Within The Hive

BLOG GIVEAWAY: BEESWAX CANDLE

2012-01-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

When I took my beekeeping course two years ago there were a few beekeepers on hand to show us treasures from the hive. One man and his young daughter had a tiny beehive candle that I fell in love with. I asked if they sold the mold, which they did not, but they said I could purchase one from a bee supply company and make my own once my bees started giving me some wax to use.

Well, I've waited ever so patiently for my honeybees to create a surplus of honey and beeswax for me to take but we've gone another year without any extras. Am I sad? Not really. Our bees know what they are doing and why they do it so I just have to make do with other people's extras :D

The other day I drove over to Natures Nectar, our honeybee supplier, and picked up 4.5 lbs of beeswax to make candles with. There is nothing better than beeswax straight from the hive, except, of course, HONEY! Beeswax from a local beekeeper is the best! I have to keep my kids from pawing all over it, wanting just one last sniff because it smells so amazing!

Here is our lovely slab of beeswax:

But... beeswax in slab form doesn't do me any good when I'm about to make candles so I had to break it into chunks.

Once the beeswax was cut up I had to get my mold ready. I purchased this cute little beehive mold from Mann Lake, the same company we buy most of our bee equipment from.

I heated up the wonderful beeswax in a double boiler.

Poured them into molds.

and what did I produce?

The cutest little beehive candle ever :D

Now for the giveaway. I've not been the best "blog giveaway" person but all of that is about to change. I'd like to start 2012 off right by sending one of these cute candles to someone in the blogosphere to say THANK YOU for reading my blog. The only thing you have to do to qualify is post in the comment section on why the survival of the honeybee is important to you.

The winner will be determined by random number generator (online) and announced on this blog February 10 :)

HANDMADE SOAP GIVEAWAY!!!

2012-01-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

My friend Teresa over at Raising Our Own...kids & food is having an awesome blog giveaway. Don't miss out! Teresa will be sharing some of her sisters amazing handmade soaps with fellow bloggers so make sure you follow the link above to get all the details and enter for a chance to win.

This giveaway is for residents of Canada & the U.S.

ACCEPTABLE LEVELS?

2012-01-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Maryam Henein, director of Vanishing of the Bees, for sharing the link to this video on twitter.

IS MY MUSE WAITING FOR ME IN 2012?

2011-12-26T09:17:00.001-08:00

2011 was harsh...in the creative, energetic sense. I've felt completely uninspired since mid summer. I thought turning 40 this year would somehow reignite my spirit but no, all energy seems to have gone wherever my muse went.

I never make New Years resolutions. I believe a person can change at any time, they don't need to save it all up for the turn of the year. If I want to change something about myself or what I'm doing I'll do it when the moment strikes. Funny though that the moment seems to be now when we're about to venture into 2012. So...I think this blog post can officially be considered my New Years Resolution post. Having it all written down for everyone to read makes me more accountable to my goals in some way.

Here are my top 10:

1. Read two books a month and share a review of one on my new "writing" blog. Stop reading 3-4 books at the same time, never really finishing one.

2. Buy that Canon and become the awesome beetographer I'd like to be(e) :D

3. Appreciate friends more. Not that I don't already appreciate my friends but I need to show it more.

4. Focus on mastering the whole knitting thing. I've been working on mittens since winter 2010 and still haven't figured out how to finish the dang thumb (and I've been shown at least 3x's). I've set that project aside numerous times but if I don't figure it out I'm going to lose my mind. YES! I tend to obsess over such things and if I don't stop that soon I'll never get anything knitted before next Christmas, which leads me to #5

5. Stop being such a perfectionist.

6. Keep working on my domestic goddess skills. (Gardening, Canning, Cooking, Beekeeping).

7. Be a better blogger. I deleted my blog and found that I really do miss the writing and also connecting with others in the blogosphere. No more talk about deleting blogs. Which leads me to...

8. Blogging on a schedule. All my posts here at Within The Hive will be about creative ventures & family. The other blog will be for writing whatever moves me. I'll have to keep the long-winded posts separate from the creative shares. I've decided I'm going to dedicate one day a week to both blogs once the holidays are over.

9. Stop making promises I won't keep. That is a big one. I'm going to become the "maybe" or "I'll think about it" person. No more using the word YES because I really hate that word.

10. Keep working on staying healthy. More exercise and staying away from animal products. I really really love cheese though and the vegan cheese doesn't melt on hot sandwhiches the way real dairy cheese does. So we'll call that one a work in progress but I have an entire year to get it right, right? :D

That's it. Nothing too complicated. Hopefully by staying a little more focussed my muse will return and I'll feel energized enough to make 2012 my most creative year yet :) I'll be back to blog after the New Year!

DID YOU KNOW, BEES GET SICK TOO

2011-10-19T19:12:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I talked about my bees so I thought I'd share something new about my awesome girls.

MITES.

Honeybees get mites. The actual term is Varroa Mites.

What are they?

They are itty bitty insects that attach to and weaken honeybees by sucking hemolymph from their bodies, which serves as both blood and intestinal fluid. Once the honeybee has been weakened they become susceptible to certain viruses.

Varroa are destructive and can destroy an entire hive. If infestation is caught early the hive can be saved. Treatments vary depending on the preference of the beekeeper. Some treatments are more effective than others.

We were told in class that ALL bee hives get varroa mites and research has shown that some types of honeybee are better at protecting themselves from infestation than others. Example: Africanized bees tend to protect themselves better than Italian bees. MN Hygienic bees have been raised to defend themselves better against certain illnesses, diseases, etc... including mites.

The key to controlling the mite population is #1 testing your hives mite count and #2 checking for hygienic behavior

(there are other ways to check for mites)

If you know how many bees were in your sample, you can
estimate the number of mites per 100 bees. If there is
brood in the colony when you sample, you should double
this number to factor in the amount of mites in worker
brood. For example, if there are 5 mites / 100 bees, the
total infestation is probably 10 mites/100 bees. If your
colony has over 10-12 mites/100 bees, you should consider treatment. ~University of Minnesota

So... that is the mini scoop on varroa mite.

I have not treated my bees for mites and yes, I may live to regret it. My first year keeping bees I decided to see how well they'd do "naturally" over the winter. They survived and flourished. I have a new hive that I did not treat but I believe it won't do quite as well. Ya see, we were told something in class that makes me worry. Marla Spivak said "if you can see mites with the naked eye then you have a serious problem." Well, I scraped some brood from between hive bodies and this is what I found:

Now, I know not treating the bees probably isn't the best choice I've made as a beekeeper but I have two issues with treatment. #1 is I would only use a natural treatment like Thymol but the problem has been getting the thymol and the weather (beekeepers will know what I mean about the weather). #2 I've wanted to see how well my bees do (or how long they live) without treatment. Is that wrong? I've read where other beeks have had hives survive years without treatment and I'm hoping mine do the same. Although the 2nd hive being so obviously infested has me worried.

The only option now would be a treatment I'm not comfortable with so I'll wait out another winter and see how they do.

SOAP SWAP REPORT

2011-10-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

I received the most awesome bars of soap and a bag of natural laundry soap in the latest swap. There was no theme, just a deadline. We swapped out on Sept. 1st. After years of smelling EO's and FO's I must say that this latest swap was full of the most fabulous scents EVER! Thank you ladies for your friendship and continuing to share your creativity year to year :) I can't wait to use everything!!

