Category Archives: Awesome

The first swarm of bees in 2010

Adventure, Awesome, Bees, Fun, Nature, , ,

There are all sorts of jobs related to keeping bees.  I need to check for a robust queen, I need to check to make sure they have enough open comb, I need to treat them for mites and the honey flow needs managed.  Some of these jobs are pretty fun but many of them are extremely hot and tiring…and sticky.

Every spring, though, I seem to get a chance to do my absolute favorite beekeeping job of all…I get to catch swarms of bees.  Most years I do splits and other manipulations so my bees don’t swarm.  Usually the 911 center calls me to report a swarm of bees in someone’s tree or by their house.  I love going to get swarms of bees, especially when the swarm is from someone else’s hive.

Swarming, you see, is the bees’ way of growing.  When a colony gets too packed into its existing digs, it forces another queen to be created and, when the new queen is nearly ready, the old queen and half (or so) of the overcrowded bees head for the hills…or the nearest tree branch.  Once they make it to the branch, the queen hides in the middle of the swarm and scout bees go out looking for a new place to live.  Back before the days of varroa mites, these bees usually ended up in a tree out in the woods.  That still happens today, but they don’t live for more than a year or two.  So, back to why I like to catch other people’s swarms – when the bees came from my hives, I end up with two half-strength colonies instead of one really strong one.  In one way, it is cool because I get two hives that will grow into good colonies and may make some honey this year.  The bad thing is, if I had one strong colony, it would make honey this year.  Oh well, it can’t be helped!

Anyhow, when the bees are in waiting for scouts to find a new home, they are pretty vulnerable.  Each bee filled up on honey before it left, but that’s all the food they have to go on until they get to a new location.  They are completely exposed to animals and humans and weather and cold.  Being in a swarm is a dangerous proposition for a bee.

So, next door to one of the locations where I keep bees, the homeowners saw the swarm take off out of the hive and end up in one of their trees.  They knew it was mine so they called and I rushed to see if I could catch them.  There is no real trick to catching a swarm of bees (but please don’t try unless you know what you are doing).  All one has to do is get the swarm into a container along with the queen.  If the queen makes it into the container, the swarm will stay and claim the new location as their home.

Click for video

(try this link if the one above doesn’t work on your computer)

So, I got to the swarm location and saw the largest swarm I had ever caught hanging about shoulder-high in a tree…in the middle of a bunch of poison ivy…which I now have on my leg.  I carried my empty hive box to the location and cut the branch with the bees.  I shook them into the box…mostly.  A bunch of bees (since it was such a huge group) fell onto the ground in front of the colony.  Typically the bees will “sense” that a good hive is near and they will march into it.  I have no idea whether the queen walked in herself or if I got her into the box on the initial shake.  Either way, she ended up in the colony and all of the remaining bees followed her inside!

Click for video

(try this link if the one above doesn’t work on your computer)

Bees in a swarm are pretty docile (but don’t mess with them unless you know what you are doing…they still have stingers) and fun to be around.  It’s like pure energy…it’s just amazing to me.  The buzz that they  generate is incredible and it’s just a sight to behold.  I cannot begin to really explain how cool and exciting it is to see and catch a swarm of bees.  It is my absolute favorite part of beekeeping though!  I love this time of year!

More swarms…

The kung fu is strong with this one

Awesome, Family, Fun

Not long ago, Isaac earned his yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do. He has been going 3 nights a week to prepare for his next belt and this weekend, he tested for his green belt.  Like I mentioned before, it takes a certain kind of crazy to want your kid to learn how to fight, but I look at it as a confidence builder and a practical skill for defense (and that’s how his instructors view it as well).

Preparing for forms

There are several components of testing for the belts including forms (patterns of movements), terminology, board breaking and fighting.  Isaac broke his boards easily and knew all the forms and terminology he needed.  The fighting was a bit of a worry though as he has been a little more reserved and didn’t make contact like he should.

