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Welcome to the West
Sound Beekeepers Association (WSBA) homepage!
We hope you find it informative about our organization
and of use to you if you are interested in beekeeping.
If you have any questions about our organization or
our activities please send us email
Mission Statement
The purposes of WSBA are to assist its members, other
members in the community interested in bees, and the
public at large with a continuing education in the art
and science of beekeeping.
(Lest you think we only
discuss problems rest assured that we revel
greatly in the many joys of beekeeping and
swap tall honey tales like fishermen swap
big fish tales)
For folks in our local
Kitsap county area...
Our association members contain a wealth of information
about beekeeping and bees. Each meeting we get together
and stir the information around a bit. If you are interested,
please stop and listen in on a meeting.
If you have a swarm of honeybees show up and
would like them removed, call someone on our Mentor
list. Do not call for removal of wasps or
hornets!
For folks outside our area...
We are located on the west side of Puget Sound (Kitsap
County) Washington, USA about an hour's ferry ride from
Seattle, WA. The elevation is mostly less than 500 feet
but the majestic Olympic Mountains are a mere 30 minutes
drive from the north end of Kitsap County. Our major towns are
Bremerton, Port Orchard, Silverdale, Poulsbo, and Kingston. Evergreens
dominate the landscape with deciduous trees like Maple
and Alder interspersed in good numbers.
The primary local honey flows are the Big
Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) flow
from about mid-April to late May and the
Blackberry (Rubus discolor) flow from
about mid-June to mid-July. Many beekeepers
take their colonies to the Cascades or the Olympics
for the Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) flows
from the end of July to about the first week of September. The
early spring maple flow is supplemented by Huckleberry,
Dandelion, Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) and various wildflowers.
In the autumn the girls top up with Dandelion, Japanese Knotweed
(Polygonum cuspidatum), Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis
margaritacea), and other wildflowers.
In the West Sound area the climate is moderate enough
that for any day that it's warm enough for the bees
to fly (even in December) the foragers will find and
bring back pollen.
Winters are wet but not severely cold.
Springs are wet, summers and falls are also
wet but relatively dry compared to winter
and spring. Winter usually provides one
snowperson worthy snowfall a year, and only a couple
of weeks of 90-degree (32 C) days in the summer. Did
we mention the rain, it's not the volume, just the duration
that makes it seem like a lot of rain. It makes the
first few, warm spring days very welcome for both the
bees and the beekeepers every year.
Please
send website comments and suggestions to the Webmaster
WSBA
3763 NW Anderson Hill Road
Silverdale, WA 98383
info@WestSoundBees.org
| Last
Revised: July 14, 2008 |
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