New Addition and a Loss

Yesterday we added to the Hooter fold - a 1970 Ford 250 truck purchased from (where else?) but Ebay! We've been looking for a truck for a while, and decided this was the one. I have a thing for old vehicles, and since I grew up with a '73 Ford truck, it kind of has a nostalgic twang. Plus we can't even begin to afford a new one. :)

And with an addition comes a loss. We said goodbye to a swarm of bees, which swarmed out of the OTHER hive yesterday. I just wasn't quick enough, and they were on a MISSION. The huge ball of bees flew across the pasture, over the road, and into the wilds of the next property. I may have been able to catch them had I been more willing to sacrifice my body to the ticks and chiggers, but I took my eyes off the swarm to run indoors, apply copious amounts of bug spray and long pants, then run back out. By this time the swarm was long gone...probably swarmed up in what "Beekeeping for Dummies" says is their favorite tree - a cedar. Hmm...there's about a billion just on the hill of the next property. I did spend a while looking, but alas, it was in vain. Just the fact that I was looking for them after my last swarm experience probably says something about my sanity.

Anybody looking this direction for fresh honey better hold out for next year...

My UnBEElievable Day

Hey, it's my blog, and I can have a cheesy title if I want.

This morning I got up thinking it was going to be just your average, normal, beautiful sunshiney day after a DREARY day yesterday, and the day before when I'd just gotten back from vacation and didn't feel like doing much. Finally, a day to weed the garden and redo a flower bed that turned out to be a water dam instead. Morning goes uneventful, but after my lunch break I stepped out on the front porch and hear...lots of buzzing. Lots. Not the normal amount of buzzing I usually hear from our two new beehives 200 yards away. This was LOUD.

I investigate, and can tell REALLY quick that something is out of whack. The normally calm hives are all a-flutter...er, a-buzz with a huge cloud of bees. This is a pretty frantic sight for a uber-novice beekeeper, having been told in every beekeeping book that I've read, and at every beekeeping meeting that THIS IS BAD. Swarming, to those of you non bee-in-the-know, is a hive's natural way of making more hives...the bees make a new queen, and a good number of them fly into the wild blue yonder. That's bad because they're not staying to make you yummy honey.

So I did the only thing I knew to do. First, I made about four pointless trips back and forth from the hives to the house. During this time, the bees have now worked themselves into a big ball in the very tip-top of a skinny oak tree. Since I couldn't figure out what to do, I called hubby and yelled, "HONEY...THE BEES ARE SWARMING!!!"

Our following conversation went something like this:

"HONEY, THE BEES ARE SWARMING!!!"

"THE BEES ARE SWARMING?!?"

"THE BEES ARE SWARMING!!!"

"WOW, that's COOL!!!"

"YEAH, that's COOL! But what do I DO?"

"You gotta get the swarm!"

"Get the swarm? But it's in a tree."

"How far?"

"Uhhhh....a loooong way...like...40' or more."

"Well...get it if you can...we can make a new hive"

If I can. "IF you can" aren't words I take lightly. Of course I CAN...somehow. Those are OUR bees, and just where do they think they're going? Of course I can get those bees...it's not that high...I mean, they're right THERE.

Fact #1 about bees...they don't respond to calls of "Here bee bee bee bee bee!" So, first thing I needed was a ladder. So I got our ladder...which is like 5' tall. Not gonna cut it. Not even if I unwisely place it in the back of the truck, which I OF COURSE wouldn't do - it was only a very brief consideration. So...surely the neighbors have an extendable ladder, which they do, and I borrow. Armed with a very long ladder, my next step was to work for 10 minutes standing the ladder up to the tree, consistently banging the tree as hard as possible, shaking the swarm and ticking them off. After they're good and mad, I decided to climb the ladder.