THANK YOU AMBER

THANK YOU NATALIE

THANK YOU CARRIE

THANK YOU HEIDI

THANK YOU DENISE

ELY LIVING ON HOLD... INDEFINITELY

2011-10-09T15:15:00.001-07:00

I spent my entire life dreaming about a life in the country. We finally found the ideal location for us in the north woods of Minnesota. Bears, wolves, moose, small town, friendly people, beautiful scenery. We couldn't ask for a better spot, or so it seemed.

Turns out all that driving north to house hunt and countless hours on the internet sifting through properties was in vain. Ya see, Ely has a little secret. Well, Minnesota has a secret. Home & land owners own their "surface" property but not the minerals underneath, which is all fine and dandy if you live in the twin cities like we do. There isn't a real chance in hell that miners will come through here looking for iron or taconite but drive a few hours north and you have a real problem. Why? Because Ely and the surrounding areas like Grand Marais, Isabella, etc... are prime spots for mining. Northern MN is known for its mining. In fact, Minnesota has a long mining history dating back to the 1800's and since nickel, copper and platinum have become hot commodities the mining companies want to move back in. Problem is, Ely is no longer a mining town. Ely is a tourist town. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area, known for its pristine forests and abundant wildlife draw in countless tourists every year and Ely sits right at the edge of the BWCA.

So... back to the mining issue. Although the state of Minnesota owns the right to the minerals much of the land with valuable minerals beneath is privately owned and most of those land owners had no clue that the minerals didn't belong to them. This would be a non-issue if it weren't for miners sniffing in the area.

The DNR, mining supporters (whoever those crazy people are) and state law claim mineral exploration leases are going to create a boom in our slagging economy. (I'll skip the part where I'm tired of our government (local and beyond) claiming that all these political decisions like removing protections of our water, air and land are necessary to create jobs).

The law in Minnesota states: Companies that explore for minerals on private property are required to negotiate with the landowner, and put the property back to its original condition. But if they cannot agree on access, the company can legally condemn the land.

According to Rebecca Otto, our state auditor, none of the residents should worry. There is a very SLIM chance that valuable minerals would be found on their property.

Well, as far as my husband and I are concerned, and it seems the many residents up north feel the same, a slim chance is just one chance too many. Our governor has delayed the mining leases for six months to give the property owners time to appeal to our state legislature which the odds are not stacked in favor of the owners. So for now, we are holding off until something equally as awesome presents itself. *sigh.

I FEEL LIKE I AM LIVING IN CHINA. READ THIS ARTICLE TO LEARN MORE

UPDATE: I checked my deed and I own the mineral rights on my current property. People who live in the twin cities and the communities surrounding the twin cities either own their mineral rights or partially own. Seems this is solely a Northern Minnesota issue afterall. Is it time to country home hunt in Central or Southern MN?

NEW YORK TEENS RECOGNIZING TOXINS IN COSMETICS

2011-09-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Awesome video!

MEET THE NEW GENERATION OF NON TOXIC BEAUTY MAVENS

BEE, WASP, HORNET... IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

2011-09-01T19:52:00.001-07:00

I was reading a blog recently where the author posted a picture of a wasp and called it a bee which is the reason for this post.

I'm not blogging to make fun of anyone who confuses a bee with a wasp. Actually, I didn't even know there was a difference until I took a class with my daughter at our local nature center back in 1998. Up until then, anything that was black and yellow with a stinger was a bee to me. We took the class because I had a major phobia of bees but the nature center taught us that not all stinging insects are created equal nor are they all bees.

This is purely an educational post. Hopefully it will help people identify these insects when they come in contact with them and help them be less fearful of bees.

I will cover the ones most commonly seen in Minnesota. Other states may have different types of wasps or bees, I'm not sure.

THE WASP GROUP

Benefits: Wasps eat all kinds of insects and are great to have in the garden because they often eat the insects that are harmful to your fruits and vegetables.

Temperament: Paper Wasps tend not to be too aggressive unless their nests are disturbed. Yellowjackets get defensive if their hives are disturbed, when they are around food, or during certain parts of the season when food is scarce. Hornets are aggressive when nests are disturbed.

Body: Have a slender body, narrow waste, appear shiny with smooth skin. Slender, cylindrical legs. Wasps are the stinging insects most commonly encountered by people.

Food: Wasps are predators. They eat other insects. They will eat fruit juices as well. Hornets will forage for nectar.

Nests: Yellowjackets, baldfaced hornets, and paper wasps make nests from a papery pulp comprised of chewed-up wood fibers mixed with saliva. Yellowjackets commonly build nests underground and paper wasps will build there nests from overhangs such as a tree limb.

Hornets Nest looks like this:

courtesy of Peregrine Audubon

Yellowjacket Nest looks like this:

courtesy of Local Pest Control

Paper Wasp Nest looks like this:

courtesy of Ace Bees

What do they look like?

The Yellow Jacket

courtesty of The Bee Hunter

The Paper Wasp

courtesy of Snails Tales

The Hornet

courtesy of FCPS

THE BEE GROUP

Benefits: POLLINATION!!

Temperament: Honeybees are docile unless hive is disturbed. When out foraging they rarely sting. Mason bees will not sting unless strongly provoked. Bumble bees are defensive of their hive but more docile when out foraging unless stepped on or squeezed.

Body: Bees have robust bodies and are very hairy. Hind legs are flattened for collecting and transporting pollen.

Food: Bees feed on pollen & nectar from flowers.

Nests: Honey bees make a series of vertical honey combs made of wax. Their colonies are mostly in manufactured hives but they do occasionally nest in cavities in large trees, voids in building walls, or other protected areas.

Courtesy of bees on the net

Bumble bees use old mice burrows, cavities in buildings, and other locations to make their nests. Like honey bees, bumble bees make cells of wax.

Courtesy of Extermatrim

Mason bees (The female) uses existing holes in wood for a nest, the whole will be slightly larger than her body (1/8 of inch) and she puts a mud plug in one of the hole.

Courtesy of Help Save the Bees

What they look like?

Honey Bee

courtesy of NC Pedia

Mason Bee

courtesy of Gig Harbor

Bumble Bee

courtesy of Organic Garden Info.

Much of the information listed above came from the University of Minnesota.

THE CANNING EXPERIMENT, PLUS!

2011-09-01T07:56:00.001-07:00

I haven't found much time to blog lately but I hate just leaving the place to gather dust so I thought I'd post a quick one. I've been pondering the idea of deleting the blog again. The reason being, I think if I have to struggle to organize time so that I can get on here and write something then maybe it just isn't something I'm passionate about anymore. The only thing that keeps me coming back to the blogs is other people's writing. I like reading what others are up to on their blogs plus the connections I've made and honestly, right now, that is the only thing that has kept me from closing the blog. Blogging for almost 5 yrs has made for some great friendships :)

With that said... I'm just not sure, so...

I've been trying to focus on quite a few things recently. #1 Writing More. #2 Country Home Hunting. #3 Preparing for said life in the country (canning, knitting, gardening, etc...) and #4 reading more books.

#1 Writing
Well, I never talked about my writing so I won't start now.

#2 The House Hunting
Not going as well as I expected. My hubby and I are planning an "eventual" move north and thought now would be the perfect time to buy a home, with the market being what it is. Turns out, the people up north haven't noticed the down turn in the market yet. Actually, it isn't really the people up north, it is the people here in the cities that own the homes up north that we went to look up. I can't say I blame them though. If we had to sell our home right now I certainly wouldn't want to take a loss on it. The market is scary and after all the work we've done on our own home it would be heartbreaking just to sell if for pennies. So we are waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself so we can have our life in the country that we always dreamed of.

