Yeah. Yeah. It wasn't like it just fell apart in a powder. But it's like a honey soft, not a water soft. Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. Yeah. So there's it it removes the water out of it. Yeah. It still has honey. Yeah. Still has that nectar in there, so it's still gonna be kinda soft.  

[02:28:44] Unknown:

What would somebody use?   You had a issue. You said cooking and  

[02:28:48] Unknown:

That's how you would use it, not necessarily why you would use it. Why is the enzymes   Okay. The beneficial enzymes.   So it it has brain  

[02:28:59] Unknown:

Okay.  

[02:29:00] Unknown:

Benefits,   heart benefits,   gut benefits, and just general   health benefits.   It can   have the the pollen can help with the histamine reactors. Okay. Again, same thing as with the honey.   If You gotta get in the red. That pollen's not in. You you're still gonna get all the other benefits. Yeah. Yeah. It does not have to   be a part of the all tree pollen and you're allergic to ragweed, it's not Exactly. Exactly. So it's all gonna help a little bit.   Ideally,   you want to   I use the term and I hear a lot of people   use the term to boost your immune system. Mhmm.   I have an autoimmune disorder. Mhmm. I have an overactive immune system. Need to be boosted. I don't want to boost my immune system. I want to reeducate my immune system. Right. So you want to have smart   immune system. Mhmm. Most people,   there's nothing wrong with their immune system strength.  

There's something wrong with its identification.   Sure. So you have to I you have to educate   your immune system Yeah. To know what is okay to respond to and what is not.   If you   get a big cut on a rusty fence Mhmm. Yeah. Go after that.   Right. Go after that. Right. But but getting   inhaling pollen from a tree,   Don't react to that. So you want to train your immune system what it's supposed to react to and what it's not. Yeah.  

[02:30:36] Unknown:

And I imagine it's a very similar concept. I'd, you know, hear those crazy people who will take, like, tiny doses of snake venom to just   get used to it over and over and over again. Okay. Something that is  

[02:30:48] Unknown:

deadly?   Well, I'm not suggesting people do that. I don't know that I'd say that. Pop. Now  

[02:30:54] Unknown:

I I tell But it's the same concept. Like, if you just introduce little doses of it You start microdosing.   Exactly. Then the body gets used to it and understands what it is. I tell everyone to start with two or three grains. Yeah. Don't nobody out there drink snake venom or something. That's probably not a good idea. I mean, this this is this is not medical advice. This is absolutely not medical advice. We are not medical professionals.   We are I just say that halfway through our Crystal's episode. By the way Yeah. We are not medical professionals,  

[02:31:24] Unknown:

but I play one on TV. Yeah.   So, yes, I suggest that people start small. Okay. Because you can't be allergic to the pollen. Oh, sure. Yeah. And you can have a reaction. I I have I've never seen a severe reaction,   but people have tingling on their tongue.  

[02:31:42] Unknown:

Oh, that would  

[02:31:43] Unknown:

You know? Yeah. So that that indicates that there's something in there that you're kind of allergic to if it's not painful. What kind of dose are you talking about? Like a little tiny one or Oh, yeah. We wanna start small. Okay. You wanna start, like, seriously, depending on how big you are. Mhmm. Okay? If you're a hundred pound   female,   k, females have more fat cells. Mhmm. So we're gonna store things in our fat. Yeah. Men are more muscle Mhmm. And so they don't. So females have to be slightly more careful. Okay. And so a female would start with one grain.  

[02:32:17] Unknown:

Okay. One So that tiny of a one grain. Okay. But because you wanna tell, is my tongue reacting? Yeah. Is my mouth reacting? Yeah. I guess you wouldn't want a whole spoonful just in case you suddenly have a Exactly. Big reaction to it.  

[02:32:31] Unknown:

So if I don't have a reaction, I take that one grain   every day Mhmm. For a week.   Okay. Now are you gonna see   huge benefits from that? No.   You're not. Mhmm. But you're gonna say,   I'm not allergic to it. Right. And it's building up. So next week, what do I do?   Go to two, maybe   three. Combinating at the end in about a teaspoon.  

