tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75326079277728331602024-03-05T11:08:16.443-05:00The Gritty Girl BlogEricabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-21257298928441763622014-01-03T12:16:00.000-05:002014-01-03T12:26:36.878-05:00new year and new farm<br />
My last post was August of 2012. It has been a very long time and a LOT has happened. I've moved. Four times. I've started a mildly successful business from home selling honey handmade soaps, candles and misc. bath and body care products. With moving from Ohio to Nebraska came the loss of the majority of my customer base, financial struggles, finding and starting a new and not well paying job, having to move again, joining a organic farming *co-op, basically getting kicked out and having to move again so we have access to land and the ability to do the things we want to do. It has been a year of struggle. Struggle after struggle.<br />
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While living on and sustaining ourselves off of a farm has been our goal, and I knew it wouldn't be easy, I had no idea the amount of challenges we would face in 2013. For 2014, I wish for myself enough balance and stability that I have enough time to work on this blog and share my experiences. It helps to have people to vent to in a place where I have ZERO friends, even if I can't talk to them in person.<br />
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Instead of rehashing all of the things that have gone wrong this last year, I would rather just start from day one of 2014. If you know me personally, then you probably have heard me complain about all the bad stuff. If you don't, we aren't close and you probably don't care very much or are just tired of hearing people whine. That's okay by me.<br />
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So here we are. About two months after moving into a 70's era house trailer on a 60 acre property Southeast of Lincoln, Nebraska. We plan to start a farm here but we rent so there are some challenges in and of themselves. The house is safe and dry but that is about it. It was gutted by previous renters (after the first house was burned down) and the owner put in the bare minimum (from salvage yards) to make it livable again. This means that we don't have a dishwasher. We don't have a washing machine or dryer. We have bad water pressure with occasional grit and sand. We have NO CLOSET SPACE AND NO CABLE OR INTERNET. Because its an old trailer, we have terrible insulating and it gets cold. When we first moved in we had electrical problems and I was half convinced that we had a ghost because the power went out every time I stepped into the bathtub. We have a feral cat (sometimes two that fight and wake us up at 4:30 am) that lives under the trailer. By spring there will probably be eight. That's what happens when you feed feral cats.<br />
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But the property is actually very pretty. There is a grove of cedars with well established trails,a very large pond and lots of space for future livestock and for a really big garden. We have a resident pack of coyotes, deer, and the occasional bobcat. You really can't put a price tag on that. I probably don't sound very thankful or excited but it is -10 degrees today. My jeans were still wet (and cold) when I put them on, one of my eyeballs froze shut when I went out to start my car and my windshield wipers were stuck in the upright position for half of my 40 mile commute to work this morning. Enough said?<br />
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So there is the 60 acres and the Trailer. There isn't anything else. There are no out buildings, save for a small chicken coop in need of tlc. There is not even a garage. The ground hasn't been broke for agriculture in years. We want to quit our jobs and eventually live solely on income from the farm. The coldest part of the winter will be spent making the house more cozy and hopefully, attractive. I will probably be plugging my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/NaturalHistoryBees?ref=si_shop" target="_blank">Etsy Shop</a> a lot, because without it, I literally couldn't make all my ends meet.We are going to have our work cut out for us if we want to be able to sustain ourselves here. Some days I really don't see it happening. We must be crazy. We are going to need lots of help and support, encouragement and advice.<br />
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Yesterday, Greg put up some new shelves in the room we lovingly coined "the cold room" because for some reason the heat doesn't get all the way to that side of the house. Hard to believe we will soon be using it for starting seeds for the garden.<br />
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If you haven't "liked" my Natural History facebook page yet, you can do so <a href="https://www.facebook.com/naturalhistorybees" target="_blank">HERE.</a><br />
If you haven't "liked" our new farm's facebook page yet, you can do that<a href="https://www.facebook.com/dearheartfarm" target="_blank"> HERE.</a><br />
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The great thing about social media is that it literally takes you 2 seconds to hit that "share" button, it helps us tremendously and it costs you nothing :)<br />
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So here we go. Back to blogging this year.<br />
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*it wasn't really a co-op but the easiest way to describe it in the amount of allotted time I have estimated before I will lose your attention. I won't use the organization's name because I would not put it past them to stalk me without my knowledge. Or have voodoo dolls that resemble Greg and I. I don't know why my arm hurts.Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-14696631101939354442012-08-06T18:45:00.003-04:002012-08-06T19:07:32.276-04:00roasted tomato soup with garlic and thymeI think this may be one of the easiest, yummiest soups ever. It is easy to prepare (all you do is cut a few things up) and is a great way to use up a windfall of roma or san marzano tomatoes if you find yourself lucky enough to acquire one. One thing though, you HAVE to use romas or san marzanos. Regular slicers or salad tomatoes will not do. They don't have the texture, meatiness and ability to hold up to extreme heat like the paste varieties. If you didn't grow your own maters, go to the farmers market and ask for the ugly ones because they might give you a deal. Or your local grocery store might have them on sale. I would recommend that you let them ripen up for several days on the counter if you go this route-tomatoes from the store are red thanks to a methane gas treatment but they aren't actually ripe. They do this so that the maters can hold up to shipping from say, california to ohio. Scary. Good reason to grow your own. <br />
Ingredients: <br />
3-4 lbs of roma or san marzano tomatoes, washed and sliced in half length wise<br />
1/2 large white onion<br />
large bunch of fresh thyme, or two TBS (yes TBS) of dried<br />
2 heads of garlic (yep, whole heads)<br />
2-3 TBS of olive oil<br />
1 tsp salt (or to taste)<br />
1 tsp pepper (or to taste. I love pepper so I go heavy)<br />
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Directions. Preheat your oven to 450. Wash and cut your maters and spread them out on a pan with raised sides.Your maters will release a lot of liquid which you want to keep in the pan I did not bother to skin mine because I don't mind the skins one bit and think it adds to the texture of the soup. It gets blended up anyway. But if you have issues with the skins, go ahead and peel them but realize that this will take you much longer and you are tossing out a lot of good nutrients and fiber :) I didn't remove any seeds either. Cut up your onion into large chunks. and throw them on the pan too. You don't need to be precise as this all will be blended up. Cut your garlic heads in half and place them on the pan. You don't need to take the time to take the skins off. When the garlic is roasted, they slip right out of the skins, which will be tossed. Throw the thyme on there too. If you are using fresh, I would recommend burying them under the maters so they don't burn in the oven. If you are using dried, just sprinkle it over everything. drizzle the olive oil over everything and give it all a good toss. Put the pan in the oven for about 45 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn't burn but you do want it to brown and darken to give it the roasty taste. <br />
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It should look like this when it is done.<br />
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Zip it up in a blender or food processor. It will be very thick and a little chunky.<br />
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It is a concentrated soup so if you plan on eating it right away add a few cups of milk or water to thin it out. It will yield about 6 cups of concentrated soup. Garnish it with another drizzle of olive oil, heavy cream, sour cream, cheese, you name it.<br />
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You could do a variation of this with other herbs too. If you used oregano and basil, you would have a lovely pasta sauce rather than soup.<br />
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I canned mine (the concentrated soup) for dreary winter months, to give to friends and family. The san marzanos came from the dozen or so plants I grew this year. I just love this variety because they are great for cooking and preserving. They are coming on quite heavy and I get a whole grocery bag full every other day or so. I've canned some whole tomatoes too. Need to learn how to can? Go <a href="http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html" target="_blank">here</a> for some basics. Or go <a href="http://www.foodinjars.com/2011/09/five-ways-to-preserve-large-tomatoes/" target="_blank">here</a> for some other things to do with tomatoes.<br />
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Sorry for the lack of posts. This summer has been hot and fast. When I'm not doing something or going somewhere, I am trying to sleep or veg or look for a job. Yeah, I don't have one of those yet...</div>
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So this is what I have been up to:</div>
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New Mexico to visit my beautiful friend Whitney, Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion in March</div>
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Turned 30 and camping/ hiking in the UP (where I got so sick that I didn't know if I would either poop my pants or puke all over the place-telling myself that it happens to everyone when they hit thirty in May</div>
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Harvested 30+ lbs of honey, Learned how to make Cold Process Soap, grew an avocado from a pit, and garden stuff in June</div>
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California, Yosemite and Sequoia National Park in July, harvested and bottled more honey. </div>
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August, improving my etsy shop, canning tomatoes, more job hunting, drying herbs for holiday gift projects, reading a good book or two, staying cool, dreaming about going back to california...</div>
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oh, and harvesting more honey. I am up to about 60 lbs and have more to go.</div>
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What summer projects do you have going on?</div>Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-1476979793196928902012-05-08T19:38:00.001-04:002012-05-10T17:22:20.609-04:00what the hell, bees?Every time I think I have the beekeeping situation under control, something happens. I checked the giant hives on Saturday, removed some frames of nectar and pollen in the deep boxes so to give more room to the queen to lay her eggs. I then put the frames that were full of pollen and nectar in each of the nucs (nucleus hives or hives that started from the giant. I wish I had made better observations of how much capped brood was in the hive, but that's all I did. I added another honey super (it now has two). In both of the nucs, the queen cells had been released (or killed?) but I did not try to search for them because they wouldn't be laying eggs right after hatching anyways. They were as calm as I ever had seen them and I thought things were progressing nicely. But I didn't check the lower brood boxes in the giant hive. I thought "hey, as long as they are storing a ton of honey, they're doing great!"<br />
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Today, I wanted to see if I could find queens in the nucs since the weather was fantastic. I opened up the newest nuc, the one that I had only put two frames of brood and bees in and a cluster of capped queen cells. The first thing I did was spot a queen. She crawled right over my finger on a frame that was empty for the most part. No mistake, it was a queen. I checked the rest of the queen cells and found that they had been chewed up. I am guessing this queen destroyed them before they hatched. Its too early for a just hatched queen to be laying eggs, she probably isn't even mated yet. So what, maybe a 50% chance she mates and comes back to the hive and starts laying successfully? I put the hive back together.<br />
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In the older nuc, not much has changed other than the queen cells have all been uncapped. So, queens have emerged but none to be found. I took out every frame and never found a queen. So what the hell? Does this mean that the queen or queens were out mating? Does this mean that the split didn't work? Is it too early to tell? At this point in time, I discovered that the bees were getting a little more hostile. One crawled up my shirt and stung me on my lower back. Sob. All I could do was scratch my head and close up the hive.<br />
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Now, by the time I got to the giant hive, the clouds started rolling in out of nowhere. I looked at the honey supers and found them to be full of bees, storing quite a bit of nectar. Both supers are at full capacity. No empty cells to put eggs. When I dug into the deeps I found the majority of the frames were full of nectar and pollen. The empty frames that I had put in to replace the full ones I had stolen for the other hives, were barely touched, the bees didn't seem to interested in drawing it out with wax. No eggs or larva means no new bees. No new bees means the hive will be done by mid summer.<br />
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All the frames I checked were full of pollen or nectar and I never found any eggs or young larva. There were a few patches of capped brood but few. My immediate thought was what if the hive swarmed without me knowing it. No, too many bees still. Then I wondered if I had accidentally taken the queen out and put her in one of the nucs when I was replacing frames. No, I'm pretty sure I didn't. I am getting good at spotting the queen and I don't think I would have missed her. My guess is she's in there but not laying eggs because she doesn't have room? Maybe. I'm totally freaking! I'm already sweaty and swollen and here comes my grandpa on the lawn mower. He just wants to take a closer look but loud noises and beehives don't miz=x well. Great. I just put the hive back together. By this time it was cloudier and the bees were agitated and there wasn't anything else I could do.<br />
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I came home to do some research. Yes. Queens will stop laying if they are honey bound. Makes sense. Some people put a third deep on hives that are honey bound in order to stimulate the queen to lay. This will be the game plan for the next *nice* day. I will also add another super for good measure. It makes my back sore just thinking about it. It also will make the hive as tall as me. A deep that is full of honey weighs 90 pounds. Instead of just having to lift two on and off the hive, I'll have to lift three. It probably explains why the bees have been so angry and why I can't find new eggs. Probably. Or it means that the queen is gone but no way to know for a week or so.<br />
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I also did something I've never did before. I done ordered a replacement queen for whichever hive needs it next week. If one doesn't produce a queen they can have her. Or maybe I will put her in the giant hive to see if it improves their bitchiness. She is being delivered at the end of next week. She is coming from northern Indiana. My choices were to get a cheaper queen accustomed to warm weather- from California and drive two hours alone to pick her up, which doesn't make much sense, or to pay more for a survivor stock queen that came from a strain of bees that do well in the winter. Not a very hard decision, well not for my brain. It was a little tough on my purse.<br />
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****Today (we're going into the future! actually, most of this post was written on 5/8 and published on 5/10) I put the third deep on. Still didn't find eggs or a sign of the queen. Yes, that beehive is definitely as tall as me now. Makes me nervous with all this Ohio wind. Next weekend I will have to take off one of the supers that is full of nectar and split it among all three hives, switching out their empty combs with the full ones. Then I'll give some of the empty combs back to the giant hive. I am a little overwhelmed with the amount of labor intensive work it has been. I really enjoy beekeeping when they are doing what I want them to do. I am a mess when they go rogue on me and do the unexpected. What the hell, bees? Just do the shit you are supposed to do already!<br />
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I feel like I don't have the back up support I need sometimes. I don't know any beekeepers in the area very well and the ones around would probably gasp at my methods. "What? You're not going to use pesticides in your hives?" Some I've talked to kind of made me feel like one of those silly agrarian movement folks who will get tired of it in two years when it isn't cool anymore. Therefore didn't want to give me the time of day. I feel like I am in this alone.<br />
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In my stress storm, I may have told someone that I wanted to dump all the bees at his front door. I took it back but it sure did feel good to say at the time.<br />
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In other news, I decided I want to start collecting honey from all over the country. My cousin (I think he is my cousin?) in Arizona is sending me some honey from out there and I started thinking about how fun it would be to try honey from other states. So, to anyone who randomly finds and reads this blog, I would love to swap honey with you! A jar of my Black Swamp Wildflower Honey for a jar of your or your local "insert cute regional honey name here". Put your contact info in the comments section and I will be in touch. <br />
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<br />Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-5673880258238048802012-05-06T18:25:00.001-04:002012-05-06T18:47:20.320-04:00several more things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Overall, it has been a productive weekend for me. I planted my herbs. Rosemary, tarragon, chocolate mint, lemon thyme, sweet basil, thai basil and curry. I had sage, english thyme, and lemon balm winter over from last year. The mints and lemon balm will make some awesome teas. I plan on cutting some and drying them to put in my reusable tea bags. Most varieties of mint are great for upset stomachs and indigestion and lemon balm helps promote relaxation while having a really great lemony sweet taste.If you are just starting out with the gardening hobby, herbs are a
