justahumblebee

Morning Glory Honey Bee

2011-10-03T20:51:00.000-04:00

Frogs are braver than crows

2011-10-03T20:47:00.001-04:00

Monarch floating in a tire track puddle

2011-08-26T19:57:00.000-04:00

Borage for Bees and a Baby Robin

2011-07-14T09:26:00.001-04:00

July Sky at Twilight

2011-07-10T13:10:00.000-04:00

Dennis vanEngelsdorp: a plea for bees | Video on TED.com

2011-07-06T12:30:00.001-04:00

Dennis vanEngelsdorp: a plea for bees | Video on TED.com

Louie Schwartzberg: The hidden beauty of pollination | Video on TED.com

2011-07-06T12:30:00.000-04:00

Louie Schwartzberg: The hidden beauty of pollination | Video on TED.com

This year's Allium blooms have drawn the bees right in

2011-07-05T19:15:00.000-04:00

The New Queen Reigns...

2011-06-30T01:00:00.000-04:00

See her there on the bottom? The bee with the long abdomen and stubby wings?

She was reared and hatched in this hive. The old queen and half the bees in the colony swarmed and

this new, lovely has taken her place on the throne.

Her enlarged abdomen is the clear sign that she is mated and should start laying eggs soon.

Shown here are a few drones (fat, big-eyed fellas) standing near Her Ladyship.

Drones need these giant peepers to spot a queen on her mating flight. When a drone

mates on a flight, it is, sadly, his last flight.

The queen will mate with 15 or so drones in one or more mating flight attempts until she has a sufficient amount of sperm stored to last the rest of her life. After she is successfully mated, if she is well fed, she will lay 1500-2000 eggs per day from early spring through mid autumn in these parts. She will do this every year throughout her life. A healthy queen's life expectancy is thought to be 4-5 years these days.

honey bee yard residents that are not honey bees

2011-06-29T13:55:00.000-04:00

4 baby wrens ... waiting on them to fledge out of the hive already!

oops, a bald-faced hornet nest on the inside of the gabled cover...

not cool

sorry, you can't stay here

just let me take a few pictures

the queen and a spider...

patterns

these can be really nasty

goodbye hornets

for a Friend in far away Lund

2011-06-29T13:23:00.000-04:00

walking round the yard looking closer

2011-06-16T11:46:00.001-04:00

Tiger Lily

Crazy Allium

Astilbe

Spirea

Wildflowers in the bee yard

hmmm... there were five. The wild turkey feathers are new. hehe... Silly wrens.

The calm after the storm and the catalpa's gifts

2011-06-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

Last night we had a terrible storm that snapped one of the tall pine trees in our backyard in half. There was hail, torrential rain, thunder, lightning and crazy wind.

This is what I found today...

coral bells

perfect yellow roses

one 4-leaf clover

wallflowers

Dilemma: do two 4-leaf clovers cancel each other out or is it extra good luck?

catalpa in bloom

these orchid like catalpa flowers showered down with the storm

flower press (gift from a friend) for pressing my luck (clovers) :)

Blueness

2011-06-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

train wreck

2011-06-01T12:21:00.002-04:00

still smilin'

Almost ready to swarm

2011-05-30T19:51:00.000-04:00

last bar of the newest comb

a few of the several virgin queen cells

close up of queen cell

I haven't seen any foragers coming in with pollen for a few days, there's lots of drone, several queen cells and a whole mess of bees hanging out on the outside of the hive.

The queen cells haven't been capped yet but I think it's almost time...

The newest conundrum: A pair of little wrens decided to move in to one of the two empty baited hives.

Not the tenants I was hoping for but pretty special nonetheless. I removed the twigs once already before this egg showed up. They wouldn't take no for an answer.

Bee Chain teamwork

Vanderbilt Mansion- Hyde Park, NY

2011-05-29T15:17:00.001-04:00

Mushrooms!

2011-05-13T20:44:00.000-04:00

I found these! I have become a mushroom hunter overnight! I love this! They are edible wild Morel Mushrooms .... gourmet mushrooms! I have never tasted them but I hear they are amazingly good. I plan to dry them and find some interesting recipes....

Haven't been around in a while- here's why

2011-05-10T14:58:00.001-04:00

HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING SPRING TOO

DRAWING CHALLENGE- TAIL

2011-04-02T20:00:00.001-04:00

Part of white-tailed deer tail found on a walk in the back woods

The Golden ratio has been quite inspiring lately..... seeing spirals everywhere

I will share some photos now and later some drawings

Our sweet dog Zoey has a marvelous, spirally TAIL...

I think Descartes, Archimedes, Bernoulli and Fibonacci, et al. would think so too :)

most importantly, her boy thinks so

Sweet Zoey

   How much is that doggy in the window?
   the one with the spirally tail... :)

Please visit Jasmin to see more interpretations of this week's drawing challenge: TAIL

I am off and excited to do the same :)

DRAWING CHALLENGE- BIRD

2011-03-11T19:53:00.001-05:00

new and old birds...

