I had my alarm set for 6:00 Saturday morning and I pushed the snooze buttom FOUR times!
It was 6:36 when I threw my legs over the side and crawled out of the Girl Bunk!
I got down to Sherry's at 7:20 and she was already busy!
We forgot about having a brood box full of black unwaxed frames!
We stayed at it melting wax from old frames and working as fast as we could to get the new ones plastered at least a little bit!
No pics from treating the hives for Varroa mites that morning but we DID it!!
I must say that moving all the supers off was hard work and the bees were really upset at us as we got down to the bottom brood box.
My hands are bigger than Sherry's so I wore the X-Large chemical gloves Louis Dean gave me and handled the Apivar strips. Sherry and I were both a little nervous as this was our first time to treat and it was all new to us. By the third hive - we had it down.
I got two stings in the process.
The first one was on my right hand - the one that is very arthritic. I had put the gloves over my bee suit instead of the armso f the bee suit over the gloves! Lesson learned. I barely felt it but I did use my left hand to hold my glove closed until we finished working that hive.
In the process of pulling my left arm over - I got a sting on the fleshy part of my under arm. You know where I'm talking about - the fatty part!
It didn't hurt much at all on Saturday but by this morning it was red and inflamed.
Bee stings are supposed to be good for arthritis and I am hoping my right hand benefited from that sting. But fatty tissue is sensitive - let me tell you! And there are NO benefits for that area!
We had an audience to our bee working!
Louis Dean had got up and taken his coffee out to the front deck and watched us as we worked.
Sherry did the heavy lifting of the supers that already had honey in them.
He said next time he will suit up and help us!
We had some clean up work to do once we left the hives.
We had set the honey supers in the shade of a grove of trees for the bees to clean off and return that honey back to the hives.
I wonder if they were as confused as I was?
Take the supers off......treat for mites.....put another brood box on top of the treated one.....
and then the bees return the honey back to the hives.
I guess it will keep them busy as there's not a nectar flow or pollen right now.
We went back to Sherry's and cleaned up the frames from other supers, added the moth crystals -and we did see some wax moths! - and stored these in the barn. In the space cleared out on Friday for our bee stuff!
Once our work was done - I came back to the camper and went back to bed!
It was only 10:00 AM!!
I slept for 4 hours!
We cooked dinner for the four of us Saturday night and finished cooking in time to have a nice glass of sauvignon blanc on the front porch.
Louis Dean fried up a platter of chicken fingers and made gravy.
I baked a lemon cheesecake and biscuits and cooked mashed potatoes.
Sherry brought down a pot of black eyed peas picked fresh from the garden!
We ate out on the front porch and then we were all ready to go to bed.
It had been a very long day!
But the mite treatment has been DONE!!!
Alas, I did not sleep well last night even though I went to bed before 10:00.
Sometimes I just get too wound up, I guess.
This morning I took my coffe back to the girl bunk and watched Fellowship Church online.
Pastor Steven Kelly was guest speaker.
He is the father in law of one of Pastor Ed's daughters.
It was an excellent message and one I needed to hear.
Faith takes shape through spoken words.
Life and death is in the power of the tongue.
Words reveal and seal what is in your heart.
These three sentences - among others - but especially these three spoke to me.
I have always taken Job 3:25 seriously.....
For that which I have feared the most is come upon me.
God has not given us the spirit of fear.....but of love, power and a sound mind.
I did a stitchery long ago and I still have it.
"Be careful of your thoughts.....
for they may break out into words at any time!"
Our thoughts and our words are more important than we think.
This morning as Louis Dean and I were doing our Bible reading, I heard a commotion!
The kittens had discovered how to get up into the boy bunk!
They had a ball!
There's just plastic bags and the odd thing up there so they explored and had fun!
We had fun watching THEM have fun!
This afternoon the last two kittens went to their new home!
This is Hem.....
and this is Haw.....
Can you guess what book that's from?
Who Moved the Cheese!
Our friend, Rosey, needed a couple of barn cats and these two are perfect!
They have never been inside cats and since the two of them are already bonded, they will be company for each other over at Rosey's ranch!
Win! WIN!!
All the kittens found a good home!
Louis Dean is nearly 84 years old but he still has the heart and energy of a boy!
He still likes to go outside and play in the dirt!
He's putting in water and electric lines to the garden.
This is our last night here. We go home tomorrow.
My goal was to finish three Christmas paintings.
This one is not finished but I did do a lot of work on it.
I did some more on the Santa couples.
They are glazed and I will hopefully get the twinkle in Santa's eyes right when we come back down here later this month.