fantastic way to dip your toes in. They are easy to grow, take up little
space and you get to cook fun things with them! I'm waiting for some Greek oregano and marjoram to go on sale at the greehouses, then I'll have pretty much everything I need.<br />
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I sowed a row of shell and snow peas and red beets and finally transplanted my rainbow chard. My black cherry tomatoes, amish pastes and my varietal hot chile peppers are on the patio being hardened off.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwNomYD6s1NarDNi9oExhHEgaZLFkQ9iDXNiSrEdKO9zMbjNdozxMCxzaBV_RxViVTLp9uvJ6IRqqh8f1ECutDGZ94dWIGufwgj6ObYSlEK4U2RIWqL2ddcliBcI1aafHEE8UEAX6p1Q/s1600/IMG_0891%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwNomYD6s1NarDNi9oExhHEgaZLFkQ9iDXNiSrEdKO9zMbjNdozxMCxzaBV_RxViVTLp9uvJ6IRqqh8f1ECutDGZ94dWIGufwgj6ObYSlEK4U2RIWqL2ddcliBcI1aafHEE8UEAX6p1Q/s320/IMG_0891%5B1%5D" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of last years harvests of black cherry and paste tomatoes. </td></tr>
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<br />
I checked out my alpine strawberries that I started from seed last year (no easy feat!)and found them setting fruit! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADneKtQS1DvgB8An4h0Xde-WEgSf-_hZcI7I73fSmXQY-9hu62xKGBRL7zxhXrosvu4EN3zV8WNrvwoaf1yaCEa44uGIJqwzUooNMN1XppXbkugWZdROLoQ6IM_wco-EDKipSB5QS32c/s1600/IMG_2326%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADneKtQS1DvgB8An4h0Xde-WEgSf-_hZcI7I73fSmXQY-9hu62xKGBRL7zxhXrosvu4EN3zV8WNrvwoaf1yaCEa44uGIJqwzUooNMN1XppXbkugWZdROLoQ6IM_wco-EDKipSB5QS32c/s320/IMG_2326%5B1%5D" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">alpine stawberries. Super tiny (the size of my thumbnail) but supposedly bursting with flavor.</td></tr>
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Yesterday I checked my bees. The first split looks successful. I took my cousin out with me when I did my inspection (he wants bees) and we spotted a queen in the newly established hive. I didn't see any eggs so it means she may not have been mated yet but if she doesn't make it there are two other queen cells that have not hatched out yet, so two more chances. If it doesn't work, I'll join the two splits and see if I can order a queen. I really don't want to do that because I think my strain of bees, even though they can be grouchy, are an industrious strain and I don't want to mess with there genes if they are successful. We were lucky yesterday. They were as calm as I've ever seen them. It was very sunny and warmer and I don't think they had any recent visits by the lawnmower :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAMBHxY_rfOBqKZ_tuaLBYHN75fWk_MoV7Ti9AIH7vli961SdtbYjAHpQhsSGB6l2_jMYc_w32q3YmNh1Y_FDCfvuohOl9rN6KFJItQlMxIMIrhTpVJLdOZYfKS1RrF-h8XaZXLlvswk/s1600/IMG_2302%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAMBHxY_rfOBqKZ_tuaLBYHN75fWk_MoV7Ti9AIH7vli961SdtbYjAHpQhsSGB6l2_jMYc_w32q3YmNh1Y_FDCfvuohOl9rN6KFJItQlMxIMIrhTpVJLdOZYfKS1RrF-h8XaZXLlvswk/s320/IMG_2302%5B1%5D" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and then there were three. a burgeoning bee yard.</td></tr>
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Another little project I am working on is trying to turn the below chunk of burr comb into a necklace. I am going to shellack it and put it on a chain. I don't know, maybe paint it too. I love the intricate design of honeycomb. Fake honeycomb jewelry is starting to become popular on etsy and I think mine will be cooler because it is actually real honeycomb. Burr comb (honeycomb built somewhere in the hive where you don't want it) pops up in beehives every once in a while and most beekeepers remove it because it gets in the way and ends up being damaged anyway. This particular piece I found in a gap between frames. I had to remove it because I needed to put another frame of wax right where it was hanging. I will post a picture of the finished product.<br />
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If you are interested in honeybee issues and colony collapse disorder, I would like to recommend a few different websites to check out and get more info. You can support small-scale beekeeping operations like mine (okay mine is uber small) by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/98549394/raw-honey-black-swamp-wildflower-honey?ref=sr_gallery_1&sref=sr_4bbb378a2a30acfaced36569396ec43697c8aaec8062ad5e50fbbdcac47b6970_1336337505_14186622_honey&ga_search_query=raw+black+swamp+honey&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">purchasing local honey</a> and donating to organizations that support healthy pollinating insect populations. Did you know that a lot of the mass market honey you buy in supermarkets comes from China? Much of it has been tested to not even be real honey. They often water it down with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)<br />
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Just yesterday I donated to a grass roots organization that promotes organic super foods and bee products. When you donate, you also get a "perk", such as 10 packets of African honey. What a great way to promote a good cause. I think its pretty awesome. Check it <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/honeycolony" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.honey.com/" target="_blank">National Honey Board</a> has Tons of fun recipes that contain honey. This week they shared a recipe for honey margaritas! <br />
<br />
Check out this rare, <a href="http://www.volcanoislandhoney.com/raw-organic-honey/" target="_blank">Hawaiian white honey. </a>I want some.<br />
<br />
I want to go <a href="http://www.savannahbee.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?display=home" target="_blank">here</a>
sometime. My friend's Mom went and raved to me about it. They have a
honey tasting bar. Yummy. And they have honey roasted coffee! OMG,
If you have ever wronged me in any way and want to make up for it, or would
like to make up for the fact that you never got me a birthday present,
or Christmas present, or Valentines Day Present, or just love me in general and want to show me how much ....Get me the honey roasted coffee.<br />
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I'm sorry, its just that time of year, when my posts will be 75% about bees.<br />
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I try to learn as much as I can about bees and beekeeping so that I can manage my hives in a way that is both productive for me and for the bees. I recently ran into some information about propolis, a product of the bees. It is a plant resin that the bees gather to use inside the hive. It comes from trees and flowers and honeybees bring it in and use it as a cement/medicine for the hive. They use it to glue the lid and frames down, seal cracks and if any foreign object gets in that they can't drag out, say a mouse got in and died there, they will mummify it in propolis. It has anti fungal and anti viral properties. Humans have used it medicinally for years and recent science has found that it actually works. When I tore down one of my empty hives, I scraped out all the propolis, found a recipe for homemade propolis extract (costs 15-12 dollars for 1/2 oz in drugstores). You can use it topically and internally for all sorts of ailments and to overall boost immunity. I know for a fact (tried it myself) that propolis makes a great natural sore throat remedy. So this week I will be making some propolis extract. All you have to do is take a big hunk of the stuff break it up into small hunks, put it in a jar with some vodka, leave it for 2 months, let it evaporate to 50%, strain out the hunks and its ready to use. Hopefully it will be a good thing to have on hand for this coming winter's bugs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">propolis-a silly putty like goo that the bees use the same way we use duct tape. It fixes everything. I actually eneded up with a golf ball sized hunk by the time I was done scraping. I like saying hunk.</td></tr>
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And now for my ridiculously easy recipe for homemade body wash. Okay, so it isn't exactly homemade-but it is home customized. All you have to do is the following:<br />
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1.) purchase a bottle of baby mild unscented Dr. Bronner's (DB) organic castile soap. Try to refrain from reading all the freaky religious stuff on the label and just get down to business. Who am I kidding? I read the whole label too.<br />
2.) purchase an essential oil of your choice (can be found at health food stores and online)<br />
3.) scrounge up an empty bottle<br />
4.)Pour DB in bottle<br />
5.) put 5 drops per ounce of soap; A three ounce bottle needs 15 drops. Gotta love math!<br />
6.) put cap back on bottle (this is important) and shake it up<br />
7.) use your soap in shower.<br />
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There you have it. A DIY organic soap that you made yourself. DB is a pretty reasonable priced organic castile soap and it is made here in the united states by a progressive company with strong sustainability practices. Last winter I bought a bottle of Pacifica Sandalwood natural body wash. I love the stuff,it smells amazing and they are a eco-friendly company. However, an 8 oz bottle costs about 9 bucks. You can get a 32 oz bottle of DB for about 13 bucks. More math...hm....and ....BINGO! Making your own this way is not only kind of fun, but it is cheaper than many other eco-friendly body washes.<br />
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You can use lots of different essential oils depending on your mood. Lavender is really easy to find and is great for stress and relaxation. If you invest in a bottle of this oil, it will last you a very long time and has many other uses besides making body wash. Mountain Rose Herbs as a mind blowing selection of organic EO's and you can follow the link which is on the sidebar. Also, there are other brands of castile soap but I haven't tried them. I imagine that they would work about the same. If you like a more strongly scented soap, use more EO and if you like a more lightly scented soap use less than the 5 drops per/1 oz ratio that I use. Also if for any reason you have a sensitivity to EO's or have to avoid it for health reasons (pregnancy) you can find skin safe synthetic fragrances online or in the soap making section of a craft store. You could even add a drop of food coloring if you want, but don't go too crazy and wind up with pink or blue tinted skin.<br />
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When selecting your bottle, any used plastic squeeze bottle would do. I using smaller bottles because I like variety. In the summer I like lavender and citrus blends while in the fall and winter I like warmer scents like sandalwood, vanilla and florals. I have quite a collection of EO's because I use them for so many things. DB is a fairly runny liquid but it is concentrated-a little goes a long way and it suds up nicely. Not only can you use it for your body but it can be used as a laundry and dish detergent, bug repellent, facial soap, natural pesticide and shampoo.<br />
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Oh hey there, good music!<br />
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<br />
Um, okay time to take that bunch of spearmint pictured above, make a mojito and go back to day dreaming about the solar wax melter that I conned a wonderfully amazing person to build for me this fall...<br />
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<br />Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-56076605996133274962012-04-29T20:21:00.003-04:002012-04-29T20:21:54.260-04:00birds of a featherToday I visited Dixon, an old and dear friend of mine. I was lucky enough to meet him my first year of college when I signed up to go on a volunteer trip to Yellowstone. My first impression of him was "who is that hippie bearded guy with the long hair?" I discovered soon after that he grew up only a few miles from me and even though he was a few years younger (okay like 4) that we had a lot in common. He likes to do things from scratch too.<br />
<br />
He makes wine, he bakes his own bread and he loves to cook. I enjoy the stories he tells, I admire his intolerance for drama and I love that despite having a handful of traumatic things happen to him over the years, he retains a positive outlook on life and a very strong faith in God. I forgot his birthday and he didn't get angry, I often go far, far too long without calling him and he never judges me. He is truly a good person in every sense and being around him is like breathing fresh air. It just feels good.<br />
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Today's visit in particular was to meet his new ladies. 5 of them. He recently acquired new egg laying chickens-something I've wanted to do for years and years. I insisted that as soon as he got them, that he needed to let me come see them. I decided to name them for him as well. The problem is that they are really hard to tell apart so unfortunately for them, 4 are named Princess Erica and the other one is Hennifer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrf6zW5O31QNz7SvpiDNPzmpmyUQ7mmnzoe1jP5p9RvGGPj1QUq9mY6icSHwv6ja8iDylLS67xzGSfHZG3qAeCFdac2tpqxO8rM61P-0gNZ-SM_sbnboroVaOLUhRLmyz7TYzv4BSM29E/s1600/IMG_2200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrf6zW5O31QNz7SvpiDNPzmpmyUQ7mmnzoe1jP5p9RvGGPj1QUq9mY6icSHwv6ja8iDylLS67xzGSfHZG3qAeCFdac2tpqxO8rM61P-0gNZ-SM_sbnboroVaOLUhRLmyz7TYzv4BSM29E/s320/IMG_2200.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He built this coop himself. Twice. While in its early stages, it blew over in a wind storm. This was one of the several stories he told me today that cracked me up. Not the best picture of the chickens but I spent the rest of the time trying to catch one. </td></tr>
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Not only did he let me chase his chickens around, he made some venison stew and the best homemade granola I've ever had. A recipe I insisted I steal from him and share on my blog. So it goes like this.<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
1 cup sunflower seeds (shelled)<br />
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut<br />
1 cup dried fruit of choice. He used cranberry and raisins<br />
1 cup peanuts (or whatever nut you'd like)<br />
2 1/2 cups oatmeal (quick cook is fine)<br />
1 can sweetened condensed milk<br />
1 stick unsalted butter, melted<br />
1 1/2 tbs of cinnamon. (he put in, like 4, I'm sure of it)<br />
<br />
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, spread on a parchment covered bar pan and then put in a pre-heated 350 ish degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned and crispy on top. The middle and bottom should be chewy. When its cooled, you can break it up in chunks or cut into uniform pieces. It should be good in a covered container for a week or two, but it won't last that long. It was delicious. Crispy, chewy, sweet and slightly salty. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dixon showing me how he makes his granola.</td></tr>
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Not only did he give me a fantastic granola recipe, a delicious, healthy and free meal, complete with homemade bread, but he also gave me these. Yep, those are enormous eggs and two bottles of homemade wine. Peach and Blueberry. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOp0PwDu1kjvVYgSea2v-fp9LIjdH7LXdmtF8zPjkY8V3oCNecBQZWF0zIZJHqn30bb-iTFQVYDEomk7eOLgLWT8ACKX1YaeYWmJ_rARMhH3_bhuwjheee5WSrk17QTQtm5MY4uEpEww/s1600/IMG_2207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOp0PwDu1kjvVYgSea2v-fp9LIjdH7LXdmtF8zPjkY8V3oCNecBQZWF0zIZJHqn30bb-iTFQVYDEomk7eOLgLWT8ACKX1YaeYWmJ_rARMhH3_bhuwjheee5WSrk17QTQtm5MY4uEpEww/s320/IMG_2207.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
Sorry ladies, he is taken by a nice girl I haven't gotten the privilege to meet yet but I will let you know as soon as anything changes.Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-45737972592640083422012-04-27T18:19:00.000-04:002012-04-27T18:19:09.572-04:00bee updateI checked on the split today. The tiny little starter colony did what I wanted them to do. They took several of the eggs from the borrowed frames and are in the process of raising new queens. Yes, I said queen(s).<br />
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The bee logic is that it is always good to not put all your eggs in one basket. Several queens may emerge (in this case I counted 7 capped queen cells) but they have to meet the worker bees quality control standards. If a queen is weak or deformed she is kicked out. The queens that make the cut have to take a mating flight, survive the predators and then find their way back to the hive. Often times, if multiple queens return to the hive, the best one will fight the weaker ones and they will also be kicked out or killed. It sounds brutal but its all for the health of the whole colony. It is rare, but sometimes colonies (I'm assuming confused, disorganized ones) will allow multiple queens. But usually only the best queen will be able to reproduce and ensure that the whole colony is healthy and productive. I am hopeful that one out of seven of these babies will rise to the prestigious title of her royal highness. <br />
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That is basically the reason why splitting hives is risky business. Even after everything I've done so far, finding the queen cells and 7 chances of having a successful queen rearing, things could go wrong. I don't want to get too cocky but I am happy with the progress so far.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKa9mftcetbZYCX9cpkPnKo1DL0CeddKeKEkUM-ZMgB3LxD4GPo3DGFGIOh4jq5vJH2I_XSPRg6fotHJ7sCb03DfveJapXZUmURsuWexXeqKSsS_V0sbpKBZk5iCE2q06-tqoAyyYVqk/s1600/IMG_2180%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKa9mftcetbZYCX9cpkPnKo1DL0CeddKeKEkUM-ZMgB3LxD4GPo3DGFGIOh4jq5vJH2I_XSPRg6fotHJ7sCb03DfveJapXZUmURsuWexXeqKSsS_V0sbpKBZk5iCE2q06-tqoAyyYVqk/s640/IMG_2180%5B1%5D" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">check out the upper right hand corner. That pale faced, zombie-esque looking bee head is a baby bee emerging from a cell. Its a drone. Queen cells look like peanuts or chubby stubby thumbs, worker cells are flat and plain, and the drone cells look like bubble wrap.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPrazRKztfpsPCjfjzXab8y5CJ7wSym1mJ8nUrLjegPbvR_Ez6vXI_BaLXBzx2kn5958k27PAFRrsL3L8gUZCcSRdonqoOTkmBWZ8JbNPHoZbP_XhpxUUJy57ORwmD6YhZFTqXmFOxYU/s1600/IMG_2182%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPrazRKztfpsPCjfjzXab8y5CJ7wSym1mJ8nUrLjegPbvR_Ez6vXI_BaLXBzx2kn5958k27PAFRrsL3L8gUZCcSRdonqoOTkmBWZ8JbNPHoZbP_XhpxUUJy57ORwmD6YhZFTqXmFOxYU/s640/IMG_2182%255B1%255D" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here you can see what a queen cell looks like. Kind of like a yellow peanut. They are usually found at the bottom of a frame. However, I found some smack dab in the middle of the same frame. I couldn't get the bees to cooperate and move enough to take a picture. I was not wearing gloves. You can only do so much coaxing ungloved and expect not to get stung. One of the cells is uncapped. Its so interesting to see worker bees cluster around queen cells much more so than other cells. I have no idea if that means there is one already hatched or if it just never got used. I did not find any queens in the hive today.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR7x_rYLx5RPxibFtGHOguCfMG7AACIP3rODf0XK4JpBMH0i98SFUlzg76yhKJFJS38EJ4mkGui7ZQH3tbNUvgiTSNzO_Zp_vU6e2I1CYbrYwb3ECZgDYUN7X2-RIIyNMo6Q8oNV1SUaU/s1600/IMG_2183%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR7x_rYLx5RPxibFtGHOguCfMG7AACIP3rODf0XK4JpBMH0i98SFUlzg76yhKJFJS38EJ4mkGui7ZQH3tbNUvgiTSNzO_Zp_vU6e2I1CYbrYwb3ECZgDYUN7X2-RIIyNMo6Q8oNV1SUaU/s640/IMG_2183%5B1%5D" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bees doing their bee thing. There is an capped queen cell right in the middle of the frame. Could hatch in anywhere from one to two weeks if I did my math right. Can you believe I took these with my iphone?</td></tr>