#3 Preparing for the Country Life
Years ago when I told my mother I wanted to be a farmer (I was a child), she would laugh. Not a rude laugh, my mother was never rude, she would giggle and remind me that farmers would wake up at 5 a.m. and I couldn't manage to crawl out of bed before noon. Ok, not quite that late but you get my point. When I got older and managed to drag myself out of bed when the birds began to sing my mother rained on my parade once again by informing me that country life was much different than city life (she grew up like Laura Ingles so she knew what she was talking about). I knew country life was different but it took my purchasing the "Countryside Magazine" to figure out just how different it was. Canning foods for long winters was the first thing that caught my attention. I would talk about canning, read about canning, think about canning, but didn't get the courage to actually CAN until last year. The reason being, because no matter how much I learned about canning I could never shake all the horror stories I heard as a kid. My grandmother passed on a story about how a pressure cooker blew up in someones face and then of course there were the stories drifting around about getting botulism from improperly preserved foods. YIKES! So last year I canned my first batch of strawberry jam and after about a month I tossed it all out because I was too afraid to try it. How is that for neurotic.Well, I decided to try again. This year I thought I'd attempt dill pickles. I planted my garden, got a great bunch of cucumbers. The dill was ready long before the cucumbers so I ended up buying the dill at the store. Found a "how to video" online (I'm a visual learner) and gave it a shot.

My harvest:

Of course, it didn't go so well.

I THOUGHT I had the right size pan for the size jars I was using. Turned out I was wrong. Ya see, there is a label on the pan that states what size jars it fits and you'd think I would read that but nooooooo, that would have been way too easy. Instead I just guessed and my guess turned out to be wrong. After canning several jars of dill pickles I had no pan to place them in. I made a mad dash to a local store but they didn't have a large enough pan either. It was already late in the evening and everywhere else was closed. The dill pickles were trashed. So I tried again.

Got the right pan this time:

And made some pickles:

I've since learned again that I didn't do them exactly right but I'm getting closer to perfection. I will open these in 6 weeks and see how they turned out.

#4 Reading More Books

Right now I'm reading two books. Alternating back and forth, which my kids think is weird but I like it. "On Writing" by Stephen King. I read it when it was first published and here I am reading it again. The other book I'm reading was a title suggested to me. I'm actually enjoying it, which is a surprise because I'm not a big fan of fiction. (which you are now probably scratching your head at considering I'm reading ANYTHING by Stephen King). The book is called Miss Peregrines Home of Peculiar Children. It isn't even adult fiction, it came from the teen section, but when two adults suggest it, why not, right?

So that is what keeps my mind busy right now. Along with the bees, which are doing well. The bunnies, one of which is really really sick and probably won't make it. The children, getting ready to return to school next week and quite a few other things in between but I won't bore you any further with the details.

Before I sign off I want to say thank you to DixieBelle over at Eat at Dixie Belles for her generous blog award. I promise to post about that one soon. I'm compiling a list of bloggers to share it with :)

Boundary Waters Blogger: Protect Collared Research Black Bears

2011-08-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

Boundary Waters Blogger: Protect Collared Research Black Bears: We are supporting an effort to encourage black bear hunters to not shoot collared research bears. The effort is called the Black Be...

LET PROPOLIS CURE YOU: TINCTURE

2011-08-11T10:15:00.001-07:00

Last year I read the book "Bee Propolis: Natural Healing from the Hive" and although I was eager to make a propolis tincture after reading the book my bees weren't cooperating. They weren't making much propolis. This year I bought another package of bees and they are propolis crazy. I was able to go into the hive a couple days ago and scrape a generous portion off the side of a hive body.

Propolis is messy, sticky stuff that is composed of resin and wax and bees collect the resin mainly from trees, the poplar tree being a favorite source.

Contents in propolis: resin, wax, essential oils, pollen, other organics and minerals.

Here in Minnesota propolis is a yellowish brown color but the color varies in different areas of the world. Propolis is used by the bees to seal up cracks/space in the hive. Usually they stick it anywhere the drafts come in. They also use it to wrap up intruders like mice. Propolis is antibacterial so encasing a mouse in propolis would prevent the spread of disease within the hive. It is also antimicrobial and is being researched as a treatment for HIV

But I'm interested in its ability to treat winter ailments. So on to the details on how to make a tincture. A tincture is a medicine made by dissolving an herb or a plant in alcohol, glycerin or vinegar. I use 80 proof vodka. I took the following tincture recipe from the book listed above.

The process:
When I scraped the propolis from the hive two days ago it was warm and sticky and I did it with my fingers which was a big mistake. I spent the entire day trying to get it off. Today was a much cooler day so it hardened enough that I could handle it again. I could have put it in the fridge to harden but that would have been too easy, right! :D

Step One:
Gather supplies
(vodka not pictured here)
You need a bottle with dropper. A little funnel (unless you want a big mess) a marble size bit of propolis and a small bottle of vodka (about 2 oz will be needed).

Step Two:
Put the propolis in the bottle. (Now the book recommends cutting the proplis into little pieces and then putting it into the bottle, I chose not to follow that step).

Step Three:
Fill the bottle with 80 proof alcohol (vodka). Cover. Shake. Keep bottle in a cool dark place. Shake once a day and leave for one week before using.

I've done things a bit differently than was suggested in the book. Our family will not be taking this as a preventative so we didn't want a large amount. The book suggests taking a few drops per day to boost the immune system or prevent colds and coughs (which goes along with their larger recipe). Small amounts are recommended at first due to the fact that nearly 1% of the population has been found to be allergic to propolis.

I won't list all the things that propolis is good for because I don't want someone reading this blog and then thinking that propolis can cure their ailment. I'm not a doctor. I just trust what I've learned about my bees and their gifts and wanted to share a bit of that information with my readers. Please do more research if you are interested in using propolis.

Here are some of the things propolis has been used to treat (not all of these can be treated with a tincture. Some require propolis creams, ointments, tablets, etc...):

Dental Problems
Coughs & Colds
Flu
Fungal Infections
Fever
Immune Support
Back Pain

Wondering where you can get propolis? Contact a local beekeeper or check at your local farmers market. I would avoid buying it at the store since commercial varieties come out of areas like China and reports warn of the possibility of contamination.

BUCKET LIST: BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA

2011-07-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

On July 10 my family and I took a trip to the Boundary Waters in Ely, MN. This was our 2nd time visiting the area. The first time was in February this year for a dog sledding trip and this time around it was for some canoeing. I've always wanted to (#1) canoe in the Boundary Waters and (#2) swim in one of the beautiful BWCA lakes but neither my husband or I could read a topography map very well, much less use a compass so... we got lucky. In February we learned that our guide Jason at Wintergreen Dogsledding just happened to own a guide and outfitting service by the name of ELY OUTFITTING COMPANY (You can read more about the company HERE and HERE). We really like Jason so we decided to give his company a try and we are really happy that we did.

