A few words on this one, after removing the honey, Hubby put the frames back outside so the bees could collect the remaining honey from the frames.
Showing posts with label Bees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bees. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Sewing and Sowing
It seems like every time I sit down to write a post, I want to apologize for the radio silence. I just haven't had much to talk about. But the "eb" has now become a "flow.' I have so much going on, so much I want to share, I could talk for days about the long list of "to-do's" that sits before me.
As the weather has gotten warmer, I have found myself drawn to my sewing room with great inspiration to master the summer dress. Last summer, I made a few "house dresses", simple sundresses I could wear around the house while gardening and canning. They were great, but not so much the type of dresses I wanted to wear out of the house. Remember this?
This dress, as well as the others I made came in handy last summer and will continue to be great for this summer's gardening and chores.
However, I am practicing my clothing making skills, with the hopes of producing dresses that have more detail and don't look as homemade. I have also been working on altering a dress for my cousin's wedding. It is this dress from Modcloth. I am making it longer (my dang ol' long legs) by moving the ruffle to the bottom of the dress. I have also made a few skirts. Plus, I have some awesome knit fabric and a really cute pattern that I want to try. My house is successfully covered in tiny bits of fabric and thread (I am really not sure how this happens, since I do have a dedicated sewing room)! I will be sure to post pictures as projects are completed!
In between sewing sessions I am working in the garden, preparing the soil. This weekend marks the last threat of frost for us around here so I am sifting compost and planting seeds/seedlings on Saturday. I am also making a much needed trip to the local apiary for beekeeping supplies. Our bees are going crazy with the warm Spring and we are picking up another colony in a few weeks. So there is a lot to do in the bee department...more on that later.
Somewhere in the midst of all this I am finding time to jump start a new exercise routine and do some Spring cleaning around the house. Which includes finishing up painting and cleaning the Master bath construction project...pictures of that soon!
I would hate to leave you with my long list of things to do without some sort of clue that I have actually made some progress. Here is a picture of my first "real" summer dress. I made this last week using a combination of a shirt pattern for the bodice and a simple elastic skirt for the bottom. I then added the ruffles and fabric covered buttons for details. I wore this dress to church on Easter Sunday with a black sweater and of course my Frye boots! It has a small hidden side pocket for my insulin pump.
As the weather has gotten warmer, I have found myself drawn to my sewing room with great inspiration to master the summer dress. Last summer, I made a few "house dresses", simple sundresses I could wear around the house while gardening and canning. They were great, but not so much the type of dresses I wanted to wear out of the house. Remember this?
However, I am practicing my clothing making skills, with the hopes of producing dresses that have more detail and don't look as homemade. I have also been working on altering a dress for my cousin's wedding. It is this dress from Modcloth. I am making it longer (my dang ol' long legs) by moving the ruffle to the bottom of the dress. I have also made a few skirts. Plus, I have some awesome knit fabric and a really cute pattern that I want to try. My house is successfully covered in tiny bits of fabric and thread (I am really not sure how this happens, since I do have a dedicated sewing room)! I will be sure to post pictures as projects are completed!
In between sewing sessions I am working in the garden, preparing the soil. This weekend marks the last threat of frost for us around here so I am sifting compost and planting seeds/seedlings on Saturday. I am also making a much needed trip to the local apiary for beekeeping supplies. Our bees are going crazy with the warm Spring and we are picking up another colony in a few weeks. So there is a lot to do in the bee department...more on that later.
Somewhere in the midst of all this I am finding time to jump start a new exercise routine and do some Spring cleaning around the house. Which includes finishing up painting and cleaning the Master bath construction project...pictures of that soon!
I would hate to leave you with my long list of things to do without some sort of clue that I have actually made some progress. Here is a picture of my first "real" summer dress. I made this last week using a combination of a shirt pattern for the bodice and a simple elastic skirt for the bottom. I then added the ruffles and fabric covered buttons for details. I wore this dress to church on Easter Sunday with a black sweater and of course my Frye boots! It has a small hidden side pocket for my insulin pump.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Lessons from a beehive
I love sitting on our porch in the late afternoon. Especially this time of year, when it is warm but not hot and the Fall breezes are starting to shake the tree limbs. Our yard is often abuzz this time of day. Late afternoon is a busy time for our bees as they fly in and out of the hive finishing their day's work.
In the late afternoon, the sun hits the backyard at just the right angle so the light reflects off their tiny bodies. I am at a loss of words as to how to describe what it looks like, and its impossible for me to catch on a camera. The other day a fellow beekeeper described it as watching glitter flutter through the air. It's like a miniature air show. Magnificent.
