I mentioned that we found a new spot for picking blackberries. The new spot is into the woods a bit so we have to take a little time to walk to the best berries. Along the way, we found some great mushrooms…these are chanterelles but there were all different sorts. We’ve harvested them before but these ones looked especially cool to me. There were tons of this variety and they were in all conditions and sizes.
There really is a lot of good about walking into the woods. It seems like most people don’t venture in too far so there is a lot of beautiful stuff that just goes unnoticed. I know that but I think I had forgotten too. Sometimes I wonder how much other stuff like this I have forgotten. It’s funny how day-to-day life buzzes right on by as the really cool stuff of life gets forgotten…
So…ahem…the blackberries are in full glory right now and we found a newish place to pick and this year’s berries are as big as I have ever seen (including those pretend ones you can get at the grocery store). We have picked several “messes” of berries and I have enjoyed 2 blackberry pies that my delightful wife has prepared. She made some good ones 2 years ago, but this year, the berries are purple and huge and AWESOME!
Of course, we live in West-by-God-Virginia where mountain goat commandos go to train. Our new location is significantly more hilly than previous years so picking in our new secret spot has been interesting and a little prickly. I have to wear soccer cleats so I don’t slide down the hill through the briers. I really wish I was more successful at that. Anyhow, because of the danger (yes, the hills are steep enough that it is dangerous), the kids are not picking this year. They mostly run around and look for new spots for me to scale. I think they have grown up a good bunch though. They still fight like mountain goat commandos and mountain lions, but not while we are working on berries…and that’s worth a big hee-haw from me!
so much for focus...
Aside from the hills being interesting, our new spot is farther into the woods and we have been assaulted by a few ticks this year. Ticks suck. I think I hate ticks and roaches more than about anything…not sure why because bugs in general don’t offend me, but I am personally offended when I see either of my nemeses. Alas, I shall push on in pursuit of the berry. The blackberry pie calls to me…I must heed its call!
I have been pretty out of touch lately…but I have an excuse, honestly! We went to the beach at Topsail Island, NC! We typically go to a beach somewhere in NC but this was our first year at Topsail (pronounced Top-sul). Anyhow, I’ll get to the pics of me in a bikini later but first, let me tell you about the trip there. From Charleston, we have to travel south on the WV turnpike which is a toll-road. Typically we pay our 6 bucks each way and forget about it, but this year, we discovered something new…E-Z Pass! I always figured those lanes that nobody used were for decoration only…or maybe WV got extra booths because they were on sale. My sister-in-law educated us about the E-Z Pass system which is what those always-empty lanes are really for!
Emily went on down to the West Virginia Parkways Authority and bought our transponder. Basically we just had to load a $20 credit on our device (which required a $5 refundable deposit). The device hangs on the windshield behind the mirror and is out of sight. Now get this, it took Emily mere minutes to fill out the paperwork (at a government agency) and walk out of the building with our very own you-can-use-the-empty-lane-on-the-toll-roads transponder. Instead of the typical $2 per stop, with the E-Z Pass system, the toll is only $1.30…so on our trip, we saved$4.20 which almost covered my recommended daily allowance of Mountain Dew for the trip down.
Do you ever feel that special happy feeling down in your belly when you get to do something cool that puts you in front of other cars, saves you some money and speeds you on to the beach faster than normal? Yeah, me too. We took pictures of cars around us and the empty lanes each time we came upon a toll booth…I was like a kid in a toll booth shop!
Charleston is such a nice city. For the most part, it is pretty laid back and a decent place to live. But just yesterday, there was a something going on down by Women’s and Children’s Hospital at the Martin Marietta gravel yard. Folks who were in the area said they heard a buzz, and then the sky was darkened by flying creatures that (they later found out) were scouting for a new home. Eventually, the creatures found their mark…a swarm of bees landed on the stop light for the truck scales at the gravel yard…and that my friends, is why bees will never rule the world.
I am thankful that the yard guys (and gal) called WV DNR who called me. I was able to run over at lunch yesterday and catch this excellent swarm. They were pretty gentle and appeared to be healthy and vigorous. After work (and hours after their capture so they had time to calm down), I was able to find a good looking queen so they should be a good colony.
Anyhow, I showed up to get these bees in my work clothes…you know, dress shoes, nice pants, etc. I think I mentioned that the swarm was in a gravel yard, right? It had rained the night before so it was a muddy mess (as was I). Anyhow, the foreman brought me a ladder and stopped traffic on the scales and I was able to scoop the swarm into a cardboard box using a dust pan (yes, I have learned these tricks the hard way). When on a ladder, it is best to have something light into which the bees can be placed for the trip down the ladder. Old paper boxes work perfectly! Anyhow, I scooped the majority of the bees into the box and carried it down the ladder where I dumped them into the hive I had waiting. I waited about 10 minutes and the ones I missed smelled the queen in the hive and followed after her. It’s just how swarm catching is supposed to go!