Although Jason wasn't our guide for our time in the Boundary Waters, we did have someone who was equally as amazing, her name is Ellen Root. She was an awesome (Ely Outfitting Company) guide, lots of fun to be around, and was fantastic with our kids. Unfortunately our oldest daughter was away at camp but we had our 11 year old and 4 year old canoeing with us. Kate, the manager at Ely Outfitting Company, packed up everything we needed for our 4 days and 3 nights in the BWCA, which included all the food and equipment we would need. She dropped us off on July 12 and we canoed our way into the wild. The weather was fabulous, the scenery was magnificient, and the overall experience was pure bliss. Ellen cooked up 3 yummy meals for us each day, took us swimming and hiking, and taught us about the various local wildflowers and wildlife. The trip was definitely worth our while and we will certainly be back again. Thank you Jason, Kate & Ellen for making our time in the BWCA a very enjoyable experience!!

Here is a little photo "log" of our time in the BWCA:

ART TO HELP THE GRAY WOLF

2011-07-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

My daughter Maya and her friend Kim have started a new blog called GENERATION OF THE WOLF. They plan on using the blog to share their thoughts about wolves and to sell their drawings in order to raise money for the International Wolf Center in Minnesota.

Please check it out when you have time. They are still in the development stage but they will hopefully have art available very soon.

I AM AT A GARDENING CROSSROADS

2011-07-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

and I'm not sure what to do. I know herbs. I spent years reading about herbs and perennials, planting and experimenting, but veggies and fruits... not so much. My first attempt at gardening a little over 5 years ago turned horrible. My carrots didn't grow, my tomatos were consumed by some unknown creature, and my gourds were planted incorrectly so they turned to mush. After moving to our current home 3 years ago I planted strawberries and it went well (no pests, no stealing, great production, easy to harvest). Year two I graduated to lettuce, broccoli, onions, raspberries, corn and cucumbers. That is when it hit me. I had no idea when to harvest anything. I asked and read what I could but I still didn't know how to recognize when something was actually "seeding" or "flowering." What one would call a flower, I didn't. Sorta like beekeeping... I don't know what is normal and what isn't. Our corn was destroyed by earwigs, the cucumbers turned yellow because their vines had nothing to attach themselves to, the brocolli ended up flowering, the lettuce was great but I didn't know you could cut it down and keep using it so instead I pulled it all out *sigh. The onions never grew very well and the raspberries were fantastic!

Year three. I decided to plant more raspberries and strawberries (easy to grow, don't have pests (not yet anyway), can recognize harvest time). We now have 4 raspaberry bushes and 16 strawberry plants. We also planted cucumbers (we have a wire for the vines this time), pumpkins, watermelons, dill, basil, gords and luffahs.

As of July 9, 2011The cucumbers are doing great.

The watermelon... not so much. It just isn't growing very well.

The pumpkins flourished.

The raspberries and strawberries are fantastic.

The gords and luffahs are amazing.

Dill and basil look healthy and big.

STOP!

I checked on things today after being gone for a week and what did I find?

The pumpkins have been taken over by something. I think it is a squash bug. The plants are still alive but I imagine not for long.

The rasberries and strawberries... well... the plant looks great but there are no berries to speak of. In fact, the birds are so bold they come down to eat them right in front of me.

The luffahs, gourds, cucumbers... all look fine and hopefully stay that way.

The dill and basil looks ready to be harvested but again... I'm not sure.

Here is where I'm confuzzled. (yes, that is confused + puzzled). I never know when to harvest things, how to preserve them, or how to prevent pests. I'm not giving up on gardening. I think I can get this but I need some help.

1. Is there a way to prevent squash bugs?
2. Is there a way to keep the birds from eating the berries?
3. How about harvesting... I want dill for pickles (yup, that's what those cucumbers are for) but I'm not sure when to harvest the seeds or how to save them for use when I can the pickles.
4. I want the basil a homemade sauce but do I harvest it now and freeze it for when I make the sauce? Can it be frozen?

The crossroads I'm at is deciding whether or not I just give up on the veggies. I find the berries much easier and of course, I can tell when they are ready for harvest and I know of numerous ways to use them but the veggies I'm not so sure about. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated because I will tell ya, having an entire family chearing on the pumpkin growth just to find out we failed just doesn't feel very good. The kids were not happy when I said they'd be getting their pumpkins for Halloween from someone elses garden patch again this year :(

Some pictures:

Vine base of pumpkins

Raspberries

Basil

Cucumbers

Dill

SOAP!

2011-07-07T15:48:00.001-07:00

I've been so obsessed with my bees lately I haven't said much about soap. So, here is a picture of one batch. I have many more to come. Trying to use up all the supplies over the summer and then take a soaping break for a while.

After corresponding with a few chemists at the University of Minnesota and based on what I've learned from my professors at ACHS I'm finally more comfortable with the use of Titanium Dioxide in my soaps. I gave TD a try a couple times in the past several years but waited til I had some reliable info on it's safety. Of course, now I'm addicted to it. I love that it is so easy to use and gives such great color variation.

I'll be taking a little blog break now to do other things but will be back with more bee and soap pictures soon. HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!

MORE NEWS ON MY BEE SWARM

2011-07-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

They did it! They swarmed a 3rd time and they attached themselves to the same tree as the other two times but moved on quickly about 5 feet further into the neighbors yard. Thankfully, after talking with the neighbors, they have been great sports about it. The bees are in a ball again about 30 feet up on a tree limb, not reachable by anyone. but that isn't my news.

Attention all beekeepers because I have a strange one for you.

We witnessed our bees swarm and then come right back shortly after. When they returned they went into the hive they orginally came out of hive #1 (the 2 yr hive). Next day they swarmed again but when we came home their clump in the tree was gone. We noticed hive #2 had an unusual number of bees. We added a third hive body Sunday and already the three boxes were overflowing with bees to the point that hubby and I started to wonder if the swarm went into the wrong hive. We debated it a while and decided that was crazy and we started brainstorming on what we should do with the new overflowing hive since the queen wasn't laying as fast as the bees were appearing (weird right) and in the 2nd hive body only 4-5 frames are drawn and in the 3rd hive body it looks like 0 are drawn. Hmmm...

What happens next? The swarm of bees emerge from the new hive (the 3 month old hive) and go right back up into the tree they swarmed to the last two times. What the heck? I'm still in shock. Is it even possible for a swarm to go back to the wrong hive?? I figure two things, that both hives have swarmed, which seems odd considering there is sooooooooo much space in the new hive for the queen to lay and she is NOT laying enough to compare with the number of bees that were inside or the bees from the first hive returned to the wrong hive.

We were fortunate to see all of this swarming. Two times from the 2 year old hive and now once from the hive we acquired in May this year.

Here is the video from the 2nd swarming:

Here is a video from when the swarm returned the first time and was scattered all over our yard:

GIVING UP ON BEEKEEPING...

2011-07-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

At least I feel that way right at this moment. I love the bees, love watching them, learning from them, having them in the backyard but... there is a reason more men than women are beekeepers. Now I'm not trying to offend all the feminists out there but seriously, beekeeping takes some strength and it takes strength that I don't have.

Initially when I decided to take up this hobby my hubby was adamant he would not be involved. He isn't afraid of bees but he wasn't that intrigued by them the way I am. He respects all things "natural" and he also thinks they should be left alone. I on the other hand like learning about everything and this was one of those moments but sometimes I think I want to learn about things too much and I dive right in.

As of right now I am unable to move hive bodies around without my husbands assistance and it doesn't help matters that he has a bad lower back. While my hubby graciously helps me out even though this was never his "thing" I find that I'm also struggling to get those darn frames out. Me + propolis = disaster. I even purchased a frame gripper thinking that would make it easier and that didn't work. I pull, pry, scrape, dig and those suckers won't come loose.

Aside from the weight of the hive I have two other problems.