[02:32:58] Unknown:

Okay.  

[02:33:00] Unknown:

If your field if you have a specific thing that you're taking it for,   when you achieve that goal, that's when you stop. Okay. So   pollen's expensive.  

[02:33:11] Unknown:

Okay.  

[02:33:12] Unknown:

So why spend money you don't have to? Right. And, again, I'm a bad business person because I should be saying, like, I take two tablespoons a day. You need to have a whole jar. I know. I know.   Persons   over profits. Yeah.   So, yeah, you you build up. When you feel say you've done a half a teaspoon a day. Mhmm. After a week,   you're feeling   relief. You're feeling better. Stick there. Yeah. Stick there with a with a teaspoon or a half a teaspoon a day. You know? If if you   don't find the results you're looking for and you're at a teaspoon a day, I would still suggest stopping there Mhmm.   And looking for something that might   help in addition to, like the allergy tea or something like that. Right. So yeah. It is   I've never heard of anybody dying from it, but   nobody wants an unpleasant reaction. No.  

A few years ago, I so we also saved bumblebees.  

[02:34:13] Unknown:

Okay.  

[02:34:14] Unknown:

I I I have soft spot for bumblebees.  

[02:34:17] Unknown:

I mean so   honeybees I thought bumblebees were solitary. Are they not?  

[02:34:24] Unknown:

Let me explain how that works. Okay. Solitary   bee does not mean that there's one bee. Okay. It's kinda like the difference between   this is a single family home. Mhmm. How many people live in this home? One. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's your family. So it's you, your wife, and two and a half kids. Mhmm. Yeah.   So that's kinda the way solitary bees are. Okay. It is never So they're still slightly communal? It's one little family. It's one family. It's a mom, dad, and three kids. Okay.   Where   a colony   of honeybees,   that's like an apartment building. Yeah. There's lots and lots and lots and lots and lots. Gotcha. And nobody has their own room. Everybody has to share. Right. Oh, a dormitory. More like a dorm. It's like a dorm. It's like a dorm. And everybody's your sister. You're in a fraternity in a dorm.  

And the boys just come for have a good time and eat, and then they they get knocked out.   So, yeah, that's that's the difference. So bumblebees   are solitary bees, but they live in,   like, a multifamily house. Okay. So she's gonna have more kids than a Mason bee. Okay. Okay?   But the same kinda gig, they actually do store, but they're   what I would call a weekly shopper.   Okay. Where honeybees are hoarders. Sure. So they've got it. They store up enough. They fill up the refrigerator   with enough for a week. Yeah. So if it rains for a week and they can't get out to get collect some pollen or or nectar, they're   okay. Honeybees   will collect so much honey that if you do not take it,   they could,   the queen could run out of room to have babies   to lay eggs. They will actually store honey to their own ultimate collapse.  

Oh, wow. I didn't know that they could overproduce honey. Oh, yeah. Oh. Oh, yeah. You get honey bound. There's no place for the queen to lay. It's gonna take it's gonna take a minute. Yeah. Yeah. But all of a sudden, she's laying 2,000 eggs a day, and all of a sudden now she's laying 10 a day because that's all the room she has. Yeah. And then it collapses in far enough. And then the bees get a little upset. Yeah. Yeah.   Because if mom ain't happy,   nobody's happy. Right.   So, yeah, with bumblebees, they're like weekly shoppers. So their whole   their whole nest,   which is typically in the ground, but I've seen some crazy things.  

I've seen them in soffice  

[02:37:12] Unknown:

Oh, really? In attics,   underneath tarps. What do they even look like? I don't know if I've ever seen a bumblebee nest. Oh, I could look up a picture and show you. Oh, that's fine. Or you could look up a picture. I could. I have well,   let me make sure I'm not   oh, good.  