What to do with wings.... 3/11/11

tempera on cut cardboard (cheap fun) 3/11/11

autumn and winter feathers... 2010-2011

still working on deciphering woodpecker code... I think I'm close

3/11

the geese return! 3/11/11

owly sketch

an old roseate spoonbill painting '98

bluebird on Cape Cod

This was fun. I am a huge bird fan. Thank you Elisabeth for hosting the BIRD drawing challenge! And Thank You Hanna for telling me about it. :) Please see Elisabeth's blog for more drawings in the Bird drawing challenge.

trees around me

2011-03-07T21:13:00.000-05:00

= hungry birds

a walking stick tree (is much prettier in winter)

2011-03-07T15:16:00.000-05:00

Wild Turkeys in the Bee Yard and one quiet hive

2011-03-07T13:28:00.001-05:00

The turkeys seemed to have scoped out the yard for the detritus because most of the bees that

were fallen and scattered here from the last cleansing flight were gone from the entrances and surrounding areas. Only hearing the buzzing from one colony.

2011-03-07T13:16:00.004-05:00

March's Lion

2011-03-07T12:45:00.000-05:00

2011-03-06T19:15:00.000-05:00

Nature walk - recommended often

2011-03-02T13:51:00.005-05:00

Turkey tracks

Boy tracks

woodpecker !

hungry woodpecker at that...

melting pumpkin

I call this one 'hedgehog in snow'

She was hidden in the woods. I'm not ready to explain this sort of thing to our boy. I was glad he didn't see. He is so inquisitive and I am sure he would ask "why?", just like we all do, even as adults.

I don't want to make up stories, I don't want him to be sad or confused or scared and at the same time I don't want to desensitize him...

Life is real, death is real and he is precious.

If you notice a child doing or saying something selfless and compassionate, please, please drop what you are doing and praise them for it. Don't go crazy about it, just let them know that you notice and genuinely appreciate them. The world needs it and it feels really good.

playing with hexagons

2011-02-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

Playing with more hexagons

TORTUGA BREAD!

2011-02-22T17:29:00.001-05:00

yeah, we eat turtle. Well not really.

Week Word- CYNOSURE

2011-02-12T14:49:00.002-05:00

WEEK WORD- CYNOSURE -

visit JUNEBUG for more interpretations of cynosure.

Cynosure- (n.) - a person or thing that is the center of attention or admiration.

The queen is the cynosure of the colony. Can you find her?

The Boy...

the boy and his daddy...

They are those who serve to guide and direct me.

I cannot think of a more ultimate privilege or example of cynosure in my world.

cynosure (plural cynosures)

(figuratively) That which serves to guide or direct. let faith be your cynosure to walk by

Winter Cleansing Flight for the Bees

2011-02-06T22:06:00.002-05:00

(I am so happy to see them)

Week Word- THERAPEUTIC

2011-02-05T09:37:00.006-05:00

WEEK WORD- THERAPEUTIC

Welcome All!

As I explore through each blog for word interpretations every week, I notice that many of you are quite creative. So it probably goes without saying that you all know that when you go a while without being able to create, (say because of your job, chores, overflowing to do lists, etc.) you can go through a creative withdrawal of sorts. At least that is what happens here.... When this one can't sit down to paint/draw, etc. she gets antsy, restless and sometimes even grumpy. It's like I don't even know her anymore.

So we need find ways to deal.

When you have a family, your time is their time, most of the time. So, if you can't beat em join 'em... or let me rephrase that....

I need to stop, and just go with the flow.

I need to realize that I don't have to make a masterpiece or sacrifice time with my family to appease my creative angst monster.

I can share my boy's passion for sea animals, be crafty, spend quality time with him AND make him happy while his smile and enthusiasm make me happy a the while.

We made a hammerhead shark. It was very THERAPEUTIC.

these photos were taken while this guy was in progress... Papier mache is very therapeutic. Its messy, goopy on your hands and fun. This guy is made of crumpled recycled newspaper and reused gray packing paper. We used an Elmers brand mixture but you can use flour and water for the mix.

Here's a recipe:

Combine:
1/2 c All Purpose Flour
2 c cold water

then add that mix to this separate mix:
2c boiling water
3Tbsp sugar

Stir until combined. :)

Even if you don't have children around this is fun (and therapeutic)

N here is my testimonial that Papier mache is a happy maker.

Thank you for visiting!
Please be sure to also visit Domestic Scribbles' Blog to see some more interpretations of 'Therapeutic'.
We have a great group of creative people on the week word train and are always welcoming more folks to join. Visit Junebug's Musings to see next week's word and instructions on how to join.

SORRY, this new editor is getting the better of me...