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Okay, so the monster hive still looks crowded but good. The queen has been laying in the honey super because they are running out of room. They have tons of pollen stored in the brood boxes. Also there is quite a bit of nectar being stored in the super already<i>. </i>I am trying to decide if I want to let them do their own thing, swarm when they want to, or keep trying to discourage them. In a way I like the idea of letting them do what comes naturally for them. Less swarming usually means more honey but it also means a bigger and more difficult to manage hive. Those boxes are HEAVY and the more that get stacked on the more lifting and straining I will have to be doing this summer. Last summer I had a major scare. Hot weather, fully suited, heavy boxes, and passing out within inches of going face first into a hive full of thousands of honeybees. Not good.<br />
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I did not find a single varroa mite today. Not one. Also haven't seen those pesky hive beetles since I did my first hive inspection in early March. Things are looking good. Now if only I can them to be a little calmer and less aggressive. These bees are ornery. They love to dive bomb my face. I don't know why, but even on a sunny warm day when they should be ignoring me, they chase me around the lawn. These hives are on my grandparents property. One theory I have is that my grandpa, who has difficulty walking, takes an almost daily drive by on his lawnmower to see what the bees are doing. Loud noise supposedly really bothers them. I could never ask my grandpa to stop. He is 92 and the fact that he even gets outside every day is extremely admirable. I love that he has taken such a keen interest in them. My grandma told me today that she gets a kick out of watching me do inspections from the window. "Especially when you are dancing around". I am assuming she means my reactions to realizing that there is a bee crawling up my pant leg...<br />
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This afternoon I did an inventory of my current honey stores. A lot-44 lbs. I've decided to <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/98549394/raw-honey-black-swamp-wildflower-honey?ref=sr_gallery_12&ga_search_query=raw+honey&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_search_type=all" target="_blank">sell some on etsy</a> to make way for my 2012 harvest, which could start as early as June. Its fall honey; Darker but still very mellow and lacking the sharper edge that the spring honey has. Its full of pollen, enzymes and other goodies. I have been drinking tea like crazy, always with honey. Have had very few allergy symptoms this spring. Usually get a really itchy throat and lots of sneezing. I really do think its the honey.<br />
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Oh, and the 11ish lbs of old brood comb that I took out of the empty hives (because mice, ants and various other yuckies were getting into t it and I have nowhere to store them) yielded me 16 oz of clean wax. Yep, one pound. There was a ton of old pollen stores, and bee sized dust bunnies that accumulated a lot of the weight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQQ6VRBzJ0MsGjNausTo_rGtuQUTKtZcpg3n0XWj9Ci-4d0PyBhvHjAS6xeqAVrb-wOJsLHsoYDZD4XSu1Pk8fA3o-hSZLdDAedrTM3ENSV5tW0n9xMrioRE7dyneelI_iE_GoCZTHLk/s1600/IMG_2082%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQQ6VRBzJ0MsGjNausTo_rGtuQUTKtZcpg3n0XWj9Ci-4d0PyBhvHjAS6xeqAVrb-wOJsLHsoYDZD4XSu1Pk8fA3o-hSZLdDAedrTM3ENSV5tW0n9xMrioRE7dyneelI_iE_GoCZTHLk/s320/IMG_2082%5B1%5D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bright orange wax at top from brood frames, light yellow wax from honey stores. I got a cute mold that makes these perfect little one ounce bars. Pretty amazing how so much pollen can stain the wax. No amount of filtering can get it out but I think it is pretty. Smells divine too.</td></tr>
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<br />Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-67384009468276611232012-04-24T19:07:00.000-04:002012-04-24T19:07:03.866-04:00awesomenessGritty Girl got a new look. Blogger changed it's layout so I thought it was high time I changed mine. Not much to post, just wanted to show off the edgy new look. I have a batch of wild violets brewing in the fridge for some wild violet jelly-its that time of year again. My asparagus collection is almost to the amount I need to make some more asparagus pickles. I could have made some last week but I'm giving a generous portion to a very sweet gentleman friend who happens to have my same affinity for the stuff. I want do do a post about infused honeys but that will have to come later when I am less busy also. My social life is in the upswing and I am taking advantage while I can.<br />
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All I have for you today is a collection of things I really like. Products, recipes, music, gadgets, etc. You may find them useful or you may not but I can look back on this blog and remember all of the things I was digging back in the day.<br />
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1. I wish I knew how to make my own shampoo but I don't. I wish I could use Dr. Bronner's on my hair but I can't. Its much too thick, curly and needs major moisture. So I recently discovered a nice smelling, natural and animal friendly shampoo that smells fantastic. <a href="http://www.yestocarrots.com/category/nourishing,-normal-to-dry?category_id=0000012" target="_blank">Here it is</a>. The conditioner is dreamy also. The only natural brand that doesn't make my hair look and feel like straw.<br />
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2. I am saving up for a pair of <a href="http://www.chacos.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/18811W/63303/Awnest/J102784W?dimensions=0" target="_blank">these</a>. I may have to sell my soul.<br />
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3. Next time I go camping I am going to sleep in <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/83109453/slice-of-pizza-sleeping-bag-w-veggie" target="_blank">this</a>. I think I can sew one myself...<br />
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4. I would like to add <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/the-beekeepers-bible-book/?pkey=cnew-agrarian-garden" target="_blank">this</a> to my leather-bound book collection.<br />
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5. I had a lot of fun growing my own mushroom a few years ago. Now I want <a href="http://shiitakemushroomlog.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=mushroomlogs&cart_id=5173784.11170" target="_blank">this one</a>.<br />
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6. I <a href="http://recapmasonjars.com/" target="_blank">need this</a> for my honey jar. It would make it much more easy to pour from a mason jar and the sides wouldn't get so sticky from the drips.<br />
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7. I ADORE <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdN5GyTl8K0" target="_blank">this song from Jason Mraz</a>. I was totally feeling every word a few months ago. Isn't it amazing to hear a song that really speaks to you? Not so much now but I still love the lyrics. If you don't want to listen to it because it is too poppy or whatever, fine. Me and 16 million other people love it so maybe <i>you </i>are the weird one?<br />
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8. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/95050325/victorian-cookery-medicine-perfumery" target="_blank">Another book</a> on my etsy wish list. This one looks like the perfect read for cold rainy spring days.<br />
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9. A <a href="http://gildedfork.com/honey-lavender-caramels/" target="_blank">mouthwatering recipe</a> for homemade honey lavender caramels.<br />
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10. I've always wanted to skip the huge fancy wedding, elope and spend my money on a<a href="http://www.canopytreehouses.com.au/treehouse.html" target="_blank"> honeymoon like this.</a> I don't know why people put so much emphasis on a ceremony that lasts 20 minutes and a receptions that most people forget when they could spend it on a week in paradise instead. I get regular newsletters from this place and they make me drool.<br />
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That's all for now. If anyone knows a rich, single guy ( well, he doesn't necessarily have to be single..)that would like to buy me some of the things listed above, send him my way.<br />
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<br />Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-19610932804254996322012-04-18T19:43:00.001-04:002012-04-18T19:43:41.944-04:00an easier way to start a fire and my box of soapThe pine cone, waste candle wax and egg carton fire starter!<br />
First I thought I would share a stupendous idea I came across while surfing around on my favorite website, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/?ref=si_home" target="_blank">etsy</a>.<br />
One of my favorite summer activities is sitting around a bonfire with my friends and family. Bonfires cannot be successful without good fire starting tools. Have you seen this before?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJATGEHJKsGI4Cy9pzzAKI2zox9hz8Vvm-Gm71EchlfaDjw3KVEMHdaX32W8Dpg8eZLCkAMmLFqSpcMAt-9gYNmD4ep4HiApPvIrLNQEz0NO6NRQJ7v4_X_6lIrb0IIgFQwFv_s0lN0LY/s1600/IMG_2071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJATGEHJKsGI4Cy9pzzAKI2zox9hz8Vvm-Gm71EchlfaDjw3KVEMHdaX32W8Dpg8eZLCkAMmLFqSpcMAt-9gYNmD4ep4HiApPvIrLNQEz0NO6NRQJ7v4_X_6lIrb0IIgFQwFv_s0lN0LY/s320/IMG_2071.JPG" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yes i have dirt under my nails. sue me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It is a recycled/repurposed fire starter. All you need to make them are cardboard egg cartons (no Styrofoam!), small pine cones and leftover candle wax-the stuff that remains after your wick burns out. You cut out the cups of the egg carton, melt the wax (I used glass container candle that had burned out and melted it in a double boiler method in a sauce pan. Don't microwave unless you want candle wax all over it.) and pour a little into the bottom of the cup and quickly stick in your pin cone so it is embedded in the wax. Drizzle a little more hot wax over the pine cone and when its cool you have a ready to light fire starter. The wax helps the paper and pine cone catch fire and burn slowly. You know what else makes these things great? They smell wonderful. Like pine and whatever candle wax you used for your fire starters. Mine was an old cinnamon Christmas candle. Its aromatherapy for your campsite! I have lots of beeswax but its satisfying being able to use something that would otherwise go to waste. If you dont have access to cute little baby pine cones you can use little sticks and twigs or wood chips and they burn well too. If you want to be extra fancy you can stick cinnamon sticks or nut shells in them.<br />
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Other things I've learned:<br />
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Infused honey is awesome. I made a jar of garlic infused honey by simply tearing off the cloves, smashing them and placing them in a jar and covering them with honey. Didn't even take the peels off. Lid on, shake, shake, shake for three weeks and done. Now I have a fantastic grilling glaze for pork or chicken or veggies. It seems like it would be weird but it tastes amazing! I was so happy with the results that I had to try it with my dried chiles. In a few weeks I'll have hot chile honey for stir-fry, meats, and as a base for a spicy salad dressing maybe?<br />
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Also:<br />
Today I think I burned a thousand calories. I planted almost an acre of native wildflowers and the reason why I had dirt under my nails. My bees will thank me. I am happy to announce this because it is the most exercise I've gotten in a month. I also got a mild sunburn which I hate because I can already see the freckles popping out. Tomorrow morning I have a 60 minute date with my elliptical. Speaking of health related things, in my last post I mentioned that I was going to jump start my metabolism. I have been eating pretty much vegan (besides my honey) for the last two days and it is going well so far. I miss cheese but I found out that Almond milk is far superior to regular milk. In addition to this, a nicely ripened avocado makes a delicious alternative to butter for toast, baked potatoes and crackers. It would be hard to make a white sauce or butter cream frosting with an avocado I am thinking.<br />
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Now for my soapbox rant!<br />
I only have 15 pounds to go before I hit my goal weight by my 30th birthday! I haven't weighed myself for a few days but I am looking forward to seeing the scale for once in my life. While ideally I would like to lose more than 15 pounds total, I have to keep reminding myself that some people are unlucky in that they will constantly struggle and have ups and downs. They will become very frustrated with themselves and often feel either deprived for not being able to enjoy what everyone else is having or guilty for giving in and having what everyone else is having. It is a lifetime struggle. It will be for me. I would like to say that this is the first time I've had to lose weight but it isn't. A lot of people don't know this about me but on my 20th birthday I weighed 221 pounds and wore a size 16/18. Today I am a size 10/12 and weigh 168 pounds (maybe a lb or two less?). At my skinniest (my broke ass days in college and living on no money at all in North Carolina) I weighed 148 and was a 6/8. While I would love to be back at that size, I probably never will be. I was hungry all the time and probably missing all sorts of necessary vitamins and minerals. I am 5'8" and according to webmd I only technically need to lose 9 pounds to be considered normal but I think I can do a little better. <br />
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Why am I sharing all of this? Because I want to not only take ownership in the goal I've set but I also want to remind myself that I am not perfect and will never be. I am happy to say that I am not anywhere near what I was when I was 20. I'm still better. I don't ever want to be where I was but ups and downs are just part of my life. My body is genetically wired to gain weight easily. I can't be too hard on myself about it and other people shouldn't either. When something bad happens to me I always defult to feeling like it happened because I am not good enough, smart enough or skinny enough. It has to stop. I have to like myself and I have to be confident. I deserve good things and my happiness depends on it. I need to stop worry about why people don't like me or decide not to give me the time of day. If people want to be crappy to me it isn't because I am not smart or pretty or skinny. It's because they are crappy, shallow people and hopefully just might regret it later.<br />
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The Nettle soup I was talking about making last week? Smelled like scummy water and tasted like total ass.<br />
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This is my new(er) nephew. He was born before I jumped back into this blog. He is being baptized this sunday and I am so lucky to be allowed to babysit next week when his mamma goes back to work. I don't think she can do anything but be awesome and make awesome children.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidefxsq-ruHBDcVPOB9Q_IZ473oZclbgZIVe5jR5sqJgY3m0BuBUpWjt5w41sVCjzrx-aK1iVWjOfK3nMR0tUBMJFau89-Fjj2L3SXFWY8mIM6chfV_NjKgW5EQiDmd-wCZ_FwDncvc1Q/s1600/IMG_2039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidefxsq-ruHBDcVPOB9Q_IZ473oZclbgZIVe5jR5sqJgY3m0BuBUpWjt5w41sVCjzrx-aK1iVWjOfK3nMR0tUBMJFau89-Fjj2L3SXFWY8mIM6chfV_NjKgW5EQiDmd-wCZ_FwDncvc1Q/s320/IMG_2039.JPG" width="239px" /></a></div>Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-10581940560285717302012-04-12T18:42:00.000-04:002012-04-12T18:42:00.324-04:00this and thatThe last two weeks have been about trying new things. Lat week I went to my uncle's woods and dug up a handful of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tricoccum" target="_blank">ramps</a> which I have never tried before but heard lots about. I stumbled upon them while searching for morel mushrooms (of which I found none) and came back later to harvest a few. It was a small patch and I felt guilty taking more than a few. This is what they look like.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEireEP7ZtuG8OuU3Rp2M5DPhzdpGSfFcWVuEDaZ9-Nas83I9VENYIpCBc-GFYOuU079TZlIolUPzTBuMJ2xGZCF9U2CZWmsBDm_i2CZDPblgCQmqoLfce3K1Y4hFe72IIpQS_WRfTVvp20/s1600/IMG_1913%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEireEP7ZtuG8OuU3Rp2M5DPhzdpGSfFcWVuEDaZ9-Nas83I9VENYIpCBc-GFYOuU079TZlIolUPzTBuMJ2xGZCF9U2CZWmsBDm_i2CZDPblgCQmqoLfce3K1Y4hFe72IIpQS_WRfTVvp20/s320/IMG_1913%5B1%5D" width="320px" /></a></div>And this is what I did with them<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLpALi6YHDScsbjJwdou5KIS7ID1CjZS0DnyfsZKpsj2UjqTVOiO10MFkZLHkkMnBfwefR3mPoYZP5SvHzCXGjmxfo1XllLVoiN0Zu9Xm2H_gDFsIAZJAdnbOYOzFgHiKHXjBKVz-TF6Q/s1600/IMG_1978%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLpALi6YHDScsbjJwdou5KIS7ID1CjZS0DnyfsZKpsj2UjqTVOiO10MFkZLHkkMnBfwefR3mPoYZP5SvHzCXGjmxfo1XllLVoiN0Zu9Xm2H_gDFsIAZJAdnbOYOzFgHiKHXjBKVz-TF6Q/s320/IMG_1978%5B1%5D" width="239px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTD6N4beFazFiLkaj8w1i2u8bmksnqgwcW2StibrbkrlsAhutXYw_8HMM6Q6HWlcdKFbHkwn_58sqLxyp6c-EVuV1jR2Krt0WXHkBseGBBPMv53j3D5ELRoT3tG6K8m6AMs3MEGHO98NY/s1600/IMG_1979%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTD6N4beFazFiLkaj8w1i2u8bmksnqgwcW2StibrbkrlsAhutXYw_8HMM6Q6HWlcdKFbHkwn_58sqLxyp6c-EVuV1jR2Krt0WXHkBseGBBPMv53j3D5ELRoT3tG6K8m6AMs3MEGHO98NY/s320/IMG_1979%5B1%5D" width="239px" /></a></div>I put 2 of them them in a bowl of chicken stock. After you clean them up you eat the leaves and bulb. Just ramps and chicken stock. It made a really delicious and simple soup. It tasted like the perfect cross between garlic and onions. I had a few left over that I chopped up and froze for a future special occasion. Hopefully I will come across more next year. Then there are the f<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddlehead_fern" target="_blank">iddleheads</a>. I heard those are edible too. While not as good as the ramps, I steamed some and put them over a bowl of rice and had myself a nice little stir fryish type lunch. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5uFmbg095ye66ypxOxEHK6CV8ngJ0SAhqJbFAT_PSQc3gWQ1S6xXMzDdFZjkP7kGykKG_VlGEnLu4g4e7Yiy-qbp2GFRj79RCOXKEVVDNU7AA_0LmgJd2vll87TbnO_3PxPYA6bcUyY/s1600/IMG_1980%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5uFmbg095ye66ypxOxEHK6CV8ngJ0SAhqJbFAT_PSQc3gWQ1S6xXMzDdFZjkP7kGykKG_VlGEnLu4g4e7Yiy-qbp2GFRj79RCOXKEVVDNU7AA_0LmgJd2vll87TbnO_3PxPYA6bcUyY/s320/IMG_1980%5B1%5D" width="239px" /></a></div>There were a few extra so I decided to pickle some. They taste better pickled in my spicy pickle brine than they did steamed. They taste a lot like, well ferns. They are very grassy. I tried to feed them to my family at the annual Easter dinner. think I got two people to try them. Everyone else gave me the "Erica is acting crazy again" eye roll.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChanqH_UXlqnVamDZRAT8ttOTu0h2FYZz2v82hSpV4lt_sm4e5cC9VAnSrK9_BcA6FzY46DoKA6cKPShV4Z0enD0lhhxS5bDmMujG3f5bYcM3rM_ixPedltT_maHhGYwhHYKvoSn898g/s1600/IMG_2044%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChanqH_UXlqnVamDZRAT8ttOTu0h2FYZz2v82hSpV4lt_sm4e5cC9VAnSrK9_BcA6FzY46DoKA6cKPShV4Z0enD0lhhxS5bDmMujG3f5bYcM3rM_ixPedltT_maHhGYwhHYKvoSn898g/s320/IMG_2044%255B1%255D" width="239px" /></a></div>I added a few new fun items to my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/97326897/coffee-and-cream-lip-balm-with-organic" target="_blank">etsy shop</a> including coffee flavored lip balm and some gift baskets. <br />
