Many of you have asked about our dog, Belle, whose image greets you on the 'Fair Schedule' page. Belle is a very unusual dog. You've heard of sheep dogs? Well, Belle is a bee dog. This photo shows her dressed as her favorite critter, the honey bee. When we go to work our bees, Belle HAS to come with us. She jumps in the truck before we can even light our smokers. Belle has specific bee dog duties. She's a real working bee dog, not just a wanna-bee dog. When we arrive at the bee yard, Belle's job is to monitor the number of bees that find their way into the truck cab. She counts bees, and, when the automotive apian population reaches a certain critical threshold, she alerts us by diving down into the passenger side footwell and giving us plaintive looks until we shoo the bees out of the truck. Like all beekeeping mammals, Belle does take the occasional sting. This is not her favorite part of the job but she never lets it stop her from coming with us to work bees. And judging from the grey hairs in her muzzle and her good health, the bee venom is keeping her healthy just as it does us. She has confided in us, however, that she really prefers chasing rabbits to being stung.