#1 I hate killing things. The other day I opened the new hive and went to pull a frame out and it was stuck in place so I wiggled, pulled, wiggled, pulled some more and finally the darn thing came loose. While it came loose it also pulled up a mess of beeswax. I noticed a large chunk was at the bottom on top of the other hive body so I decided to pull the hive bodies apart to clean things up. What I found was a disaster. The bees in the new hive don't want to draw out the 4 outer frames for some reason, they only drew out the 4 inner frames and the queen laid a mass of brood between the hive bodies. This was a new experience for me. The first hive went according to plan (for the most part) but this hive is acting weird. Not only does the queen not want to utilize the frame space for laying there are a massive amount of bees. Makes me wonder where the heck she laid the brood for the new bees to emerge??? So, as you can imagine, when I cleaned things up I had to kill a mess of bees. This is what one chunk looked like. (see below). 24 hours later the bees with their heads poking out were still alive. I felt terrible.

#2 I have no sense of what is normal and not normal with my hives. My bees swarmed again today but I left shortly after so I don't know if they returned a 2nd time. I was curious to see how many bees were left behind or if they had returned so when I got home I opened the hive. The top box seemed pretty empty so I slid it off and what do I do??? Kill the new queen. She wasn't even born yet. Her cell was attached between two frames and I know for certain it was a queen cell and her body was exposed. Of course my little bees rushed to protect her but I don't think they will repair her queen cell in time. I suck at this, I seriously do! On top of that I still can't tell if the swarm returned or not. It looks like the same amount of bees I had last time I checked. To add insult to injury I discovered that hive #2 has a horrendous mite problem. How do I know? The mites were in the mass of brood + wax I scraped off (pictures later). We were told in class if we could "see" mites then we had a serious problem. I see them.

So, maybe I'm overreacting to this beekeeping thing. Maybe everyone feels all this anxiety when they have their first hives. I'm not sure. All I know is right now I think I could write the "how to be a crappy beekeeper" book because I have all the steps down perfectly. If I could only keep bees without managing them, just let them do their thing, but... I have to worry about Nosema, Tracheal Mites, AFB, Hive Beetle, Mites, etc... I don't even want to think about the swarming issue right now.

UPDATE ON SWARM: THEY CAME BACK!!

2011-07-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

I thought I was losing my mind when it happened but a more experienced beekeeper has confirmed it... MY BEES CAME BACK!!

I've never read about it or heard it before but it was exactly what we believed happened after we saw it. About 30-45 minutes after our hive swarmed and were hanging in a clump up in the tree, the swarm broke ranks and were flying all over our backyard. I kept thinking it wasn't possible, that it must be a 2nd swarm. I looked everywhere for the original swarm as I was sure they couldn't have gone far. We were present in the backyard and didn't notice anything prior to this massive cloud of bees returning. The cloud covered nearly .5 acre of our property, they were flying everywhere. I went outside and stood in the cloud, the bees barely acknowledging my presence. I thought maybe the swarm was on the move to another location so I ran outside and put a new hive body on the ground, sprinkling it with lemongrass essential oil as a lure (heard that one works well), and waited. The bees started to pile into the hive body but after about 15 minutes they changed their minds and started to go into the established hive. It took about 20 minutes for them to get settled back into the original hive. I asked a few beekeepers if this was a returning swarm or 2nd swarm and I was assured the swarm didn't return but today I read a facebook update by an experienced beekeeper that their swarm returned home. I inquired about my experience and was told swarms do come back sometimes.

I am curious now. What does it all mean? Were they out scouting for a new location? Will they stay for the season or attempt to swarm again? Our summer season is very short so wouldn't my bees have to stay put since they start prepping for winter in less than 2 months? We were told in beek class that if our bees (in MInnesota) don't swarm by July 6 then we are safe but this hasn't been a normal summer so far so I'm thinking that rule of thought no longer applies. All I know for sure is this experience has been interesting.

MY BEES SWARMED!

2011-07-02T09:29:00.001-07:00

I can't say that I am disappointed. We were fortunate to see it happen and it was very cool to see.

My hubby looked out the back window this morning around 11 a.m. and asked "is that normal" as he watched a massive cloud of bees flying above the hive. At first glance I thought it was normal. Last year on a hot summer day the bees would come out in what looked like a swarm but they were all just rushing out in the morning sun to get to work. This, of course, was different. The bees weren't directly above the hive, they were off to the side headed upward towards a large tree branch. When I took note of the number of bees and how closely they were flying to the trees I knew it was a swarm. I had to get outside with my video camera and document it.

I am so grateful that my swarm is about 30 feet in the air and not attached to the neighbors house (still crossing my fingers that they don't move that way). The neighbors dog was barking like crazy but it appears no one besides us noticed what all the hoopla was about.

I've called a local "experienced" beekeeper to come and take a look at the swarm. Maybe he can reach it and take it home. He, the expert, said something to me that rings very true. He said "a swarm is a blessing and a curse. On one hand you have helped a species continue on and on the other hand you lose the opportunity to extract honey." I'm ok with the no extracting honey part. I think it is more important that the bees survive. If what is left behind creates enough honey to be extracted, that will be a pleasant surprise, if they don't, well that is ok too. I just hope wherever the swarm settles that they flourish.

TIME FOR ANOTHER SOAP SWAP

2011-06-30T14:47:00.001-07:00

I am very happy to have some of the best soaping friends. Over the years we have managed to stay connected thanks to blogging, facebook and email, plus come together for the occasional soap swap. Some of us have met in person and some have yet to do so but I feel fortunate to be linked to such a great group of women. This time around we are swapping a soap of any color, fragrance, packaging, etc... so I am busy making soap, trying to decide which scent & design of soap I will settle on. Cannot wait to see what my creative friends come up with and then of course to post pictures of all the goodies here :)

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BEEKEEPING, NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS

2011-06-13T15:56:00.001-07:00

Ok, one thing I promised myself is that when blogging about beekeeping I would be totally honest. I wouldn't make it look easy when it was hard, fun if it was boring, enlightening if it was just plain stupid. So here it goes...

The 2nd year of beekeeping SUCKS!!

I've taken 2 classes on beekeeping in 1.5 years. I talk to beekeepers whenever I get the chance. I take advice. I'm learning.

BUT

When I opened last years hive for the first time this year what I saw gave me this sinking feeling in my stomach and I allowed myself to think that beekeeping just isn't for me. I quickly brushed that sensation and thought aside since I've learned this is how I feel about everything when it starts/appears difficult but I must say, the books never told me this.

Hives look like shit in the 2nd year. No more pretty clean frames, no more easy to find queen, no more docile bees. Oh no... what you have is a propolis disaster, so many bees that the queen is impossible to locate and some seriously bitchy bees.

Now I'm sure our bees are much nicer than say an AFRICANIZED BEE but still, I barely scratched the hive today and a couple guard bees just wouldn't lay off. They followed me 25 feet to house and wouldn't go away. It scared my hubby to a point that he started to wonder if we'd ever be able to work outside again. He is wrong, we will be fine, but... I don't want him second guessing my decision on this.

The first year, bees are angels. I almost feel like they love me the way I love them but the 2nd year is a different story. With frames full of honey, an established colony, the girls aren't as loving as before but that isn't really what upsets me. What makes me mad is my own stupidity. I used 10 frames instead of 9 so now it is nearly impossible to move things around. Once a frame is pulled out I can barely get it back in. The propolis is such that my fingers stick together so I nearly drop frames, there is brood being stored everywhere so each time I move anything I kill tons of babies :( I want to do the checkerboard thingy to prevent the bees from swarming yet I can manage to get frames unstuck (it took me 10 minutes last opening to get one back in place). I screwed up my spring divide because I had no idea what I was doing. Now I have to worry the bees will sworm to my "bee hating" neighbors house and the city will be knocking on my door.