Week Word- TRANSITION

2011-01-29T10:03:00.002-05:00

Week Word- TRANSITION

I miss the bees. I often walk to the bee yard to put my ear to the hives to hear them buzzing. Two nights ago I dreamt about them. They are never far from my thoughts. I know that may sound strange to some folks but I have no excuses for being unabashedly smitten with them.

As far as TRANSITIONS go, the bees go through many. Seasonal transitions, hive responsibility transitions, etc. BUT, I have been thinking a lot about a different type of transition that the bees have had no control over. Even if you are not a bee fan, you may be interested to know some of this because it affects us all. We all eat food :) and statistically, the bees bring us every third bite of food on our plates with their pollinating efforts. Yay bees!

First let me preface by saying that this is only my first year keeping bees and although I have learned a little bit about the different ways in which they are kept, there is so much I don't know. But I have learned from a few seasoned beekeepers on what NOT to do. When I first bit the bullet and realized I was going to follow through with my yearning to keep bees I was saddened to learn that virtually all commercial beekeepers use pesticides amongst other chemicals and antibiotic treatments on their hives to fight off mites and disease. Some of which include Organophosphates (which are basically the nerve agent type... care for some nerve agents with your honey?), Constant treatments, pesticide exposure and other factors have contributed to the stress of our world's honeybees. "Colony Collapse Disorder" has been in the news a lot over the past few years as I am sure you have all heard. It is considered a crisis of sorts having detrimental effects on the bees and our agriculture...

In light of all the bad news, there is HOPE. If the bees are " 'treated' nice "(-Sam Comfort of Anarchy Apiaries' play on words) instead of treated with pesticides, chemicals and antibiotics, and the ways in which we keep them are more bee friendly, we start to see an improvement in their mortality rate not to mention feel better about consuming and using untainted honey and bee products in and on our bodies.

- some history...

Most beehives you see are the vertical, white hives that were originally designed by a man named Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth His hive was designed to have the movable frames of comb we see in the hands of beekeepers in so many pictures. Before this design, the straw skep hives, the typical symbol we usually see for beehives, was used. There were also gums, which were essentially hollowed out logs. These hive designs not were able to be inspected like the hives today as the combs were fixed in place. In fact, they were banned in 1922 for this very reason. State inspectors need to be able to inspect each frame for signs of disease or infestation of parasites. Interestingly, with moveable frames came more disease. For the last 100 years or so, these frames have had foundation inserts imprinted with the hexagonal cells of a predetermined size (that size determined by humans that have the mindset that bigger is better- bigger cell size=bigger bees/more honey) Another problem with this is that drone (male) bees need a different (larger) cell size than the worker (female) bees. These foundations don't allow for drones to hatch out. Hives with fewer drones= more stress on the colony :( but because they are considered a drawback to the beekeeper (they eat honey and do no foraging), they have been sort of labeled the freeloaders.

However there have been a handful of commercial beekeepers who have let their bees determine their own cell size with foundation-less frames. They swear by this more natural method and they producing more hygienic and healthier bees.

These beekeepers promote sustainable beekeeping with no treatments of any kind, getting off artificial feeds (like corn syrup), and limiting artificial inbreeding of bees.

Dee Lusby a 'small cell' beekeeper in AZ found that it takes 7-8 generations of bees to TRANSITION back to their natural cell size. She did this by shaking bees (that had been building on imprinted foundation) into top bar hives. Frameless hives that allow the bees to draw their own natural comb. These hives are legal and can be inspected. She did this through each generation of bees to allow them to build their own comb the way and size THEY decide to. The bees know BEST. There are many advantages to the bees and beekeeper with this method. Although the bees make less honey because the wax is harvested along with the honey, they are better for it. The bees need to rebuild the wax each time which means less energy for honey but this method is better for rearing healthier bees because the wax is clean as opposed to frames that are reused by beekeepers each season. Wax is lipophilic, which means it can and will absorb toxins and spores. The spores from American Foul Brood ( a horrible bee disease which wipes out colonies that came about with commercial beekeeping) can stay dormant in wax for up to 70 or so odd years! And the toxins from any pesticide or treatment on the hive.

DO YOU LOVE HONEY IN YOUR TEA OR ON YOUR TOAST?

That beeswax lip balm you love? hmm, is it from a non-treated hive? Just sayin'. ;)

Support your local beekeepers, ask them questions.... they all have stories. Thanks for stopping by.

BEE sure to head over to John's blog to see more week word interpretations!

BEE WELL

Weekword-RECYCLE

2011-01-12T15:56:00.004-05:00

Weekword- Recycle

A few recycle bins on the streets of Great Barrington, MA.

This one made of recycled signs...

Another angle.....

For links to more weekword interpretations visit this week's weekword host Elisabeth at TEXTILSPANIELN .

The hives are buzzing... minus the sweet hum of a few fallen heroines

2010-12-31T14:04:00.000-05:00

the bee field deer runs....