[02:37:27] Unknown:

So bumblebees   are a little larger   than than a than a,   honeybee.   And   they're furry and they're they vary. So it can be,   black and white, black and yellow and white. Something like that. Nest. Okay. Yes. So it's a little more chaotic. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely more chaotic,   than the honey bees. Honey bees are extremely hygienic   and extremely organized.   Mhmm. Bumblebees, not so much. Yeah. Kinda like artists. It's kinda like a free for all in there. Yes.   It's there's no up and down Yeah. In there.   But bumblebees   are   I think six of the   bumblebees are on the endangered species list. Are they really? Yes. I didn't know that. They are actually the only bee that is on honeybees are not endangered.  

No. Honeybees   are and and when I first heard this term, I didn't like it.   But they're livestock. They're considered   livestock like you would have cows or chickens. Yeah.  

[02:38:36] Unknown:

I don't know if the cows are endangered by any stretch. Right. So they're managed.  

[02:38:40] Unknown:

Mhmm. So even though they have trouble,   they're they they they struggle. Mhmm. They're managed. And there's there's,   so far,  

[02:38:48] Unknown:

nothing that we can't handle. Yeah. And lots of people are invested in their well-being. Yes.  

[02:38:55] Unknown:

Bumblebees,   they're cute,   but people are terrified of them. Because they're gigantic or they look big. I mean, they're they're I mean, they're they can be they can actually be quite small. I've seen some that really they're a little fatter Mhmm. But no longer than a honeybee.  

[02:39:12] Unknown:

Mhmm. And then I've seen some that were two inches long. I know. Do they have I don't even know if they sting. Do they sting? Or is there carpenter bees that don't? Oh,  

[02:39:20] Unknown:

yeah. All bees can sting   except males.   Okay. So the male   bumblebees, male carpenter bees, male honeybees,   I honestly don't know as much about bees and wasps. I mean, the male wasps,   but I would assume that it's the same thing. Yeah. That the males can't sting.   But all female bees can sting. Okay. But they are very docile. Yeah. And   honestly,   I want to say I've never heard of a verified   case except my own   where someone was stung by a bumblebee. Okay. But like I How's it compared to a honey bee sting?   Well, here's the thing. My husband has been stung. We also rescue bumblebees. Mhmm.   So we were on a call.  

I think it was in Anderson.   It was 2001   or '2.   And we got on a call and it was where they were   redoing their driveway. So they were digging up the concrete driveway,   and unearthed   a bumblebee's nest. Called us. You can only do it at night. When you can do it during the day, but that would be stupid. That would be suicide.  

[02:40:41] Unknown:

They can't see. How many how many did you say are in there?  

[02:40:44] Unknown:

This particular one,   fifteen.   Okay. So they're not it's not No. No. No. No. No. It's a teeny I mean, it's it was about that big. Okay. Not as big as a a large apple or a grapefruit. Okay.   So you have to wait till after dark. We use red lights Mhmm. Because they can't see the color red. They see on the ultraviolet spectrum. Yep. So they cannot see the red light. So we're invisible.   In the dark, we're invisible. As long as there's no other light but the red light, we're invisible.   And where I   I would say almost   never wear gloves, beekeeper gloves Mhmm. When doing honeybees.  

I I feel like   they're in more danger if I can't feel them Yeah. Than I am. And I don't wanna squish them. And I would squish them if I if I can't feel them. So beekeeper gloves, I but with bumblebees,   you have to physically   pick that nest up Yeah. With your hand. So I'm wearing my gloves.   I'm wearing nitrile gloves and then the the cow skin gloves over top of that.   But that's not how I got stuck.   So   Michael was checking out the, you know, the lay of the land of their nest.   I was over talking to the homeowner Yeah. Who was under the light of her   patio. Yeah. Yeah. And I was talking to her,   and I flipped my light up Mhmm. My red light so it wasn't directly in her face. Mhmm. And I talked to her a few minutes, and then night fell. Soon because it gets dark, okay, we can go do this. And I walked over there and we have we've developed   you do this, I do this, you do this, I do this.  