On top of it, my bees are not moving up into the honey super. They seem to have something against the queen excluder because they wouldn't pass through it last year either. So my idea of using honey supers to create more space and hopefully avoid swarming isn't going that well. BTW/there are no queen cells from what I could find for those who asked.

So there ya go... my confession. I own practically every beekeeping book written and I don't remember any of the above being mentioned. Beekeeping IS NOT EASY! I didn't think it was but I didn't think it wasn't either. As with most things a difficult point arises and I vent until I figure a way through it. I promise, I'm silently venting over here and only purging on my blog, I carry a happy face about all this through out the day :)

It is difficult to see from these pix but it gives a little visual idea of how things change:

2 month old hive

2 year old hive

KNOW YOUR BEE STINGS

2011-06-08T19:23:00.001-07:00

My husband endured several bee stings recently and I documented his experience so that I could share it with others. I found it fascinating that every person we came in contact with who saw the results of the bee stings asked two questions (1) If we were going to seek medical attention and (2) If we were going to stop keeping bees. It turns out that most people think severe swelling means you are allergic to bees. If it wasn't for my beekeeping course a year ago I would think the same thing. One myth I was told growing up is that the more you are stung the more allergic you become. When I was stung in the back once and it swelled about the size of a golf ball and itched for 4 days my mother told me I was allergic and should carry an epipen.

So I thought, since there are so many misconceptions about bee stings, I thought I'd clarify a few things I've learned. I have followed up my list of things to know about stings with a few pictures I took of my husbands hands as he recovered from his bee stings.

#1 Less than 1% of the population has a systematic allergy to honeybee stings.

#2 If you are allergic you will experience some or all of the following symptoms: rash or hives, swelling that is not in the area of the sting, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. If you experience any of these symptoms after being stung seek medical attention immediately.

#3 An allergy is NOT: pain, swelling, redness, and/or itching.

#4 When stung by a honeybee you want to remove the stinger immediately by scraping and not pinching or pulling on it. Pinching or pulling the stinger forces more venom into your body and your reaction can be worse.

#5 The venom from a honeybee is different than that of a wasp, hornet, or other type bee such as a bumble bee. If you are allergic to one it doesn't mean you are allergic to the other.

#6 Honeybees, because their stingers are barbed, can sting only once and die shortly afterwards. Wasps & Hornets have smooth stingers, therefore, can sting several times.

#7 Honeybees generally do not sting when away from their hive. Unlike wasps and hornets that will sting unprovoked.

#8 Most physicians know very little about bee stings and have a tendency to diagnose allergies when none exist.

#9 The more often you are stung by a honeybee the less symptomatic you become.

#10 Honeybee stings are being used in place of some types of medical treatment for MS and arthritis. (Bee Venom Therapy)

DAY ONE OF BEE STINGS (This is the result of 2 stings previously thought to be 3). Hour after being stung. The two stings happened on the knuckle of the hand.

DAY TWO AFTER BEING STUNG (The pain from stings is the worst on day two. The skin is stretched to its max so there is lots of ache and itching).

DAY THREE. Not as painful but just as swollen. Still itchy. Swelling has stopped at the elbow.

ONE WEEK AFTER STING (A new youthful hand. How weird is that?!) The hand on the right is the one that was stung.

We figured a few things about the stings. One: the swelling may not have been so bad if my husband had removed the stingers faster. He spent a lot of time looking for something to scrape them off with, I'd say about 2 minutes too long.

Two: Although he ran to the store to buy benadryl and used ice packs for 3 days it only helped in the way of pain (the ice more than the benadryl). The swelling seemed to hang around until we figured out that elevating the hand worked quite a bit.

Now all he has to do is get stung in the other hand so both can be wrinkless :)

SAD DAY FOR THE BEEKEEPER IN ME

2011-05-31T16:25:00.001-07:00

Today is awful. I came to the realization that splitting the hive is impossible. Thanks to the sloppy job done by the landscaper and his inability to fix the mess until two weeks from now we are left with soggy soil which means when I walk out to my hive I sink calf length in mud. With no stable ground to stand on for very long and really no safe place to put the "daughter" hive right now I have to give in to the fact that my bees will swarm and I will likely not get any honey this year :( My hubby has reminded me though that this venture was not about honey, it is about doing our part to keep bees alive and flourishing in this world and also having the wonderful opportunity to walk out and see them working any time we like.

Why split the hive?
In my beekeeping course we were told that splitting a hive is the best way to keep your bees from swarming. Apparently when they swarm only half of them leave with their queen and the other half stays behind with a new queen (which they will nourish until she's born).

What I have is called a "parent hive". It is the hive in which my first package of bees was installed. Two weeks before nectar flow (I'm a little late), we were suppose to split the hive into two. We would take the top hive body and put it on a new stand and bottom board, order a new queen and that would be the daughter hive (just like starting a new package but with bees that I already have).

The parent hive is the honey producer. After the daughter hive is created the parent hive would consist of two hive bodies instead of three and I would continually add honey supers to that hive as needed to create honey over the summer. In the fall I would not prep the parent hive for winter survival. We were told to let that hive die out and only maintain the daughter hive. The reason for letting the parent hive die is to prevent the queen from aging. Apparently, according to my instructors, an old queen (beyond 2 years)is no good. I must admit, I'm not feeling the "let the parent hive die" part.

If any beekeepers have advice on how to keep the bees from swarming without splitting I welcome that information :) Right now the middle hive body is 60% full of honey and about 30% full of brood. The top hive body is drawn out and they are filling it with nectar but no brood. I couldn't remove the middle deep because it was too heavy and I didn't have good footing :(

NOTE TO SELF: Don't keep 10 frames in each deep. Use only 9 with the 2nd parent hive. Trying to deal with moving of frames and propolis is a nightmare when using 10frames.

WILL THE LANDSCAPER FIX THIS? OR DARE I WONDER, IS OUR BEEKEEPING VENTURE DONE?

2011-05-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hard to imagine that within hours of "fixing" our backyard water issues the yard is once again flooded. After going to bed with this:

We woke to this(sorry the pic is blurry, my hands were shaking from anger):

If you aren't a beekeeper you may not know or understand what I felt at that very moment. I put my heart and soul into my bees the same way I do into the life of my dogs. I don't care about getting honey but I do care about the time and energy I've spent managing my hives, making sure the bees are surviving. Aside from the cost of having bees a lot of emotion goes into making sure they thrive. I spent countless nights awake worrying that they would be washed away by all the water and this was the very first time I didn't worry about the downpour we received overnight.

Plus, there are three things you don't do to me, in general, or especially if I've paid you for a service:

#1 Promise me that you can fix problem, bill me for it, and then NOT fix the problem.

#2 Talk to me like I'm stupid. You can try to divert the problem away from the real issue but your only pissing me off. I guarantee you that my mind remembers every conversation we've had and every detail of that conversation and I will regurgitate verbatim the "guarantee's" you made.

#3 Don't ever raise your voice to me, especially when I've paid you good money because I can assure you I can be even louder and angrier than you could ever be.