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Today I did a sugar shake to my beehive. Its where you take a bunch of powdered sugar and sift it onto the bees in the hive. The sugar coats many of the bees and encourages them to groom each other, knocking off varroa mites. While my hive is very strong, I still see varroa mites and bees with deformed wings (caused by varroa). When I opened my hive I noticed that the honey super was full of brood or bee larva. I've never had a hive so big that the queen climbed all the way into the honey super looking for room to lay her eggs. I thought it was a good time to try a split as there wasn't much room left for growth in the hive anyway. I carefully inspected a few frames to make sure the queen wasn't on them and placed them into another small hive I had set up several weeks ago. <br />
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The hope is that all the bees on the frames I moved will accept the new hive as their home and raise a new queen. I made sure that the frames I pulled out had uncapped larva so that the bees had time to feed them royal jelly which produces a queen. I blocked the entrance of the hive so that no bees could get in or out for a day or two. This will hopefully give them time to situate themselves to their new surroundings. Over the next few weeks I may pull a frame of brood out to donate to the new hive to help boost their numbers. I don't expect much. It is a long shot doing it this way. It is traditionally done by introducing a new queen to the new colony rather than making them try to raise their own. Unfortunately I don't have the cash for a new queen but I do have a lot of faith in them. They are special bees. If it looks like the new hive is failing, I will put them back into the larger hive. This is what they looked like today before I messed with them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">look at the bees in flight. Aren't they cool. And if you look really close you can see the different colors of pollen they are bringing in. Light yellow, orange, red...</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7WNBg8PsGirH1PSmfIwLixC4X31ghjRf6FHgUyeKfSVTKFybN3kn2_BQNYuaQ3i56vDXDaaw-hMe_8CnRm9REg_fy4WMgHF7RgMsnhvXHdC23YRMH7VjtloWafjOddQZ4IYnRPpA9l8/s1600/IMG_1945%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7WNBg8PsGirH1PSmfIwLixC4X31ghjRf6FHgUyeKfSVTKFybN3kn2_BQNYuaQ3i56vDXDaaw-hMe_8CnRm9REg_fy4WMgHF7RgMsnhvXHdC23YRMH7VjtloWafjOddQZ4IYnRPpA9l8/s320/IMG_1945%5B1%5D" width="239px" /></a></div>See how many bees are in the honey super? Tons. Hopefully I eased some of the congestion by taking out a few frames...<br />
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In other news, I also made 5 jars of raspberry syrup from last year's frozen berries in the freezer. I find that I more often use syrups than jams and jellies so I am going to focus more on making more of that this year. Its great mixed with club soda and a lemon wedge.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAcjvl3SuceJmF2hUkWl5lrIChPHU4tNJlR4-iPtY5yaLD9u3KSXHrRz4dTShDRPWY6ifhQkURtxP5-oDiS2OdbzIX0we3eqWXwXMHFC4DQOduXvQVJaJglJeeTax2GPLEiX2AlEUP2jQ/s1600/IMG_1976%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAcjvl3SuceJmF2hUkWl5lrIChPHU4tNJlR4-iPtY5yaLD9u3KSXHrRz4dTShDRPWY6ifhQkURtxP5-oDiS2OdbzIX0we3eqWXwXMHFC4DQOduXvQVJaJglJeeTax2GPLEiX2AlEUP2jQ/s320/IMG_1976%255B1%255D" width="239px" /></a></div>So what's next? There is a nice sized patch of stinging nettles nearby that is calling my name. I hear you can cook them and use them just like spinach. I have a nice collection of asparagus in the fridge so I am thinking cream of asparagus and nettles soup would be a fun experiment. This weekend I have a job lead to follow, I plan to remove some clutter from my life, both physical and mental. I have a lot of clothes to go through and donate, a lot of stress to relieve myself of and a few more pounds to lose. I have about 15 more lbs to go to hit my goal weight by my birthday. Tomorrow starts (well why not right now?) a major health overhaul. There will be no meat for a few days, then no dairy, then no super cooked foods then I plan on doing a whole week of just raw food. I hit a plateau and have read that this can rev up one's metabolism.<br />
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oh yeah and I cant even begin to describe how much I love this song.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/WfzRlcnq_c0/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WfzRlcnq_c0&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WfzRlcnq_c0&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object> </div>Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-14855056957984958582012-04-01T18:14:00.000-04:002012-04-01T18:14:13.715-04:00homemade beeswax candles!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sJYYFAuRexhc0VpjinzqhS-e0EszBtCyVo8et4DyXAlte7T3tlfFT-GfX5CBvRJ8cgFdD6Tk5hHXBTwrSzrxMpyNHRKdUGnh4aE6-g8F5C4Zg5OWPlXVxLXx8jx2vDsyCGw9H2aW14s/s1600/IMG_1931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="239px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sJYYFAuRexhc0VpjinzqhS-e0EszBtCyVo8et4DyXAlte7T3tlfFT-GfX5CBvRJ8cgFdD6Tk5hHXBTwrSzrxMpyNHRKdUGnh4aE6-g8F5C4Zg5OWPlXVxLXx8jx2vDsyCGw9H2aW14s/s320/IMG_1931.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
I did it! I finally got around to melting down, cleaning and filtering some of my beeswax for candles and they turned out great! It was a long, sticky and hot process but after two previous failed attempts. My wax is clean enough to burn. First I took 6 quart sized ziplock bags of crushed comb (left over from the honey extracting process) and put them directly in a giant pot of water on the stove. As the water warmed, I stirred the wax and the excess honey dissolved out. When the wax melted completely, I took it off the heat and waited for the wax to cool and harden. The hardened wax floats on top and when it cooled , I took out the honey flavored water (and saved it) and filled the pot with fresh water and repeated the process in order to get all the honey out. The wax will not burn efficiently if there is still honey in it. The first two times I tried it I only washed/melted the wax in water once and filtered it through cheesecloth (holes are too big) and my candles smoked, sputtered, sparked and went out in less than a minute. Pathetic. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">melting the wax in water to dissolve the honey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDznlCymOMEHjqBcMYwE0JcdTt9MEGt5Lac_gqpzydg1dnj6B2YvlQWvS6tdWdlKXiY5jZuG0mTSoBhIYp9H4R-3_zb3dA3IjWIyeghc7Y5ZAw7vSQ90jUJHsZMlHSgf7ifhaAknALHYs/s1600/IMG_1932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDznlCymOMEHjqBcMYwE0JcdTt9MEGt5Lac_gqpzydg1dnj6B2YvlQWvS6tdWdlKXiY5jZuG0mTSoBhIYp9H4R-3_zb3dA3IjWIyeghc7Y5ZAw7vSQ90jUJHsZMlHSgf7ifhaAknALHYs/s320/IMG_1932.JPG" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here you can see the brownish globs of propolis</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4tgoIxzhvEHRUI5LtDN2QQri3ou5HkHbDhXe_ox7SuYlRBGf02vRJgIlTGf4n489h4M61I5Ysw1gw9zzOl3x_zoDCWoDkvbmsPsZz17QWzO7A7FvRpDYXj0gz5nl9Q9H35RwlqWxL-I/s1600/IMG_1933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4tgoIxzhvEHRUI5LtDN2QQri3ou5HkHbDhXe_ox7SuYlRBGf02vRJgIlTGf4n489h4M61I5Ysw1gw9zzOl3x_zoDCWoDkvbmsPsZz17QWzO7A7FvRpDYXj0gz5nl9Q9H35RwlqWxL-I/s320/IMG_1933.JPG" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">putting the clean but not yet filtered wax into a jar and remelting it for filtering</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5nRtPnLykkQ2beDV_BrRfreeXusuiksVFyorzEz2a4ZrAIplCUIZaqMpT-eDsBomDEc3KSdmooijIPDjh2TI79ShHFCtX_CslIB58RX1Z7muZ8F9EKYSHr6LKKoAyBpsyzS0gmjnp0Y/s1600/IMG_1934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="239px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5nRtPnLykkQ2beDV_BrRfreeXusuiksVFyorzEz2a4ZrAIplCUIZaqMpT-eDsBomDEc3KSdmooijIPDjh2TI79ShHFCtX_CslIB58RX1Z7muZ8F9EKYSHr6LKKoAyBpsyzS0gmjnp0Y/s320/IMG_1934.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">once the wax was melted I took it out and poured it through the sweatshirt material to take out the remaining clumps of propolis and pollen. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXQSW-ukIYhyphenhyphenx17rw2IdN7OBSxsPrvvbLVTeK8iMXvIv-edxHQsHHDZsqlEjZ7ZcZqVvYmUuWFO79JMk7mou0DPxPWcsqL3-sBkSyDZ0tj6S7HeaXTF6_yd8gvNGleozUDuJLcsJb8MMQ/s1600/IMG_1930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="239px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXQSW-ukIYhyphenhyphenx17rw2IdN7OBSxsPrvvbLVTeK8iMXvIv-edxHQsHHDZsqlEjZ7ZcZqVvYmUuWFO79JMk7mou0DPxPWcsqL3-sBkSyDZ0tj6S7HeaXTF6_yd8gvNGleozUDuJLcsJb8MMQ/s320/IMG_1930.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">finished candles and block of clean beeswax. so pretty.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After the wax cooled and hardened the second time, I remelted it with a double boiler process and filtered it through an old sweatshirt to get out the debris. The clumpy dark stuff, which is mostly propolis (plant resin) is the debris. Then my wax was ready to used for candles. I used a few of these cute old school weck jars because they are sturdy, can withstand high heat and are simple yet sophisticated. One of these tiny candles burned for almost 20 hours for me! Some of the many great things about beeswax- It burns cleanly and for a long time, does not release toxins into the air AND smells like honey! Those 6 bags of crushed comb made about three lbs of filtered wax which is not very much considering the time it took me to process so next time I think I am going to go ahead and process all of my wax at once. <br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">So what did I do with all that honey flavored water? Well I thought about tossing it. But when I tasted it, i found it was pretty darn sweet. There was quite a bit of honey trapped inside that crushed comb and knowing it takes a worker bee its entire lifetime to make just one teaspoon of honey, there was no way I could let it go to waste. So being the huge tea drinker I am (4-5 cups a day) I decided to save it to sweeten my tea. Now this was wax that came from my honey supers so it didn't have bugs, dead bees or any gross things in it. Just propolis and some pollen so why not keep it. It was also heated to boiling for several minutes so I don't want any comments about the likelihood of me poisoning myself, okay? I put it in several extra jars and will keep it in the fridge for a few weeks to use for my tea. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3UXC_TBxMeYMEJvMyLKu18bhz3Wpq4BHBYKWRZ7LiTIQRSCXb7dm56JYtMnlgetc_knMJCIK5lUbjQ4_Q6XkMGhWOqQFPEVr07n7EPjBA32ZlmvLui50roHMN4_tLN54TB0GhtrwAuo/s1600/IMG_1936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3UXC_TBxMeYMEJvMyLKu18bhz3Wpq4BHBYKWRZ7LiTIQRSCXb7dm56JYtMnlgetc_knMJCIK5lUbjQ4_Q6XkMGhWOqQFPEVr07n7EPjBA32ZlmvLui50roHMN4_tLN54TB0GhtrwAuo/s320/IMG_1936.JPG" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yeah, yeah it looks like pee. but its honey flavored water.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I have quite a few frames of older wax that I need to do something with before they succumb to mice or bugs. It takes just as much time to do a little as it does a lot so might as well go balls to the wall! So when you are considering your zombie apocalypse team, please add "candle maker" to my list of qualifications. <br />
<br />
This week I plan to go to an undisclosed forest location to dig up a few wild ramps (native garlicky, oniony things that are fast becoming delicacies at famous restaurants) and do something fun with them.Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-15867894008610800002012-03-29T18:53:00.000-04:002012-03-29T18:53:58.239-04:00new mexico and some other stuffRecently returned from a trip out west to visit a dear friend that lives in Albuquerque. We met up with another friend of hers and we went to the Grand Canyon<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1np7ff4tO7IxYHXajByQdphXPqtjI2GCV_iTB4w_llM7SKfGjFqXOk9Nam3ts2gtTvKERM6T3f36qRp8Lax5KHB7XSYE_uvmls_0W26rHpUZmvISwP3uQy4FPAfwphNlbbyuUOohgts/s1600/P1010186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1np7ff4tO7IxYHXajByQdphXPqtjI2GCV_iTB4w_llM7SKfGjFqXOk9Nam3ts2gtTvKERM6T3f36qRp8Lax5KHB7XSYE_uvmls_0W26rHpUZmvISwP3uQy4FPAfwphNlbbyuUOohgts/s320/P1010186.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div>and Bryce Canyon<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36MGewk7l_TXib6OR_8FbkYubU5QC_09ugZ6xKoHlGJiErgJu8QdyTnBbv9UQpEPH3Rc7OiPFSORRHrS6Ml7NZhmRyIxxG2tdBcWkdGTrExqp7M6cmC8a6mhlSO8rtdIcXj1kzBMJ9sI/s1600/P1010339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36MGewk7l_TXib6OR_8FbkYubU5QC_09ugZ6xKoHlGJiErgJu8QdyTnBbv9UQpEPH3Rc7OiPFSORRHrS6Ml7NZhmRyIxxG2tdBcWkdGTrExqp7M6cmC8a6mhlSO8rtdIcXj1kzBMJ9sI/s320/P1010339.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div>and my favorite, Zion National Park<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIScwljo1fCshnedNGCLieHhW3V7bIboifPllZqPFph5nS66g10TqTgO8wxc8MwDvF33rT3EOw7fZJRVrQj_gVE4pDk3eckB42AbmK01tJN6bSLwUl8jE6YnqWgOxcjEjynkhX8T1sqf4/s1600/P1010406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIScwljo1fCshnedNGCLieHhW3V7bIboifPllZqPFph5nS66g10TqTgO8wxc8MwDvF33rT3EOw7fZJRVrQj_gVE4pDk3eckB42AbmK01tJN6bSLwUl8jE6YnqWgOxcjEjynkhX8T1sqf4/s320/P1010406.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div>There is absolutely no way any photo I will ever take could do this place justice. It is magical. I would have loved to have spent the entire week there and one day I will. The trip was amazing. I had a lot of fun (and froze my butt off a few times) and it was good for my soul to be surrounded by the beauty of nature, an old friend and a new one. It was another reminder that I need to make these kinds of events happen more often in my life. There is still so much to see and, based on medical statistics, 1/3 of my life is over already. I really want to go to California next. Drive my way from one end to the other visiting Yosemite, Sequoia, Death Valley and Joshua Tree among other stops. I am trying to figure out how much it will cost, how much time I need and who, if anyone, will be going with me. It has the makings to be quite an adventure :)<br />
<br />
Putting dreams aside, I am excited that asparagus season is on baby! Last year I put up 9 jars of spicy picked asparagus. This year I hope to do at least 12 because those 9 jars did not last. I am pretty sure that I am the only one I know that likes(loves) them but that just means I get one whole jar to myself once a month. The recipe is easy; 2 parts vinegar to 1 part water, salt to taste, a few garlic cloves in each jar, some peppercorns and a teaspoon or so of hot pepper flakes and you have asparagus pickles. They stay crunchy and deliver all their wonderful green asparagus taste but with a zap of vinegar and heat. I'm not sure why nobody seems to like them but me.. Anyway I thought I would share some of my other favorite asparagus recipes: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/spring-green-risotto-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">Spring Green Risotto</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/11/oven-roasted-asparagus/" target="_blank">Oven-Roasted Asparagus</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/asparagus-soup-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">Asparagus Soup</a><br />
<br />
This time of year (well asparagus is unseasonably early this year but you know what I mean) you can usually find asparagus fairly cheap at the store and starting to pop up at farmers markets. It freezes awesomely and dehydrates well (if you are a dehydrating weirdo like me) for soups and whatnot.<br />
<br />
My sister and I have been talking a lot lately about trying to eat more home grown and local food. I did pretty good last year but I think I can do better. I want to start canning, freezing and dehydrating more of my own food and learn to eat more seasonally. I am working on a summer plan to decide what I want to grow and put up and how much I need to last me a full year. Of course this all gets blown to heck if I have to move to an urban area and am forced to abandon my garden but I will make a conscious effort none the less. There will be more details about this little project soon!Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-18804773754487385442012-02-10T15:16:00.000-05:002012-02-10T15:16:28.401-05:00not a good excuse but....Its been a very very long time since I wrote a post. I feel pretty bad about it. I've done lots of blog-worthy things but just haven't put them down. Its easy for me to get overwhelmed and distracted when things aren't going the way I want them to. And for the past few months, its been one thing after another. I had to move out of my apartment back in June and back into my parent's place. I love them and appreciate them letting their almost-thirty-year-old daughter crash with them, but there is a horrible defeated feeling that goes along with it. I feel bad that I can't afford to be on my own at my age. Absolutely horrible. I went to college thinking that I was going to improve my life and become independent. I'm not where I want to be at all. I lost my job at the end of the year. I saw it coming and decided that I better not get myself into a new lease when I didn't know when or if I would get another paycheck. I've been trying to keep myself busy between the few and far between job openings I apply for and I opened an etsy shop, which you can see <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/NaturalHistoryBees?ref=seller_info">here </a>: Its been fun, although I think I might actually be losing money on it.<br />
<br />
A lot of people have been asking me about my beehives. Two out of three have made it through the worst of the winter, although one is pretty weak. I will probably go into spring with one good hive. I got some advice from a more experienced beekeeper I recently met and he believes I may be able to preform a "split" on one of the hives; divide it into two in early spring. This makes me hopeful because I really can't afford to buy more bees this spring. Unemployment checks don't leave me with a lot of extra cash. I'll probably only have one or two hives this summer but its better than none. I'll still have bees. I never got around to posting but we got about 90 lbs of honey last summer. I went to a beekeeping class last weekend and met some really nice local people that I can work with and communicate with so I'm looking forward to spring. <br />