Week Word- Synesthesia

2010-12-11T15:52:00.001-05:00

Week Word- Synesthesia

Ever since learning about this 'condition' I have been fascinated. I always wished that I would find the ability within myself to mirror some form of synesthesia. I find the whole idea that one can involuntarily combine sensory information to create a whole new compound of information (that would not 'normally' be combined) extremely poetic and beautiful. Synesthetic metaphors, colors as/numbers/words/sounds, tastes as sounds , music as color---- and the fact that they come so automatic- all amazing. I am jealous.

I first read into the subject when I heard about a gentleman named Daniel Tammet . Click this link and see him painting his numbers. He happens to have Asperger's Syndrome and has written two books (going on a third) that beautifully articulate what his individual experience is like to be born and to live everyday as a person with Asperger's and Savant capabilities He describes his struggle with every day tasks and how emotional communication and social interaction with others around him is extremely difficult. He explains how he had to teach himself to look people in the eye when speaking to them even though it felt physically painful for him to do so at times. He often speaks of sensory overload, for example he explains that he has trouble visiting certain places like the beach because he has an immediate, obsessive, compulsion to count the grains of sand. Here is a clip of Daniel on the David letterman show Daniel talks about how he recited pi to 22,514 decimal places in 5 hours and 14 minutes, from memory and he raised money for the epilepsy foundation. This is Daniel's Official Website
His books are -

Born on a Blue Day
Embracing the Wide Sky- A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind

He is an amazing and brilliant man. Please see for yourself. Then check out Joye's blog for more interpretations of Week Word- Synesthesia

Week word- Lacuna

2010-11-27T13:36:00.004-05:00

Week word- LACUNA (so sorry I am late, busy holiday week!)

-an unfilled space or interval; a gap

-a cavity or depression, especially in a bone.

- a missing portion in a book or manuscript

I love the derivatives of this word and how they sound-

lacunal- adj.

lacunary-adj

lacunate- adj.

lacunose-adj.

There is something about an unfilled space that often calls for filling it in...

or constructing it to do so...

sometimes Lacunae? Lacunas? are cozy and fun

sometimes essential...

they can feel safe....

they can protect...

sustain life....

become remnants....

There is something beautiful, maternal or womblike even, about this word (to me... it is the way I want to see/feel/interpret it.) Thank you Carmen for a great word.

Please see visit Carmen @ Tails of a Biomouse to see more Week worders' interpretations of LACUNA . Join in on the the weekly word yourself by visiting the blog of the next host of weekword (who will be revealed on Carmen's blog) Week Word is announced on Mondays. More people playing = more inspiration. :)

~Gina

At Home, Outside

2010-11-23T12:12:00.009-05:00

Remnants...

Glory days gone?

I'm not so sure now as I look harder

Painting a bit... maybe a series

2010-11-21T20:24:00.002-05:00

futzing and wandering, wandering and futzing

2010-11-19T23:36:00.003-05:00

messing with the sewing machine (trying to learn how to use it)

Week Word- Rock

2010-11-19T21:39:00.006-05:00

A few from the collection - stripes, triangles, hearts, etc. and some from my wanderings...

Check out some more interpretations of Week word at simplycoolstuff .

Weekword-ABUNDANCE

2010-11-04T09:02:00.018-04:00

ABUNDANCE

I like the part of the definition that says-

plentifulness of the good things of life

I think of synonyms like~

myriad

plethora

multitude

bountiful

cornucopia-

then I think of Thanksgiving coming

and what I am most thankful for

First and foremost

my family (and friends :) )

the bees

the honey

the flowers

the rain

garden harvests

Color, pattern and inspiration from nature

gifts that remind me of the kindness of friends and family

Art- yes, that sweet painting is from peekadoo lucky me! :)

BOOKS

and bread, yummm. We are definitely a bread-loving family

What do you consider to be the 'good things' of life?

Week Word- Nostalgic

2010-08-21T19:46:00.003-04:00

My generation could go on and on with 80's nostalgia... E.T. , Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Saturday Morning Cartoons, toys and action figures, shoe and clothing fads, hairstyles, etc.

But the most nostalgic for me is a where and with whom activity:

That was at the reservoir, in a canoe, with my dad.

Fishing, bird and turtle watching.

Dad in his kayak

These moments with my son, seeing him enjoy and appreciate the natural world help me to relive those experiences. They remind me to never lose that sense of wonder that the world can bring.
Thank you Christine for a great week word :) To see Christine's and more interpretations of this week's weekword, visit Christine's blog at- silverlinings4me

trust your bees I am telling myself, they know what they are doing....

2010-08-17T12:19:00.011-04:00

This is a bunch of drone comb. You can tell the difference between drone comb and worker comb by the shape of the cap. Drone brood comb have a bulbous, rounded cap, while the worker cap is flat and flush with the rest of the comb.

