Missing members...Lets name them

[Lburou]

We have seen a recent thread looking for Apis.  Others have been missing for a while too.  Lets name them and see if we can entice them to return to our discussions.  Their contributions are important to a thriving forum.

I'll start with GLOCK  and then Yankee44...

There are several good contributors who have gone missing, can you name one?   

[Jen]

Dunkel

[iddee]

We were having 65 to 70 members signed on every 24 hours. Now we are having 35 to 40, and many of them are fairly new. I think the missing ones are too numerous to try to list.

[Perry]

This time of year most forums experience a slow down, people's lives get so busy. After winter has set in and folks get past all the holiday stuff, folks get bored and start getting antsy and focused on the new beekeeping season approaching and things pick up.
I'm here most days just trying to keep my fingers warm, supposed to go down to wicked cold tonight!

[Les]

I agree with Perry...... from Thanksgiving forward we are all pulled in so many directions.  I will probably disappear from the 22nd until January as we travel to Georgia. 

[Riverrat]

The average length of a beekeepers attention span on bees is about 3 years after which most figure out that jumping on the saving the bees bandwagon was more work than they signed on for.  With that said as in any forum you will have a few that are dedicated and the rest of the forum relies on newcomers to replace the ones who got in on a whim to keep it alive and growing.  Looking at all  Bee forums across the board the last few years they have all seen a decline in membership posting. Most due to the fact CCD has taken a backseat in the news.  However, Perry is spot on on the holidays.  We will see an upswing on the posting after the festive season is past and the New Year makes its appearance.  Just my 2 cents 

[riverbee]

i have not been as active as i usually am either...........this past fall we had straight line winds come through, trees down everywhere.  what a mess.  one of the trees, some say the largest cottonwood in pierce county came down in one of our prairie restoration fields.  hiring and managing clean up, etc......
since fall it has been crazy for me; some remodeling, fixing up, and goofy family. my honey and candle sales really ramped up in october.  i have been running ragged trying to keep up........i think i have gone through at least 60 lbs of wax for candles if not more, and 6 cases of 1 pd muth jars, and some other jars, so about 3, 5 gallon pails of honey.  i make my own labels for honey jars and wrap the candles in cello bags, with ribbon and tags on them. i have several deliveries this afternoon, and tomorrow. candle making is very time consuming and i don't have the molds to keep up the demand, or make it more efficient for me. i still have orders coming in.  it's nice but i sure will enjoy it when it tapers off.

[rcannon]

Same here. Crazy busy lately. I took a promotion at work like a dang fool. They're working me like a rented mule. On top of that I sold my place and had to pick up and move the whole farm. That's been a huge endeavor. And my Dads health isn't very good, so I'm always trying to spend time with him. Then there's the holidays. Plenty to do.

[Wandering Man]

rcannon,
you took a promotion which will keep you busy, I just stepped down from full time work into semi-retirement.  And I expect not working to keep me busy.  Well, actually I expect Wife to keep me busy with all of the Honey Do's that used to be Couldn't Do's because I was at the job that pays.

No rest for the wicked ...

[Zweefer]

Guilty.  Work and other life commitments have kept me away.

[Lburou]

Good to hear from each of you.  Merry Christmas! 

[Gypsi]

I bled money in 2015 due to weather, crew issues and weather weather weather, plus a body shop that quoted 10 days to do my truck's body work, had it 5 weeks and failed to do a lot of it.

So I spent 2016 so dedicated to making money I lost 3 hives to swarming, and just had to throw out a bait hive and hope for the best, I did manage to get thru 2016, was fortunate had some decent work come through, trained 6 guys for the crew, only 1 I would let work for me today. And brought my old foreman back.

No time for any forum in 2016, or minimal, certainly no time to read more than a specific question's answer. 

Now I'm in office to recover from wrist surgery and catch up on bookkeeping, will be online til I go out the door again.  I have 8 years or less to prepare for retirement, and the bees are only a part of that. Good to see those that are here though

[Retroguy]

I've been here but just reading.  Not much to report at this time.  Girls are out of the wind in the machine shed and seem to be doing well at this point.

[Lburou]

Gypsi, I hope your hand is healing. Retroguy, tell us more about how you manage your bees in that shed. 

[Papakeith]

I'm here and I read almost daily.  For whatever reason I just don't post much.
Somehow I managed to become President of the RI Beekeepers Association. 2017  Should be an interesting year.

[Bakersdozen]

I'm here and I read almost daily.  For whatever reason I just don't post much.
Somehow I managed to become President of the RI Beekeepers Association. 2017  Should be an interesting year.

Congrats!  Good to hear from you.

[Alleyyooper]

Being care full and watching out for egg shells here.

   Al

[iddee]

Dang the torpedoes, full steam ahead.

Just have your armor on, so you can withstand the shrapnel.

[Dunkel]

Ive been only able to pop on and off, between farming and hunting dealing with meat, teaching and family health issues.  Things are slowing down though once I get through tomorrow   Ive really missed being here.  Especially picking on that west coast girl   Merry Christmas Everyone!

[Perry]

Good to see ya Dunkel.