<br />
Its easy to start feeling sorry for myself when considering the many trials and tribulations that me and my family has been going through lately and it actually takes real effort to feel good sometimes but I try to think about all the things I have to be thankful for. One being my new nephew, who was born a little less than a week ago. He is perfect and a wonderful reminder of all the things I have to look forward to. That's about all I have to say right now. I want to get around to posting some pictures of the bees over the summer and some little side projects I've been working on. I'll do it soon.... <br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/7qzhngp7jh8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
One of the things I wanted to do when I first set up this blog is to start putting up songs I like. I was driving around yesterday and heard this one for the first time. I listen to country music all the time but I have never once heard this one and now I know that its been out for a while now. How did I never hear it? I think I've played it 17 1/2 times since I heard it yesterday.<br />
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</div>Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-40191936946320565282011-08-15T20:56:00.002-04:002011-08-17T15:58:55.624-04:00mango magma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrvkgO1Tte-VAO7-ruiPZWdZUTwqJRd8YMGhZSvC7L_AbwsNpKtlcbOnfRl1YSdkpydQqRDLwkUVLHHtJPlu7c5SUt-iP5LXDFLsBlU8eSPStwvZ16rE7qJ4EvPlUM5xqnZqZNFkpVFWQ/s1600/IMG_0686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrvkgO1Tte-VAO7-ruiPZWdZUTwqJRd8YMGhZSvC7L_AbwsNpKtlcbOnfRl1YSdkpydQqRDLwkUVLHHtJPlu7c5SUt-iP5LXDFLsBlU8eSPStwvZ16rE7qJ4EvPlUM5xqnZqZNFkpVFWQ/s320/IMG_0686.JPG" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture doesn't really show how pretty it is.<br />
I have no photography skills.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>A few weeks ago I got my creative juices flowing and created (all by myself..for real) a recipe for a chunky, spicy mango salsa I have lovingly named "Mango Magma". Its great as a glaze for meats like pork chops and chicken and also great on a buttered biscuit. Its great on a blue corn tortilla chip and I bet it would be great in tofu stir-fry. In fact, I imagine it would be great on anything, its that, well, great. <br />
<br />
I kind of just starting chopping and stirring and did my best to keep track of the amounts of all the ingredients as I was going but I cannot absolutely promise you that yours will turn out exactly the same as mine did. I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. Hard to believe I know... For me, the recipe made 3, 1/2 pint jars with a bit left over to enjoy immediately. <br />
<br />
MANGO MAGMA<br />
<br />
Ingredients (to the best of my memory):<br />
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced to 1/2" or so<br />
Juice of one lime (no seeds)<br />
2/3 cup sugar<br />
*4 tbs white vinegar (cider vinegar would be fine too)<br />
2 jalapenos chopped (with or without seeds depending how hot you want it)<br />
1/4 cup red bell pepper chopped <br />
1, 1/2 tsp salt<br />
1 c water<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
In a stainless steel pan add the diced mangoes, water, sugar and chiles and bring to boil. Your mangoes will soften and begin to form a thick sauce. Let the mixture boil gently for about 10 minutes so that it thickens and becomes jam-like. You don't have to be precise here. You don't have to worry about the salsa "setting up", so you can cook it until it forms the consistency that you want. Add the lime juice and vinegar and salt and simmer lightly for another 5 minutes and remove from heat, remembering to turn off the burner. :) <br />
<br />
If you plan to process your "magma" in canning jars you will need about three, 1/2 pint jars with rings and lids and sterilize them before hand just as you would for other canning projects. Ladle the hot salsa into hot jars leaving about 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rim clean and center hot lids on jars. Screw on the rings and adjust until fit is tight but not forced. Process the closed jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (longer for higher altitudes). Then remove the jars and cool completely before handling. Check the lids for seals after 24 hours. Lid should not pop up and down when center is pressed. If you plan to use up the salsa within a few weeks you can skip this step and just store it in the fridge in a tightly closed container, which will be good for a couple weeks.<br />
<br />
You can play with the recipe just as I did. A little red onion would be a great addition but I didn't have any at the time.<br />
<br />
<br />
*If you are going to add any other ingredients like a little red onion, increase the amount of vinegar to 1/4 cup or so. The USDA suggests that when adding non-acidic foods to canning recipes you must also increase the accidity level in order help prevent spoilage in home canned food. Always err on the side of food safety. If the seal is popped, or it looks, smells, or tastes even a tiny bit "off", chuck it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
So what is your favorite kind of salsa? Are you a traditional tomato salsa person or do you like things funky?Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-43928486699855388332011-08-13T21:30:00.000-04:002011-08-13T21:30:42.425-04:00the notebook<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxGlwcBngqhCG-_BeW20v05i6iHQ1jqiCIF59Cz4aZOIvISRoPG9sYDzipbUGbxcEYuekPKl8JPrgOZAX0JUizRbL2_kWKHu7Xc7Ym8ElQP_Es4m7yatTRKYiVS99iKBusm3qghEMtVo/s1600/226134_10100207896675400_20916128_46919038_6780342_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxGlwcBngqhCG-_BeW20v05i6iHQ1jqiCIF59Cz4aZOIvISRoPG9sYDzipbUGbxcEYuekPKl8JPrgOZAX0JUizRbL2_kWKHu7Xc7Ym8ElQP_Es4m7yatTRKYiVS99iKBusm3qghEMtVo/s320/226134_10100207896675400_20916128_46919038_6780342_s.jpg" width="241px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yes, those are my feet. This photo is of bad quality<br />
because my cat chewed through my iphone cord.<br />
I had to get very creative in order to get this photo <br />
on here. Thanks Kitty Cat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>You have good weeks and you have bad ones. I will be filing this one in the "bad" cabinet. There were a handful of not-so-great things that occurred this week (arguments with family members, grandma's 2x broken leg, not-so-great work news, loss of one of my beehives to probable colony collapse disorder, etc.,) but rather than dwell on those, I would like to recap all of the good things I accomplished this week.<br />
<br />
Overall I am pretty happy with the garden. despite all of the sun gold tomatoes that I planted disappearing, I do have some really nice black cherry tomatoes that taste good. In my desperate attempt to hold onto summer for as long as possible, I decided to slow roast two pints in the oven with garlic, basil and olive oil and bag them up for the freezer. I tasted one and it was delicious. Then I tasted another, and another. Boy those tomatoes shrunk in the oven. Doesn't look like I have two pints worth now, but come January, I can pull out a bag and toss them into some soup or pasta and be reminded of summer and that the sun really does exist. <br />
<br />
So far I have picked 5 beautiful eggplants. Some went into curry, some will be dehydrated for later. I also threw lots of hot peppers and Anaheim chiles into the dehydrator. I'd love to make a batch of jalapeno jelly but I always have the best intentions..... <br />
<br />
The apricots I got from Traverse City went into 6, 1/4 pint jars of apricot butter. It was my first time making that and I am pretty happy with the result. <br />
<br />
Greg and I bottled up 31 pounds of honey one of our healthy hives. It might be wishful thinking but I am hoping that is less than half of the harvest we expect to get this season.<br />
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Despite being really excited about something that was supposed to happen for me at work, and then finding out its really not great after all, I did get to do something cool. I attended a workshop that taught us how to use interior design samples in craft projects. I made a notebook out of wallpaper scraps and fabric scraps. I also got to loot a warehouse full of said samples. The the backseat of my rogue is full of unique fabric. Once I learn how to sew, I might open an etsy shop and sell handbags made from reclaimed window curtains. Best intentions......<br />
<br />
IDK. I plan on filling my reclaimed wallpaper notebook with all the goals I really wish to fulfill in the short and long term. First for the short term- I want to go to Australia in the year of my 30th birthday (2012=soon). First for the long term- I want to figure out how to be my own boss or just retire early and move to some tropical country where the cost of living is cheap. Its hard to get yourself out of a rut. I've been more than a little displeased with certain areas of my life lately and maybe writing down my goals and mapping out how to obtain them will help me cope. Maybe I need a big change, maybe I just need a therapist.<br />
<br />
If you could retire early and move anywhere in the world, where would you go?Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-63409605872899875392011-08-07T21:57:00.000-04:002011-08-07T21:57:31.411-04:00summer won't slip away from me this time....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mdnmbxGQNn6ZvT1cwqTIO5_-8kXDJVRrJ2l802qEQRRtGRALVMjfWnfbzURH10HKb-lEs4w9dx912of_0-NXtoXudXV9MfcStv6sBkSayfSO_723I_cT58Ch9VOwYNfpa1VXnzqtomM/s1600/P1010144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mdnmbxGQNn6ZvT1cwqTIO5_-8kXDJVRrJ2l802qEQRRtGRALVMjfWnfbzURH10HKb-lEs4w9dx912of_0-NXtoXudXV9MfcStv6sBkSayfSO_723I_cT58Ch9VOwYNfpa1VXnzqtomM/s320/P1010144.JPG" t$="true" width="320px" /></a></div>I got a wonderful but brief visit from Greg last week. We went to Traverse City for a mini-vacation. Its a really beautiful place. It was my first time there but Greg's aunt and uncle have a home there and we were fortunate that they invited us to visit during the Traverse City Film Festival. The Michael Moore one.<br />
We caught a few documentaries and spent the rest of our time there soaking in the scenery. I don't know how many hours we spent sitting on the beach just relaxing. It was wonderful. I think we both needed the R&R. I can't wait to go back.<br />
I wasn't aware of this but northwest Michigan is famous for their cherries. We came home with sweet and sour cherries as well as the best apricots I've ever eaten. The sours are in the freezer, the sweets were cooked down and canned and the apricots are awaiting a delicious fate that will be shared in a later post. Below are just a few pictures of the amazing scenery.<br />
<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FVPYCaTda6932R-NUnSeKRV2eC1L2YpCglXkzpfVUPO452-aYmft7HmMtjywX8uxg6q1U-s0f31AzdSbsldER0IN8yok59l43QehA7AkOznavYZg5Qpd1cvq2hgjyIhxHf6fvyzeeYI/s1600/P1010143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FVPYCaTda6932R-NUnSeKRV2eC1L2YpCglXkzpfVUPO452-aYmft7HmMtjywX8uxg6q1U-s0f31AzdSbsldER0IN8yok59l43QehA7AkOznavYZg5Qpd1cvq2hgjyIhxHf6fvyzeeYI/s400/P1010143.JPG" t$="true" width="300px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeping Bear Dunes. We were too scared to go all the way down. There weren't any helicopters available to lift us back up.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzWE1bQMrjm9l3_7nvSTS-nxWCbiIkT_Sqljq_LK8n77ebWHbv4YBAUV7gMy-YFF4GhTFIJ_OHvVR0FoBub2OhB4x4PGIhjqCxKfjH4Fvd4QBFrj3OybQOwYEsKo3OUZ1fT0C-uiZ7As/s1600/P1010147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzWE1bQMrjm9l3_7nvSTS-nxWCbiIkT_Sqljq_LK8n77ebWHbv4YBAUV7gMy-YFF4GhTFIJ_OHvVR0FoBub2OhB4x4PGIhjqCxKfjH4Fvd4QBFrj3OybQOwYEsKo3OUZ1fT0C-uiZ7As/s400/P1010147.JPG" t$="true" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg and his Aunt Kit strolling along a trail at the park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDP5fldO62BGiYdq7qPmrDzAr2X-7xaKaX-2bAWGMWn0d6vsAH9VX_BPkp6yVmlXoydLtm1bBpm9ogXCZVp4RS_zaDZJInON-HZTiPhv_HW9DuPVDlneBV0fVLnoT_D4YGCvK61nWIRA/s1600/P1010149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDP5fldO62BGiYdq7qPmrDzAr2X-7xaKaX-2bAWGMWn0d6vsAH9VX_BPkp6yVmlXoydLtm1bBpm9ogXCZVp4RS_zaDZJInON-HZTiPhv_HW9DuPVDlneBV0fVLnoT_D4YGCvK61nWIRA/s400/P1010149.JPG" t$="true" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still Sleeping Bear and still beautiful</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9YhLEfVgjsD3dP21ko8pE_oWaBC8hgOaPhDKR_2jzTGfyJcdmCl6TiAxhyphenhyphenGz9H8dL89QsciLseYUQ3xYkkznulD12lz0KvfTwG7K3sOEIZOIA9KBT_gMwgzYjwv0D1yACFWsawuLfhs/s1600/P1010150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9YhLEfVgjsD3dP21ko8pE_oWaBC8hgOaPhDKR_2jzTGfyJcdmCl6TiAxhyphenhyphenGz9H8dL89QsciLseYUQ3xYkkznulD12lz0KvfTwG7K3sOEIZOIA9KBT_gMwgzYjwv0D1yACFWsawuLfhs/s400/P1010150.JPG" t$="true" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg's Aunt Kit again showing us the view</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM76as0UozQVM60Q4sCYS82escN5o1Q6VqAzWDs-hP8OK2KIKkwf5-1rVrpD0lWpm1rVNqVZStoiRTSKHwpyiNbZrjAulrw4pa8hLDYsaX6TNNxHSIaQOY6W-QwwLFCSClksG8DpSR9GU/s1600/P1010151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM76as0UozQVM60Q4sCYS82escN5o1Q6VqAzWDs-hP8OK2KIKkwf5-1rVrpD0lWpm1rVNqVZStoiRTSKHwpyiNbZrjAulrw4pa8hLDYsaX6TNNxHSIaQOY6W-QwwLFCSClksG8DpSR9GU/s400/P1010151.JPG" t$="true" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really love this picture. It only captures just a tiny bit of all the fun we had. Sitting next to Greg is his uncle Ron, showing off his bag of dog poop. Love responsible pet owners :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJCBb-lwWyiwJtwBagqS_8Yg-nV75WfbZz11sPiYcNUhPAuGwuBX4JtDU4Axcp6DfNZ9MktOjE5TjT5U_i3NzRKH9_mL_4yOzq8WhULU-up_UQHxIXsdx0zvTJ3q4PXllTLH5uy6pQ-8/s1600/P1010152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJCBb-lwWyiwJtwBagqS_8Yg-nV75WfbZz11sPiYcNUhPAuGwuBX4JtDU4Axcp6DfNZ9MktOjE5TjT5U_i3NzRKH9_mL_4yOzq8WhULU-up_UQHxIXsdx0zvTJ3q4PXllTLH5uy6pQ-8/s400/P1010152.JPG" t$="true" width="300px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...damn...</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTezOyCA2DD9FH-TWvKXAEQQMkBlpzLaQcprGTbIt23yn4KqdvfERhB03CcKi-X1_Ua6Q414F6hRGRK6NvdK9trzC_al6WtyCYVhKR6vFoBODn74EEWI1IN8ZeTPWxZmPzOlOCkh9Vb5c/s1600/P1010155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTezOyCA2DD9FH-TWvKXAEQQMkBlpzLaQcprGTbIt23yn4KqdvfERhB03CcKi-X1_Ua6Q414F6hRGRK6NvdK9trzC_al6WtyCYVhKR6vFoBODn74EEWI1IN8ZeTPWxZmPzOlOCkh9Vb5c/s400/P1010155.JPG" t$="true" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"secret beach"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-41922338897184494662011-07-24T22:59:00.000-04:002011-07-24T22:59:21.329-04:00made me some black raspberry syrup<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuBafrJigQS8G-xhZDpVO0Itnwx2VtIOuiTMQk88vVWtYQPRRiykRTfRPcigMFyT805VSs9_gJzIspSuXlI7FBfotZoGOyg7QCunv72mpxKgfl0Zda272hILUT0OCeK1MDctc3DQBmcM/s1600/IMG_0507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuBafrJigQS8G-xhZDpVO0Itnwx2VtIOuiTMQk88vVWtYQPRRiykRTfRPcigMFyT805VSs9_gJzIspSuXlI7FBfotZoGOyg7QCunv72mpxKgfl0Zda272hILUT0OCeK1MDctc3DQBmcM/s320/IMG_0507.jpg" t$="true" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">homemade soda using black raspberry syrup and sparkling water</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Last summer was my first shot at making home made jelly when I helped Greg preserve a batch of wild grapes. He was on a bike ride when he discovered tons of wild grapes growing on trees right along the trail he was riding on. He stuffed his backpack full of tiny little grapes and rode home with them. The idea of making jelly never interested me much (1: I don't really eat jelly. I'm more of a butter girl and 2: I always thought it was too time consuming and technically difficult for me) but the idea of Greg gathering berries on the road side as people drove past, gawking and giving him weird looks and then carefully putting them all in his backpack and riding all the home with them strapped to his back just makes me smile. So when he asked me if I wanted to help him make wild grape jelly I just couldn't say no. I was intrigued by all the work he put into getting them. I mean, do you know how many tiny little wild grapes it takes to make just a few jars of jelly? A whole backpack full.<br />
<br />
Anyway, That was the day I learned that jam and jelly making was not only easy, it was fun. I've made (and helped make) several batches since then. I've made elderberry, concord grape, dandelion, and even wild violet jelly among others. My problem is that I like making jam and jelly much more than I like eating it and my family and friends no longer appreciate my jam gift giving as an alternative to real gifts. My cheapness wasn't fooling anyone. So this year, instead of wasting all the wonderful wild berries I have access to, I have gotten the brilliant idea to make several batches of berry syrups. They can be used for all sorts of things; Flavoring drinks like lemonade, iced tea, and sparkling water, drizzling over pancakes, waffles and ice cream, even as base for sauces in savory dishes like chicken and pork. Its satisfies my canning itch and also happens to be useful rather than wasteful. Great!<br />
<br />
The last few weeks I have been picking lots of wild black raspberries and made several jars of syrup. In one small batch I threw in a couple split vanilla beans to infuse into the berries while they were cooking. I later found that the vanilla was almost overpowering so next time I'll just use one or maybe even a half a bean. Black raspberries have such a wonderful tart, almost wine-like taste that its kind of a shame to hide it behind too much vanilla which is exactly what I did. Lesson learned. <br />
<br />
The recipe I used for the black raspberry syrup was similar to the one at <a href="http://www.foodinjars.com/">Food In Jars</a> and that can be found <a href="http://www.foodinjars.com/2011/06/drink-week-day-one-black-raspberry-syrup/">here</a>. I made two batches and modified it slightly when I added vanilla to one batch and a bit less lemon juice in the other. Just didn't have enough fresh juice so I only used about two tablespoons of that. I did follow her advice when she suggested adding vinegar to the strained berry seeds to make a berry infused vinegar. You also do not have to process or "can" the syrup if you you aren't ready for that commitment. The syrup can be stored in any container in your fridge for a month. You can also do this with any other fruit I'd imagine. Recipes are out there I bet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS8wK_6acaCWbciaKmbYOhGMNwWqIEsj4aACKPSBKHTLFp6Hm4YXhu5CrJOhhpY3TREnDiYgCfm45bjZ0FP7VHvS0ZVnzJ0P6R5h3JTWwRVp3MDjSb2ilLNMi7z5Ws7EprrGjmdK0uLKs/s1600/IMG_0497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS8wK_6acaCWbciaKmbYOhGMNwWqIEsj4aACKPSBKHTLFp6Hm4YXhu5CrJOhhpY3TREnDiYgCfm45bjZ0FP7VHvS0ZVnzJ0P6R5h3JTWwRVp3MDjSb2ilLNMi7z5Ws7EprrGjmdK0uLKs/s320/IMG_0497.jpg" t$="true" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is the syrup boiling down after the seeds have been strained</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3o5slC7-qvao1rLp6wNNw9HQow8W5iMqxDsyyc7GNh2n8s2DU7QWhk1wvHOb7V8ZshwUZzt7k-QudEJlhOxNg5VW90PGCPrdvkoJjP3fdNEgX72ReJ4QrBhjbanFDUQLhhdn4AIKLAI/s1600/IMG_0501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3o5slC7-qvao1rLp6wNNw9HQow8W5iMqxDsyyc7GNh2n8s2DU7QWhk1wvHOb7V8ZshwUZzt7k-QudEJlhOxNg5VW90PGCPrdvkoJjP3fdNEgX72ReJ4QrBhjbanFDUQLhhdn4AIKLAI/s320/IMG_0501.jpg" t$="true" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pouring into jars</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLGlxD2ZB8eW63PRQYEO6T5M6nIXprfXKAAHJ1nPfTwLlsk7G4steYzlqN1iSG-iERxUxjKohYqPcDpziKNaMXOmUylRqc-bFtGQxAYxq8gRK2P_OWKWIl9t3yudMVNsyZS91NUXVIiI/s1600/IMG_0504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLGlxD2ZB8eW63PRQYEO6T5M6nIXprfXKAAHJ1nPfTwLlsk7G4steYzlqN1iSG-iERxUxjKohYqPcDpziKNaMXOmUylRqc-bFtGQxAYxq8gRK2P_OWKWIl9t3yudMVNsyZS91NUXVIiI/s320/IMG_0504.jpg" t$="true" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">two batches plus two jars of raspberry vineger, which will make some kick ass vinegrette I think.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuBafrJigQS8G-xhZDpVO0Itnwx2VtIOuiTMQk88vVWtYQPRRiykRTfRPcigMFyT805VSs9_gJzIspSuXlI7FBfotZoGOyg7QCunv72mpxKgfl0Zda272hILUT0OCeK1MDctc3DQBmcM/s1600/IMG_0507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuBafrJigQS8G-xhZDpVO0Itnwx2VtIOuiTMQk88vVWtYQPRRiykRTfRPcigMFyT805VSs9_gJzIspSuXlI7FBfotZoGOyg7QCunv72mpxKgfl0Zda272hILUT0OCeK1MDctc3DQBmcM/s320/IMG_0507.jpg" t$="true" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2-3 tbs syrup + 6 oz sparkling water or club soda = h<span style="background-color: yellow;">appiness</span>! <br />