(click here for a different version if the above doesn’t work on your machine)

I was certainly surprised at his testing this weekend though.  His fighting has come a long way.  He had great confidence and speed and made good contact.  The boy will be fierce as he gets more training and more strength.

(click here for a different version if the above doesn’t work on your machine)

I am super proud and more than a little weirded out by it all, but I love the pride he takes in his art and himself!

Bees are here! Hiving a package of bees

Awesome, Bees, Nature,

I keep 11-12 hives of bees.  Over the winter-time, some of them usually die for one reason or another.  This year I lost 4.  Compared to a lot of folks, that is a pretty great survival rate, but I sort of like having a full compliment of hives.  Most years I make splits where I take some bees from a “booming” hive and put them in a new hive box (i.e. from the hive that died).  Depending on the year, I add a queen I get from a breeder or else I add a queen cell that I find in the original hive.

This year we ordered packages from a supplier in NC.  My in-laws drove down and back this weekend and picked up 4 packages and 3 new queens in addition.  On Sunday we installed the bees, made splits, requeened and generally had a good time messing around with the bees.  Installing a package of bees is about the simplest thing a beekeeper can do, but new beekeepers often panic at the thought of dumping bees from a box into the new hive.  I figured I would video tape my hiving a package of bees so anyone who might want to have a look can see how I do it!

Link to Video

(Try this link to video of the above didn’t work on your computer)

Confirmed: They are crazy

Adventure, Awesome, Thoughts, WV, , ,

Yesterday was a good day for Charleston.  You see, the folks from Westboro “baptist” were in town (and will be until Sunday) protesting everything in WV (apparently).  There are Catholic folks and Jewish folks and LGBT folks and Irish folks (and all sorts of other folks) that live here.  That makes WV a target.  Yes, you heard it right…if you are breathing, Westboro “baptist” hates you.  Actually, they hate things that are no longer breathing as well.

By itself, their presence wasn’t great for Charleston or WV, but Charleston’s response showed the greatness of the city and its people.  I suppose 200-300 people came out to tell the haters to go home.  Most folks didn’t hate back, they just asked them to go home.  I think a lot of people in the city sort of bonded together and that is always good for community.

I wonder if they paid the licensing fees to the WVU for using their symbol

I know this is hateful, but it was my favorite sign

I initially participated in a flashmob (that was announced to the media so was less flash-like) to say something like, “you can hate, but we aren’t about that…we’re gonna dance”.  Charleston’s Covenant House, a community action group that helps disadvantaged folks, started the flash mob idea.  At every protest (and there are many) the flashmobbers are going to do the dance (video below).  Some say that we played into their plan of more attention, but I think they are drawing attention to themselves and the media is going to cover that anyhow.  As long as they cover it, these people won’t go away.  So, we decided to try to steal some of their media coverage and we did…and we strengthened community a bit more.

Unbelievable, bringing their kids...

Anyhow, after the flashmob, a ton of people headed to the front side of the capitol and basically tried to surround and hide the Westboro people.  People from here brought signs and posters and flags to hold in front of the hate signs.  People came out in numbers to surround the protesters and their message and, in a non-violent (and mostly non-hateful) way, told them they aren’t wanted here.

Pretty cool video capturing the flashmob as well as the other protesting – some good and a little rougher:

I was proud of Charleston and WV.  While Westboro people spewed hate and exploited their kids, we came together in unity and had a great time showing that diversity is great and fun and to be celebrated!

How I ended up with a day-old kitten

Awesome, Family, Fun, Nature

I walked Ginny at 6 am today and we did our normal route round our place – down the sidewalk to the front yard, around the back, then into the house.  The kids were about to get up and we started our mad-morning routine getting ready for another day of school.  Kids were fed, teeth were brushed and lunches were packed…and out the door we lit at 7:10 am.  As we headed down the same sidewalk Ginny and I had walked, we came upon a wet, slimy looking pile of…fur.  Or at least I thought it was fur.  Anyhow, I figured a rat had given birth or something.  I decided I’d just pick it up and bury it.  I bent down to have a closer look and discovered it was a kitten…and it was alive…sort of.  I picked it up and ran in to get a box.  We put it in the  box and jumped into the car hoping the heater would warm the poor little wet thing.