It's like, okay.   So   I forgot to flip my light back down. Mhmm.   And I went   down,   crouched down. Yeah. Now I'm old. Yeah.   You didn't have to say that. I didn't you know, I said yet. I know. I said I said be honest, didn't I? Okay.   So   I'm down there with him, and I I pick it up, and I'm putting it in the box.   Everything's fine. And then I got a cramp in my leg because I'm old. Yeah.   And so I stood up.   Okay? Now when I stood up, I stood into the light from the deck Yeah. Or from her porch,   and   my light was never up. So I then stepped out of his red light Yeah. So   she could see me. Yeah. And one of them came up and landed right on my stomach. Yeah.  



[02:43:34] Unknown:

And just No. No. No. No. No.  

[02:43:39] Unknown:

Then I did another stupid day.  

[02:43:42] Unknown:

Yeah.  

[02:43:43] Unknown:

And it was a loose shirt, so I took my glove and   Yeah. Like that. That was stupid.   Not the right move. And she went down, and I thought I felt something.   It wasn't horribly painful,   but I thought I felt something. So I just ignored it,   stretched out my leg, went back down there, finished picking up the bees. Yeah.   We're all done. Thanks a lot. Goodbye. Goodbye.   We get in the truck. I get in the truck, and I said,   I think I might have gotten stung by a bumblebee.   Yeah. And my husband says,   no.   If you think you got stung, you didn't get stung. Is it a painful If you get stung by a bumblebee, you know it. I'm like, okay.   I've also given birth three times,   and you haven't. So   our pain threshold might be a little different.  

But I'm like, okay. Maybe I didn't. That's fine. So we get home. We bury the bees because they live underground. We gave them a new home underground,   at my house. Mhmm. So I was so excited to have bumblebees at my house.   They do go away. They all die out at the end of the year and the queen overwinters  

[02:44:57] Unknown:

Okay.  

[02:44:58] Unknown:

Someplace else.   So they don't live there anymore.   So after we bury the bees, I go in the bathroom and I look and sure enough,   did little about the size of a nickel. Mhmm. It was red, slightly, just slightly inflamed   with a little hole in the center. I got stunned. Yeah. Seems like a sting.   I come out, tell my husband. I'm like, well, at least I'm not allergic.  

[02:45:21] Unknown:

Right. I've proven that. Right? Off the off the box   or off the list. Yeah. I'm like, cool.  

[02:45:27] Unknown:

Went to sleep   about 10:00,   10:10, eleven, something like that. Woke up at 4AM.  

[02:45:34] Unknown:

Mhmm.  

[02:45:35] Unknown:

I felt like I was having multiple aneurysms in my head. From a bumblebee sting? I had a 104 temperature,   and my whole back you ever fall, like, off a ladder or a good hard fall and you just feel like your internal organs are wrapped around your spine? Mhmm.   That's what it felt like, only it wouldn't stop.   Oh. Oh, it was From a bumblebee?   From a bumblebee. I had what's called bee serum sickness.  

[02:46:03] Unknown:

Oh.  

[02:46:04] Unknown:

So it's kinda like   getting a flu shot. Okay. So that's a live virus that they're putting inside of you, and you can get sick from it. Yeah. Yeah. You can have symptoms from it. So b serum sickness, same thing.   I got injected with it, and it's   like I'm allergic. Right. Right. My immune system is overreacting   because although   I have controlled my   autoimmune disorder Mhmm.   It got stung by a bee, and it wanted to overreact to it.   I went into early stages of organ failure Oh, you didn't. Which is the number one cause of COVID deaths. Oh, I can't believe I said the c word.   I said the c word. I apologize for the c word.  

It's it's not they don't die of   that. Yeah. Yeah. They go into organ failure. Yeah. And that's why they die.   I was in early stage organ failure. Oh, would did you have to get, like, an EpiPen or something? Oh, no. I don't do nothing. Nothing. But we Muscle through it? No. I I ate my ginger. Yeah. I took my fire cider. I sent my husband to get, I mean, lemons. Yeah. Because I was in no condition to drive. Yeah.   Got me lens lemons, and I bought a,   this cool lemon juicer   Yeah. On that place that you order things online, and they were there the next day. Yeah.   It's awesome.  