Now this is the math I'm good at.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There are now lots of ripe blackberries out there. Unlike black raspberries, blackberry thorns are the approximate size of machetes so I am still contemplating risking my life to get enough berries to make a few, seemingly small, jars of syrup. Not only do I have to wear long pants and sleeves in this 90 degree weather to get to them but I also have to fight off crow-sized mosquitoes as well. For some reason, blackberry syrup doesn't seem so great at this moment in time.Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-54994063941980006452011-07-19T20:47:00.000-04:002011-07-19T20:47:30.891-04:00i suckI fell off the blog writing wagon. Summer has been hectic. Greg moved to Nebraska to farm much to my despair, I took a week off work to help him, then I came back and went to a week-long training for work, came back again a week later for a huge conference that my office hosted, moved out of my apartment, went back to Nebraska for the fourth of July and now I am trying to catch my breath before I head up to Michigan with Greg for a much needed break. I've done plenty of blog worthy activities-just haven't had time to write about them. This post is a desperate attempt at getting this darn thing updated. After this post I will try harder to get more regular posts up with recipes, how-to's and my usual musings and rambles but I am also going to try to enjoy my summer a little bit. <br />
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<br />
Gardening:<br />
<br />
The garden has been doing okay despite the late and rainy start. My snow peas were basically a bust. It was too wet early on and got too warm too quickly for them to produce more than an few handfuls of pea pods, which I ate immediately after picking. My radishes were ready about the time I went to Nebraska with Greg and the ones I did pull up early enough were really peppery and bitter. I don't know if it was the seed stock, the weather, or me just getting to them too late but they sucked. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaECy6UU4uh4u6v56mfacSxFINEqTegqcfBZyiaOMRtBp3nuxY67UI7Ib1VaNVUULLih33xt3e-Ih2vgd9kT6hJvy0MZrLjqjammCZWfs_ILkuO_q1RDalpAuaGf5nfZNzqj1cd4kwrvI/s1600/IMG_0440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaECy6UU4uh4u6v56mfacSxFINEqTegqcfBZyiaOMRtBp3nuxY67UI7Ib1VaNVUULLih33xt3e-Ih2vgd9kT6hJvy0MZrLjqjammCZWfs_ILkuO_q1RDalpAuaGf5nfZNzqj1cd4kwrvI/s320/IMG_0440.jpg" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">garden pot at my parents' house </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0jcn66e-ptiNz6lrBm0Ikos-MYyVooJtP81uHNNroWpdMItsT8yyxq6NeaHL8l8tzt5UbHfi6AChK1s3LNJdz_6sNBubfZK81PuuBCvI86BC3jgogj0LRfVISRD5dQzNj79mjWE0JBgo/s1600/IMG_0441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0jcn66e-ptiNz6lrBm0Ikos-MYyVooJtP81uHNNroWpdMItsT8yyxq6NeaHL8l8tzt5UbHfi6AChK1s3LNJdz_6sNBubfZK81PuuBCvI86BC3jgogj0LRfVISRD5dQzNj79mjWE0JBgo/s320/IMG_0441.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a couple of my zucchini</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91nTj7qH94YLuiI_62SKytWuoz9ReL_RrQTHbf7fmTL9hRUzK3H1irChyu98tkBtFiaqmbgPxGZJ7XCKdDmxC8b7rjY4aJpI6FWNHfSFzM53sI_QOiE4aLY-CURLETuPTyCumCwFd6eI/s1600/IMG_0445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91nTj7qH94YLuiI_62SKytWuoz9ReL_RrQTHbf7fmTL9hRUzK3H1irChyu98tkBtFiaqmbgPxGZJ7XCKdDmxC8b7rjY4aJpI6FWNHfSFzM53sI_QOiE4aLY-CURLETuPTyCumCwFd6eI/s320/IMG_0445.jpg" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my fancy expensive organic heirloom squash...doing nothing</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxl2ALvBfmm4EKj8_Z4yv88F2GglnUH3vq4beKnf4coADY7ny18hxy3aVE6Ia3NgWTlFYpwNNVCwb5rpGGSs0gpJNQS3_ts6zNAPGs7BVXe3nFJl_DnjQV4ZBIOAuy6C-k3n19_x37eY/s1600/IMG_0505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxl2ALvBfmm4EKj8_Z4yv88F2GglnUH3vq4beKnf4coADY7ny18hxy3aVE6Ia3NgWTlFYpwNNVCwb5rpGGSs0gpJNQS3_ts6zNAPGs7BVXe3nFJl_DnjQV4ZBIOAuy6C-k3n19_x37eY/s320/IMG_0505.jpg" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my one and only lonely patty pan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
There are dozens-I mean DOZENS- of cherry tomato plants that were planted and there are several varieties. Black ones, green ones, yellow ones, striped ones etc., and it seems like its taking forever for the fruit to ripen. But when the do-we will probably drown in them. In addition to the cherries, there are several other tomato varieties I tried out this year. Amish paste, Mr. Stripey (really, that's the name) Cherokee Purple, Brandywine. We haven't gotten a single ripe tomato from those plants either but there are lots of flowers and green tomatoes. <br />
<br />
My heirloom patty pan and round squash aren't producing well. The plants are small and stunted and have hardly produced any female flowers (the ones that produce the fruit) so I have harvested one tiny patty pan and no round zucchini. Those of you that read this and are in my zucchini contest should know that my mom's zucchini has so far produced over a dozen zuccs and there is no end in site. I have been trying to think up some creative ways to use them up so they don't go to waste. I've even tossed around the idea to pickle and can some of them. I've picked 6 off of my plant so far but I'm not too upset because they would probably go to waste anyway, what with my mother's zucchini glut and all. I've heard from a few of you that your zucchini isn't doing so hot either. I think its just that we went from extreme rain to extreme heat and hardly any rain too quickly and its stressed the plants. We can try again next year!<br />
<br />
My eggplants look good, despite that only 4 of the dozen or so seedlings I planted survived. They are all beginning to flower so maybe I will have me some eggplant parm in a few weeks? I guess 6 plants is enough. Just like zucchini, you can only eat so much before you get bored with it. My herbs all look good except for the peppermint. I have no idea what's wrong with it. Its leggy and sparse and looks like it is in desperate need...... of more of something. I was hoping to dry lots of it for tea but I don't think that is going to happen. Ironically, mints are notorious for going crazy and taking over your lawn. My luck.<br />
<br />
The most exciting thing about my gardening endeavors this year is that my mini watermelons are doing fantastic! There will be some ripe ones in the next week or two and the plants are loaded with them. My only fear is that they will all be ripe at the same time and I will have to find homes for most of them so they won't go to waste rather than eating them here and there as they ripen. My cantaloupes are also doing pretty well. The fruit seem to double in size every day!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRI956zzx_cjQQV4gov_ScicG9gg8_v9ecSdTDpBjZ4qzthNQcWpVd26mjR-wP0ko3MzoiBdyTWHYspYNDTjzi_VMQUL4H3EUpu3ZHCS93RED9SvIpciNh1EnDrwaPYW6O8Cxho2Qq3MI/s1600/IMG_0474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRI956zzx_cjQQV4gov_ScicG9gg8_v9ecSdTDpBjZ4qzthNQcWpVd26mjR-wP0ko3MzoiBdyTWHYspYNDTjzi_VMQUL4H3EUpu3ZHCS93RED9SvIpciNh1EnDrwaPYW6O8Cxho2Qq3MI/s320/IMG_0474.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the day I discovered the plants had fruit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuZO_7fe4mfsV3By_-jstuWoJKifZNLlViaZVSaw6xu5pAmkrMYGvgJjt17maN0kFTa5axvpIQkdXf9UJAqH9-7mw_CcXg1H9H0cbJ0Y31l0S_T98HrudSAB-TQvRs6El2LTc_eA16e0/s1600/IMG_0495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuZO_7fe4mfsV3By_-jstuWoJKifZNLlViaZVSaw6xu5pAmkrMYGvgJjt17maN0kFTa5axvpIQkdXf9UJAqH9-7mw_CcXg1H9H0cbJ0Y31l0S_T98HrudSAB-TQvRs6El2LTc_eA16e0/s320/IMG_0495.jpg" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 days later</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAkGIGKcENN8Z5YrdRyidNl1pJsRLQ4a6WZ8P2iHayTcvWKK2Rol0sy94wq0X-5P7QV7Oz6t19J3Rx3c5ptVRUMvgdlRvyuf_u0GppiVvj8QTHHbyrxgbIC-4qEm7rBl4qO3rmoLrKgY/s1600/IMG_0511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAkGIGKcENN8Z5YrdRyidNl1pJsRLQ4a6WZ8P2iHayTcvWKK2Rol0sy94wq0X-5P7QV7Oz6t19J3Rx3c5ptVRUMvgdlRvyuf_u0GppiVvj8QTHHbyrxgbIC-4qEm7rBl4qO3rmoLrKgY/s320/IMG_0511.jpg" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">two days after that. I swear my hands are much daintier and feminine than what this picture shows.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Bees:<br />
<br />
The bees are awesome. All three hives are doing well. One is doing even better than the other two and the colony has filled an entire honey super (medium sized box) with honey. I think there will be a lot more honey to harvest this year than last and I am excited. Greg is coming back for a short time late next week and we will do a complete inspection together and probably harvest a good portion of the honey. Now the struggle will be how I am going to get my hands on all the jars needed to fill with honey. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit. I can probably come up with enough jars, but nonetheless there will be a lot more honey than last year. The extra wax will be saved and used for candles, lip balm, homemade furniture polish, etc., for winter projects. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB4usEsEb3nzP61FuLbvStg65VpZIzl1J5U8MuH7B7YzsPrZWRuSdmJkDmlakWUzo0LHgbappN9O0GJu6YxtvTzSC_BalPVDXUZqYCKlC7-ty5AlKGgYLgz4uzQC_Y1ZYH-XHO4FrAQM/s1600/IMG_0305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB4usEsEb3nzP61FuLbvStg65VpZIzl1J5U8MuH7B7YzsPrZWRuSdmJkDmlakWUzo0LHgbappN9O0GJu6YxtvTzSC_BalPVDXUZqYCKlC7-ty5AlKGgYLgz4uzQC_Y1ZYH-XHO4FrAQM/s320/IMG_0305.jpg" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is the healthiest of the three hives. I went out one hot day to watch them and this is what I found. I panicked and thought that they were swarming. Turns out they do this a lot when its hot. They fan the hive and spread out to cool off.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGVojLsxuw9tuJS1EE5pUpjHnrtIdFDY08ccITQWpt-cFILWFp8NmqvzwksZ1gBv_NIVefXrKpVatug7nk12e692EBC0kgr0UJMHEuhZmvzf27vwq-2DHcBDL5z5Irnt1JLbHV3OzYKQ/s1600/IMG_0450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGVojLsxuw9tuJS1EE5pUpjHnrtIdFDY08ccITQWpt-cFILWFp8NmqvzwksZ1gBv_NIVefXrKpVatug7nk12e692EBC0kgr0UJMHEuhZmvzf27vwq-2DHcBDL5z5Irnt1JLbHV3OzYKQ/s320/IMG_0450.jpg" width="239px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">two honey supers on top. The unpainted one is full of honey and they are working on filling up the other one. Yea! Pay no attention to the straw mess. Its a mulching job in progress to keep the weeds down. Bees don't like lawn mowers.<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table> In a day or so I plan to put a post up about my raspberry canning projects. So now that we're caught up, how are your gardens doing?Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-91649494161472260542011-06-05T20:10:00.000-04:002011-06-05T20:10:32.905-04:00cows, bees and pickled asparagusI've done a terrible job keeping the blog up to date the last few weeks. My excuse is a combo of being busy or lazy; neither of which are conducive to writing. Anyway, I'm here now so that's the important part, right?<br />
<br />
Last week I went with Greg to Nebraska to help him move and settle into the farm life. Even though it was really hard knowing that I have to continue on without him until we figure out the next step, I really had a good time out there. Greg took me to a cattle auction where he will soon be buying his first herd, I got to ride on a big tractor, saw an enormous wind farm (see pics below), went four-wheeling and even "helped" mend fences. I was probably more of a pain in the a** than a help but I learned a lot and Greg looks good holding a chainsaw :). Now that I am home and alone I am trying to keep myself as busy as possible until I get to see him again in a few weeks.Every time I start missing him, which is pretty much every ten minutes, I think about how brave he is to quit a well paying but soul-sucking job to do something he is passionate about and I am extremely proud and happy for him.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3DTR7OMyv5qxPua_b1WbdmM1RPVez4daij_7MapZJBVXaDPQhGBJ9_10mppaWFPfzEqP3UI3w4pt6d1tblJP09s_fV2t4kdqkZ8buhE9kgz7ZqHTCkkqEG3lPJqCawRNuWrEpEMa4l4/s1600/cow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3DTR7OMyv5qxPua_b1WbdmM1RPVez4daij_7MapZJBVXaDPQhGBJ9_10mppaWFPfzEqP3UI3w4pt6d1tblJP09s_fV2t4kdqkZ8buhE9kgz7ZqHTCkkqEG3lPJqCawRNuWrEpEMa4l4/s320/cow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">found this cow walking down a dirt road. She wasn't very chatty. See the turbines in the background? So many more than the four here in bg.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
The weather is finally shaping up so I finally got stuff planted. The zucchinis and pattypan squash are coming up, the tomatoes are slowly growing and the radishes are almost ready to yank. Unfortunately, the terrible May weather took its toll on my carrots, spinach and beets. Hardly any came up. My lovely heirloom eggplants also look pretty pathetic. Ironically, the non organic, non heirloom serrano peppers we bought at home depot have peppers already.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhpg_4gxduzIXuzHtmdVK5c1Y61viPhlUNR4Tohyj_gN3zjjUCqnYQrWszFWYqnNlKnZ5xnuBenAic5ffwSXwi9EXLTeYA35cOoaqa6oRVzGYUttGV_F1elp_5DHTvo0LVK-UW06w2Z4/s1600/P1010026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhpg_4gxduzIXuzHtmdVK5c1Y61viPhlUNR4Tohyj_gN3zjjUCqnYQrWszFWYqnNlKnZ5xnuBenAic5ffwSXwi9EXLTeYA35cOoaqa6oRVzGYUttGV_F1elp_5DHTvo0LVK-UW06w2Z4/s320/P1010026.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yep, this is of the sideways growing variety. Old computer + new camera = major headache </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The bees are doing FANTASTIC! Two of the three have honey supers on them now that the raspberries are flowering. I did an inspection yesterday and am happy to report that all three queens are thriving and there are more bees in the hives than I ever saw last year. I am amazed by the difference. We'll never go back to the place we got them in 2010. Too many things went wrong to blame it on bad luck.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWBNsp0EfZPp4qR1oCQc5VAOwYHiZNGrgqBIh10T8ZaAQ11Uu12SjM0YKG7-UIpJigJ0LmcifcVlo148T7bwwkaNzNQXLHCAXTd07_0LflmsbLtkEp_KJUNhgSVZGb_SJQnFIeDmIH_E/s1600/P1010030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWBNsp0EfZPp4qR1oCQc5VAOwYHiZNGrgqBIh10T8ZaAQ11Uu12SjM0YKG7-UIpJigJ0LmcifcVlo148T7bwwkaNzNQXLHCAXTd07_0LflmsbLtkEp_KJUNhgSVZGb_SJQnFIeDmIH_E/s320/P1010030.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">if anyone knows why my pictures show up fine on my computer but load sideways on blogger, please let me know. This is embarrassing and annoying.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Tonight I made my second batch of asparagus. For the first batch I used a <a href="http://www.foodinjars.com/2009/04/pickled-asparagu/">recipe from Food In Jars</a> but it turned out a little weird. I didn't like the clove/anise taste so I modified it the second time around (skipping the pickling spice and using garlic, peppercorns and mustard seed only) and added Greg's dried cayenne peppers to make it spicier. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-e7pyFaykfXgmO7TkXMLFEoz9Ks2PhDwmWn3S9Ox_AUL_WE5vmYSLIelb5TtBpT8i7OYM6OoCgOfNBoPmET8lv6qB6MjrtWp9epwQHhyphenhyphenwEvUmvuanAv2FhrjogPuLqqGYEyxeyJVKbb8/s1600/P1010036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-e7pyFaykfXgmO7TkXMLFEoz9Ks2PhDwmWn3S9Ox_AUL_WE5vmYSLIelb5TtBpT8i7OYM6OoCgOfNBoPmET8lv6qB6MjrtWp9epwQHhyphenhyphenwEvUmvuanAv2FhrjogPuLqqGYEyxeyJVKbb8/s320/P1010036.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">why does technology hate me?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I will be moving out of my apartment soon but haven't found a place yet. Nothing like waiting until last minute to induce a nervous breakdown. Oh well. Probably anything is better than listening to my upstairs neighbor learn how to play the guitar. I'm thinking about buying him professional lessons if he promises to NEVER play at his apartment until I love out.Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-28467590656417273312011-05-14T19:56:00.000-04:002011-05-14T19:56:29.287-04:00lots going on!Lately I've been finding it hard to find the time to get some blogging done because its been so nice outside. I've been busy with the bees and garden, busy with work and busy worrying about what the next few months are going to do to me. I have to move out of my apartment. Soon. The floors are rotting in both the kitchen and the bathroom and the maintenance people come and go as they please, leaving things messy or broken. I fought with the management enough to get May and June's rent free but I have to be out by July 1. In other news, A few weeks ago Greg decided that he will be moving to Nebraska to help his family farm. They own a lot of land and need the help. This is something Greg has wanted to do since the day I met him so I can be nothing but supportive. Still, Its going to be really hard on me. Unfortunately neither one of us are in the financial position for me to be able to quit my job and relocate out to Nebraska (where jobs are few and far between) anytime soon. We will have to take it a day at a time and just see what happens.<br />
<br />