Sure enough, as Isaac held it on his lap, is started to move a little more.  It really didn’t move by normal definitions but it did meow like crazy.  I didn’t think for a second that it would survive another 30 minutes but we headed to the vet to see what they said.  I had planned to leave it with them and let them “take care of things”…and the kids would know that the vet had done everything they could.  Right in front of the kids and the cat and everyone, they basically told us it would not end well and that they wouldn’t try.  Gee whiz, now the kids knew what would happen and they were having no part in that.  “Please Dad, can we try to save it?”  I asked the vet for some milk replacer figuring it would be a nice (read cheap) gesture.  I promised the kids I would do everything I could to save the poor little kitten.

I dropped the kids at school and proceeded to work with my tiny box of kitten.  It meowed and cried and gave it all it could.  I got to work and one of my co-workers helped me clean it up, cut the umbilical cord (yes, it was still attached!), and start feeding.  I still didn’t think it had much of  chance, but as the day went on, this little thing has perked up and squalls and crawls and bawls constantly!  I am amazed at this little critter and think it may have a chance.  We’ll feed it every 2 hours and watch as this little thing shows us what it is made of…

West Vir-Ginny!

Awesome, Family, WV,

We have always been cat people. I think it’s because cats are low maintenance and don’t smell bad. We like critters around the house, but it’s gotta be easy…or so we thought.

We were watching the evening news (mistake 1) the other night and they did a bit on the Kanawha/Charleston Humane Association animal shelter.  Since it is Spring, they have apparently had a huge influx of animals.  I may be making this number up, but I think the news said they had over 200 dogs when it aired.  Anyhow, I am a softie (and not just in the head) so I thought it might be interesting to go see what the shelter was all about (mistake 2).  I had no intention of getting any pets…I am a cat person after all and we already have 2 inside cats (and 4 outside strays have us).

Two weekends ago, Emily had an all-day meeting at her school so I was solo with the kids.  For some unknown reason, I decided that not only did I need to see what the shelter was all about, but also that the kids might enjoy seeing some dogs…sort of like a trip to the zoo (mistake 3)!

Being a softie and also having Abigail with me, we “oohhhh-ed” and “awwwww-ed” and it was then that it struck me…”hey, we need a dog!” (mistake 4)  The only trick was, I had to convince Isaac and Emily, neither of whom like dogs…or so they thought.  After much debate and searching, we happened upon “Lucy”.  Lucy is a mixed puppy around 5-6 months old.  I finally broke through Emily’s cold hard heart and convinced her we needed to rescue poor Lucy from her certain fate.

Again, after more debate and many “deals”, I was given clearance to adopt the dog…but we had to change her name.  Emily didn’t like that someone else had named her new baby (ahhh…see, she’s caving in) so we pondered and consulted the seers and came up with the name “Ginny” as in “West Virginny”.

Ginny came home after being fixed and otherwise poked and prodded on Monday.  She promptly christened my car and has apparently claimed us.  I think all of those “mistakes” have turned out pretty well.  Ginny is so sweet and will eventually be house trained…

Anyone else have “pound dogs”?

A new belt

Awesome, Family, ,

Isaac has been taking taekwondo for several months now and the other night, after class, he took his yellow belt test.  He has been studying Korean terms and practicing his forms (the pattern of moves he needs to know for each belt).  He had it all under his “belt” as test night came.  I took him to the dojang and he was cool as can be for his normal training session.  After class, most people headed out until only black belts and the 5 people being tested remained.