No no hurting your hands. You just cut it and it just automatically zips it out. It's wonderful. I love it.   And so I started dousing I make wonderful   lemonade   Okay. With my honey.  

[02:47:46] Unknown:

I love lemonade. With with real honey. You ever make Arnold Palmer's half and half iced tea and I don't like iced tea. Oh, have you ever had an Arnold Palmer? I have. Now what I had was  

[02:47:57] Unknown:

the one in a can.  

[02:48:00] Unknown:

Oh, I mean, those are okay in a pinch.   Okay. Actually, the ones at, Kane's chicken that Okay. That fat they have really good Arnold Palmer's. Alright. But I'd I love unsweet iced tea. So Oh, see. I don't. Yes. If you don't if you're not a tea fan to begin. So I drink out of a mug about that size. Mhmm. So it's not eight ounces. That's probably  

[02:48:22] Unknown:

12 ounces, I guess. Yeah.   And in my tea, I put a whole tablespoon of honey. That's a lot of honey.   Well,   I have a lot of honey. Well, you have   Not at any convenience.   Yes. I like my tea sweet. Yeah. I don't do the unsweetened thing. Yeah. So I just I've never liked sweet things. Now my lemonade, I do honey, honey, and My lemonade, I make normal. Mhmm. So my lemonade,   I'll use eight ounces of the juice, fresh squeezed juice.   I always do keeps a little bit of extra on the side in the refrigerator because I also use it in cooking. Okay. If you don't cook with lemon juice, with real lemon juice, you need to start. Okay. I mean That's okay, Katie. It it it's simple things like livening up your pasta. Mhmm. Or lemon in general.  

[02:49:12] Unknown:

Yeah. I'd I really like lemon.  

[02:49:15] Unknown:

I make a pasta cooking. And I put a couple tablespoons. After it's all cooked and buttered and all of that, just put a couple of tablespoons of of lemon juice in it. Yeah.  

[02:49:25] Unknown:

And, wow, it brings it to life. Well, not only that, but I feel like it lightens it. Yeah. You know, you get, like, a heavy Alfredo or something like that. It can just sit in your gut.  

[02:49:33] Unknown:

But See, now I make   an amazing Alfredo. Do you really? I do. I do.   Yes. I could have brought you some of that because we had leftovers in the refrigerator. But   I love to cook. I love to experiment, and I have a really good   sense of taste. Yeah. Like, if you   cook something and sit it down in front of me and I taste it,  

[02:49:55] Unknown:

I can pretty much tell you everything that's in it. My wife's the exact same way. I can't That's what makes a good cook. Yeah. I know. And she also likes experiment. That's why she's a really, really good cook.   She struggles with baking sometimes.   Whereas   I am a good well, she doesn't struggle with it. She actually makes great sourdough.   But because when she's cooking, you know, she can just throw stuff in there. Right. Taste it. When you're baking a loaf of bread, you can't just It's in there. You gotta all you got is prayer. Yeah. No. It's like you can't just start throwing stuff in there and hope that it comes   out. It's like you've gotta go by the book. Yeah. If you wanna cut saltiness,  

[02:50:30] Unknown:

put a little sugar in it. Yeah. Yeah.   If you wanna cut sweetness, put a little salt in. I mean so, yeah, those are things you can't do with baking. If you don't get it right before you pop it in the oven You're done. You're done. Then you just put icing or honey on it, and it's and then it whatever it is, it's okay because it's Well, the good thing is is it it won't ever come out inedible.   Right. Right. But it's not gonna be Well, I mean,   I ordered   it's not baking, but still.   I was at a very high end restaurant.   Mhmm. Very high end, long standing, been around as long as I can remember Mhmm. Restaurant,   ordered a   sweet potato, a baked sweet potato Sure.  

