More about Wayne and Kathy

It’s hard to say whether Wayne and Kathy Porter keep bees at the Flying Bee Ranch, or if the bees keep Wayne and Kathy.  This isn’t the odd twist of a science fiction movie, it is the reflection on passion that both Wayne and Kathy seem to have for their “little darlings.”  Kathy explains: “We started out with only a couple of beehives, and we just keep getting more as we grow more enchanted with the bees and realize how truly important they are to our own lives.”

When first you visit the Flying Bee Ranch, you might pull up to a stoic gentleman in the front drive.  Wayne is a quiet fellow, he doesn’t say much at first; but give him a moment to warm up to you and get him to talking about one of his two favorite subjects, honey bees, and eventually an excited boyish grin will light up his face.  The Porters have several hundred hives now, and have about 20 different kinds of honey available throughout the year.  There are the common flavors, like Clover, Wild Flower, and Blackberry Honey, and then there are the not so common: Fireweed, Pumpkin, Blueberry, Carrot, and even Parsnip Honeys.  The Porters have a full fledged food certified business going.  They take the bees to farms, fields, and woods, so the bees can gather a wide range of nectars.  They then bring the hives home to extract and process the honeys.  They processed approximately 15 tons of all pure, all natural, honey last year.  Besides honey by the jar (and the jug, and the barrel) they have honey stix, gift sets, honey comb, and other bee products.  You might even try some of the flavored honeys, like cinnamon, black licorice, or pina colada.

If you’re there a little while longer, you might meet the other spark that lights up Wayne’s otherwise stoic countenance, his high school sweet heart, and beautiful bride since 1958: Kathy.  Wayne and Kathy met in high school and were married soon after graduation.  Within a few years, they had their first couple of hobby bee hives.  Wayne worked in the timber industry, and Kathy worked for State Farm Insurance for 35 years.  They now call themselves “retired”, but the acute observer will notice instead, they are now simply engaged in a labor of love … each other, and several hundred bee hives.  There must be something sweet about their relationship.

Kathy is just as intrigued with bees as Wayne is.  She speaks fondly:  “Wayne’s favorite part of beekeeping has always been going after bee swarms,” she says “He often captures them without any protective gear as when bees swarm they are at their gentlest and are easiest to handle.  All they are looking for is a new home to setup housekeeping.”  She also remarks how interesting the bees are, “They are so organized in what they do.  If you ever have the time to sit and watch a hive you will soon be mesmerized by their workings and how everything revolves around the queen.  They all have their special tasks, they go about so efficiently, they really seem so intelligent.  The bees really seem to know Wayne as their keeper, they’re never aggressive towards him, they just seem to buzz around and keep him company.”