For over a century, many beekeepers have gone with the thought that a lot of drone comb is bad. Their reason being that drones are lazy, only sit around eating honey and make a colony less productive. While it is true that drones are bred to mate with the queen and they sit around the hive and don't even feed themselves, some beekeepers think they are more worthy than they are cracked up to be. For instance, some beekeepers think that because the varroa destructor mite, a kind of little red tick parasite that plagues the honeybee bees, prefer to feed off of drone brood. So, it is thought by some that the bees strategically lay drone comb away from their worker brood comb. Therefore drones are in actuality, whether they like it or not, noble martyrs for their fellow sisters. The carefree life of a drone isn't so carefree. They can't even catch a break while mating as their reproductive organs are torn from their abdomens, killing them during the mating flight. Poor fellas even get kicked out of the hive and are left for dead before winter sets in. No mercy. Tis the fate of the drone bee. So give him a break and leave him bee.

This is a comb with some honey! Yay bees!

more drone comb.... I may have a few laying workers on my hands...

have to keep an eye on this. More about laying workers later.....

Almost at the bottom of this comb, in the center, there is what looks to be a supersedure cell, that is a new queen cell, where a baby queen will develop. It almost looks like a little peanut hanging down. Usually there are more than just one. The first queen that hatches makes a 'beeline to the other queen cells and tries to sting them to death before they hatch or they will fight the others to the death if they have hatched unnoticed. Sometimes the present queen may try to do them in before they hatch as well. I am not sure that this one pictured is in fact a queen cell because there was a hole in the comb and they may have just been building to close it. However, evidence of these types of cells could mean a swarm is in order, or that the queen is old or failing as she may not have enough drone sperm collected and stored in her spermatheca (this contains the sperm from one mating flight with several drones and lasts throughout her lifetime- some queen can live up to 4 yrs I am told) . If a queen's mating flight is sub par, or rather if she doesn't collect enough sperm, she will eventually lay unfertilized eggs. Unfertilized eggs which still hatch but become drones. This happens because the bees that are born have a half set of unpaired chromosomes. They are haploid bees.

another couple of views...

more drone comb

this is not a good thing... it is what chalk brood looks like. Little white, chalky looking, mummified brood parts on the hive floor. They eventually get spotty and may turn black. Workers will act as undertakers and lug these to the entrance of the hive into a pile and then, eventually take them out of the hive. Chalk brood is caused by stress on the colony, usually from cold, damp weather and not enough nourishment. It is actually a type of spore-forming fungus that infects the larvae. There is no treatment a beekeeper can give... only honey made by the colony can help so I am told. Makes sense, honey is very nutritious. It's like chicken soup for them. The good news is, that it seems that this colony has made it through the chalk brood days of spring with all the rising, dry temps this summer. However, they are still struggling with a low population and are still not as active as the other hive. They only have 6 bars of comb total, while the other hive is building on their 11 th, would be 12 th comb (one comb was donated to the weak hive containing 6). So, naturally, I am worried that they will not have enough bees or food stores to get them through the winter. This is my first year though, and I may not know any better. This all may turn around for the better. Keeping my fingers crossed and my faith and trust in them to know what to do.

A clarification- the weak hive is the one that had chalk brood a much fewer bees and comb and with what I think is the queen cell. The strong hive is the one with all the drone comb.

If you have read this, and you are a beekeeper or have knowledge in these sorts of things, please tell me of your ups and downs, your worries and your hopes and suggestions about this amazing bee venture we share. I'd love to hear what you have to say.

This link has some interesting info

this one especially too- link

Give Bees a Chance

The Poet's Walk

2010-08-09T14:01:00.005-04:00

one of my favorite places

(my personal) tree of life

Bees Buzzing and Walking Stick bugs... walking

2010-07-25T14:01:00.002-04:00

I have been neglecting the BEE portion of this blog.... so I decided to make it up to you today while N is taking his nap and I am hiding from the heat and humidity of the day.

While most hives these days are based on the horizontal Langstroth design, some folks are choosing a less invasive method. For example, these are my 2 top bar hives. In a top bar hive less area is exposed when handling the bees. With the devistating effects of Colony Collapse Disorder, I am a firm believer that the ONLY sustainable method of beekeeping is if you don't treat with pesticides and antibiotics and you just let the bees be. The wax is cleaner and not infused with poisons. The 'treatments' effect the reproductive organs of the drones and queen, and are detrimental to the fragile immune system of the honeybee in general. Treatments effect the purity of the honey and propolis as well which are the bees sources of nutrition and medicine. We are so lucky to have the honeybee in our world. I read that every third bite of food on our plate is brought to us courtesy of the honeybee.

