Local Devastation Pictures Coming In

Thanks to all of you for your kind words of support, as we look to recover from the devastation of today's quake!

Dispatch from Hilton Head

Here's a picture of Molly that's a little less somber. I'll have some pics of the fambly and Hilton Head soon. The beach is really beautiful, very different from Cape May or Rehoboth. Broad and smooth. I've seen a snowy egret at the water's edge, and there a lots of pelicans. I miss the dolphins though. I think the water is too warm. It is like bath water, and strangely shallow for a great distance out. The jellyfish lurk too.

The biggest decision of the day for me is what to download to my Kindle next. What are you reading?

The End of an Era

Or more specifically, the end of Dinwiddie Street's Dalmatian Dynasty.

Poor sweet Molly. We rescued her when she was three years old, badly malnourished and mistreated. At her first vet visit after we got her, the doctor noted her class 2 heart murmur, amongst other things, such as the untreated wounds on her back and belly. A year later, the doctor noted that the heart murmur was all but gone-- he said we'd mended her broken heart.

Eleven years later, she'd survived the loss of her happy housemate Mosby, and even thrived a bit as the queen of the household for a while. Lately, though, her health began to deteriorate, and I know she trusted us to do the right thing. Knowing that doesn't make us any less sad for her loss. I was happy to be able to hold her at the end, to be able to tell her that we loved her, that she was a good girl. And she was. She was the best girl, and I'll miss her.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

In this context, the bad and the ugly are one and the same. I'm having a real challenge with my tomatoes this year. They're growing great, producing large well formed fruit, but they are being nibbled at. I'm sure it's birds nipping away, so I covered both plants with anti-bird netting. What you see here is AFTER I installed the netting. grrrr.


Now THIS is what I'm talking about. Finally got one before anybody (or anything) else touched it. Let's break out the mozzarella, basil, and good balsamic vinegar and have lunch.

Sweet Rewards

or, The Great Honey Harvest of 2011.

There's a good reason to do this job when it's warm outside-- the honey flows easier-- but it was HOT, especially in full regalia. That's me holding the frame, and Jan wielding the blower. We took the top off the hive, replaced it with a board that had fabric on one side on which we sprayed a little liquid that the bees hate the smell of so they get away from it. We thought it smelled pretty bad too. After a few minutes, the bees have moved mostly out of the super box we're going to be working with. The super is the box with the eight frames you see at my feet. I'm holding one of the frames and Jan is using the garden blower to shoo off the few remaining bees.

We loaded the super into a garden cart, covered it, and moved it into John's garage, aka Uncle Wally's Workshop. We set up shop in there because it's marginally air conditioned and well lit. We covered the floor and table with plastic. It's a sticky process, honey extracting. The big can you see is the extractor. It's essentially a giant centrifuge with a spigot at the bottom for the honey to flow into the double sieve and then into a five gallon bucket, also with a spigot.

One at a time we pull the frames out. We inspect them carefully. If the honey cells aren't capped, we can't use it. The bees put honey in each cell and leave them uncapped until it's aged properly, then they cap it with wax until they need it for food later in the season (or until we steal it from them).

We use an electric hot knife to slice the cap off to release the honey. We use a fork to pierce the cells the knife doesn't reach, then we put the frames, three at a time, into the extractor. I didn't get a good shot of that step. Once the three frames are installed, you shut the lid and crank and crank and crank, which spins the frames and causes the honey to come out. Then you flip the frames to get the other side and crank and crank some more. We got so much honey that we had to start filling our jars so we could keep filling the bucket!

We got about 10 gallons! This is the whole harvest before we split it up into our shares.

And then we made a toast to the bees and to each other.

We left the harvested frames, the frames that weren't capped, and the supers out for the bees to clean up. Nice, huh? We steal the honey then leave the mess for them to clean up! We'll put the frames back into the supers and put the supers back on the hives this weekend. They'll want to get busy making more honey (that we won't steal) so they can make it through the winter.



Definitely a once a year endeavor as far as I'm concerned, but so worth it. The honey is really tasty. Kind of a citrusy flavor, which is curious. Who knew that Arlington honey would be fruity?

Fish Story

It's a slow day. Some of the goldfish (carp? koi?) in the pond in front of my office building are big enough to feed a family of four. The theme music from Jaws comes to mind. I'm told that herons are often seen hanging around, though I've not seen them. I do see Mr. and Mrs. Mallard stopping by, and the occasional gaggle of geese. And I've seen a really large hawk swooping and diving around.

No More Easter Egg Fail

Hey Nora-- this one's for you! Aren't they beautiful? We can do this!