After dragging my feet for a year, I finally pulled together a local community of beekeepers. We met in a noisy restaurant tonight, which made it difficult to do much, other than visit with one another ...
... which is what I wanted to have happen.
Twenty people showed up. At least four that I invited didn't make it because of other obligations, including church.
The local Texas Agrilfe Extension service was represented by an entomologist. Agrilife has generously offered to let us use their facilities in the future, so our next meeting should be a lot quieter, giving me a better chance at eavesdropping on the other folks' conversations.
We also had four representatives from two other Texas Beek associations. One of the reps was Chris Barnes, from College Station. I'm pretty sure he know Tecumseh. I didn't get a chance to ask for any gossip on Tecumseh, though.
Most of the people have only been beekeeping for a year or less. A few are waiting for bees to arrive. One has been keeping bees for over 20 years.
I'm excited about getting to know these fine people a little better. Nothing better than being in a room full of beekeepers.