I might not be doing the greatest but at least the bees are doing well! Here are the rest of the pictures of installing the packages.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAmMNAWGXOT9Otghzo1ND_ItSUBudclfZd3ZrgKTSWrD9W0rHFzLmhWDSNMiOB-86tQ1JV9TfAeEpJGo1jtjAc7IXgH2ikxsj1fJ2nZD2yKw37dBuvbYcTNVs5F7dWT25rjpa3vZZqkg/s1600/P1000715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAmMNAWGXOT9Otghzo1ND_ItSUBudclfZd3ZrgKTSWrD9W0rHFzLmhWDSNMiOB-86tQ1JV9TfAeEpJGo1jtjAc7IXgH2ikxsj1fJ2nZD2yKw37dBuvbYcTNVs5F7dWT25rjpa3vZZqkg/s320/P1000715.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfzt8RLU1tTG_ekufjuE9Oxwvhw-yfEBPB0KWlNzXPmVXvyDEGq2KOgqEzoTPt8HGars9-3QrXnEdgsRrWjr9ziiUgPg1Knk01zvq6Bywtd_qamn6mI2KHM-RY5GVahF6n1m9TcI_v3I/s1600/P1000756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfzt8RLU1tTG_ekufjuE9Oxwvhw-yfEBPB0KWlNzXPmVXvyDEGq2KOgqEzoTPt8HGars9-3QrXnEdgsRrWjr9ziiUgPg1Knk01zvq6Bywtd_qamn6mI2KHM-RY5GVahF6n1m9TcI_v3I/s320/P1000756.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMZoK8BgfF6Ox9EU2UC8NwDYGONWL8AtlSofdET6nBpWmIfCpBzJJYnxRxw5_paiKIE3XK7ME1hgrkmomhnBcAUJdGSnBnXP-10QFBiwULgXkh853MWJ5C-Zlh0ubWmBZk9az5bnHb-k/s1600/P1000729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMZoK8BgfF6Ox9EU2UC8NwDYGONWL8AtlSofdET6nBpWmIfCpBzJJYnxRxw5_paiKIE3XK7ME1hgrkmomhnBcAUJdGSnBnXP-10QFBiwULgXkh853MWJ5C-Zlh0ubWmBZk9az5bnHb-k/s320/P1000729.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry, Cody. I didn't get any good pictures of you helping out. I will have to get those from your mom. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFIiSjSRTOuQsM77vwraBp9vj-KjOUUkXn8KwFTisr09OH2kJIHp_5OdFnPnYERTKCtk6VFQV1aJgO9cUkeb1_6eJlmZ9R_YoQ7q4oSEhtP1wTM6GdUF3pFuxG6C1oxsbehyMTMhsDkMQ/s1600/P1000785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFIiSjSRTOuQsM77vwraBp9vj-KjOUUkXn8KwFTisr09OH2kJIHp_5OdFnPnYERTKCtk6VFQV1aJgO9cUkeb1_6eJlmZ9R_YoQ7q4oSEhtP1wTM6GdUF3pFuxG6C1oxsbehyMTMhsDkMQ/s320/P1000785.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgea_mv9E30X54heLvM5LF2KleB0zQooS6Q8zgpjutSp4Ni1gR529zF3pjbbnfXWkjErNb557VaVhvAuYag6v1aHwmTLMjgaAPBX8kRrwdHOlB3mPfnQHrY81NUuyCPL4IsVhGgGVl8P6c/s1600/P1000906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgea_mv9E30X54heLvM5LF2KleB0zQooS6Q8zgpjutSp4Ni1gR529zF3pjbbnfXWkjErNb557VaVhvAuYag6v1aHwmTLMjgaAPBX8kRrwdHOlB3mPfnQHrY81NUuyCPL4IsVhGgGVl8P6c/s320/P1000906.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">took this a few days later on the beehive at on my grandparent's property. The bees were busy collecting from pear blossoms. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>I am happy to say that the bees are doing great! All the queens are laying eggs and in a few weeks the populations in each of the three hives will have doubled. I am really hopeful that even though we did not have last year's hives survive the winter, we will still get more honey than we did last year. Even though Greg won't be around as much to help me, I will probably be constantly calling him for advice and to give him updates.<br />
<br />
Since the weather has been worm and dryer the past two weeks I have been able to get a lot of my veggies planted. The radishes are already popping up and the carrots and green onions will be (hopefully) making their appearances soon. My heirloom zucchini and scallopini squash are planted as well as beans, peas, cilantro, broccoli, eggplant, golden beets and a few tomatoes. Greg's Thai basil (seeds saved from last year's plants) are also in the ground. I can't wait to be eating dinner entirely from food grown at home. <br />
<br />
My aunt and mom arranged a fantastic plant swap and today I brought home bee balm, sedum, and several other bee friendly plants. After the swap and a fantastic lunch with my mom, aunt Sandy, my sister Sara and her munchkin, Trevor, Greg and I visited a local greenhouse and brought home some Serrano and jalapeno peppers and some herbs; lemon balm, thyme, sage, globe basil and peppermint. I hope to be able make teas out of the lemon balm and peppermint and dry the other herbs for later use.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqy_UD0H3fDff4wPopvDmHr7m8srHuYG6HKeKm19H9x8RrSpBS_wJcjT_nnqIq7tARJLOfeFW53roJRJ4iLgpd1mnJ_Ziw9eIRXrg-rZ8NItDYx-qLi2RrmvPCZvVG-5zuBcPbhyphenhyphenxqSmE/s1600/P1000912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqy_UD0H3fDff4wPopvDmHr7m8srHuYG6HKeKm19H9x8RrSpBS_wJcjT_nnqIq7tARJLOfeFW53roJRJ4iLgpd1mnJ_Ziw9eIRXrg-rZ8NItDYx-qLi2RrmvPCZvVG-5zuBcPbhyphenhyphenxqSmE/s320/P1000912.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister, Leeanna, and I planting kohlrabi in the Konrad Family Garden<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Greg's 31st birthday was over two weeks ago and I just got around to giving him his gift. It's not that I forgot, I just wanted to make sure I got him something he would really like.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF42ijZsRazJPpAfVd7YqHTd9YwibSzurwWOlcGlg7DNv41Z-eKWEmElLHsEZs3LCZvYp6zOcqLrjS3BJ7xj0ilLQYciYYeA3ByMZfDo7IGKJL7ApVnxmRRc3ClA0jAj5x-dyLZv9RTzQ/s1600/P1000921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF42ijZsRazJPpAfVd7YqHTd9YwibSzurwWOlcGlg7DNv41Z-eKWEmElLHsEZs3LCZvYp6zOcqLrjS3BJ7xj0ilLQYciYYeA3ByMZfDo7IGKJL7ApVnxmRRc3ClA0jAj5x-dyLZv9RTzQ/s320/P1000921.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Its a meat grinder attachment for his kitchenaid mixer. See the smile on his face? He loved it. I also got him a sausage stuffer (insert giggle here) and a book titled "MEAT book" which is all about raising, butchering and cooking ethically raised livestock. </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzk6RWJt5YcenDMe307qvaOxRgDoU3ituCt8WRQK71MP9H5JOqVW78kinzx8XGN6WkXR3wlmTbdl7qfVYKj6OUzuc6u4oEWybW4CTa0Zoz-0396Ry74ZAp-f3brevHk_fuR_cYebtCFls/s1600/P1000923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzk6RWJt5YcenDMe307qvaOxRgDoU3ituCt8WRQK71MP9H5JOqVW78kinzx8XGN6WkXR3wlmTbdl7qfVYKj6OUzuc6u4oEWybW4CTa0Zoz-0396Ry74ZAp-f3brevHk_fuR_cYebtCFls/s320/P1000923.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> The present works really well. Last evening, we enjoyed home ground hamburgers. Tonight Greg roasted a whole chicken and made a delicious gravy recipe from the "MEAT book". <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UK8RZMtmSBwllx9thmIjIyzybwaUVflcnZyhXor8yPV8UvJfo6oZxKYrY_U3I6DDBoSKd3c_Njj8QtbExU0Uc9P4t-PgKPhskSg6sly9BLd1yTmlnBYpDEIdMKJ_5y-MkQNtGYu7rJc/s1600/P1000936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UK8RZMtmSBwllx9thmIjIyzybwaUVflcnZyhXor8yPV8UvJfo6oZxKYrY_U3I6DDBoSKd3c_Njj8QtbExU0Uc9P4t-PgKPhskSg6sly9BLd1yTmlnBYpDEIdMKJ_5y-MkQNtGYu7rJc/s320/P1000936.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Along with...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-55PjzXhaADu2EGMPfzI2Dkc2R01xTVulqvPRWkQPUbK9i8eAVUxso5x6BCSoeTFPPSh4EJrWyTiTOg6XrLVCChSkdFN6JPVXgiZ4ZpCxBpFLMRviyrtxx6HuhAM5OrGVR5lirjhT700/s1600/P1000914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-55PjzXhaADu2EGMPfzI2Dkc2R01xTVulqvPRWkQPUbK9i8eAVUxso5x6BCSoeTFPPSh4EJrWyTiTOg6XrLVCChSkdFN6JPVXgiZ4ZpCxBpFLMRviyrtxx6HuhAM5OrGVR5lirjhT700/s320/P1000914.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixErmctCFmLLKN82p7WwXla2IWNTra0CEj-Wqyq8DEtQu8BVTUYCAlCJ6VH2gb0d2EmVNx2dwrtDxiu67gcmPjYJ_Gvz3DtWIr232PPiUrciuYjowrnOx6nPahPJgUuInu0mJe1B2Wl4w/s1600/P1000937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixErmctCFmLLKN82p7WwXla2IWNTra0CEj-Wqyq8DEtQu8BVTUYCAlCJ6VH2gb0d2EmVNx2dwrtDxiu67gcmPjYJ_Gvz3DtWIr232PPiUrciuYjowrnOx6nPahPJgUuInu0mJe1B2Wl4w/s320/P1000937.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Asparagus. We picked it ourselves from my Grandparents' enormous patch. Sauteed it up with some green onions (past their prime) salt, pepper and olive oil. Nothing better.Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-70263557784016360332011-05-05T22:20:00.002-04:002011-05-06T21:12:15.484-04:00the bees have arrived!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohz9ey3DniZLSa3FVrz8Movu0Muo_7LsiUVWAhJaI0MylpQWpOYTOBIhaOrl6XJ9CBA6eFlqXDVIlX2lvsjsaxlGksS2xalHtVkK0zYpPhHa1zrhyJGg1WP-DdYfHm68TRdzqlvtBeJg/s1600/P1000687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohz9ey3DniZLSa3FVrz8Movu0Muo_7LsiUVWAhJaI0MylpQWpOYTOBIhaOrl6XJ9CBA6eFlqXDVIlX2lvsjsaxlGksS2xalHtVkK0zYpPhHa1zrhyJGg1WP-DdYfHm68TRdzqlvtBeJg/s320/P1000687.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>They're here! We picked up our bees last Tuesday. We ordered them from a new place. Although we had quite an interesting experience in Waldo last year, we decided that since we had a string of bad luck with them that may or may not have been coincidences ( lazy bees, lost a queen, had a swarm, a wax moth infestation and finally, frozen bees) it was a good idea to try a new source this go round.<br />
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Beekeepers tend to be strange folks. I guess people who willing open up a box full of thousands of stinging angry bees and poke around inside of it have to be a little crazy, and I guess Greg and I fall under that category but still, it seems like every time we have a run in with professional beekeepers they always seem a bit off. We drove two hours to eastern Ohio to pick up our bees. The bee farm was out in the country and as we were searching for the right place we saw a flock of white doves walking around in the road. Like the doves you release at weddings, those white doves. Not something you typically see at the bird feeder. The doves didn't seem to mind that we were about to run over them and they slowly strutted into a driveway next to the road. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-AMd3_6h79-LutxVoYTDj8Gy5ZYoOrrMoq07l9z8t9mmErWNmfNHRG-mJfeinqqeYlTMn97Sz4a6XF88NyQ5JH8gYF4eSZmpiWGNSrIXh8pUswRGieAQTy-NDvH5O071VEanbfvvDYc/s1600/P1000688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-AMd3_6h79-LutxVoYTDj8Gy5ZYoOrrMoq07l9z8t9mmErWNmfNHRG-mJfeinqqeYlTMn97Sz4a6XF88NyQ5JH8gYF4eSZmpiWGNSrIXh8pUswRGieAQTy-NDvH5O071VEanbfvvDYc/s320/P1000688.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
The driveway happened to have the same address as the one listed on our order form for our bees.<br />
It didn't take me too long to figure out that these doves must have been some kind of side project that the bee farmers were doing. We parked the car next to a big barn which happened to have even more white doves hanging out inside.This was our first indication that we were in the right place. Like I said, beekeepers are weird. Nice, but weird.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGK8zYXeCkIPTqjwLomfpOHd_0sAnTZubwJL9KS6eF5Q55tBpKeMe8QUgVjrexBuMSBjCTxKQwpNFMfe2s7Z7UdbJ24XzBSIyRB68-Z_3FUuQogF06KmGIvXC-W-XL6RwODxIvGTtn4Y/s1600/P1000667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGK8zYXeCkIPTqjwLomfpOHd_0sAnTZubwJL9KS6eF5Q55tBpKeMe8QUgVjrexBuMSBjCTxKQwpNFMfe2s7Z7UdbJ24XzBSIyRB68-Z_3FUuQogF06KmGIvXC-W-XL6RwODxIvGTtn4Y/s320/P1000667.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pallets of bee packages. Hundreds of thousands of bees. You can't see it really well but there are tons of loose bees flying around. Often times during shipping packages break open.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-v0HvNSdsTc7ts_CpAym5gmZeez8oQwN32su4eHckG-eYECmQRWsZ6S3HFNMeIvi98RE6hIF66iFFtGkrYWrGNiF-QpwqYY_HP-lO9u0GUvljIc2WM2HbMBOjoi9MeocjWC5Tzw7j5qs/s1600/P1000669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-v0HvNSdsTc7ts_CpAym5gmZeez8oQwN32su4eHckG-eYECmQRWsZ6S3HFNMeIvi98RE6hIF66iFFtGkrYWrGNiF-QpwqYY_HP-lO9u0GUvljIc2WM2HbMBOjoi9MeocjWC5Tzw7j5qs/s320/P1000669.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We went into a little shop next to the dove barn to tell them we were here to pick up our bees. Inside there was this wall covered with articles, pictures and newspaper clippings all about bees. Like a huge scrapbook.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgM32_jskXB-Li_bwVlNbVRHyziIkd-MyjPTW_-w9jQVBjntjHlHMiMG15SOXXH94GyVCaZo7Ve417kOCKsVi_1ld3Zb2ns0O5AtgAw-79PEPLr6gPJ3a-mgBbOS5pVnAPWls-Dugx9mA/s1600/P1000672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgM32_jskXB-Li_bwVlNbVRHyziIkd-MyjPTW_-w9jQVBjntjHlHMiMG15SOXXH94GyVCaZo7Ve417kOCKsVi_1ld3Zb2ns0O5AtgAw-79PEPLr6gPJ3a-mgBbOS5pVnAPWls-Dugx9mA/s320/P1000672.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bet this tiny girl knows more about beekeeping than I do.<br />
I don't know who she belonged to but with all those bees flying around, I was nervous.<br />
She's carrying an empty bee box, but still. There were TONS of bees flying around.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNro35lp1SznuNUCkPSvk3Fvmz-0M9naTwoVpa_W9qKPSVQ4jAwLJGQKT4-5YfoH_fCKsv0rjxIOcZ0OoYf4Bif2n_LWfDW5CVurmEnDCoiaAq8c5LajmDoWp_jpS-dAmmDJ_lvIGEzc/s1600/P1000675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNro35lp1SznuNUCkPSvk3Fvmz-0M9naTwoVpa_W9qKPSVQ4jAwLJGQKT4-5YfoH_fCKsv0rjxIOcZ0OoYf4Bif2n_LWfDW5CVurmEnDCoiaAq8c5LajmDoWp_jpS-dAmmDJ_lvIGEzc/s320/P1000675.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bee farmer man putting our queen in the package.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNDyW6mwxT36bzSgA22rTkgAFhHKF4vGxAn00VYFD_xdVgrCoYo7eQSGPBCozRN2P7ELKDBYmyBQwsxpf8Ot53WxIXoew8kG4wcXiNDede10Rr4ZqjsmznFHj_ZSPXdV79J-aqoj79pM/s1600/P1000686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNDyW6mwxT36bzSgA22rTkgAFhHKF4vGxAn00VYFD_xdVgrCoYo7eQSGPBCozRN2P7ELKDBYmyBQwsxpf8Ot53WxIXoew8kG4wcXiNDede10Rr4ZqjsmznFHj_ZSPXdV79J-aqoj79pM/s320/P1000686.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marking the queen. We decided to pay a few extra bucks to easily find the queen this year.<br />
Last year we were never able to spot her. Maybe we had such a bad year because we didn't even have queens? When I asked the gentleman if it was okay to take pictures he said sure and that he hoped he didn't accidentally let the queen fly away because he would be embarrassed. Sure enough, he accidentally let her go and it took about five minutes of him dancing around trying to catch her again. Free entertainment I guess.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI67MAmsom62NS1_4n8ptiz2olegNy8eJf8_dG3hWQxovewehDbDYisz5zsZPI0If7z7DXR24VDlZgDa7wkaOmRjjVUa4QXp3f41PxuVSS4F6mGmZzEM3IVLuyozfaLvg6OB1rGb8FBv0/s1600/P1000689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI67MAmsom62NS1_4n8ptiz2olegNy8eJf8_dG3hWQxovewehDbDYisz5zsZPI0If7z7DXR24VDlZgDa7wkaOmRjjVUa4QXp3f41PxuVSS4F6mGmZzEM3IVLuyozfaLvg6OB1rGb8FBv0/s320/P1000689.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wall o' bees</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-66byj0nUXHO8TqiGpn_ojrVPzTUKx1tyE7ZqJT3q1UOIExm1QGuk0f9dcDwmzMzByi_m6_UKDJT8K10wklQ-1fthLhWy6U7RhtWHrF8tPccCA6-Ii9gMCW3QrhyphenhyphennkjkRImD08KMkUY/s1600/P1000695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-66byj0nUXHO8TqiGpn_ojrVPzTUKx1tyE7ZqJT3q1UOIExm1QGuk0f9dcDwmzMzByi_m6_UKDJT8K10wklQ-1fthLhWy6U7RhtWHrF8tPccCA6-Ii9gMCW3QrhyphenhyphennkjkRImD08KMkUY/s320/P1000695.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We added a hive to our little apiary for 2011. This is the new one. Its wax treated and unpainted. Ordered from the same crazy bee farmers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1FULaitudnMMbysBjOuGP31GguOYTXW2urNWa6NMMdAqUnjvTbYKQdYj-PeRwvvJqXOF0zsZs087-CjCrCKXzFOpZrrVp6_rCs7kTu-X8s0OrPuezjF8XhOQs4V5ey_VMfT9AFo5HG8/s1600/P1000697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1FULaitudnMMbysBjOuGP31GguOYTXW2urNWa6NMMdAqUnjvTbYKQdYj-PeRwvvJqXOF0zsZs087-CjCrCKXzFOpZrrVp6_rCs7kTu-X8s0OrPuezjF8XhOQs4V5ey_VMfT9AFo5HG8/s320/P1000697.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This creepy beehive rocking chair caught my eye. Yup, beekeepers are weird.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOtWaTbVjPKNxi8HMF9iKP6IX-4t-vkToLcXW8e3Dm1Lob6IF1SNu2JQwFmTtOHl-DcE9ZSZVO66wbYkn1s514XvICtLA2Pnq4ENcRXFDEHdFhhg5s7cSNJ-dSVloPZCM39UpFfgtOpE/s1600/P1000693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOtWaTbVjPKNxi8HMF9iKP6IX-4t-vkToLcXW8e3Dm1Lob6IF1SNu2JQwFmTtOHl-DcE9ZSZVO66wbYkn1s514XvICtLA2Pnq4ENcRXFDEHdFhhg5s7cSNJ-dSVloPZCM39UpFfgtOpE/s320/P1000693.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZatJW882WbqEv8RBpaFHWrcXKx9_sTScCOU_QWbxWCOU6cjfgR795nszYPFVY85tKd79CZOCuVbAZ_uqVi1V0PrgNUWruf6s2lmu9mHLmrcfGKRIkReCuQLbISDCP1gBHickaJCS5sh8/s1600/P1000698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZatJW882WbqEv8RBpaFHWrcXKx9_sTScCOU_QWbxWCOU6cjfgR795nszYPFVY85tKd79CZOCuVbAZ_uqVi1V0PrgNUWruf6s2lmu9mHLmrcfGKRIkReCuQLbISDCP1gBHickaJCS5sh8/s320/P1000698.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the rogue loaded up and ready to go.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuZr3sJBNTxuVC2QF0xZ-IbzFxgD2a67OZVX1gK5hr-p_EIDnec5jbXOBHJI7086t0AbPVnC0x_Xpt2KNh394zcTNVYflyFN_9ArLpfP88lKEQpyAiD14hqcgHBfCJJcYuybGorgiqQs/s1600/P1000700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuZr3sJBNTxuVC2QF0xZ-IbzFxgD2a67OZVX1gK5hr-p_EIDnec5jbXOBHJI7086t0AbPVnC0x_Xpt2KNh394zcTNVYflyFN_9ArLpfP88lKEQpyAiD14hqcgHBfCJJcYuybGorgiqQs/s320/P1000700.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I guess the bee farmers were into turkeys too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVOkGst53kk-pJOTcjsF7L4vfC0B0d-Q6Czu6FK6m4jFKvYJHw6RezLIT6CQ8D8mfaLZ9eXvYYouWqhQTaBSt9k1PyQq9vmUrBBrNzcIDb2Of_MkEXLdJSB7GOa8sjDIQrmIZcPpP0Is/s1600/P1000706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVOkGst53kk-pJOTcjsF7L4vfC0B0d-Q6Czu6FK6m4jFKvYJHw6RezLIT6CQ8D8mfaLZ9eXvYYouWqhQTaBSt9k1PyQq9vmUrBBrNzcIDb2Of_MkEXLdJSB7GOa8sjDIQrmIZcPpP0Is/s320/P1000706.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lot of loose bees flying around the INSIDE of the car on the way home. This happened last year too. Guess you can't avoid it. I was much calmer about it this time around.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> I will post the pictures of hiving the bees this weekend. Its bedtime. Did I tell you that Greg and I have an apprentice this year? My cousin Cody is in high school and he is doing his 4-H project on beekeeping. I think he will be a lot of help to us this year. I hope we do a good enough job teaching him so that he will want to get his own hive next year!Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-14751230983839010922011-04-30T12:46:00.001-04:002011-04-30T12:49:59.278-04:00dc trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The last two weeks have been CRAZY. I had to deal with a home invasion (more on that later) traveled to dc, and then we FINALLY got our bees. I will be blogging about all these things but I decided to do the dc trip first.<br />
<br />
On friday, Greg and I left for dc to have Easter and celebrate his 31st birthday with his family. We went downtown, ate blue crab with his family, had Easter Brunch and got to visit <a href="http://www.nps.gov/grfa/index.htm">Great Falls National Park</a>. I had a great time. The weather was perfect. Sunny and in the low 80's the whole three days we were there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cBbuOzUXseENMkfCix8rJqG0Ewkn21fvt1i1t3OO5AHAgqTx95q17hg5ZIRB0jkhEEGLZhLYRMU4y56A9jMU5TKaNaKR6c5SHDNh0scdd4pK_yl6IxSTGHmIT7KEiMGIptsWUliV8HY/s1600/P1000566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cBbuOzUXseENMkfCix8rJqG0Ewkn21fvt1i1t3OO5AHAgqTx95q17hg5ZIRB0jkhEEGLZhLYRMU4y56A9jMU5TKaNaKR6c5SHDNh0scdd4pK_yl6IxSTGHmIT7KEiMGIptsWUliV8HY/s320/P1000566.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg in front of a giant metal tree in a park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVg7RNVq2W0QdH3TZ7QJnu4ra9k8WKNrZhTPlVwynJEDdetzQ-Ah7b5mWvw7Rig5XwL_XFy78qPo7JA9qMhedYrBDNyEtg3Cp0Zs-6axXMDbDnuiic-0RZaMlFzDznwNWM0u4Nvu5YPI/s1600/P1000579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVg7RNVq2W0QdH3TZ7QJnu4ra9k8WKNrZhTPlVwynJEDdetzQ-Ah7b5mWvw7Rig5XwL_XFy78qPo7JA9qMhedYrBDNyEtg3Cp0Zs-6axXMDbDnuiic-0RZaMlFzDznwNWM0u4Nvu5YPI/s320/P1000579.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Washington Monument. I took a lot of pictures downtown but<br />