Each student had to do two of their forms and answer Grand Master Kang as he asked them questions about Korean terminology.  Isaac did great on the items as he had studied so much.  I knew that he would also have to break a board with a kick but I figured there was no way to safely practice that at home.  So, the moment of truth came and it was Isaac’s turn.  He lined up and positioned the poor guys who had to hold the board and took a practice kick to make sure his aim was right.  And then, my poor helpless son kicked the board so hard that it cracked perfectly.  In fact, I heard the board, long since dead, come back to life, just so it could scream in pain.  His eyes lit up and I have never seen him more proud.  I think I was also as proud as I have ever been.  He didn’t know what exactly to expect so he just jumped in with both feet…well, really with one foot..but he went for it!

Each student got to keep their board pieces but had to line back up for another round of questions…this time the hard ones about family life and respect and helping one’s parents by doing chores and obeying, etc.  This was probably the toughest part of the whole test, especially for the kids.  Kids had to think on their feet and speak extemporaneously.  He answered every question (though, now I have some leverage!) and was passed with no hesitation.  Grand Master Kang awarded him a yellow belt with a green tip.

The last few evenings since that night, Isaac has done almost nothing but practice his forms and think “taekwondo”.  His pride is warranted and I am delighted that he has found something he enjoys so much.  I think I may have to toughen up some for his teenage years though…

Proud of the fight

Adventure, Awesome, Family, ,

Isaac is taking tae kwon do lessons and is doing really well. We take him 3 nights per week and he has made a bunch of great progress. We had mainly hoped that the exercise and discipline would be a big benefit for him. I had a lot of mixed feelings in his taking lessons though. I am certainly not a pacificist, but encouraging your kid to fight seems like a whole different level of crazy. I know tae kwon do and most martial arts are intended to be used for defense, but I have to tell you, if you have ever seen tae kwon do practitioners in action, you’ll quickly see that it is not a passive defensive art. If you tangle with someone who is well versed in tae kwon do, and if you don’t know when to stop, you may not wake up from a fight.

Ok, that sounds dramatic but its methods are comprised of violent and aggressive actions that could easily be misused. Tae kwon do uses a tremendous amount of kicking and specialized punches meant to deliver ultimate force so misuse could easily result in serious injury. So, a big part of class is discipline and respect and knowing when to use the art. Another part of class, however, is practical. Each night, the students spar. The older people (i.e. not 6 year olds) and the black belts really go at it and hit hard. Isaac is not a black belt or an older kid but he is getting bigger and his age is starting to “play” hard. Imagine my nerves when Isaac volunteered to fight last night.

I was a bundle of nerves hoping he didn’t get hurt and that he didn’t hurt someone else. Isaac and the other student walked to the ring, bowed all around and took their fighting stances. The instructor called, “fight” and the boy went to town. He fought and fought well. He is nimble and fast and was -now get this – a lot of fun to watch in a fight. Isn’t it weird how I went from fear to pride instantly? Anyhow, he delivered a bunch of punches and kicks and took a lot too.

The best part of the fight was that we made eye contact as he walked out of the ring after the fight. We both smiled and nodded our heads in understanding. He’ll be just fine.

On dental floss

Awesome, Fun, Thoughts, ,

I am Joe Q. Public.  I put my pants on one leg at a time.  I like hamburgers on the grill.  I cry when I watch Old Yeller.  And, like most people, I didn’t used to floss my teeth.  It’s a pain in the hind-end and it’s a bit gross.  I am stubborn though so when my new dental hygienist got on the old, “you have to floss or your head will rot and fall off” train, I decided to prove her wrong.

Clearly, this stuff was invented during the Inquisition

It’s not like I never flossed.  I flossed regularly for the week before I go to get my teeth cleaned and likewise the week afterwards.  With my Invisalign teeth aligners, I am supposed to brush and floss every time I hiccup anyhow, so I had additional motivation to floss like responsible teeth owners are supposed to do.

Dental floss technology...it amazes me!

I quickly found that the old-school floss was not gonna work long-term for me so I went in search of new flossing technology.  I found “the floss stick” as I like to call it.  It takes the guess-work out of flossing (did you know there is guess work in flossing?)  No more trying to figure the best way to get your big hairy hands in your mouth just right so you can get your back teeth.  No more accidentally cutting off all circulation to your index finger when you wrap it just a little bit too tight.  No, no, those days are over!  With my new floss stick, I can floss (and floss well) all the teeth in my head…faster than green grass through a goose!

