Honey Harvest Festival and BBQ tasting draws big crowd
By Bob Crum — Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
Story and photos by Bob Crum
With nectarous bees buzzing about... best to always expect the unexpected at the Honey Harvest Festival. Aboard an eastbound Fillmore & Western train destined for the Bennett Honey Farm near Piru, surprised passengers witnessed a posse of yellowjackets arrest Slurpy... a honey bee suspected of FUI (Flying Under the Influence). Slurpy not only had three unauthorized ‘pistils’ in his pouch… his nectar reading was a whopping 100 milligrams... a full 25 milligrams over the legal limit. Slurpy didn't resist knowing he was lucky to be nabbed by yellowjackets and not the... ahem... 'swat' team! Back at the hive... the swarm was abuzz to learn that Slurpy was stung with a hefty fine by Judge Bumble Bee who also added 10 mandatory Nectars Anonymous fly-ins to the sentence. Ouch! The otherwise uneventful train ride through a portion of the bucolic Heritage Valley was enjoyed under chamber-of-commerce-like blue skies. Upon arriving at Bennett's Honey Farm everyone was treated to a sweet tour of the honey facility. After seeing and learning about the honey-producing process... from raw honey extracted from the comb to the end product in the bottle... everybody leaves knowledgeable and with a greater appreciation for the invaluable work of the honey bees and that of people who prepare the honey for our consumption. And of course nobody leaves without a few jars of superb quality honey. Back in town... lines formed at the stands of oh-so-scrumptious barbeque. Barbie to drool for... so good and tasty no need for Tums... just a tummy! A little taste of this... a little taste of that... there's just no quitting... until maybe after the fifth round. Aaaaah. Afterward... with tummy growlies squelched... lots of folks moseyed over to city hall and enjoyed some splendid musical entertainment. Listening to the musical notes wafting in the afternoon breeze… whoa... nah... that couldn't be Elvis... could it? Aaaah yes... a sweet... sweet weekend. Though only the second annual Honey Harvest Festival it was a honey! At this rate... oh my... who can hardly wait until next year? In the meantime... watch out for those FUI bees that are also known to carry... ahem... ‘stigmas.’
With nectarous bees buzzing about... best to always expect the unexpected at the Honey Harvest Festival. Aboard an eastbound Fillmore & Western train destined for the Bennett Honey Farm near Piru, surprised passengers witnessed a posse of yellowjackets arrest Slurpy... a honey bee suspected of FUI (Flying Under the Influence). Slurpy not only had three unauthorized ‘pistils’ in his pouch… his nectar reading was a whopping 100 milligrams... a full 25 milligrams over the legal limit. Slurpy didn't resist knowing he was lucky to be nabbed by yellowjackets and not the... ahem... 'swat' team! Back at the hive... the swarm was abuzz to learn that Slurpy was stung with a hefty fine by Judge Bumble Bee who also added 10 mandatory Nectars Anonymous fly-ins to the sentence. Ouch! The otherwise uneventful train ride through a portion of the bucolic Heritage Valley was enjoyed under chamber-of-commerce-like blue skies. Upon arriving at Bennett's Honey Farm everyone was treated to a sweet tour of the honey facility. After seeing and learning about the honey-producing process... from raw honey extracted from the comb to the end product in the bottle... everybody leaves knowledgeable and with a greater appreciation for the invaluable work of the honey bees and that of people who prepare the honey for our consumption. And of course nobody leaves without a few jars of superb quality honey. Back in town... lines formed at the stands of oh-so-scrumptious barbeque. Barbie to drool for... so good and tasty no need for Tums... just a tummy! A little taste of this... a little taste of that... there's just no quitting... until maybe after the fifth round. Aaaaah. Afterward... with tummy growlies squelched... lots of folks moseyed over to city hall and enjoyed some splendid musical entertainment. Listening to the musical notes wafting in the afternoon breeze… whoa... nah... that couldn't be Elvis... could it? Aaaah yes... a sweet... sweet weekend. Though only the second annual Honey Harvest Festival it was a honey! At this rate... oh my... who can hardly wait until next year? In the meantime... watch out for those FUI bees that are also known to carry... ahem... ‘stigmas.’