country life
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The busy beekeeper tries to tuck the bees in for winter
A twenty-five pound bag of sugar is empty in the kitchen. Dinner was delayed because the stock pot of bubbling sugar water was taking up most of the stove space. All of my pyrex casseroles are filled with sweets that we won’t be eating. A five gallon bucket and a paint stirrer are coated with sugar Continue reading
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Preparing for Frankenstorm…how scared should I be?
I’m having a hard time getting freaked out over Frankenstorm. Oh, I know it’s coming. That big red swoosh on the weather map is headed right for us. We’re in the swath of massive rain and heavy winds. And I’m not in denial. John spent today cleaning out the French drain by our basement door Continue reading
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Mice, mouses, or meece
Here’s a question: If your computer mouse dies, you tell the IT guy you need a new mouse. But what if you need two? Do you need two computer mice or two computer mouses? Just wondering. My mouse at school stopped working and I told someone it died and they had to think about it for a moment. With Continue reading
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A perfect Maywood day
On a clear crisp October day, where better to be than at Maywood, with a kaleidoscope of leaves floating earthward? And what better things to do than sawmill and introduce a new family to the wonders of beekeeping? Top it off with a dinner of grilled bluefish caught last weekend in Cape May, N.J. and Continue reading
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Things that go “thump” in the night
Technically, 5:20 a.m. isn’t night. But it’s dark enough for a six year old to ask his mom, “When is the sun going to let us know it’s morning?” And it’s morning enough for John to be getting out of the shower. But it’s dark enough for me to still be completely comatose. “Craaaaaack! Whump!” That Continue reading
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Not a bee, not a yellow jacket, and why is it out at night?
Enormous “bees” bounce off the glass of our front door. Dozens of them. Unlike moths, which flit annoying around light, or June bugs, which bump clumsily against the glass, these look threatening, like mutant yellow-jackets. They are so big they make a wasp look like a mosquito. They scare me. Yes. They scare me. Me, beekeeper wife, who takes a cocktail down to the bee-yard Continue reading
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Honey Harvest 2012
If there’s anything more satisfying to a beekeeper than seeing buckets of harvested honey, it is seeing that golden sweetness in jars. It’s a little bit arrogant on our part to take pride in a good harvest since the bees make the honey, but there’s enough work on the part of the beekeeper to justify it. Continue reading
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Preparing for the honey harvest
Today was an exciting day as we got the hives ready for harvest. Today’s tasks: to put bee escapes on the honey boxes and put entrance reducers on the front entrance to the hives. The goals: (1) to get the bees to exit the honey box without getting back in, and (2) to try to prevent robbing Continue reading
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What’s bugging you?
Which is worse–a three-day power outage or seeking refuge in the Hereford Zone where bugs are a fact of life? Temperatures in the 90’s led daughter Julie to choose the Hereford Zone. She walked in the door to a warning from Dad. “There’s a big spider on the kitchen counter, but don’t worry, it’s dead.” Ok, Continue reading
Slightly Off the Grid 