I'm going to back up a minute back to childhood, when there wasn't a tree or a roof I couldn't climb. Climbing was my game, and I was good at it. The bros and I spent long hours on insanely tall perches in the sycamore tree in the front yard (unbeknownst to mom) without a single worry of falling. Then...at some point in time that changed. I'm not sure when...but I did notice a ridiculous amount of shaking and sweating while climbing a ladder in high school during a paint-the-house extravaganza. I dunno...maybe when I got taller my center of gravity changed. Maybe I grew a chicken liver. For whatever reason, I all of a sudden realized I had a problem with heights. Maybe not heights so much as feeling insecure and FALLING from heights. I can go to any height if it feels safe...tall ladders most definately do NOT.

Back to present - now I've made it up the ladder. After a couple tries, I had to ditch the beekeeping veil and gloves and go up the ladder "naked"...but I'm relying heavily on the factoid in my "Beekeeping for Dummies" (and at this point I'm thinking that title is apt) that swarming bees are full of honey and aren't prone to stinging. That "prone" is an interesting word. It seems to mean "it won't usually happen, but it'll probably happen to you."

Now I have to wonder how I find myself 40' up in a too-skinny oak tree, which is bending precariously, standing on the rung of a entendable ladder which reads "Do Not Stand On This Rung", hacking away with a saw at a branch holding a basketball-sized wad of stinging bees. All the time shaking, sweating, and talking to myself like the crazy person I must be.

After a few precarious tries, I finally cut the branch with the biggest wad of bees, successfully ditch the saw without hitting a dog or cat, which are both unwisely sitting at the bottom of the tree watching the procedure, and make my way down the ladder with branch containing the bee wad. According to "Beekeeping for Dummies", I can put them in a cardboard box. Which I do (see pic)...after unbelievably getting the swarm down without banging it or dropping it. Then back to the book, which is unclear at this point. Or else I'm a real dummy. So I called a lady from the beekeeping club, who tells me to shake them into a hive body, since that's all I've got. They ARE pretty docile, I must say...to endure a cutting, a trip down the ladder, being put in a box, then a shaking into a hive. But now I've been told I need to get a frame of brood and honey from one of the other hives.

No problem...NOW I'm a pro. Thing is, THESE bees aren't swarming, and they don't take too lightly having brood and honey stolen. They're pissed. And once I'm in the hive taking out the frame, they begin to very rudely exploit a hole in my armor - a gap between the elastic gloves and my sleeve. Fact #2 about bees, they also do not respond to yells of "STOP STINGING ME!!!"

Now I'm in the middle of robbing the hive, and I have at least FIVE angry bees up my sleeve...just stingin' away. My arm is on fire, and all I can do is kind of a little dance and say bad words. My overwhelming urge is to go running back to the house screaming bloody murder, but I can't make them MADDER - so I grit my teeth and calmly put the hive back together, added the robbed brood and honey to the new hive, put the hive back together, and THEN ran back to the house at a dead sprint, shedding gloves and shirt on the way. Most of them had already stung and were dead or dying, but I did have a couple live ones fly out. Thankfully we live at the end of a dirt road, and to my knowledge nobody saw me streaking the yard in my bra.

So now we have three hives. Soon to have four, because we can't just get into a new hobby slowly like normal people. We're also in the process of getting a wild hive out of a tree in town, which is not nearly the harrowing experience of getting a swarm. Getting a wild hive is really no more than being mean, blocking the entrances to the hive, and making them gradually go into your hive box.

And despite all this, we're still not guaranteed a butt-load of honey...but keep your fingers crossed! I would, but mine are swollen...

Post Vacation Blues

I've had a few days to "recover" from the trip, but now I'm stuck in the dastardly clutches of the Post Vacation Blues. No, I didn't make that up...it actually has an official name. And I thought I was just being a wuss...which I am, but my wussiness actually has a term! And apparently, the better your vacation was, the worse the blues are. On top of that, the cloudiness and rain sure doesn't help on the motivation end of things. Bah.

So now that I'm back, Mr. Hooter is now getting ready for his big trip, though his won't be that fun since it's work-mandated...so far he's not overly excited.

