The Honey Man

The Honey Man

The Honey Man

Patrick Shalks seems shy, almost non-descript when you first meet him, until he starts to talk about honey; then he becomes captivating. Entering his processing facility in an out of the way location on the outskirts of Steamboat Springs, CO, liquid gold strands fall from machinery. The air is filled with a sweet flowery smell. On the windows a stray bee or two wonders what happened to the rest of the brood. Boxes filled with honey combs are stacked against a wall. And in the middle of it all is Patrick. This is his passion. He offers a taste, my finger dipped in sticky sweetness. The subtleness of the honey melts in my mouth.

Bee keeping was a hobby for Patrick in high school. Ten years ago he began cultivating his own hives. Now Patrick has 900 hives scattered from Milner to Craig, producing a 32,000 lb crop which is about 14-18 fifty-five gallon drums. Harvesting the honey takes about 2-3 weeks and then the honey is sold locally and to larger operations in Colorado. Each bee box holds about 20-25 lbs of honey, while some hold 50lbs. Once the combs have been collected, they are scraped by a machine, and then set in a centrifuge to spin the honey out of the racks and down to a separation compartment.

During harvest season, Patrick is helped by local artist Susie Jackson. Images of bee hives have been captured in Suzie's painting, giving bee keeping a timeless feel. In reality, bee keeping can have its downsides. Bear raids happen and when they do, the whole bee yard has to be moved so the bear doesn't come back to finish the job. Yet bees can be the biggest honey stealers. A hive is started with a box sprayed with honeycomb beeswax so the bees begin to build out from it. When honey is made, more boxes are added on top to keep the comb going. When a hive begins to die, the bees eat the honey out. In a week, bees can empty a stack of hives or eight boxes. A tiny crack is all it takes for bees to sneak in and reclaim close to $500.00 worth of honey.

To harvest the honey, the weather has to cooperate. Smoke is funneled into the hives and along with a sunny day, the bees are pushed down to lower boxes so the top boxes can be removed. Up to 4,000 lbs of honey can be harvested in an afternoon. The boxes also have pollen traps which have a tiny entrance for bees. As they enter, the pollen is scraped off their bodies and collected in a box. The pollen is sent to pharmaceutical companies and health stores. When it gets dark bees get disoriented and don't know where to go, especially on cloudy days. They'll crawl anywhere. "One crawled into a crack in my suit and stung me on the nose," says Suzie. Despite the occasional sting, Suzie returns year after year for the honey bonuses and the beauty of the bees.

But it's more than the bees that are appealing. Patrick is so completely at home with the bees, he seems a part of their dance. "When I close my eyes at night after working an intense day with the bees, queens and honeycombs float through my dreams," says Patrick. Checking his boxes without his suit he was stung three times, acknowledging the stings with a quick "that's three." "He's my honey man," says Suzie. "He's got the sweetest gold in town."

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