I have chicken and rice in the crock pot and Louis Dean and I will eat a late supper, take showers and go to bed. My alarm is set for 5:00 in the morning.
We are going to another beekeeper couple's place at 7:00 when they will be treating their hives for Varroa mites using a different method than we used.
We are always learning something!
Hem and Haw are settling in! Tomorrow I’ll introduce them to the barn!
ReplyDeleteThey are going to do great at your place! A perfect match!
DeleteWell, the kittens "hemmed and hawed" their way to Rosie's. That's great that they all found homes.
ReplyDeleteYou surely stayed busy this trip, girl! You will be able to teach others about beekeeping before long.
I do believe that we should think about what we say, too.
I surely hope your bee sting isn't hurting anymore. Does putting ice on it help any at all? Maybe Louis Dean can help you two next time you have to do so much lifting.
You'll get some rest when you go home, perhaps. I know Lillian is just dying to see you, however I don't know if the social distancing will allow for visiting.
I'm hoping you can take some time to work on your book when you're back home. You just have to find the time! I'm praying for you to find the time and the words. I know God will give you the right words. 💕
Thank you, Trudy....I do so appreciate your prayers and encouragement and confidence. I think about my book every day and pray about it. It is my mission to write it and I know I will. But it’s not easy....
DeleteWhat a LOt of hard work you did! It's a wonder you didn't sleep the entire rest of the day! Our former pastor had arthritis so bad in his hand; it was all swollen up and the doctors could not help. He got bee sting therapy all over it, and it completely cured it!
ReplyDeleteNow that is encouraging! I have a lot of bee resources!
DeleteHem and Haw are great names for kittens!
ReplyDeleteI believe your last quote! I try to learn something new everyday!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
I love the name of those cute kitties and happy they will be staying together! You and Louis Dean do the most interesting things! I don't know where you get the energy. It's awesome though and keeps you young. Your cornbread and chicken looks amazing. We made fried chicken for the first time ever last weekend. It wasn't a bad first try, but we will continue to tweak the recipe. Have a lovely week! Jane
ReplyDeleteLinda, I never realized that bee keeping was so much work. The things that can ruin the hive is awful scary. Glad you girls "Got'er done". :):) Don't you just love that adventurous little boy inside LD? I think he is addicted...to work !!! Glad you are still getting to enjoy the evenings. Blessings, be safe. Love you, xoxo, Susie
ReplyDeletep.s. I too have heard that bee stings help arthritis .
That bee keeping is just too much work!!! Glad all the kittens found a home and love the names Hem and Haw. The dinner sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading all your Tales of all the work that you and Sherry do I am afraid our world would be without honey if it depended on me being a beekeeper. You to keep at it you're doing a great job I'm so glad that h e m and h a w got a good home. They used to show us that who Moved My Cheese saying at work every time we did something new we all got upset they kept changing the computers and they would show us that like that was going to help! Yep LD and Bob are about to turn 84 I think is first isn't his in September
ReplyDeleteSafe travels home!! Loved hearing all about your bee keeping. I am sure those kittens are a laugh a minute.
ReplyDeleteWhew! I'm tired just reading about your day! You and Sherry make a good "BEE" team.
ReplyDeleteThe barn/cardinal painting is going to be a real beauty. As are all of your paintings!
Take care, be safe, rest!
what a ball of energy you are, too, Linda. Do report back about the bee sting. Hoping that it actually does help.
ReplyDeleteBees require a lot of care. Until you and Sherry went into the bee business, I had no idea.
I love the expression of Mrs.Claus on the right.
Linda, I hope the bee stings don't cause you any more pain. When I was growing up, we had a large front lawn with lots of clover, which the bees loved. I would mow the lawn with our old push mower, barefooted, and usually get a sting, but my feet were used to it going barefoot all summer. Thanks for a memory.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm exhausted just reading how your day went.
ReplyDeleteYou are the best beekeepers around.
I love the quotes at the end and it's true..learning keeps us going, otherwise my brain gets too flabby.
Your meals sound delicious...crock pots are such a lifesaver.
Safe trip home.
Sue
Well dear--guess what the best medicine is for bee stings???
ReplyDeletehoney--yep--just put some honey on that arm sting wait about 15 minutes and wash it off--do it a couple times during the day--it will take the redness right out and keep it from hurting--!
I get red ant bits alot living in Florida and the I use honey on them and it takes the infection out of the bite and stops the itching--!!
thanks for working hard to keep the bees alive and healthy--
luv, di
Linda, all you and LD do in the course of a day exhausts me, so you deserved that glass of wine and a second one as well! ALl the food looked so good too. Hope the trip home goes without any hiccups.
ReplyDelete