Our speaker, Norm Diebold and his wife, Linda gave us an  introduction to Bee Farming.  His hives reside at Fern Hollow Nature Center and are used for educational purposes.

We learned there are seven recognized species of honey bees and 20,000 other bee species.  They have been around for 30 million years.  A typical hive will have 20,000 to 30,000 bees.    Queens can live for 2-3 years.  All the workers are female and drones are male.  The worker bees can sting only once and it causes their death.  Queens and drones can sting multiple times.

Norm talked about the ways bees communicate with pheromones, how they gather nectar to make honey, store pollen and seal cracks in the hive with propolis.  Honey is antibacterial and never goes bad.

He went into a lot of detail about hive management and winter survival. The biggest problem is managing/preventing mite infestations.  There were many questions, and Norm patiently answered them all.

Our speaker, and club member,  Adam Haritan, presented Foraging For Wild Medicines.  After a lively introduction about the benefits of wild foods, Adam highlighted a few plants and mushrooms that appear in spring, including Hawthorne, Stinging Nettle, White Pine Pollen and Turkey Tail mushrooms.  He talked about the health value of each and  how to make teas, decoctions and tinctures, using his favorite ethanol product – 40% Organic Vodka.

Adam had an array of his tinctures for sale.  He uses his medicines as tonics, at low dosage levels and is not giving medical advice for particular ailments.  See your doctor for that!

Adam has posted an excerpt of this talk on his blog.  View it at:  http://learnyourland.com/foraging-for-wild-medicines-and-the-importance-of-a-medicinal-strategy/

Our guest speaker was Andrew Zadnik from the Western PA Conservancy’s Land Stewardship Program. He spoke of the different properties owned by the Conservancy and also of those 36,000 acres protected by conservation easements.

Special emphasis was given to Tom’s Run Property off of Route 65, since it is the closest to our meeting site at Fern Hollow Nature Center.

Members noted the death of E-2, the male peregrine from the Cathedral of Learning.  His mate, Hope, had laid two eggs and probably will not incubate them now. There is still time for her to find a new mate this season.

Thanks to Judy Stark for making our favors this year!

Our next meeting will be our Holiday Cookie Exchange.  Hot Apple Cider will be provided by the Club.  All attending should bring a batch of their favorite cookie to exchange and eat.  Our presenter will be Dianne Machesney, speaking of places along the NJ shore to study nature.    

Don Weiss presented a charming, sometimes humorous, show of his own photographs of mammals, starting with a photo of his cat at home,then venturing into his yard with photos of deer and chipmunks, then  into the neighborhood with red fox at a local park, then further afield with sightings from around the state of PA  and finally going national at parks, including Yellowstone.  We learned that a wildlife photographer has to have great patience and be willing to put up with all types of weather.

He also brought an exhibit of various mammal-related items.

Due to a power outage at Fern Hollow Nature Center, Don Weiss was unable to present his program.   It has been rescheduled to November 12th.  Twenty-one members shared desserts by flashlight and admired the stars in the unusually dark sky.  Judy Stark’s program, originally scheduled for November 12th will be rescheduled, date yet to be determined.

Raccoon Creek State Park DCNR Educator,  Pat Adams, gave an interesting presentation about the history and  culture of the Lenape Indian Tribe in Pennsylvania.

Alison Richards, and son Rowan, check out some of the hand made reproductions of typical clothing worn before “first contact” with the Europeans.

Su Varley, Wissahickon’s Program Coordinator, introduced her “old” friend, Pat Adams.

Welcoming and getting to know new members.

Our speaker, Mike Cornell, listens intently as Club VP, Monica Miller, gets the meeting started.  This was a hands-on meeting, as we honed our artistic skills and learned to look at nature’s details.

We will kick-off  the 2015-2016 club year this Thursday, September 17th with a wine and cheese reception at Fern Hollow Nature Center, starting at 7:00 PM. Members should bring a cheese plate in lieu of dessert.  The club will provide the wine.  Yearly dues are now being accepted.  $10 for an individual and $15 for a family membership.  Our speaker is Cris Hamilton, nature photographer, whose program is entitled “Mostly Birds.”