There are no pesticides or antibiotics used in these 2 hives. One hive has Russian/feral genes and the other is from a wild swarm found here in NY. Right now, the wild bees are faring much better. More bees, more comb, more honey. I am worried about the Russian cross hive as they had a rough start in May and a bout of chalk brood during the cold damp weather. I have given them a few jars of sugar syrup to try to get them to rear more brood before it is too late. If they do not build up the population soon, and start foraging more and making more honey, I am afraid that they will not survive the winter. Sugar syrup has a much higher pH than honey and a lot less nutrition. On one hand feeding the bees a higher pH, you risk the chance of a higher reproduction of brood disease, on the other hand, lack of bees this late in the season could mean the bees will starve over the winter. It is a gamble and a difficult decision for a beekeeper who wants to do right by her bees. I took another risk as well in hopes that I might help save this hive.... I took a bar of healthy bees and brood from the 'wild' colony and gave it to the weak one. I am trying to read up on every natural method I can to help these bees. I fear though, that the more we mess with bees the worse for wear they become. I will never stop learning from them.

This is a "bar" from the healthier of the two hives. The bees build their own comb the way and size they choose. Their cell size is not predetermined by a factory made piece of plastic that already has the size of each cell stamped into it. The bees cells are scaled down in this method of beekeeping because they are building it without this plastic foundation. It is obviously more natural. The bees are healthier for it and they are also more hygienic. It is thought that the smaller cell size also has a better potential for discouraging varroa mites and other pests from devastating a colony. The comb is like a fortress. Bigger is NOT better in this case. MORE bee buzz to come ....

Oh, and here is another cool fellow... I saved from being squished by the garage door.

The Last Fledgling

2010-07-25T13:57:00.001-04:00

blues, greens, whites and yellow ochre

2010-07-24T21:57:00.000-04:00

Painting again... finally

2010-07-20T20:22:00.004-04:00

This has been a long time coming...

A painting( IN PROGRESS) inspired by one of my favorite poems by John Berger.

This excerpt was taken from - And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief As Photos

I first came across this poem about 15 years ago (yikes) and it was so poignant for me. It would come to mind ever so often while reflecting on the meaning of love. Over time, it's meaning has only intensified.

Some may find this a bit morbid due to the subject matter, but I assure you it is not my intention as I am sure you will understand after reading the poem.

The Poem-

“What reconciles me to my own death more than anything else is the image of a place: a place where your bones and mine are buried, thrown, uncovered, together. They are strewn there pell-mell. One of your left ribs leans against my skull. A metacarpal of my left hand lies inside your pelvis. (Against my broken ribs your breast like a flower.) The hundred bones of our feet are scattered like gravel. It is strange that this image of our proximity, concerning as it does mere phosphate of calcium, should bestow a sense of peace. Yet it does. With you I can imagine a place where to be phosphate of calcium is enough.”

So... this is my humble rendering... I had recently seen a photo of an archaeological site in Italy

and it immediately brought the poem to mind. This sketch was not based on the photo however as you will see if you click on the link. I took sketches from two separate photos/sites and brought them together to give a similar effect. I promise to take better photos soon. Hopefully you can get the gist with these.

the sketch

underpainting in progress..... lots more work to be done

Would love to hear what you think :)

butterflies and bees

2010-07-13T19:51:00.003-04:00

my boys appreciating the flowers

2010-07-11T13:41:00.005-04:00

the bees have found the allium

2010-07-07T20:57:00.005-04:00

a kooky one

3 baby robins right next to the house 7/4/10

2010-07-06T22:33:00.000-04:00

frogtopia

2010-07-03T20:43:00.007-04:00

From what I hear, frogs have it pretty rough these days... with pollution killing them off and changing he frogs into she frogs, tragic encounters with tires on the moist, warm pavement after rain, etc. :(

I am happy though that we have been seeing so many around these parts.

We have a quite a frog population here in our yard... We seem to find frogs of all kinds throughout spring and summer. N always wants to touch. I know its not that good for a frog to be handled, but we are gentle and always try to just take a quick, closer look so as not to dry out their skin. :)

Here are a few we have been lucky to see and photograph right in our yard and gardens over the past few summers...

in one of our 2 frog ponds

(Statue of THE King of Frogtopia)

on the rose trellis

in one of our frog ponds

on the hose guard (one of my favorites)

they are amazing aren't they?

Week Word- Nothing

2010-07-01T20:58:00.009-04:00

I would love to be able to say something clever about nothing.

Maybe try to incorporate quantum mechanics, the general theory of relativity, the big bang theory or vacuum energy.

My brain gets tangled in knots when I try to wrap it around so many theories and concepts and I just try to look for the simplicity in things. Sometimes I wonder though, how amazing it is that some things that seem so simple can be intensely complex at the same time.

It is such an ambigous word and overwhelming to ponder- nothing. Yet it can also describe something trivial. How is that?

Is 'Nothing' to be feared? As in a vast Nothingness, a void, a black hole...

Like "The Nothing" from the movie -The Never Ending Story- where 'the Nothing' is inescapable and it consumes almost all of Fantasia leaving only floating bits?

Is 'Nothing' to be desired? How does one think of 'nothing'? Is nothing idyllic?