My migraine, the one that will soon leave me debilitated for the rest of the day, is what's left over of my anger, frustration and debates I've had with the landscaper this morning. I've now been "promised" a fix and only a weeks time will show whether or not those promises will be fulfilled.

On a side note, well sorta, we disassembled the hive in the rain (the bee's love that < insert sarcasm here) and we put some pallets underneath to raise them up enough to keep them out of water. Thankfully, they all seemed to be ok, only a few dead on the bottom, but try disassembling a hive when you have to stand in calf length of mud. It is next to impossible.

The bees in water: although half of the frames were sitting in water in the bottom deep the bees managed to stay working above it. Not sure what, if any, damage occurred to the frames. Unfortunately, this was not the time to open a hive and not the time my husband should have chosen to go without gloves. He NEVER works the hives without gloves and even though I reminded him he'd get stung without them he was so worried about the bees he moved too quickly to get out there and in the process smacked a hive body against another and the girls having been calm became angry over the vibrations they felt and hubby got stung 3x's in the hand.

As I was putting the hive back together all the men (hubby & landscapers) scurried for higher ground trying to find a way to scrape the stingers out before all the venom pumped out. Not as heroic on my part as one may think... I had the full beesuit and gloves, the other guys had no protection at all. The hive is back together and all looks well in that area. Now I need to go lay down in a dark room. Not to sulk because I'm seriously past that phase, I just need to recover from this horrible head pain.

Please note: I'm just venting here. I know that THINGS COULD ALWAYS BE WORSE.

Plus, for those who may wonder why we don't just move our hive to higher, dryer ground. Well, it isn't that easy. #1 it would have be done at night, #2 our hives are sitting in the best location for sun, #3 there really isn't a dry area in our yard, #4 moving hives can create a problem for the bees in that they aren't able to find there way home. We were told by Marla Spivak that if you MUST move a hive it should be no more than a foot each day otherwise you run the risk of bees returning to the same spot and we just don't want to risk that problem.

LANDSCAPING, ISN'T IT FUN!

2011-05-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

Our water issues are solved... at least I hope so. This is the first time we've ever used a landscaper and I'm glad we did. Since we moved into our home the backyard has been one big pain after another. First we had to remove numerous dead trees and way too many buckthorn to count, second was the rock. Rock, rock, rock, that is all there is and have you ever tried planting ANYTHING in rock? It isn't possible. This year it was the water. We've always had standing water in the back yard but nothing compared to this past winter. With our record snowfall we ended up with a pond in the yard that eventually connected with the pond in the park behind our house. One big massive pond equals one big massive mess (mosquitos and stench in the spring). Well, it looks like we may have a yard again thanks to the professionals **fingers crossed. Thanks to everyone that listened to me cry and complain about this disaster for months. Now it is time for a summer party on the new deck in the pretty yard! :)

See water? That is only the a 1/3 of it. The rest is underneath the snow.

Landscapers begin:

It is coming along nicely:

Almost done. Hubby and I spent 5 hours today spreading mulch in the paths to get ready for plantings. I look forward to working on this all summer:

BEE PACKAGE INSTALLATION

2011-05-03T18:37:00.001-07:00

Today we received a new package of bees. At around 4 pm we did the install into the new hive. The process goes like this:

First, you spray the sides of the bee package with 1:1 sugar syrup. This helps calm the bees down so they don't go flying all over the place when you dump them into the hive. Then you give the cage a little bonk to knock all of the bees off of the feeder can so it can be removed.

Then you remove the feeder can from within the package in order to get access to the queen cage and dump the bees into the hive. In this photo I'm removing the can.

Once the can is removed you spray the cluster of bees inside to keep them calm as they have gotten a little agitated from the bonking of the cage.

Then you remove the queen cage. The queen cage is suspended from the top of the cage and in this photo I'm grabbing the metal lip that is attached to the cage and sliding it out through the opening.

Here is she is... all looks great!

Next, I pour the bees into the hive by rapping hard on each side of the package moving side to side.

Then the bees need to spread out along the bottom of the hive ("Like Spreading Sauce on Pizza.")

Once the bees are in the hive then I give the queen cage a little squirt of sugar syrup, open her cage slowly by removing the staple, and then let her crawl out slowly onto one of the frames within the hive. Which she did beautifully! Just like last years queen, this one had her nose poking towards my hand as if she knew I was about to let her free.

Once she's in place then you put the four frames that were removed back into place. This is done very slow as to not hurt the queen.

This is basically the end of the process. A pollen patty is put in place (probably not necessary since the other hive has clearly found sources of natural pollen), and sugar syrup is given. The entrance reducer is at its smallest, plugged with grass so the bees don't leave too quickly. I checked back later this evening as the sun was going down and everything looks great! The bees removed the grass from the entrance reducer and the remaining bees in the package found their way into the hive along with their sisters.

POLLEN COMING IN

2011-05-03T11:08:00.001-07:00

I am happy to see pollen coming in. I don't know where the girls are finding it, I'll assume dandilions since those are growing all over my yard.

PARTIAL HIVE REVERSAL

2011-04-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we actually had some sunshine, therefore, were able to get outside and do the partial reversal on the hive. For anyone that doesn't know what a hive reversal is, here is an image put together by Marla Spivak and Gary Reuter at the University of Minnesota to explain it:

The box in the very top position gets reversed with the box the middle section.

Things went well, better than expected. The bees were great! Not annoyed with us at all. They were humming calmly. A few checked us out but weren't that interested. This time I wasn't so freaked out about the exposed larvae we found when we separated the hives. Nor did I find it as difficult as the first time to scrape and toss them. We found quite a few moldy dead bees, mainly on the outer edges. The frames on both ends of the top and middle box were pretty moldy. Gary Reuter assured us in the course I took a couple weeks ago (part 2 of beekeeping) that the bees will take care of that mold themselves.

Here are some pix from the reversal.

Being silly with the smoker:

Pulling apart the hive. I did the prying with the hive tool while hubby did the lifting. Thank goodness for men because those hive bodies are HEAVY!!

Lots of comb built on top of the middle hive body that was sticking to the frames in the top hive body.

I had to scrape it all away. It was sad watching the bees huddle around the exposed larvae but, as I've been told, it has to be done.

All looks great.

It was very cool to finally see what aged honey comb looks like. It was so pretty and clean over the summer but you can see how much it has aged.

We closed things up, gave them some syrup, and then watched while the girls carried in bits of pollen. With all the rain and cold the girls won't be doing much but hopefully the sun and warmth comes around soon so they can get busy. Plus, it won't be long now and we'll have some new neighbors. The new hive arrives May 7th!

BLOG UPDATE

2011-04-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

What do you think of the new blog design? I think it fits better than the last :)

THANK YOU JESSE FOR ARTICULATING MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!

2011-04-14T13:00:00.001-07:00

“You control our world. You’ve poisoned the air we breathe, contaminated the water we drink, and copyrighted the food we eat. We fight in your wars, die for your causes, and sacrifice our freedoms to protect you. You’ve liquidated our savings, destroyed our middle class, and used our tax dollars to bailout your unending greed. We are slaves to your corporations, zombies to your airwaves, servants to your decadence. You’ve stolen our elections, assassinated our leaders, and abolished our basic rights as human beings. You own our property, shipped away our jobs, and shredded our unions. You’ve profited off of disaster, destabilized our currencies, and raised our cost of living. You’ve monopolized our freedom, stripped away our education, and have almost extinguished our flame. We are hit…we are bleeding…but we ain’t got time to bleed. We will bring the giants to their knees and you will witness our revolution! “

-Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, April 12, 2011

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NO DARLING, THOSE AREN'T RAIN DROPS!