The heads swap out so it isn't gross!

I haven’t yet been back to the hygienist, but I am sticking to my flossing challenge thanks to the flossing stick.  I am sort of torn…in one way I want to prove her wrong about flossing, but in another, I am pretty excited to have good teeth and to get accolades from a near-stranger as she dances around in my mouth.  Only time will tell, but I am sold on flossing now that’s it’s easy (and I don’t have to taste my hairy hands!)

Blossom Deli saved my life

Awesome, Family, Food, Fun, WV, , , ,

We started indoor soccer at the YMCA this weekend and the kids’ games were spaced just perfectly to mess with the entire day.  Abigail played at noon so, by 1, we were pretty hungry.  We knew better than to eat before the game as the floor needed to stay puke-free.  Anyhow, by 1, we were all pretty hungry so we headed downtown to one of our favorite restaurants.  It’s a local downtown place and lately has been somewhat flaky about when it is open.  We usually hit it on evenings and weekends though it really caters to the weekday lunchtime crowd.  That’s right…you guessed it…they were closed.

Anyhow, we were pretty bummed and more urgently, pretty dang hungry.  We stood in the middle of the street with vacant zombie-like looks on our faces, wondering how we would survive…what we would do to get food…whether we could bear to go on.  Fortunately, my lovely wife, with cat-like reflexes and an eagle eye, spotted the Blossom Deli a few hundred feet away.  If only we could make it the 100 steps to their door-step, surely they would have something they could give us to avert disaster.

Somehow we made it to Blossom Deli alive.  It’s all a little fuzzy, but I sort of think ants must have picked us up and were carrying us to their nest when some heroic patrons rescued us and drug us inside…but I have no evidence of that.  Anyhow, we got inside and…you’ll never believe this….they sell food at the Blossom Deli!

We were seated right away (I think they noticed our pitiful blank faces and feared a zombie attack) and quickly set us up with liquid salvation from the fountain.  Yes, you heard me right…they have a real soda fountain at Blossom!  I wasn’t going to push my luck, but I bet they have a real live soda-jerk somewhere too.  Anyhow, the whole place seems right out of the 1950s.  Inside the place is art-deco floor to ceiling.  A lowered grill sits adjacent to the bar seating and simple tables (like your grandma used to have in her kitchen) were everywhere.  Ours even had a nice, easy rock to it.  I think the only thing missing was a poodle skirt or two.

So, the less creative members of my family ordered hotdogs (all beef as Isaac likes to remind me) while I ordered my usual (see, I am the creative one!).  Whenever I go to a restaurant and I see a Reuben on the menu, I order it.  I am not sure why but I MUST order it if I see it.  So I ordered my “usual” and a cherry Coke.  When the waitress (I bet she wants to be called that rather than a server…it’s 1950 afterall) delivered our drinks, I initially wondered how she would tell my cherry Coke from the others’ vanilla Cokes.  Silly me, it was easy…she just sipped from each straw and knew right away!  Not really.  No, she simply looked at the color.  My cherry Coke was definitely red…and I think that red was either the fantastic cherry flavoring or the color of awesome!

Isaac and I quickly drained our glasses (he declared his vanilla Coke to be the best he’d ever had and he’s had a bunch) and asked for another.  When it finally became clear that we weren’t weren’t about to be hauled off by a creepy guy in black carrying a scythe, I took a look around.  The mirrored walls make the inside look much larger than it really is.  It’s really quite comfortable but cozy inside.  The waitresses gave great attention to everyone and I could see as the cooks prepared my meal…fresh!  Blossom Deli offers a daily blue plate special which I will definitely have the next time we go there.

I am sure we will go to our other “favorite place” again when we see it open sometime…but we now have a new go-to local restaurant in Charleston, WV!  Blossom Deli, not only did you possibly save my life, you nourished my soul (well…at least my stomach!)