If I had no senses, I would see, smell, hear, taste and touch nothing.

I guess there would be no point to this temporal existence.

Would I also have no emotions? No sense of wonder?

Nothing can fill up space.

Nothing is a pronoun.

Nothing is something.

you can hear it

after a heavy snowfall on an early morning before everything is awakened

you can see it

paint it

it fills in the space as

sfumato around a figure

dancing air

alive, real,

it's really something.

but most important

you can choose

to believe that

what may seem like nothing

is something

even if you can't see it

or hear, or smell, or taste, or touch it

See Hanna's blog for more interpretations of "Nothing"

Thank you Hanna for a thought provoking word. :)

garden days

2010-06-27T21:15:00.007-04:00

bumble bee in the Hosta

a natural naturalist :)

close up of N's new buddy

clustered seed head on jack in the pulpit

allium (green onion) great for bee colony health

monarda (bee balm) the bees and hummingbirds LOVE it

This is a huge rock that N and I like to sit on at the park.

It's at the edge of a pond that is home to lots of frogs and turtles.

The grooves in the rock look like a neat drawing.

Weekword- Dream

2010-06-18T13:28:00.006-04:00

When you dream, what do you dream about?

Music and Lyrics by - Bare Naked Ladies

"When You Dream"

With life just begun, my sleeping new son
has eyes that roll back in his head
They flutter and dart, he slows down his heart
and pictures a world past his bed
It's hard to believe
As I watch you breathe
Your mind drifts and weaves

When you dream,
what do you dream about?
When you dream,
what do you dream about?
Do you dream about
music or mathematics
or planets too far for the eye?
Do you dream about
Jesus or quantum mechanics
or angels who sing lullabies?

His fontanelle pulses with lives that he's lived
With memories he'll learn to ignore
And when it is closed, he already knows
he's forgotten all he knew before
But when sleep sets in
history begins
But the future will win

When you dream,
what do you dream about?
When you dream,
what do you dream about?
Are they colour or black and white,
Yiddish or English
or languages not yet conceived?
Are they silent or boisterous?
Do you hear noises just
loud enough to be perceived?
Do you hear Del Shannon's "Runaway" playing
on transistor radio waves?
With so little experience,
your mind not yet cognizant
Are you wise beyond your few days?
When you dream,
what do you dream about?
When you dream,
what do you dream about?

Visit Elisabeth's blog for more week word interpretations of DREAM

Week WORD- TRANSPARENT

2010-06-10T21:41:00.008-04:00

Week WORD- TRANSPARENT

The following are playing week word (so far)

Click them to see their interpretations unveiled on Friday.

I can't wait to see!

Veja cecilia

UpsidedownBee

TEXTILSPANIELN

hanna-happenings

PEEKADOO

nathalie et cetera

ensalada

malin Nuhma

Please leave a comment if you would still like to join in.

Elisabeth will be hosting for the new word on Monday.

I very much wanted to make a painting but time didn't allow...

I still plan to. Until then,

This is our Catalpa tree. It has delicate, white, orchid-like flowers

which are blooming now and big beautiful heart-shaped leaves.

I love how the sun tries to shine through them.

Which is where I make the connection to week word. :)

transparent.

I learned that the Catalpa worm or caterpillar that lives on these trees

is a favorite bait for some anglers.

Some even propagate Catalpas and have orchards of them

just to harvest the caterpillars for bait.

I just like to look at ours and watch it change with the seasons

at its own pace.

Catalpas have long seed pods that hang down from the tree.

The pods split open in the spring releasing hundreds of feathery,

propeller like seeds that blow around everywhere.

Then the pods finally drop in late summer.

Unlike most trees, the Catalpa is the last to grow its leaves in the spring.

Its foliage does not change color like other deciduous trees.

Instead it drops all of its large green leaves in one day

usually after the first hard frost.

It makes a big mess of huge leaves in our driveway,

but we only have to clean up after it once :)

Week WORD- TRANSPARENT

2010-06-05T12:58:00.006-04:00

Hanna has asked me to host this week's weekword. Thank you Hanna for the opportunity! Hopefully I am not breaking the rules here but I thought I might post the weekword a bit early to give people a little more time to ruminate and hopefully join in (including myself). Summer is a busy time. Enjoy it and don't forget to take a little of that time for yourselves and those who are near and dear.

Please post a comment if you would like to join in and I will link to you on Friday. Also, if you would like to host next week, Say "I".

WeekWORD- Transparent

Weekword- now

2010-06-02T22:02:00.014-04:00

Week WORD- 'Now'

This is a tricky one for an image...

I would continuously have to freeze time in stills and choose one to represent 'now',

but now is fleeting so how can I do that?

Maybe a photograph of a Dandelion with its seeds blowing in the wind,

or a clock with no hands,

or and single grain of sand in an hourglass

in suspended animation...

these are some of the visuals I'm getting

but what really comes to mind

is an excerpt from

Kahlil Gibran's ---The Prophet---

------ And an astronomer said, Master, what of Time?