With cinnamon sugar on the side. Mhmm.   This was several years ago.   And   I came. Everything looked beautiful. I always cut into my steak because I like it very rare. Yeah. And they like to overcook it. Yeah. It's like when you tell them you like it rare, they don't believe you. Oh oh, and so I emphasize.   Mhmm.   Walk it through a warm room.   What?   I wanna I wanna char on the outside Yeah. But I want it to moo when I stick my fork in it. Mhmm.   That's what's wonderful about Flourish and Rome. Yeah.   Yeah. They knew when you stick your fork in them.   And I'm like, okay. I'm digging in. This is good. This is good. Okay. I smoosh up my sweet potato and get it all ready for the cinnamon sugar, and I sprinkle it on there. And I take a grip of bite,   and it was cinnamon   salt.  

Yeah.   It was it was yeah. Wow.   So, yeah, it doesn't work that way.  

[02:52:16] Unknown:

No. It does not.  

[02:52:18] Unknown:

Instead of itself. Yeah. It was horrible.   I think I got my dinner for free. That's good. Yeah. Yeah.   So where were we?  

[02:52:32] Unknown:

Actually, I think this is probably a good place. Are we close it up already? I think we are after let me look at the time here.   I you know, Sarah was a long one. Three hours in. This is officially the longest one.  

[02:52:46] Unknown:

So I think because if it wasn't, we'd have to go for another ten minutes. Because I've already told you, if I can't be the best Then why do it at all? Not gonna do it at all.  

[02:52:56] Unknown:

Alright. Before we close out You're gonna have an awful lot of editing to do. No. It's that's the great thing about this. It's going up as is. All cuts on the first side. No.   It'll be fine.   But why don't you go ahead and tell everybody again who you are, what you do, how they can  

[02:53:11] Unknown:

get in touch with you? Save your bees. If you need honey, if you've got bees that you need removed, if you find a swarm,   give me a call. 51368484.   And except for these past three hours in which I've missed +1, 234-5678.   10.   10. 10   calls in this three hours.   I I always answer my phone.   Perfect.   Yeah.   So,   check out my Facebook page, Save Your Bees. It's Save Your Bees for Life. That's the number four life on,   Instagram,   and I have a web page. But as I said earlier, I'm old, and I'm not really good at keeping up with that.   So the best way to see what I do, and I've got tons of videos, fun, awesome videos,   is my Facebook.  

But if you're young and you want the condensed version,   check out my Instagram. Instagram.  

[02:54:11] Unknown:

Perfect. Well, Patty, thank you so much. And we're gonna have you back on because if for nothing else, you make my job easy. So  

[02:54:20] Unknown:

so thank you. At least it wasn't four hours.  

[02:54:23] Unknown:

It was a a shade under.  

[02:54:25] Unknown:

Well, we'll have to   listen back to this and see what we actually covered.   And then what did what did I not get a chance to talk about? Yeah. Yeah. And then we'll just see how that goes.  

[02:54:37] Unknown:

Thank you. Nearly stopped recording here.   Well, I hope you enjoyed that interview.   I enjoyed talking to Patty. She   she really made my job a a lot easier,   just being able to talk.   So,   I really enjoyed it. Thank you again, Patty, and, and we'll have her back on before too long.   And with that,   we're gonna move into some events around the county.   We're gonna start with the Forged Jewelweed Salve on July 11 from 6PM to 8PM at Clingman Park.   This is gonna be a short off trail hike to collect Jewelweed stems, and then you're gonna simmer and strain and make an old fashioned salve.   And   I guess this salve can, soothe poison ivy and bug bites.  

There's gonna be a little take home tent included.   They do tell you to wear long pants and old shoes because you're gonna be, you know, traipsing around the woods,   but   that sounds like a really, really great event. There's a Creek Days at the park on July 11 at 1PM at Sycamore Park,   and that's gonna be for kids and adults. And a naturalist is gonna be around, and you're gonna be able to play in the creek. And I'm sure the naturalist will tell you all about, you know, like fossils and critters in the creek.   So if,   if that sounds interesting to you, I'd head out there.  