You can see the bees from the house, like tiny flying GPS units (that's what hubby calls them) finding pollen, nectar, and water and returning to the hive with their goods. It never ceases to amaze me! Imagine if we all had the sense of direction honeybees possess!
Our hive is doing well. We are new at beekeeping, but we have found our groove and hope we can continue to maintain a healthy hive. Part of maintaining a healthy beehive involves inspecting the hive once a month. This includes taking the hive apart and pulling out each frame, checking for pests and disease. We also check that the workers are doing their jobs (i.e. building comb, storing honey, raising brood) and most of all making sure the queen is present and laying eggs. Since our hive is so young, we have only done this intensive inspection twice, allowing the bees to get established before we worked with them too heavily.
Inspecting a hive is an experience that I have grown to love. Both hubby and I wear full protective gear. Although the gear reduces the possibility of a sting, it does not 100% prevent. I have been lucky to avoid stings up until this point, its inevitable though, like a rite of passage.
I do often think of those days as a child, running barefoot in the yard, stepping on a bee and suffering the consequences of a sting on my foot. As a child I could not imagine anything more painful. As an adult, I know there are many things in life that are more painful than a bee sting. By no means do I assume a bee sting would not be painful, but I often wonder how it compares to the pain experienced over a course of a lifetime. Loss of a loved one, a broken heart, disease. Diabetes has been painful for me and has changed my life, yet made me stronger and more aware. Is diabetes more painful than a bee sting? If I can manage this disease with it's needles and finger pricks, can't I handle a measly little bee sting? Maybe a bee sting is small marbles compared to what I manage everyday. Of course, ask me again after I have been stung and maybe my response will be different!
I find that suiting up and working the bees offers me the opportunity to clear my mind. There is a sense of calm and slowness when working with the bees. It's as if the world slows down and nothing else matters but what is at hand. Moving slowly, talking quietly and working in unison with hubby is an experience like no other. In fact, I think every couple should inspect a hive together, its like marriage counseling, it will force you to communicate clearly and work as team. Imagine how many other things we could learn about ourselves from working with bees.
I managed to shoot some video of our last inspection so I thought I would share with you. Hubby is doing a good job of narrating the videos (although at some points he was unaware that I was taping!) Click on the links to see the video!
Bee Inspection Video 1
Bee Inspection Video 2
In the late afternoon, the sun hits the backyard at just the right angle so the light reflects off their tiny bodies. I am at a loss of words as to how to describe what it looks like, and its impossible for me to catch on a camera. The other day a fellow beekeeper described it as watching glitter flutter through the air. It's like a miniature air show. Magnificent.
You can see the bees from the house, like tiny flying GPS units (that's what hubby calls them) finding pollen, nectar, and water and returning to the hive with their goods. It never ceases to amaze me! Imagine if we all had the sense of direction honeybees possess!
Our hive is doing well. We are new at beekeeping, but we have found our groove and hope we can continue to maintain a healthy hive. Part of maintaining a healthy beehive involves inspecting the hive once a month. This includes taking the hive apart and pulling out each frame, checking for pests and disease. We also check that the workers are doing their jobs (i.e. building comb, storing honey, raising brood) and most of all making sure the queen is present and laying eggs. Since our hive is so young, we have only done this intensive inspection twice, allowing the bees to get established before we worked with them too heavily.
Inspecting a hive is an experience that I have grown to love. Both hubby and I wear full protective gear. Although the gear reduces the possibility of a sting, it does not 100% prevent. I have been lucky to avoid stings up until this point, its inevitable though, like a rite of passage.
Hubby smoking the hive
I do often think of those days as a child, running barefoot in the yard, stepping on a bee and suffering the consequences of a sting on my foot. As a child I could not imagine anything more painful. As an adult, I know there are many things in life that are more painful than a bee sting. By no means do I assume a bee sting would not be painful, but I often wonder how it compares to the pain experienced over a course of a lifetime. Loss of a loved one, a broken heart, disease. Diabetes has been painful for me and has changed my life, yet made me stronger and more aware. Is diabetes more painful than a bee sting? If I can manage this disease with it's needles and finger pricks, can't I handle a measly little bee sting? Maybe a bee sting is small marbles compared to what I manage everyday. Of course, ask me again after I have been stung and maybe my response will be different!
Bees are working the outside of the hive. They work tirelessly to keep the cracks sealed.