I love catching swarms. I think my favorite part is the crowd that invariably gathers to “watch the crazy bee man on a ladder”. The really cool part is when I (didn’t) load the hive into my van to drive them home. The guys thought (not really, because I didn’t really do it) I was doubly crazy! Anyhow, the folks at the gravel yard were really helpful and had lots of questions so this was, in all ways, a great swarm to catch!
The kids first started archery about a year ago. Since then, Isaac has participated in “Archery in the Schools” and the state tournament. Abigail’s school doesn’t have that program yet but she loves to shoot when she can. Back when we started this deal, I thought it would be a good family-together thing to do. We didn’t really have the equipment or a range to make all that happen (I figure the city frowns on shooting a compound bow in the back yard).
Fast forward a bit…Isaac and Abigail both received bows as presents from their grandparents. Last weekend Emily and the kids surprised me with an early father’s day present…my own bow! And it’s camo! The day they gave it to me, I decided we needed to make the “family shooting thing” happen (I wonder what sort of weird google searches will bring people to this page now!)
On Sunday we headed to Kanawha State Forest with Emily’s parents to be devoured by the mosquitoes try our luck at target shooting. We started off a bit rough (and that was before we even started shooting), but once we got into the groove, we had a great time! Isaac was able to do some “shooting while moving” exercises during which he shot a good bullseye from 15-20 yards. Abigail did great also. She is finally strong enough to draw the bow such that every single arrow she shot stuck!
Granddad and I had fun…that’s all I’ll say about that. We didn’t have to comb the hillside which was covered in poison ivy and some sort of ridiculous scratchy plant which would make a nun cuss, too many times searching for arrows. We did donate one arrow to the archery gods but we gained someone else’s previous sacrifice so it was a wash, arrow-wise!
Anyhow, it was a great time and we have a date to go back out this weekend to shoot some more! I think we may have hit the nail on the head for a good family hobby!
Last Sunday we attended Symphony Sunday, a day of showcasing local orchestras, ensembles, etc culminating in a performance by the WV Symphony. The University of Charleston opens its beautiful lawn to the crowd of several thousand people to enjoy the performances.
Boats always anchor near the lawn to hear the musicbut they have to dodge the gigantic coal barges that pass by...One of the views from our seats...the WV Capitol
It rained in the morning so we didn’t even think of attending many of the events, but by the early evening, all was clear so we packed up our lawn chairs and headed to Kanawha City (the part of the city where the University is located). We tend to sit towards the back of the group as our kids need room to fully appreciate the event. Many people with kids hang out there and it usually works out pretty well.
The Symphony chose a “Wizard of Oz” theme for their performances and played many numbers that were in or referenced the movie. It was pretty cool aside from the fact that there were quiet parts of several songs which were inaudible from the back. As my father-in-law says in reference to the violins, “they need to do more sawing and less plucking.” If they added one more row of speakers, I bet we could hear the plucking too!
The WV Symphony...we were waaay backThe Capitol was beautiful at night though I think they need to check on it...it seems to be leaning a bit
Anyhow, most of the performance was cool except for the pockets of white trash who decided to break out their boxes of wine and drink out of plastic dixie cups. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with box wine, but many of the folks put on airs of culture and high living. As you might guess, they were as tacky and ridiculous as can be. In my mind, I am thinking, “this ain’t high living…you fools are ignoring the music, drinking wine from a box and sitting on the wet grass in heels. By the way, nice big wet spot on your butt…bring a chair next year.” Folks came decked out in their Sunday best and did their very best to go on and on about their lives and generally make it hard to hear the music and even harder to ignore their inanity.
Ok, sorry…that all sounds like I didn’t have fun…I definitely did have fun. We played some and we ate good ice cream and had a great time all together. The WV Symphony is awesome and a great thing for the state. The show always finishes with fireworks and that show was the highlight for most people there (based on the cheers). It was a pretty cool show…a river barge floats into place on the river adjacent to the University’s lawn and we all get to see the show up close…
Abigail, Emily and I walked around South Charleston the other day and she wanted to climb “the Mound”. The Mound is an ancient native burial ground that sits as sort of a focal point of downtown S. Chas. I had never climbed it before so it seemed like a pretty cool thing to do. Abigail and I walked to the top by climbing stone steps that wrap around the Mound. It’s not a huge walk but it has a great view of the area. I sort of wonder what the people who built the mound must have seen and thought when they were hauling dirt and rock up the mound.
I suppose it looked a lot different (duh) but uncertainty was no doubt a part of their lives as well…especially after losing whomever was buried under that mound. I guess it’s a part of life and all but I am not sure I am exactly delighted with the craziness that seems to be going on now with Jamaica and North Korea and and BP oil and Greece and the economy in general. I’ll tell you one thing, I am certain that the time we spent climbing the Mound was time well spent. I guess the uncertainty that the original builders must have felt and which caused them to build such a monument gave me a sense of certainty in the love I have for my family and the simple times we share together.