The Loveland Concert in the Park   Blacktop Rodeo, July 12,   from 6PM to 8PM at the Nisbett Park Amphitheater.   This is gonna be, well, obviously, a concert with Blacktop Rodeo, which is a country rock quintet   that brings pedal steel twang and three part harmonies.   You can grab dinner from downtown restaurants, and it I believe this amphitheater is in the Dora District, so you can have some some alcoholic beverages while you listen,   to Blacktop Rodeo. You can bring your dogs. Just make sure you put them on a leash.   Miami Township concert, the Sycamore Community Band on July 12 from 6PM to 8PM.  

That's gonna be at the Community Park on Buckwheat Road. This is a 60 piece concert band, and it's gonna mix patriotic patriotic   marches   with Christmas in July   melodies. And as a special treat, mid set,   Santa's gonna come for photos. They were able to get him from the North Pole.   Hopefully, in this heat, he'll wear some shorts.   I think his normal attire might be a bit a bit much.   But you can pack a picnic or there's gonna be, a Kona ice truck there. And who doesn't like,   like shaved ice?   Give back Wednesday   on July sixteenth from five to 8PM at the Little Miami Brewing Company in Milford.  

This is gonna be a happy hour event put on by the Claremont County Chamber of Commerce,   and every $1   from every pint glass will go to the Clermont,   Chamber Foundation.   So it's free, and   every beer you drink, a dollar of that sale is gonna go   to, to help the Claremont Chamber Foundation.   Bat and moth night hike on July 16 from 9PM to 10:30PM   at the Catherine Stagmore Park in Goshen.   You're gonna walk some lantern lit trails with a naturalist, and they've got handheld detectors   that will let you hear ultrasonic bad calls. There's also gonna be UV sheets that will attract moths, and so you can look at these moths and identify what species it is.   It's it's family friendly. It's free.  

They just tell you to bring a flashlight.   There's a sweetheart stroll on July 18   at 08:30PM at Clingman Park.   You pick up a a lantern at the trailhead, and then you just get to take a leisurely walk through through the trails.   It says under firefly lit oaks, which sounds very romantic.   And it's great for couples or, you know, if you just wanna go out for a walk with a lantern, you know, you're fine to do that too, and it is also completely free.   Hoots and Hops   on July 18   from 6PM to 10PM   at the Cincinnati Nature Center.   So, it's   and it's obviously adult only. Hops refers to beer.  

But there'll be four beer sample stations, and your ticket includes one pour from each.   There'll be some, food bites,   some acoustic music on the stone terrace,   and you get to meet an owl.   So that should be very, very interesting. And all the proceeds from this is going to support wildlife rehab programs,   and tickets are $50 and it's advanced only. So you have to go to the Nature Center website to do that.   The Union Township Summer Concert,   the Michelle Robinson Band, July 18   from seven to 9PM at the Union Township Civic Center Amphitheater.   And this is another one of their free summer concert series.  

The Michelle Robinson Band is gonna perform.   And like all these other ones, there is gonna be a farmer's market and food truck, and that's gonna start at 4PM. So get there a little early, you can browse the farmer's market, have some food, and then you can listen to the band.   The annual butterfly count on July 19 from 9AM to noon, and it's gonna start at Shore Park,   but then go to a lot of different parks.   And what what will happen is is you'll get an ID sheet, and you'll split into some teams covering Shore, Sycamore,   Sycamore, and Clingman Parks,   and you're gonna log species for the North American Butterfly Association.  

And when you're all done with that, you get a popsicle.   So if you if you like butterflies and you you wanna help out the North American Butterfly Association, I'd head over there on the nineteenth.   They did tell you to bring water and a sun hat because it's, you know, July in Ohio, so it's quite hot,   and it's free.   Miami Township concert, Andy Rush on July 19   from 6PM to 8PM   at the Miami Riverview Park,   And this local loop artist, Andy Rush, who layers jazz guitar, pop vocals, and beatbox rhythms into a full band sound, which sounds very interesting.   There'll be food trucks,   and they recommend that you bring some lawn chairs unless for some reason you like to stand,   and that is completely free.  