I find that suiting up and working the bees offers me the opportunity to clear my mind. There is a sense of calm and slowness when working with the bees. It's as if the world slows down and nothing else matters but what is at hand. Moving slowly, talking quietly and working in unison with hubby is an experience like no other. In fact, I think every couple should inspect a hive together, its like marriage counseling, it will force you to communicate clearly and work as team. Imagine how many other things we could learn about ourselves from working with bees.
I managed to shoot some video of our last inspection so I thought I would share with you. Hubby is doing a good job of narrating the videos (although at some points he was unaware that I was taping!) Click on the links to see the video!
Bee Inspection Video 1
Bee Inspection Video 2
Saturday, July 10, 2010
And a special thanks to...
Thank you! Oh! Thank you! I can hardly believe this! This bucket of cucumbers is so heavy, I just can't wait to make pickles! Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such a bountiful garden. I have so many thank-yous, where do I start? First I would like to thank Legs, Rhodie, and Bandit for providing such wonderful fertilizer....and I would like to thank elbow grease and sweat for helping me and my hubby make such a wonderful plot. I would like to thank the rain for visiting us every three days, you made such a difference this year. And last but not least, a very special thanks goes out to our pollinators. We couldn't have done it without you!
Bumblebee on cucumber flower
Bumblebee
A very small pollinator...some type of bee
Honeybee...holy stinger on that one!
Honeybee
Pickling cucumbers
Cantaloupe
Watermelons
Tomatoes
Basil
Cayenne
Remember the before?
The jungle that is our garden now...
The bees have found one of the chicken watering fonts and have deemed this their water source. Have you ever tried to change a bee's mind about where they get their water? Let's just say talking sense into a bee doesn't work...so here we have resigned to allowing the bees to use this watering font and have provided a separate one for the chickens! We owe them that much!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
The Bees Knees
This morning, I picked up our very first package of honey bees from a local apiary near our house and headed home with a box of buzzing bees in the back of my car. Our friend Walt who has worked bees before kindly offered to come over and help us install our bees into our hive. Along with Walt, came his wife Kara, her Nana, and their three amazing cutie pie kids! So not only did we get to install bees but we had a wonderful afternoon of visiting with our friends!
So, donned in bee attire, Walt, my hubby and myself got the bees in the hive and hopefully they will continue to thrive and "bee" happy! Here is the picture diary of our adventures! What fun...and no one got stung!
So, donned in bee attire, Walt, my hubby and myself got the bees in the hive and hopefully they will continue to thrive and "bee" happy! Here is the picture diary of our adventures! What fun...and no one got stung!
Installing the Queen
Removing the top to the box o' bees!
Shaking the bees from the box!
Happy Bees!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Hurry up and wait
This is that time of year in NC where I get to hurry up and wait. The weather is finally warming up and assuming we don't get any late March-early April freezes (we probably will), Spring is creeping on us! Red blossoms on the Red Maples, Forsythia bushes, and daffodils are blooming everywhere and the mud pit we call our backyard is finally turning green again!
I tilled the garden this morning to get ready for our pending planting of the summer garden...which will happen after our expected last frost of April 21st. The yard has been clean and most traces of Fall and Winter in the form of sticks, leaves, and dead branches have been removed only to be replaced by the quick growing weeds that are already popping up everywhere. It seems like everyday I see something new blooming, emerging and gathering it's strength for the pending growing season.
We have hurried through the last few months, planting seeds indoor, preparing the garden soil, cleaning the yard, spending hours of physical and mental time to prepare for the planting season. Now we get to wait, a few more weeks is all it will take to mostly guarantee frost free growing for our vegetable garden.
Other exciting Spring related news...we picked up our bee hive a few weeks ago and are getting ready to paint and set up the hive. We pick up our package of bees on April 10th. I can't wait to get this new adventure started! More on that later!
Now...where did I leave my patience.....
I tilled the garden this morning to get ready for our pending planting of the summer garden...which will happen after our expected last frost of April 21st. The yard has been clean and most traces of Fall and Winter in the form of sticks, leaves, and dead branches have been removed only to be replaced by the quick growing weeds that are already popping up everywhere. It seems like everyday I see something new blooming, emerging and gathering it's strength for the pending growing season.
We have hurried through the last few months, planting seeds indoor, preparing the garden soil, cleaning the yard, spending hours of physical and mental time to prepare for the planting season. Now we get to wait, a few more weeks is all it will take to mostly guarantee frost free growing for our vegetable garden.
Other exciting Spring related news...we picked up our bee hive a few weeks ago and are getting ready to paint and set up the hive. We pick up our package of bees on April 10th. I can't wait to get this new adventure started! More on that later!
Now...where did I leave my patience.....
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