And he answered:

You would measure time in the measureless

and the immeasurable.

You would adjust your conduct and even

direct the course of your spirit according to

hours and seasons.

Of time you would make a stream upon

whose bank you would sit and watch its

flowing.

Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's

timelessness,

And knows that yesterday is but today's

memory and tomorrow is today's dream.

And that which sings and contemplates

in you is still dwelling within the

bounds of that first moment which scattered

the stars into space.

Who among you does not feel that his

power to love is boundless?

And yet who does not feel that very love,

though boundless, encompassed within the

center of his being, and moving not from

love thought to love thought, nor from

love deeds to other love deeds?

And is not time even as love is, undivided

and spaceless?

But if in your thought you must measure

time into seasons, let each season encircle

all the other seasons,

And let today embrace the past with

remembrance and the future with longing.--------

And so, these are the images that I choose to embrace,

season to season, past, future, 'NOW'

and 'whenever' have you~

Thank you to Hanna for the opportunity to reflect on this weekWORD. Visit her for more links to other interpretations of ---NOW.---

2010-05-29T22:16:00.002-04:00

playing around with the harmony drawing program....

weekword- hiding

2010-05-21T08:06:00.000-04:00

2010-05-19T20:43:00.002-04:00

Queen

Click on the image to take a closer look at the nurse bee to the lower left of the queen.

Her proboscis is extended touching the queen.

These attendants groom and feed the queen and collect her pheromone and share it

with the bees around them who also share it, spreading its effects throughout the hive.

Olana- Home of Frederic Church

2010-05-14T22:26:00.005-04:00

Olana

Persian style Mansion

Home of Frederic Church

(1826-1900)

student of Thomas Cole

and a major figure of the

Hudson River School of Landscape

The views...

weekword- Mother

2010-05-11T19:33:00.003-04:00

mother

still chilly and windy...

2010-05-11T09:27:00.005-04:00

driftwood from the riverbank... not sure what I'm doing with it yet

the curly vine is from the back yard

I think this little lady stopped to scout me out while I was getting photos of the hives

hive entrance

buzz buzz

some of the seedlings

My new shirt/Mother's Day present :)

2010-05-10T10:22:00.001-04:00

It's sweet :)

good thing our seedlings aren't out yet!

2010-05-10T08:08:00.002-04:00

our garden... waiting for a good day to plant

Irises in Rhinebeck on Mother's Day.

We went to the farmer's market. It was windy and cold.

I got a falafel in a pita with mango curry and tahini

and hot cider at the market and a Cel-ray Soda

from Leonardo's Italian Market for later.

Soooooo yummy. A Great day.

Hope all you mom's had a Happy Mother's Day!

cold!

2010-05-10T07:50:00.005-04:00

the skies on the way to the farm to see the bees

ominous...

the 2 hives- it's always what's inside that counts

a quick peak on a cold day... they made the trip ok...

more to come when it's sunny and warm

I have gone apiarian

2010-05-08T21:29:00.014-04:00

There's no turning back. Today I stood in a bee yard at a local community farm with at least 30 top bar hives, bees everywhere. I came home with a wild hive from Pine Plains, NY, and another full of Russian stock/feral genes bred in NY by Sam Comfort of Anarchy Apiaries. I guess after we get better acquainted, me and the bees, I'll find out just exactly what that means. B.A.N.D. - Beekeepers Association of Northern Dutchess is set to meet at the end of the month, so I am on my own until then. I have to be up and about before the bees tomorrow morning to move them from the back yard to the 'bee yard' a little further into our back woods. I'll post some photos of the hives in the yard soon. Bee photos to follow in a few days after they adjust to their new surroundings...

So, only 1 bee sting today (on the leg) -pretty good considering I was sans bee suit and standing next to a guy wearing way too much cologne (he came to find out bees don't like that sort of thing). I haven't been stung since I was probably about 11 or 12. I'll always remember that day I was fishing with my father. We saved a honeybee that was drowning, that is, until it stung the palm of my hand and died. I put mud on the sting from the shore and the pain went away after a while. I think, maybe subconsciously, that day may have been the catalyst for all of this bee geekery. At least I'd like to think so. Its been a long time coming. (weird, Sam Cooke pops into the picture as I type this- A Change is Gonna Come) The memory is and always has been very vivid. Not the memory of the pain from the sting, but of the moments I watched the bee crawling on my hand knowing that despite the fact that it could sting me, and did, I still felt compassion for it. I was sad it stung me because I knew that meant it was going to die. Unless you are allergic, a honeybee sting really isn't so bad... think of how much worse it is for the bee.

river and farm

2010-05-07T08:00:00.003-04:00

the riverbank

neighborhood farmhouse

mugshot of our neighborhood carrot fiend