Howdy from central texas and the gates of hell...

my screen name is tecumseh and I carry a very thin but menancing coup stick.

I currently reside in central texas. I have been keeping bees in one manner or another for just about 50 years in about a half dozen states and have worked bees as both a hobbist and commercially (for two different employers in 3 different states). if you are old enough to remember the farm version of the sears and roebuck catalogue and reside almost anywhere in the central us of a and obtained a package from this source.....then quite likely I played a hand (small) in generating that package you picked up at the local sears store.

I currently maintain an intrastate bee 'shipping' licence and a queen rearing permit in texas and maintain about 200 hives (truthfully I haven't counted these in quite some time). in the spring of the year I rear a small number of minnesota hygenic (cells purchased from another bee keeper) and cordovans queens and nucs (reared by myself). I am vice president of the central texas bee club (brenham, tx) and do a 'hands on' bee school thru the club in the spring (hopefully we shall add a fall school shortly).

I have known iddee via another on line bee forum. I quite like iddee for no apparent reason(s) since we agree on absolutely nothing politically. the 'no apparent reasons' quite likely are.... we are somewhat of the same generation (very definitely OLD SCHOOL) and I was reared by folks who taught me to listen to other folks concerns and savor any and all difference (a likely by product of having parents who moved about quite a bit and being forced as a very young person to 'fit in' in a variety of places).

I quite typically close out my rambling rhetoric with a 'by line' which is the english translation of the shawee name Tecumseh which is somewhat literal and somewhat symbolic in nature (it actually refers to an image of a low arching slow burning meteor or the eye of a pather reflected in the light of a camp fire).. the one solitary attribute (or flaw depending on your point of view) that the historical Tecumseh and I have in common is our unquestionable tenacity.

pather passing in the night...

ps... and thank ya' Charles on the suggestion in regards to the silverscreen2. that seems to have done the trick.