And the Clermont County Fair is coming up on July 20.   It's gonna start at 9AM,   and obviously go I think it's the whole week,   and it's obviously gonna be at the at the fairgrounds.   But that should be fun. I love the county fair.   Night out at the park, starry night on July 22 from 07:30 to 09:30PM   at Clingman Park,   and this is just gonna be a storytelling event. The Dreamweaver Storytelling Troupe,   is gonna be there to, you know, tell you some some stories. There's gonna be nature activities,   and registration's required   through the Clermont County Public Library, so not the parks department. That's probably an important note.  

There's another Creek Days at the park on July 25 from 1PM to 3PM at Sycamore Park.   And just like the other one, there's gonna be a naturalist there, and it's gonna lead kids and adults,   in some creek play and aquatic critter discovery.   So, you know, bring cloak closed toed shoes just like the other ones. But if you wanna go stomping around in a creek,   in the afternoon, I would head over to Sycamore Park on the twenty fifth.   Union Township Summer Concert,   Tom the Torpedoes,   which is a Tom Petty tribute band.   That's gonna be on July 25   from seven to 9PM   at the Union Township Civic Center Amphitheater.  

And this is, again, part of their,   free summer concert series,   and get there at 4PM if you wanna check out the Farmer's Market   and the food trucks.   Madcap Puppets   Monsters of Baseball on July 22 at 10AM at the Union Township Amphitheater.   This actually sounds pretty crazy.   Giant puppets   bring the history and tradition of baseball alive   through songs and stories.   So if you've ever wanted to see the history of baseball as told by gigantic puppets,   I would I would go there.   That sounds pretty wild actually.   Forged Tea Time and Hike Summer Sun Tea, July 26, 11AM to noon at Clingman Park.   You'll just go out. You'll identify some native plants and brew a sun tea.  

It's free, but you do need to pre register.   And last, we have the East Fork State Park Trail Run, part of the dirt day series on July 27.   It starts at 08:30AM   in the Southeast South   Beach area of East Fork.   You can do a 5.6 mile or a 10.8 mile   wooded trail race, and all experience levels are welcome. And they do have a Trekker   early start option if you just wanna get out there earlier   or if, you know, it'll take a little bit longer to do this run, and that's gonna be at 8AM.   It does cost $22.50   to register.   But if you like running for some reason,   and you wanna do a race in the park, I would head out there.  

Well, that's all we have,   and we will   wrap up with another value for value pitch. We are a value for value podcast. What that means is, if you find value in what we're doing, we just ask that you return that value in the form of time, talent, and or treasure.   You can also connect with us on Facebook, Let's Talk Claremont podcast.   We have Instagram at let's talk Claremont, and you can email us, info@let'stalkClaremont.com.   And let us know, like I said in the beginning, let us know if you have any ideas for interviews,   but also, you know, let us know what's going on in in your neck of the woods. Let us know what we're doing great, what we're doing not so great,   what we should be talking about, stuff like that. We'd love to hear from you. And the newsletter, you can go on our website, www.letstalkclaremont.com.  

Sign up for the newsletter,   and   we'll see, we'll see what exactly we're gonna be, sending out.   Alright. So,   we we're gonna close it out with another oliveism.   This one was told to me by my wife, Katie,   I guess, the other night   because she's five. And so, you know, from time to time, she'll get out of her bed and come,   come into our bed, because she gets scared or has a nightmare or something like that. But she's got this, little monkey stuffed animal, and I guess she came in,   woke my wife up at about 2AM in the morning,   and said, mom, can I call my monkey popcorn?  

And   at 02:00 in the morning, I I don't think   Katie would have cared what she called her monkey. She just wanted Olive to go back to sleep.   So there's your oliveism.   Well, that is all we have,   for this episode.   Thanks again for listening, and we will see you next time.