BLAH-G

Smoky Horizons....The wild fires of '08 may go down as some of the worst. Certainly the earliest. We had lightning storms about a week ago, they triggered over 100 fires just in Humboldt county. There are fires all over the north part of California and today the smoke is the worst yet. Blech. Below, Weird Cloud Formations ...that preceded the dry lightning.
Eating Good in the Neighborhood..Spinach beet salad for days. Mustard and broccoli are mostly all done and a second sweet crop of collards and broccoli are coming on. We are eating peas, strawberries and just in the last few days, raspberries. I love the small fruits. The cherries? The ones I did enjoy were eaten before they were ripe, just like the birds...who cleaned up on all the rest. They literally left me with just pits hanging in the clump! Picture was too sad. Whatever, it was a pretty minimal crop and I was just too lazy and gimpy to climb up the ladder and net them. Sigh. Oh well, there is always next year. Golden Delicious Apple...Red in its youth. Peach...Planted as part of our home school studies into James and the Giant Peach. Its first year in the ground and already bearing fruit! No curl either, could be a keeper. Above Lilies...This is a very dependable day lily from Ruby Valley. Old school rules. Below, Nasturtium Volunteer...These are cheery flowers. The leaves and blooms are edible.
BEE LESSON: These two images clearly show little baby bee BROOD; Notice the C shaped object in the bottom of the cell. This brood is about 3-4 days old.
Bee EGGS...You can clearly see the small rice shaped object in the bottom of the cell. These are freshly deposited. Below, CAPPED BROOD. Notice the color is darker than the capped honey below it.
Worker Bees vs Drone Bees...Clearly illustrated above and below. My weaker hive has about a million drone so it is easy to find them when picture day comes around. More on the antics of this hive below...
Notice the drone has a much larger body. The worker bee is smaller and its eyes are much less prominent. The worker bees are sterile females, and the drones are the males. Drone bees gather no pollen or nectar and are just basically loafers who wait around for a virgin queen to fly by, which is not very often! At the close of the season the bees kick all the drones out of the hive, for they can't afford to feed them all winter. The queen will lay new drones in the spring. Drones are very loud buzzers when they do fly (bees leave the hive to relieve themselves.)
ADDENDUM: My YouTube BEE VIDEO of the hive entrance: Blah-g is right. The smoke has me choking; these hips are not happy to blog; and my knee is tweaked but good. Still I blah-g on. In my healing I have ventured back onto the bike. (yea!) We rode in the G.ville parade and I hope to offer a complete report of all our recent escapades on my mushing blog.Team HumDog...waiting for their turn in the G.ville parade. Below, Pepper on the DL with a bee sting! She would sometimes put her nose right into the hive! Bet she might not do that anymore! Her nose got all puffed up. Dog On Ice...On the homestead it's the bees that have taken a good deal of my attention and focus. I worry about them all the time! I'm not sure if it will help, but I can't seem to forget about them. My queen-less hive is now officially queen-right. I inspected on Wednesday, and found she had been released and there were newly lain eggs! yeah! The mood of that hive has improved a lot, and I am looking forward to them building up normally in these long hot days of summer. I planted about a hundred sunflowers to boost the summer nectar flow. Now that the blackberries are done, I don't know where they go, or what exactly they are feeding on. But they are coming home heavy, and still bringing in lots of pollen. I hope the smoke doesn't get them too upset. Bee keepers use smoke to calm the bees while we work them. There are several theories on why it works: One, is that is causes them to think their home is in danger, so they gorge themselves on nectar and honey in preparation to leave. The influx of sugar leaves them in a stupor. Some also believe, the smoke may interfere with their complex communication system. Whatever the case, there is too much smoke today.P.S. ADDENDUM II: Here is a silly Simba video on YouTube. Need a kitty fix?

Step Into Spring

The Male Mosquitoes consume only sugary liquids like nectar, so they are an aide in pollination. Unlike their blood thirsty mates, they actually have one beneficial influence on humans! Are you interested in Mosquito trivia and facts? Go HERE
Plum Possibilities..I love the bursting with potential feeling to this image.