We went to a you-pick strawberry place in Cottageville, WV on Sunday. It’s about 35 minutes away (though for the kids, it was a 2 year long trip) and was a nice Sunday drive. We got to Hartley Farms and found a huge field of the biggest and best strawberries I have ever seen (though I didn’t know that part right away). The proprietor took us over to a row and told us to, “have at it”. I fully expected to have to search and dig and really work to find a few scrawny strawberries. We picked 2 years ago at a place closer to home and it was pitiful. Hartley Farms was $0.55 per pound cheaper and there were hundreds of big fat berries everywhere!
We filled 7 ice cream buckets to overflowing and weighed in. All told, we had about 32 pounds of berries! The best part is that the kids even helped pick! We jumped in the car hoping to get home before Isaac ate every last strawberry. Though he made a run at eating 32#, we did make it home with a few berries. All four of us started making jam though the kids were tired after a batch each. They wanted to take a jar to their teachers that they had made.
Emily and I continued on into the night making jar after jar of jam. Isaac in particular like strawberry jam so the 43 half-pints we made may last us the year (and may not). We still have somewhere around 8 pounds of berries to go…not sure if that will be jam or something else yet. We have a fair bit of cleanup yet to do. Of course, it is impossible to make jam without making stuff sticky and our floor is sticky indeed. I have mopped it several times but my socks still leave little fuzzy footprints when I walk in the kitchen.
And by the way, when you make strawberry jam, make sure you use a huge pot to boil your mixture. We forgot since last time and we boiled a pot of sticky strawberry syrup over the edge of the sauce pan we had and onto the hot burner on our (wretched) glass-topped stove. You guessed it…it caramelized and tried to burst into flame. We never saw fire, but our house was full of smoke before I could get the mess cleaned up…so, word to the wise, use a huge pot to boil the mix! Luckily we had a better pot so subsequent batches were fine!
We have had off-and-on storms/rain this weekend which isn’t so much of a surprise itself. What is odd though is that I got two calls to capture swarms of bees this weekend. A nice woman in Nitro called me first as she had found a swarm on a branch near her house. We first talked before the huge rain on Friday. I figured that the rain surely must have washed the bees away but she called back after the storm and said they were still there so Isaac and I loaded up the bee-mobile and headed to Nitro.
We met the “finder” and some family/friends and the kids were super friendly and excited to check out how the whole “catch-a-swarm” thing goes down. Isaac and I showed them the hive box and our equipment and talked with them about all sorts of questions they had. We finally decided we better get busy before rain or dark made it tougher. I held the branch and Isaac cut it and we had ourselves the first swarm of the weekend.
Sunday afternoon, I got a call from Charleston’s metro 911 service. They reported a swarm of bees near the United Bank building in downtown Charleston. Charleston is WV’s largest city so we have all sorts of business, medical and legal buildings here including several high-rise buildings. Anyhow, the United building is a pretty large white building in the center of the city. I drove around once looking for a swarm hanging from a tree in the courtyard or someplace more “typical” for a swarm of bees. Finally I found them on a barrier in front of the building. It really wasn’t much of a swarm by the time I got there. I figure the real swarm had probably moved on and the remaining bees were ones that had been out scouting for a new home. Anyhow, there were enough bees that I had to remove them so no one would come upon them and get hurt (or act stupid).
I parked around the side of the bank adjacent to the swarm. As I was hauling my equipment out, it occurred to me that I may end up meeting the swat team. “A bald-headed guy wearing a camo shirt carrying a ladder and a mysterious white box has been spotted walking down Virginia street…all units respond!” went through my mind given the recent stuff happening in New York City. Anyhow, I donned my suit and moved the bees from the pole to my hive box and headed home as quickly as I could.
As swarm weekends go, I think this was a pretty good one and we had a good time catching them…nothing beats catching a swarm, especially when we have an audience!
Last night was the All County Strings Festival for Kanawha county. Many of the schools from the county sent their best string players to the Clay Center for a wonderful evening of music. Isaac was one of the students selected from his school…and he was so excited!
The funny thing is all of the lead up to the performance. We found out that he had “made the team” a few months ago so he has been practicing his pieces. The last few weeks or so, he has attended group practices where all of the kids get together and do their thing. Still, none of it really seemed to click with him that the performance was near.
We aren’t a dress-up sort of family so Isaac was pretty excited when he found out he had to have dress shoes, nice shirt and pants and a tie. We had all sorts of fun (and a small fight) about learning how to tie a necktie. I think he was unimpressed. Anyhow, with the purchase of clothes and hours (it seemed) of looking at himself in the mirror, it finally clicked that the performance was near. He has been super excited…so much so that last night, before the show, he walked around the yard playing his pieces for the neighbors to hear. It was wonderful!
So we all headed to the Clay center where the kids performed on the same stage as the WV symphony. I didn’t know what to expect but the kids (Isaac thinks there were 112 4th graders) all settled down when the conductor walked on the stage. As they started, I couldn’t believe the sound that came from those kids! They did an absolutely wonderful job!
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(or click here if the other link does not work on your computer)
Fifth graders played, then junior high students and finally high school students. The talent we saw last night was pretty amazing and all because the WV symphony sponsors a strings in the schools program in Charleston area schools. Bravo for music in WV and bravo to my budding musician!
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(or click here if the other link does not work on your computer)
