Encapsulating August.

Chronological would not really be possible at this point without cross referencing, so - topics!  Compost, garden, bees and honey, wine, and house. 

August has flown by.

I can't believe the end of August is approaching! Summers tend to fly by as it is - it's the busiest time of year. The long daylight hours support work, volunteering, gardening, wine making, beekeeping, hiking, travel, birthdays, and everything in between. I'm always surprised by how quickly the weekends book up, and by how soon the summer seems to draw to a close. Driving through Highway 9 today I realized how many of the trees have leaves changing color.

cycling

I. am. dying. with. laughter.

Thanks to the Timbuk2 blog for pointing out this gem: Performance.

(says the person that has a bike with brakes and gears, but it's been pointed out to me on the train that I could get a faster street bike. And I have not one, but two timbuk2 bags.)

Yoga

Just reading the Eveything Yoga Blog, and there was a great entry about Summertime Yoga, yoga that compliments our favorite summer activities.

Through the entry I found Yoga for Hikers, Yoga for Cyclists, Yoga for Swimmers, and a sequence of poses for after a day in the garden.

Feeling playful, I google'd "Yoga for Beekeepers" and I found a workshop in 2001 that included a session! too funny!

Sunday Adventure: Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve

Some close friends got to talking about labyrinths, and mentioned Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. (Take a look on google earth if you have the inclination - it's impressive from the air!) The conversation caught my attention, and I decided to cross the bay for a hike. My cousin (who is training to run a half marathon to fight Leukemia) was interested as well. We decided to go early Sunday to avoid the heat on this exposed trail. I met my cousin, we stopped quickly for coffees and egg sandwiches, and then drove up up up the Berkeley Mountains to the trailhead.

one proud beek.

My cousin Missy came out today to meet the bees. Some other friends of mine are interested in the bees, so I told them to come out as well for a visit to see the hive. I had M's jacket with veil, which my cousin could wear. Melissa opted to stay in the living room with their baby (the observation window!) and Jim wore long sleeves and a hat. I had a mesh bag he could use as a temporary veil, but he decided to skip it.

I got the smoker lit, and explained that while it was good to have going, I doubted that we would need it. Despite the hive being handled a couple of days ago, the bees had been in a pleasant mood as I watered and worked around the garden. We had some heavy racoon activity here last night (including the racoons using one of the bees water dishes for their filthy paws!) but the bees seemed undisturbed. I also walked them through, verbally, what I planned to do, and gave them bee brushing jobs.

psuedo-swarm?

I recently captured a small swarm. We had some debate about taking it on as a third hive, but the expense of a new hive was really the factor that led us to deciding against it. Both M and I had noticed that the Urania bees, normally easy going, were defensive and impatient. They were likely to bump us as we went about our normal business near the hive. I opened the telescoping cover to see how things were and found a gang of bees with their tails up. I closed the cover right away, not wanting to challenge the patience of angry honey bees.

Busy because of bees.

We made a cheap and cheerful solar wax melter from a cooler (about $3 from Orchard Supply and Hardware), some leftover black paint (not enough it seems!), my bread pan, a paper towel, and some saran wrap. We were roughly following this guide.

Growing challenge: Tomatoes, cucumbers, and strawberries, oh my!

The recent gopher attacks on our strawberries (along the fence) have caused a few of them to get pushed up with the soil. The good thing is they haven't been uprooted, but many of the plants are now a good couple of inches taller. They are still growing strong and producing tons of berries, so my guess is they aren't bothered. I'm hoping the rain in the fall will help settle the dirt again, until then - we make do.

We are the buzz.

I'm loving that people from work, yoga, and other circles are bringing me news clippings relating to gardens, bees, and honey. I'm delighted to be part of such a positive awareness.

Camping and Capturing.

Camping at Memorial Grove was fantastic. After hiking there in May, we decided to camp there. Three of us arrived Friday around 1:30pm, and the other four were there around six. The site was roomy and we lucked out having neighbors only on one side. There were a lot of wasps there! Happily they were only annoying and not overly aggressive, no one was stung. Plenty of Dark-eyed Oregon Juncos were hopping around the site. The brilliantly colored but slightly harassing Stellar's Jay was also in abundance. We were careful about locking up food, but saw that a raccoon had done some tap dancing on one cutting board, and heard them cruise through the site during the night. The mosquitos were thick! Guess I wasn't careful enough about putting on the insect repellent!

I brought some of our new honey and recently bottled Syrah and Elderberry to share. It's heaven to share fruits from the home and heart with good friends.

bottled!

Our first jar! We gave it to our dear friend Christopher when he arrived to pick me up for yoga. He's very happy with it. :)

Honey harvest videos!

Uncapping a frame of honey.