Greengage Plum...The earliest of the plums that I have to begin blooming. Greengage are cool because they resemble a Japanese plum in flavor and texture, but they are actually European so there is little pruning required beyond the basics; which are to cut out all the dead and broken limbs; remove crossing limbs, and open up the center by removing most inward facing twigs and branches. One could also head back the top some - cutting no more than 50% of new growth - to control size and match the tree height to the limits of your ladder!
Vinca...Invasive and Viney. Planted in the shade at the edge of buildings, and controlled from taking over by being placed opposite a pathway, they do make a cooling ground cover for near your structures. Do not allow it to escape, unless you are going for the viney and invasive look. They are good for shady areas away from the main garden.
Pear Blossom..Actually this is the precursor to the multi blossomed pear flower. I love how hairy they are, like they are wearing little jackets.
Pansies...Up close and personal. Erotic.
The First of the Nectarine Blossoms...They are early and tender; I am hoping for a mellow spring.
Forsythia...A brightly colored and cheery spreading bush for the homestead. This dependable and carefree perennial is one of the first things to bloom in the spring.
Would you Believe This Beauty Above is a Dandelion? Curly.
Daffodil Show - Gotta love 'em, they seem to shout SPRING!

Bay Laurel Blossom...Succulent and weird looking. Below, three very clear illustrations why ridge top living is the best! Three very different sunrises and although the view is the same, it never is. Do you know what I mean?Snoopy...Mr. Kind Eyes. Below, Bear Butte...looking ominous in the breaking day.
The cloud activity has been pretty constant the last couple of days. Prior to that, the weather overall has been warm, calm and dry. The rain is moving in for real tonight, and we need it. As you can see, the garden is starting to show its colors. We are busy with a multitude of springtime chores. Moved about a ton of wood off my new grape site and I pruned the bulk of the early blooming fruit trees, except for the almond, which frankly is too tall for my ladder! Now what? We started a load of spring greens, and the weather has been absolutely cooperative. If you don't have your peas in yet, please! soak them tonight, to plant out tomorrow in the rain. Peas do very well in a dry spring like we have been having. The long stretch of sunny days allowed the soil to really warm up.

Oh Yea, Big Thanks to Eric, for the cool links on his blog - SoHumParlance, our local virtual water cooler for all things current. Must be a slow news week...heh heh

March Marches In

Sunset on the EVE OF THE IDITAROD...You will find lots of great info HERE on my mushingblog. It is going to be a great race this year. There is a good amount of snow, and temps are on the cool side. On the home front, the sunsets have been stunning, as you can witness from the photos I have to share today. I must apologize in advance for the quirky quality of some of them. I am experimenting with new, low end, telephoto, and wide angle lenses. I've yet to completely crack the code on communicating with my camera over these new accessories. It's been too long since I contemplated f-stop and shutter speed...steep learning curve. Any tips would be appreciated. (yea, here's one; buy a better lens!)
Lassik Peak Looking Stunning...This shot actually worked. We've yet to see this range with such clarity, I love the sunshine splashing through the clouds...Below, The Orchard is Beginning to POP! Plums...
And Pear...Time to get that pruning done!
Dogs Looking Pensive and Inquisitive...There are plenty of dog focused entries on my MUSHINGBLOG. I have also been following the Iditarod Invitational over there. It is an incredible human-powered race over the Iditarod Trail, with souped up mountain bikes, skis, or on foot!! At home, we've had some great runs since the weather has cleared, and my health is on the upswing. Snoopy especially, has really proven himself and his willingness to learn. It has been difficult to deal with his social aggression issues, but in the last couple encounters with strange dogs he has actually displayed no aggression, and with just a bit of encouragement, (and maybe a shot from the spray bottle which I always have at the ready) he is happy to continue on. I think he is proud of his progress and accomplishments too. He is a strong dog and my only true musher. Pepper is cool, but she is along for the fun of it mostly. She has learned a new trick; in addition to her repertoire of other antics like bowing to me, whispering, rolling over and a super play dead, she now runs to the tissues and grabs one out of the box, bringing it to us on the cue "achoo" or "tissue"....Of course, when she gets anxious to serve, it is a bit annoying when she randomly grabs tissues and brings them to whoever will notice! No! You must wait until we say! Silly dog!
Pretty cool visuals around here lately. The shifting clouds are providing an amazing show. I am focused on finishing the pruning chores, constructing the bee gear, (bees are set to arrive April 10!) and am extremely motivated to plant the 25 grapes that await their new home...alas, the fencing for which is not even purchased, or up yet, and there is a pile of trees in the way; so body don't fail me now!