I think everyone has seen all them in one way or another so I won't bother to share.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAYKYVrgs6-2SMNb07RTJQxNk-YOexoi8A1SNtY2UkaQsZmD2XXD5X5Jdu98Gn2EeCFvvkFD0StJ4MN5P76RgOucfed6AEtIK18cPV7ZiXdwtv13ZzKu_IDupwqDN7iCHcLlqoTEZReY/s1600/P1000583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAYKYVrgs6-2SMNb07RTJQxNk-YOexoi8A1SNtY2UkaQsZmD2XXD5X5Jdu98Gn2EeCFvvkFD0StJ4MN5P76RgOucfed6AEtIK18cPV7ZiXdwtv13ZzKu_IDupwqDN7iCHcLlqoTEZReY/s320/P1000583.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg used to be in this historic building when he worked at the wilderness society. Its really old.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIiwWJW4mWP-FGC4HvaDcoOmT8pW7T5ZHB3AZsUn-TeD1gFpFeTs1wFWUtOJ2e8zVcVPXzao2Or2vkvfWTY2UFzwFpV-PXVWel2EIJnszxoQmhRKlbuXUTxlGgk0sjb1HBgH2j_Gbd7nw/s1600/P1000584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIiwWJW4mWP-FGC4HvaDcoOmT8pW7T5ZHB3AZsUn-TeD1gFpFeTs1wFWUtOJ2e8zVcVPXzao2Or2vkvfWTY2UFzwFpV-PXVWel2EIJnszxoQmhRKlbuXUTxlGgk0sjb1HBgH2j_Gbd7nw/s320/P1000584.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my first time eating blue crab. It was messy but tasty!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIG9Nbtic_UfDm0oEhwpmFwkwZ_FWkIvn-Mby2dgs24UabO77uOSWwiHqul3RBOP0EpWD74lAY3NE58EV22kfGkA0lu1X2j8P4bleO3uAfXTE6u8SpNrjBnd2zBR-7DKG7zS3T_x-2fQ/s1600/P1000585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIG9Nbtic_UfDm0oEhwpmFwkwZ_FWkIvn-Mby2dgs24UabO77uOSWwiHqul3RBOP0EpWD74lAY3NE58EV22kfGkA0lu1X2j8P4bleO3uAfXTE6u8SpNrjBnd2zBR-7DKG7zS3T_x-2fQ/s320/P1000585.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPmAGptT5MRfriTiuxxKSohYsKbqEHhyphenhyphenBjf8gDj9mfPb9v8sGtEHcfOOS3JqSqxrYETD-elzQW9M1LddtlVnyUbKMGAb5DFuJnBt5cwIeKbUi9EpifDagyXIbbQ7Iccgh27YBOkE7i_4/s1600/P1000627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPmAGptT5MRfriTiuxxKSohYsKbqEHhyphenhyphenBjf8gDj9mfPb9v8sGtEHcfOOS3JqSqxrYETD-elzQW9M1LddtlVnyUbKMGAb5DFuJnBt5cwIeKbUi9EpifDagyXIbbQ7Iccgh27YBOkE7i_4/s320/P1000627.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Falls/Potomac River<br />
I am excited to add this to my growing list of National Parks I've visited!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAy_FDGq1x2imlyZ0CyGUU-pqu5xa-af7vd7nwqz_QpXQ_go3yInQcKv_QektTvNaQwEOqshJ_zi734rOyVUJtDz7SJe0oBSKrjYNjYcbTZzTVnE3BeKwe_nNJSc0CHykihdKBErVM5E/s1600/P1000646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAy_FDGq1x2imlyZ0CyGUU-pqu5xa-af7vd7nwqz_QpXQ_go3yInQcKv_QektTvNaQwEOqshJ_zi734rOyVUJtDz7SJe0oBSKrjYNjYcbTZzTVnE3BeKwe_nNJSc0CHykihdKBErVM5E/s320/P1000646.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-33163740947508229852011-04-17T10:23:00.000-04:002011-04-17T10:23:43.084-04:00vanilla! ...and some other stuff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8b9ZArCdZf3MACGiaJ8lQsKQiXwpj9p6rr8_QEuRWazgedTISMA4ptMNbn0aLy6hoYe5oEUoVFxzTEzEka46UcqC9lp5lUWusFSbOJBHw7luNP_wmtx9Wm3ptO1pdw8wolJ5P8fITUPQ/s1600/P1000539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8b9ZArCdZf3MACGiaJ8lQsKQiXwpj9p6rr8_QEuRWazgedTISMA4ptMNbn0aLy6hoYe5oEUoVFxzTEzEka46UcqC9lp5lUWusFSbOJBHw7luNP_wmtx9Wm3ptO1pdw8wolJ5P8fITUPQ/s320/P1000539.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>My whole apartment smells like vanilla! My homemade <a href="http://ericasbees.blogspot.com/2011/01/homemade-vanilla-extract.html">vanilla extract experiment</a> is a success and I bottled the finish product this morning. It took about 12 weeks for it to be ready but it turned out fantastic. Greg has used it for several batches of homemade brownies. I bottled the finished extract in these cute little recycled glass bottles.<br />
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There are lots of vanilla pieces left over. I am going to get another batch going-a few more fresh beans and more vodka and the beans will continue to infuse the alcohol (that's the idea anyway). I think I may also make some lemon extract. Same idea, just put lemon peel inside the alcohol instead of vanilla.<br />
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I've been trying to stay busy while we are waiting for our bees. Any day now..... I've transplanted my tomato seedlings into bigger containers. Cardboard milk cartons work great for that. And we have plenty. Greg drinks about a half gallon a day!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And for you animal lovers out there.....</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FOb4AVPcjivRuKC65t7yoPIW4pVjdLUnvAecNm7v-FothOhcnuWpvJ6HvAC8USIqdmr-VpHYQ4ffUPpaAAcZ4eyrV8nmrTZevchyPQwaHOBGKooTv4XxHIezN-szjsAA-74PiBHb33Y/s1600/P1000510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FOb4AVPcjivRuKC65t7yoPIW4pVjdLUnvAecNm7v-FothOhcnuWpvJ6HvAC8USIqdmr-VpHYQ4ffUPpaAAcZ4eyrV8nmrTZevchyPQwaHOBGKooTv4XxHIezN-szjsAA-74PiBHb33Y/s320/P1000510.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister's new puppy, Darla. She's not dead, just sleeping.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioO_eKW4bfrTlz1wzs5aGaZgBaBJban7apj_0rIJthD6UHenkv5mI_I5REaoEVEuci18Ex_4kaGQmjVjrOUmviS5dgPLUdvBtSSwXYrQlM1Ckf8cjGr3iXMaUGgevRuHm9tZ0RaXAwfoo/s1600/P1000524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioO_eKW4bfrTlz1wzs5aGaZgBaBJban7apj_0rIJthD6UHenkv5mI_I5REaoEVEuci18Ex_4kaGQmjVjrOUmviS5dgPLUdvBtSSwXYrQlM1Ckf8cjGr3iXMaUGgevRuHm9tZ0RaXAwfoo/s320/P1000524.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My uncle's beast-dog, Smoke, begging me for a bite of my dinner.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-47232775096019848152011-04-11T20:18:00.001-04:002011-04-11T20:20:58.887-04:00dehydrated mushrooms (because they were on sale)So I finally got in on the 11 boxes for $10.00 mushroom sale at Meijer. Organic mushrooms for less than a dollar a box is a steal people! We eat a lot of mushrooms so why not stock up? Food prices keep getting higher and higher while my income keeps getting lower and lower. I have to make up for the difference in, well, unique ways, okay? I decided to dry the majority of the cheap mushrooms so I can throw them in soup and risotto whenever I feel like it. Using dried mushrooms I bought on sale and in bulk will save me about 20 bucks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxkfKFjT0DyCmorgYOwT3zxKYF2qFS5318eFtt_1oLZdcFao_laqi0ZFacXGA_5bnHR19zpF0Fl6l3rNhirPjObEwC-DA7yDvl0BT4_Qpdg1iwVRmFUM8b7Gd27a4hDRfgxp-9NQuwzg/s1600/P1000437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxkfKFjT0DyCmorgYOwT3zxKYF2qFS5318eFtt_1oLZdcFao_laqi0ZFacXGA_5bnHR19zpF0Fl6l3rNhirPjObEwC-DA7yDvl0BT4_Qpdg1iwVRmFUM8b7Gd27a4hDRfgxp-9NQuwzg/s320/P1000437.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">oh the possibilities</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rL2XywVWPFU9WHwkvgEjX-rMp2JoACDwklX4-NCdKRFeDAX8EXF6NBHw7ZviOsmNQB4MNu3s3qlx9YrQxnynQL-zKlAkXpbh2-gyvwqi5W5b9CNEgTrd4SuTu2ki8uvzKUHwQHfs5fw/s1600/P1000440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rL2XywVWPFU9WHwkvgEjX-rMp2JoACDwklX4-NCdKRFeDAX8EXF6NBHw7ZviOsmNQB4MNu3s3qlx9YrQxnynQL-zKlAkXpbh2-gyvwqi5W5b9CNEgTrd4SuTu2ki8uvzKUHwQHfs5fw/s320/P1000440.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I quartered the baby bella mushrooms</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAomam2vafW8_s2XdONYcMzEMRAZd14ihY93lg5OSsHkOSM1eufJKIRZjfYYWLlH1EX2hW7uPDTybTcyCFZ2HP2g7XVK0B421dUOhqAipKsjJf_LyXvUawOLKeJMnieeYHO5D-COjxiTc/s1600/P1000446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAomam2vafW8_s2XdONYcMzEMRAZd14ihY93lg5OSsHkOSM1eufJKIRZjfYYWLlH1EX2hW7uPDTybTcyCFZ2HP2g7XVK0B421dUOhqAipKsjJf_LyXvUawOLKeJMnieeYHO5D-COjxiTc/s320/P1000446.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and sliced the white buttons </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xEWvzgKCQTnR-D2aUE517YSF66YF85IyXUzcSb7UMpj1Ph_gdxbMJYcyA11Mvyr_yDHrwIshWTP4fxC5RjERkYFBShfUM6qMXAqjqiuIirDGYao8b5_ukYHXaEohvGEVG-0OeSI7kgQ/s1600/P1000521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xEWvzgKCQTnR-D2aUE517YSF66YF85IyXUzcSb7UMpj1Ph_gdxbMJYcyA11Mvyr_yDHrwIshWTP4fxC5RjERkYFBShfUM6qMXAqjqiuIirDGYao8b5_ukYHXaEohvGEVG-0OeSI7kgQ/s320/P1000521.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ready for the cupboard </td></tr>
</tbody></table>After they dried in the dehydrator (12 hrs or so) I put them in canning jars with a bit of paper towel in the bottom to absorb any moisture that sneaks in there. Dried mushrooms + moisture=moldy mushrooms. Food saver bags would work well too. I really havent used my dehydrator very much and its really easy. The only thing I've ever really used it for were the hot peppers I grew 2 years ago-which are still delicious in soup, stew, curry, etc. I bet my dehydrator will make several more appearances in this blog. I am just waiting for mangos to go on sale next. Mmm, mango chips....<br />
<br />
fyi-you can dry mushrooms (and lots of other things) at a very low temp in the oven if you don't have a dehydrator. Google it.Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-25356799970319068832011-04-07T20:45:00.003-04:002011-04-07T20:57:03.346-04:00from scratch: wildflower honey and browned butter ice cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQZQUd9DN2mzrgBxiq5K8GY26FkKCG2VYAaQu4C84i8flnncqwSi_mD37LZehUpAK5hY6NqFIaDCE8ADZNKT8L3KeF64Rgkv2zilzrauYC5yaGd31VS_KtytRnasj51vnKX6iTy2-fSM/s1600/P1000479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQZQUd9DN2mzrgBxiq5K8GY26FkKCG2VYAaQu4C84i8flnncqwSi_mD37LZehUpAK5hY6NqFIaDCE8ADZNKT8L3KeF64Rgkv2zilzrauYC5yaGd31VS_KtytRnasj51vnKX6iTy2-fSM/s320/P1000479.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>With beekeeping season right around the corner, Greg and I wanted to do something fun with the last of our stored honey from last year. I found this recipe quite a while ago and filed it under "rainy day project". Well since it has rained every day since forever ago, last night was the perfect time to pull out that recipe and give it a shot.<br />
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We borrowed my sister's antique ice cream machine, gathered the ingredients and prepared the recipe. I'd rather not take credit for someone else's genius (and I have a fear of being sued) so if you would like to try this ice cream you should <a href="http://chezus.com/2010/08/26/brown-butter-wildflower-honey-gelato-sugar-high-friday/">go here for the recipe</a>. The ingredients are simple: whole milk, cream, honey, butter and egg yolks. It took about 15 minutes to prepare and maybe another 15 to freeze-despite mechanical issues. The recipe made about 3 cups of frozen ice cream (not including the cup or so we couldn't stop ourselves from eating while the ice cream was freezing). The recipe called for unsalted butter but we used salted. Its hard to explain but sometimes adding just a touch of salt to sweet things makes it taste better?<br />
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We poured the mix in the barrel of the machine, plugged it in and it immediately made a loud clicking noise- a noise that tells you something is wrong. We unplugged it again, messed with the barrel, thinking the ice was packed to tightly to allow it to spin. We were able to spin the barrel easily by hand so we inspected the motor and discovered that even though it was working, the part that attaches to the barrel and made it spin, wasn't turning correctly. In the time it took to inspect the motor ("when I say inspect" i really just mean looking clueless while scratching our heads) I guess the ice cream got cold enough to freeze<br />
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Its hard to describe the taste of heaven but I will give it a shot- creamy, honey-sweet with a touch of buttery caramel. How does that sound?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPHdpFxZusaw-VtNiIl4QeXO49XrbeqHnwuhOVK1ql8slHCv40bVMQW3HBzct1xUwBLfNYUxV1ynfqgdkKTr6CTSmNSaD3cBExm7HPx0HR00_hnML42J2fsXmUdtkebDVMrR5_VWJTWc/s1600/P1000448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPHdpFxZusaw-VtNiIl4QeXO49XrbeqHnwuhOVK1ql8slHCv40bVMQW3HBzct1xUwBLfNYUxV1ynfqgdkKTr6CTSmNSaD3cBExm7HPx0HR00_hnML42J2fsXmUdtkebDVMrR5_VWJTWc/s320/P1000448.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">honey ice cream mix cooking on left, butter browning on right, dirty stove top everywhere</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDS4CPEX7ltMex6Dke09XZOJLH9mgydUs2hfj2nd-vTOBkE8WsBf2YbA6ruKzOqkvVSqkiHII0LbwMjFlwCzEB9LMex0h8IiBpm92pZNjraCqdVEAAHqirz8VJugdR2FBbK7ux8cgWV4/s1600/P1000451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDS4CPEX7ltMex6Dke09XZOJLH9mgydUs2hfj2nd-vTOBkE8WsBf2YbA6ruKzOqkvVSqkiHII0LbwMjFlwCzEB9LMex0h8IiBpm92pZNjraCqdVEAAHqirz8VJugdR2FBbK7ux8cgWV4/s320/P1000451.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">butter sufficiently browned</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVmefA8jP2iIiy7bvfAADu59LHBBwM9ZNWAmI75e-bK6Ufz-ORWJdON14z3TPswZvx6pe9J-NvDfjJfdcR7tgvCAfuXUJbxC3WWe5BexVJ4K4ZevAk6d6AkyAJyFF39pF-9BAz4C-ZDc/s1600/P1000455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVmefA8jP2iIiy7bvfAADu59LHBBwM9ZNWAmI75e-bK6Ufz-ORWJdON14z3TPswZvx6pe9J-NvDfjJfdcR7tgvCAfuXUJbxC3WWe5BexVJ4K4ZevAk6d6AkyAJyFF39pF-9BAz4C-ZDc/s320/P1000455.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">butter goes in honey ice cream mix</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgMh-zw3R_Kd0mRSbw0cAWKGbIF-9Lyrrw9TwyGE-Tk_yosyuOsg9ArjMmMXb3-brkRn3LgFsu3JPZuL4r7hyphenhyphenh4CKZdw-5SQrEcmJYDnGGeY5tGthPih4IiMoRNst8AKk-TO2GcszYDU/s1600/P1000457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgMh-zw3R_Kd0mRSbw0cAWKGbIF-9Lyrrw9TwyGE-Tk_yosyuOsg9ArjMmMXb3-brkRn3LgFsu3JPZuL4r7hyphenhyphenh4CKZdw-5SQrEcmJYDnGGeY5tGthPih4IiMoRNst8AKk-TO2GcszYDU/s320/P1000457.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">antique ice cream machine....didn't work.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQDUkGpJ7jOfLC6BvcdDAvuuFzlznTPiNr5jBNUjW5cly2e_4vzxQDFU43OH8f3omewgetrrKjii29CDHDhQ-Eqcp8-4x8PiE205q4tO4izgkmMOo_ybyJccitArqj11gWlm8jrVZkd4/s1600/P1000458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQDUkGpJ7jOfLC6BvcdDAvuuFzlznTPiNr5jBNUjW5cly2e_4vzxQDFU43OH8f3omewgetrrKjii29CDHDhQ-Eqcp8-4x8PiE205q4tO4izgkmMOo_ybyJccitArqj11gWlm8jrVZkd4/s320/P1000458.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">turning the mix by hand </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RdQsNy970k6Zn_Sm-q2OsMSn3DUhBHW-rKPyCLEwqZtmhZXAw2ymNTJZn0QXzNnsC5vMr3GeP0R1vpoRd8PMykE71uJRC0zjtyoGqJmywV1eVFZrXSA9PIoPnXfd8zATYhED56SizvA/s1600/P1000479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RdQsNy970k6Zn_Sm-q2OsMSn3DUhBHW-rKPyCLEwqZtmhZXAw2ymNTJZn0QXzNnsC5vMr3GeP0R1vpoRd8PMykE71uJRC0zjtyoGqJmywV1eVFZrXSA9PIoPnXfd8zATYhED56SizvA/s320/P1000479.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the finished product</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BScHCmUtpsVMtnkjXEFDE_n1nTXH71f4SjA4hffAz8WDPw45MvDurzqrcCslIYyXx7exvi-0rG5iLmMV97DASUQ9jH_QXKM5FeKBlSblKdNrP1H81Gm74pm92ItOPmtPALeVV6iO_sQ/s1600/P1000495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BScHCmUtpsVMtnkjXEFDE_n1nTXH71f4SjA4hffAz8WDPw45MvDurzqrcCslIYyXx7exvi-0rG5iLmMV97DASUQ9jH_QXKM5FeKBlSblKdNrP1H81Gm74pm92ItOPmtPALeVV6iO_sQ/s320/P1000495.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg decided to try coffee ice cream. That was really good too.<br />
same base recipe as above but 2/3 cup sugar in place of honey<br />
1 cup strong coffee and a few tbs fine grounds</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Oh, kitty is still sick. Its a weird kind of sickness though....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjlBIArmxlpH-G5L_xwSMDOYaRH6gf-tFrU-qLdOzv4rew_ke2kqvu8mai2nBNhjubK_Ci5mM23E7PqkIRoGJLGpt9FSMx9WNDGMxJ2ptsd2OVoXG06R8rXyVBfNAzjL5DSSXZ0kLflE/s1600/P1000312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjlBIArmxlpH-G5L_xwSMDOYaRH6gf-tFrU-qLdOzv4rew_ke2kqvu8mai2nBNhjubK_Ci5mM23E7PqkIRoGJLGpt9FSMx9WNDGMxJ2ptsd2OVoXG06R8rXyVBfNAzjL5DSSXZ0kLflE/s320/P1000312.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">maybe its a man cold?<br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>She only seems sick when she knows your looking<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRWpsrlVpsrg5mo0pMqcU_N6cF-XFqfIjpE6y3ZFRSyA_MYF2npo5bsLNJFIB3RA4-0YF9Q-Z00Wu0I-5jlncsW0fhm_fyiSGhupXTyE0ZYTscY7thtlfzI8o8ZQDnWPrZFYFnGZ4zwE/s1600/P1000472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRWpsrlVpsrg5mo0pMqcU_N6cF-XFqfIjpE6y3ZFRSyA_MYF2npo5bsLNJFIB3RA4-0YF9Q-Z00Wu0I-5jlncsW0fhm_fyiSGhupXTyE0ZYTscY7thtlfzI8o8ZQDnWPrZFYFnGZ4zwE/s320/P1000472.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">she thought I was busy cleaning the kitchen but I managed to sneak this picture.<br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I'm always on the lookout for recipes with honey. Anybody have any other good ones?Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7532607927772833160.post-65435438084465216432011-04-04T21:08:00.001-04:002011-04-04T21:10:04.355-04:00bird bath bluegot home from work at 8:00pm. I'm tired and chilled. I've been walking around in puddles all day and my pants got soaked up to the knees. I have to make this (yet again) a short post.<br />
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Even though I've been exhausted lately I managed to find the time to paint my toes. Its amazing how a little 5 minute paint job improves your mood.<br />
Wet and Wild, Bird Bath Blue, $2.29.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ebcRYJVLjIByGXpJLKrHVoB_G4OqTg9dejQ2AE8er5Z-c0p1msj10-xe_IYd0teP17AiIF_MAwgsyruRHTykO9OxHwE_M5d1tytfbzMIoYJb_jztYFBdOMWx4eHoa59UIFg8cJxZwlw/s1600/P1000389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ebcRYJVLjIByGXpJLKrHVoB_G4OqTg9dejQ2AE8er5Z-c0p1msj10-xe_IYd0teP17AiIF_MAwgsyruRHTykO9OxHwE_M5d1tytfbzMIoYJb_jztYFBdOMWx4eHoa59UIFg8cJxZwlw/s320/P1000389.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">don't make fun of my weird shaped toes. I can't help it.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxv-ZsEYKvP73R3PB8NHmsdLLUDVYOoIU3LHaifCTFqvn89kg4EmS-EoKBlYvxV8cpHnTXTt_T0suhLLAgtFrObNXrZFK69GWBoDU0L8BYbMUFhxeQQpFg22LRXGpXlbf6SUyD17ubBnY/s1600/P1000044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxv-ZsEYKvP73R3PB8NHmsdLLUDVYOoIU3LHaifCTFqvn89kg4EmS-EoKBlYvxV8cpHnTXTt_T0suhLLAgtFrObNXrZFK69GWBoDU0L8BYbMUFhxeQQpFg22LRXGpXlbf6SUyD17ubBnY/s320/P1000044.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Kitty is sick. She has a cold but she still manages to wake me up at 4am with her tuna breath.<br />
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The Meijer 10/10 and 11th free came back around. I finally got my organic baby bella mushrooms...11 boxes for 10 bucks. That will save me about 20 dollars since they are usually about 2.99 a package. I am going to dry them with the food dehydrator. I freaking love mushrooms, okay? Read about my mushroom madness <a href="http://ericasbees.blogspot.com/2011/02/mushroom-madness.html">here</a>. So there will be a post later this week about food dehydrating.<br />
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I got three types of melons in the mail the other day. Tiny watermelons (2 lbs) and two types of mini cantaloupe. I couldn't help it. Why are mini versions of things so much cuter and more appealing? Thankfully my parents agreed to expand the garden to accomodate a few melon plants-just a few. Bees love melons. I'm doing it for them.....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Close this window" border="0" height="320" name="Image1" onclick="javascript:self.close();" src="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/images/product/large/462_1_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="306" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tell me this doesn't look amazingly delicious</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Close this window" border="0" height="320" name="Image1" onclick="javascript:self.close();" src="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/images/product/large/2495_1_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="306" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 lbs-5 1/2 inches long. pocket sized.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-6048-serenade-f1.aspx" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Serenade (F1)" border="0" height="320" id="ProductPic6048" name="ProductPic6048" src="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/images/Product/icon/2443.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">softball sized. I can see a little ball of ice cream nestled in the center. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Ericabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17191232581211195646noreply@blogger.com2