Some of you may already know that I am an amateur beekeeper with a few honey bee hives at home. The other day, one of my hives swarmed – simply put, that’s when half the bees stay in their hive with a new queen, and the other half takes off with the old queen to find a new home. Between leaving the original hive and finding a new home, the swarm will rest on objects like branches, fences, house eves, etc. While the main swarm and the queen rest, scout bees are out looking for a new home which could be a hollow in a tree or any type of place that gives them protection and room to make comb. Swarming is nature’s way to make new colonies, and keep the world populated with these valuable pollinators.
When swarming, bees are not at all aggressive, as they try not to deplete their energies because they will need those to establish a new home which takes all their effort. A swarm may look a bit discomforting but its not. If you do see a swarm, do not panic or get out the bug and wasp spray. Just leave them alone- they will fly off to a new home usually in a day or two, if not in a few hours. The other thing to do is to call a bee keeper who will take the swarm and put it into a hive. You can find a “swarm collector” at the following web site:
http://cjba.njbeekeepers.org/swarms.htm
The reason that I put this on this blog is that a golf course (and a yard) is a place we might come across a swarm. I have seen honey bees in our flowers so I know there is at least one colony in the area (honey bees will travel a few miles for pollen and nectar). If you do see a swarm on the course, let me know. If you find one in your yard, please call a bee keeper. Whatever you do, please don’t kill a honey bee, as their numbers are dwindling due to diseases and an undiscovered causal agent that causes colony collapse disorder.
By the way, I caught the swarm that had left my hive. The bees collected on a pine tree branch about 15’ up, so I got out the ladder, grabbed a hive box, and went up there and shook the bees off the branch and into the hive. The swarm is doing well, making comb and bringing back pollen. And when they bring pollen back to the hive, it is a sign that the bees are out there pollinating flowers and most likely, pollinating the crops that will feed you! If you’d like to see the video of the swarm I caught, and the full story, visit http://seventeenfarms.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
May 27, 2001
These past few days a local demolition company has been cleaning up the area couched between the 11th and 12th holes. Over the years this area has served as a collection spot for branches, leaves, grass clippings, etc that we routinely clean up from the course. From now on, we will put organic debris in a 30 yard container that will be taken to a local recycling center. There, our “yard waste” will be shredded and turned into mulch!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
May 26, 2010
On Tuesday and today, Wednesday, our staff planted over two hundred California privets along the 3rd green and 4th tee to screen off Route 9 and Village Drive to seclude us from the car traffic, greatly enhancing our golfing privacy.
Assistant Chris Lare uses the auger to make the planting holes.
Isidro, Max , and Baldomero plant to the right of the third green.
Taking a quick break from a long day of planting are Adan, Silvio, Isidro, Baldomero, Edgar, and Max.
Monday, May 24, 2010
May 24, 2010
I thought I would share a few facts about mowing greens…
At Greate Bay we send out four persons every morning to mow the greens. For tournaments, special events, and shotguns, we sometimes send out six to eight persons.
With four persons mowing greens, each person walks on average 2 plus miles mowing their assigned greens.
We walk mow our greens to get a better cut and to reduce the compaction and wear stress that a “riding mower” would cause.
Each day we mow greens a different direction so that “grain” does not develop. For instance, if you would take a moment and picture a clock face, we mow our greens 12:00 to 6:00, 3:00 to 9:00, 2:00 to 8:00, 4:00 to 10:00, and so on.
We measure and set our greens mowing heights in thousandths with a specially made gauge. Choosing a cutting height depends on many factors that I must weigh out: health of the turf, the weather, the type of coming golfing events, disease pressure, anticipated greens speed, membership comments, etc.We do not change height of cut on a daily basis as that would be too stressful on the turf. In other words, green height change is planned out so that the height is changed over a period of days, and sometimes weeks, depending on the difference of change.
The greens mowers are checked for mechanical problems each day. There is no tolerance for error, as an error on a green could cause loss of turf.
Our staff collectively spends approximately 12 -15 hours a day mowing greens and checking mowers. During special events, we spend considerably more time!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
May 17, 2010
Many times I am asked about what the crew does when it rains like it is doing today…
The answer is that we do a lot!
Although every rain day is different, today offers a few good examples of what we do when it rains, so I took a few pictures.
The first thing we did was to have a staff meeting where we discussed equipment safety and training, upcoming events, and general turf maintenance topics.
Silvio is using a drill press fabricating a part for one of our maintenance carts. Rainy days are sometimes the only time our carts can be worked on.
Don, our new mechanic, and Pedro, one of our long time staffers, inspect the mowers on one of our rough units. Rainy days are great opportunities to do preventative maintenance on our equipment, such as the rough mowers.
We did other things today which I didn’t get a picture of – pumping the water out of the tunnels, putting trailer hitches on carts, doing building repairs, cleaning the equipment, organizing tools and inventories, and for Chris and I there were meetings and stacks of paper work to finish!
Rainy days may not be for mowing, but they give us a chance to catch up on a lot of other work that is just as important.
The answer is that we do a lot!
Although every rain day is different, today offers a few good examples of what we do when it rains, so I took a few pictures.
The first thing we did was to have a staff meeting where we discussed equipment safety and training, upcoming events, and general turf maintenance topics.