On the bright side, our farm is now several thousand critters bigger. :) Don't panic, mom...it's just bees! We're the proud parents of two new beehives purchased from a very experienced beekeeper in Calico Rock. They're busting at the seams, and if all goes well we'll be really rolling in the honey this summer. Not literally - that would be sticky and a waste of good honey.

In an abrupt change of subject (which I can do because this is MY blog), the Today Show just showed some tops that you just HAVE to HAVE for summer. and one little tanktop number that's "SOOOO affordable at just $144." Yeah!!! Only $144...whip out the pocket change!!! Who ARE these people??? For one thing, it looked like someone got it out of the rag bucket and pasted some sparklies and beads on. Second...half that to pay for a top is too much....for even half that, it better be something really dressy, not just something to flit down the streets of New York in.

Ah well...now they're discussing the important topic of what to tell your kids about your wild past...I think I'm going to barf.

Well, that's all for today...we need groceries...and I can quit listening to this yammering and go get two week's worth for the price of that "SOOO affordable" top...

Great Wild West Vacation Pics - Part II

Judith and I are back at our respective homes in the Natural State, after our whirwind tour of the southwest. What a great trip! I have to say, though, I'm glad to be back home with the hubby and the critters. Travelling is exhausting work...especially when you hit it hard like we did with no dilly-dallying.

Here's some more pics from the road:

Pottery sherds (is it sherd or shard?), which were scattered all over the ground at the Tsankawi Ruins at Bandelier. We would have taken some, but aside from being wrong, we just couldn't spring for the $10,000 fine.

Really cool valley somewhere in Utah (behind Judith). Judith spotted some elk waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy far away down in the vally, don't ask me how, but we verified them as elk through the "binos." (side note - "binos" is a term we learned that one uses in overly loud conversation when trying to impress your lady friend as well as nearby tourists, when you're actually full to the brim of absolute crap.)

Another kiva (one of the approximately 14,854 that we saw on the trip) at the Salmon Ruins.

Inside of the restored Great Kiva at Aztec ruins.

Gouldings museum and trading post, as seen in lots of old westerns I'm sure I've seen at one point in time.

Me and John...keeping an eye out for the bad guys.

Monuments at Monument Valley.

"Cliff Palace" at Mesa Verde. We sprung for the guided tour.

This was our ranger on the guided tour...she did an excellent job, and was NOT an incredibly arrogant boob like the ranger we would meet later.

What was really cool about these ruins, is that the complex seen directly behind the ranger are not living spaces, but administrative buildings and storage up high. Just imagine...you're living in a cliff pueblo 700 years ago, and you're STILL mired in bureaucracy. I can imagine it going something like this:

"Yes, we did recieve your reqest for a new water jar. However, you improperly filled out Form B, and therefore you must go over to the Balcony House pueblo down the canyon and fill out Forms C, D, and E. Please bring eight forms of I.D. and your damaged water jar to show you do indeed need a new one, and your new water jar will be delivered to you in 6-8 weeks, pending approval."

Judith and I, on our guided tour. In front of a kiva. Again.

More petroglyphs... I HIGHLY recommend Mesa Verde...everything we saw was really awesome, but M.V. just took the cake.

Our last stop was in Colorado Springs to visit my brother Trent. For fun we hiked the Manitou Incline...and when I say "fun" I mean the lung-splitting, heart pounding, leg-burning, gasping-for-oxygen kind. But, we made it...I'm not sure I would've without brother's prodding, but here we are at the top.

So that's our Wild West Trip in a very small nutshell. Only just over a week, but a week packed with fun and excitement, which everyone should have every so often. Grab a buddy and just take off, do some tent camping (until your air mattress springs a leak), and just see what you can see. And always remember - if your digital camera gets too full, you can always delete pics!(sorry...inside joke...;)

Great Wild West Vacation Pics - Part I

Giant turkey spotted in Springdale, AR in the company of a green-shirted tourist...approach with caution.
WHY would someone do this? Because it makes people (like us) whip off the freeway to go look at and pose for photographs with some cadillacs buried in a field.