Silvio is using a drill press fabricating a part for one of our maintenance carts. Rainy days are sometimes the only time our carts can be worked on.
Don, our new mechanic, and Pedro, one of our long time staffers, inspect the mowers on one of our rough units. Rainy days are great opportunities to do preventative maintenance on our equipment, such as the rough mowers.
We did other things today which I didn’t get a picture of – pumping the water out of the tunnels, putting trailer hitches on carts, doing building repairs, cleaning the equipment, organizing tools and inventories, and for Chris and I there were meetings and stacks of paper work to finish!
Rainy days may not be for mowing, but they give us a chance to catch up on a lot of other work that is just as important.
Friday, May 14, 2010
May 14, 2001
Today, Faro Lanuza, our mechanic, is retiring. Faro is planning to travel, work on his farm, and spend a lot of time with his family and pursue his various and eclectic interests. We will miss Faro - he's part of our family here at the club, and for so many years he has contributed to our success.
The following is a reprint of an article about Faro and his career that I wrote a few years ago and posted around the club. It's quite a story, and I am sure he will be adding a lot more to it during his retirement!
Faro was born in the Philippines of Spanish parents who emigrated there from Spain. He attended and graduated high school in Iriga City, and then moved to Manila where he worked his way through college employed at an electronics manufacturing plant. He first attended Mapua Institute of Technology, and transferred to Feati University, graduating with a degree each in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.
After graduation, Faro was recruited by many manufacturing companies to work for them, and over time, held many positions in these competing companies as plant supervisor, production supervisor, head of engineering and production, head of manufacturing design, etc. During these years, he also began his own engineering/electrical/ mechanical design consultant company, and later moved to Saudi Arabia to run a container manufacturing plant.
In 1986 Faro took time off from his career to visit relatives in the United States, and after touring the country, decided to stay here, settling in West Virginia, and starting a home improvement/ home construction company. On a job in Brigantine, he met his future wife, and after they married, settled in Galloway Township. During this period, at the urging of a friend, Faro appeared as a performer in the Broadway production of “Oklahoma”. In 2001, he became a United States citizen, disbanded his construction company and began a construction equipment repair business in Galloway.
Wanting to do something new, he came to Greate Bay in 2002, where he has used every bit of his knowledge and experience to help us do our best. Faro, who we nicknamed “Einstein”, can fix anything! And if he doesn’t like how something is made or works, he fabricates his own designs and parts to make them better. We could not do the things we do without Faro – he is special, and is arguably the most important person on our staff!
Faro lives in Galloway Township with his wife Prudence, and his teenage son. Faro is very active in many church organizations, sings for his church, plays piano, organ, violin, and harmonica, and is known to sing karaoke now and then!
The following is a reprint of an article about Faro and his career that I wrote a few years ago and posted around the club. It's quite a story, and I am sure he will be adding a lot more to it during his retirement!
Faro was born in the Philippines of Spanish parents who emigrated there from Spain. He attended and graduated high school in Iriga City, and then moved to Manila where he worked his way through college employed at an electronics manufacturing plant. He first attended Mapua Institute of Technology, and transferred to Feati University, graduating with a degree each in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.
After graduation, Faro was recruited by many manufacturing companies to work for them, and over time, held many positions in these competing companies as plant supervisor, production supervisor, head of engineering and production, head of manufacturing design, etc. During these years, he also began his own engineering/electrical/ mechanical design consultant company, and later moved to Saudi Arabia to run a container manufacturing plant.
In 1986 Faro took time off from his career to visit relatives in the United States, and after touring the country, decided to stay here, settling in West Virginia, and starting a home improvement/ home construction company. On a job in Brigantine, he met his future wife, and after they married, settled in Galloway Township. During this period, at the urging of a friend, Faro appeared as a performer in the Broadway production of “Oklahoma”. In 2001, he became a United States citizen, disbanded his construction company and began a construction equipment repair business in Galloway.
Wanting to do something new, he came to Greate Bay in 2002, where he has used every bit of his knowledge and experience to help us do our best. Faro, who we nicknamed “Einstein”, can fix anything! And if he doesn’t like how something is made or works, he fabricates his own designs and parts to make them better. We could not do the things we do without Faro – he is special, and is arguably the most important person on our staff!
Faro lives in Galloway Township with his wife Prudence, and his teenage son. Faro is very active in many church organizations, sings for his church, plays piano, organ, violin, and harmonica, and is known to sing karaoke now and then!
May 13 , 2010
Thursday morning I was walking up the 7th hole when I saw a bird that I have never seen before. It was crouched, drinking water from a puddle on the cart path near the three left side bunkers. When I approached, it swept up into a sassafras tree, perched, and cautiously watched me as I slowly walked by.
It had a red stripe on its white breast, red under the wings, and white specked feathers on black. Later in the day I got out my birding book and learned that what I had seen was a "rose breasted grosbeak". According to my book, it is not a rare bird, and this part of NJ is well within it's habitat range. For me though, it's very exciting,and to see it here at Greate Bay reinforces the fact that our commitment to environmental stewardship is continuous,rewarding and successful.
(The picture of the grosbeak is from a web site on birds. I did not take the picture.)
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