Passed this sign in Amarillo. Seems like a lovely place...we might stay there on our way back.

Our first ruins, at Pecos National Historic Park, New Mexico.

Camel Rock, near Santa Fe (and very near Camel Rock Casino)...but I'm pretty sure it's a turtle.
Petroglyphs at Bandelier. Looks like E.T. to me...

Wild West Adventure - In Progress

Howdy from the Southwest! Coming to you live from Kayenta, Arizona in the Navajo Nation. Judith and I are nearly halfway done with our Great Wild West Adventure 2008, and after four nights of camping, we decided a night of hot showers and warm, soft, comfy beds containing no dirt was in order. I'm still basking in the glow of the Best Shower Ever, in my clean pj's getting free wireless.

So to update you on our progress:

We started out Friday mid-day from Judith's house at Gassville, AR. Before hitting Oklahoma, we whipped out the camera for a first vacation shot: Giant Turkey Statue in Springdale. At least I got one gobbler this season.

Then, on to Oklahoma, where we stopped our first night just west of OK City at Red Rock Canyon State Park. This is our lovely camp (post pics later). After 30 minutes of firewood gathering, and 10 minutes searching for a fire source (we had SAFETY matches with no box), we had a roaring blaze with which to warm our cold toes. For about 10 minutes. Still, it was a success at $8 bucks.

Westward ho!

On to Texas, where we spent some time messing around in the panhandle. If you've been through the panhandle, you'd think there isn't much messing around to do. Oh contraire...because just south of Amarillo is Palo Duro Canyon, which is second only to the Grand Canyon. After a heavy dose of sight-seeing-some-spectacular-scenic-scenery, we headed back to Amarillo and onward west.

Next stop - New Mexico. We messed around looking for the elusive red dot on the map labeled "Site of Coronado's Bridge", which apparently doesn't exist. Eventually we gave up...but we saw more good scenery. We camped the second night at Villanueva State park, which was labeled "quaint state park located on the banks of the Pecos River, near picturesque Spanish Villanueva Village." I'm assuming "quaint" means "people having a big party and playing thumping music" and "picturesque" means "looks like a crack house collection." Nah...it turned out ok and we got a good peaceful night's sleep. The big party was nothing more than a family reunion, which eventually quieted down ( at about 10:30 pm they moved from raucous Mexican and pop hits to Air Supply and Juice Newton) and in the broad daylight the village was pretty quaint after all.

Next - Pecos National Historic Park, where we saw partly prehistoric Pueblo ruins (Anasazi), and partly a rebuilt monastery from the 1600's.

Santa Fe was the next on the list, but since Judith and I have both been there, we didn't spend a lot of time. Plus, it's a city. Bah! This trip is for wide open spaces. However, I did purchase a couple of turquoise and something else necklaces from a Pueblo woman, guaranteed made by herself and her family. I'm not sure how "authentic" the materials are...possibly purchased at Hobby Lobby, but heck...she was nice, and I have two new neclaces, bringing my total jewelry collection up to four.

We made our next stop at Bandelier National Historic park, where we camped for two nights in the quietest and most comfortable campground so far. VERY IMPRESSIVE...we hiked all over looking at ruins where the Asasazi had hollowed out rooms in the highly erosive volcanic rock, then built the square rooms on in front. We also saw LOTS of petroglyphs scratched into the rock. I could look at those all day...that's by far been my favorite part of the trip. Since our comfy campground was sans showers, we had to go into Los Alamos to the Y and shower. I can skip a day here or there, but a day of hard hiking leaves a person pretty funky and dusty. Best $2 I ever spent.

As we headed toward Arizona, we stopped at two more Anasazi ruins, the Salmon Ruins (named for the folks who homesteaded there and protected the ruins from being messed with) and the Aztec ruins (really misnamed, like Toltec Mounds S.P. in Arkansas). Both were really cool.

Next stop - Monument Valley. Until next time...adios! (p.s. - more pics later...taking too long to download)