2011-04-02T11:47:00.001-07:00

I anxiously waited for my bees to emerge today. I knew they were alive a few days ago but hadn't checked since. It is a 50 degree day so the girls came out to play. Um.... no, not really. I forgot what they do when they first come out after being stuck inside for a long time so I did a very dumb thing........ I stood under a cloud of bees to take pictures and for a moment I thought it was sprinkling but oh no, those weren't sprinkles, I was actually being pooped on. I was being bombed left and right. Once the reality set in I made a mad dash for the house. Anyone ever try running in water logged clay soil??? Yeah, you know how that turned out. Good thing I had boots, sweatshirt and jeans on. Too bad I had my sleeves pulled up :( but... I am happy the bees made it through winter without any mite treatment last fall.

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MN RALLY DAY: LABEL GMO!

2011-03-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

We had a good turn out at the rally for the right to know. Lot of great speakers and creative signs. I was surprised at how many people are TRULY dedicated to this cause especially on Saturday when it was only in the 20's, we were all freezing our butts off, but... we were all happy to be there fighting for what we believe in.

If we can't stop Monsanto and their insanity right now we can at least shoot for something more plausible, like having our food labels reflect whether or not the foods we eat contain Genetically Modified Organism's.

Organics vs. GMO's

GMO's: The Dangerous Experiment

Hybrid vs. GMO

IS MY HIVE GOING TO MEET DISASTER?

2011-03-23T08:39:00.001-07:00

My one and only hive, slowly making it through winter, is about to face more complications.

Within a few days several feet of snow melted in the back yard. It doesn't help that #1 we sit in a bowl between our two neighbors and #2 our soil is pure clay. We put our hive in a location that allowed for a significant amount of sun (most of the yard is shaded) and an area that appeared to be nice and dry the past 2 winters. Well, this winter was quite different, for the entire nation. Now you can see that my yard and the pond beyond the fence have met and they are slowly making their way to the hive. I wouldn't be freaking if it weren't for the fact that the hive nearly toppled a couple days ago and we had to shore it up with some heavy logs we had on hand. Hubby purchased a strap to wrap around the hive just in case it falls, at least it will stay in tact. When I stand near the hive I sink up to my ankles in mud and water, that part is covered by snow now. I've gotten some good advice on the beesource as to how to handle this mess so today we'll be putting the strap on and renting a dolly to move the hive aside so we can place wood or brick underneath to keep it higher than the water level. Please, all of you reading, send positive energy to my little bees in hopes that they survive. They've come through the worst part of winter, they just have a couple weeks to go.

DEMAND LABELING OF GMO FOODS! JOIN US!

2011-03-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

If you are in Minnesota join us on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the state capitol to demand labeling of all GMO foods. We as consumers have a right to know what it is we are eating! There will be satellite demonstrations happening all over the nation, so if you aren't in Minnesota you can check out this LINK and find where your demonstration is being held in your state.

BEES ARE HANGING ON

2011-03-18T05:15:00.001-07:00

I've learned spring is definitely anxiety time for a beekeeper. My bees are coming along nicely but I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing at this point. I opened the hive 2 days ago and found what appears to be 5 frames of full honey and my cluster of bees was sitting on top of 5 empty frames of honey. They are able to fly out and some were even tapping into the honey but I keep questioning myself... will the cluster not get to the honey and die out?

I was advised by the experienced beeks on beesource to move a frame close to the cluster and break open some of the sealed honey to give them easier access, which I plan to do if we hit 40's and sun again soon. So far, the girls aren't consuming the pollen patty I gave them and they are very very moody. I was being swarmed when I opened the hive. I smoked myself a few times and that seemed to help.

I've signed up for Beekeeping in Northern Climates Part 2 at the University. Can't wait to pick Marla Spivak and Gary Reuters brains again.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED: WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?

2011-03-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

Several years ago I picked up some protein powder and as usual, read the label. I was looking for things like fat grams, sugar, etc.. What I saw was "no GMO's." No GMO's? When you see something like that on a food label you have to wonder what it means. Clearly if the label says it doesn't have it then it must be a bad thing, right? Well, I was content just knowing there were no GMO's in my protein powder, whatever that meant.

Fast forward a few more years and I'm eating a papaya in Oahu. The best damn papaya I've ever eaten. I don't like the Mexican variety because, in my opinion, it smells like feet, but Hawaiian papaya smells like a sweet flower and tastes wonderful. It wasn't long before I became addicted, eating about a dozen in one week. A couple years later I returned to Oahu to discover you couldn't find a single papaya anywhere :( I inquired at a grocery store as to the whereabouts of this succulent fruit and the grocery clerk tells me they were removed because there was a protest over them being genetically modified. What the hell does that mean? (I wondered that, didn't say it out loud).

I don't remember how I acquired my knowledge on GMO's at that point but I was way off base. I initially believed that GMO's were hybrids. Hybrids being crossbred/pollinated. You take the best characteristics from one plant and insert it into another to create a desirable quality. Why would people have a problem with that, especially since cross pollination can even happen in nature. Well, I finally get it.

In the past year I've been learning quite a bit about Genetically Modified Organisms. GMO's and Hybrids are not one in the same. To create a hybrid plant, non invasive methods of cross pollination are used. To create a genetically modified plant scientists alter the DNA of a particular plant. The purpose of GMO's is to create a hardier plant, one resistant to disease and pests. Sounds great on the surface but beneath it is very detrimental to our health.

In 1998 Dr. Arpad Pusztai, a world expert on plant lectins, was petitioned to study GMO's. During his research, after feeding GMO potatoes to rats, he found that the potatoes had a negative affect on the rats stomach lining and immune system. When he released his findings he was suspended and lost his contract.

Now I won't go into detail about how government is in bed with Monsanto, the creator of these GMO patented seeds, or how half of the former Monsanto employees now work for the FDA, if you want to learn all about that insanity I suggest you read the book "Seeds of Destruction." Warning: You will lose sleep.

Monsanto developed rBGH, that lovely hormone that is injected into dairy cows to make them produce more milk faster than normal. Thanks to this quick over production of milk, cows developed infections that needed to be treated with antibiotics. Now our non-organic milk varieties are full of hormones and antibiotics.

What I want you to know is simple.

1. The FDA isn't regulating Monsanto
2. GMO's have not been thoroughly tested for safety.
3. There are many countries around the world that have banned GMO's.
4. You are eating GMO's every day unless you eat 100% organic.
5. These genetically modified crops will put our organic farms at risk.
6. Monsanto is sucking the life out of small farmers.

For now, it doesn't look like GMO's are going anywhere. They are much like the tobacco industry, big and powerful but when they fall they fall hard... and they will fall. To start, we need to begin with labeling. We as consumers have a right to know what is in the food we buy. If we don't demand to know then we are no different than cows being lead to a slaughter house. Let President Obama know that you have a legal right to make an informed decision about your food:

Sign Letter to the President HERE

Say No to GMO's
Non-GMO Project
What are GMO's
Calling all activists: Truth in Labeling Campaign
Food.Inc

BUCKET LIST: WINTERGREEN DOGSLEDDING

2011-02-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

When you make travel a family event you need to find the perfect place. One that not only provides entertainment but SAFETY. I've always been amused by dogsledding, just didn't have the nerve to try it. All I could think about is how cold those mushers must be. I like winter, but not to the point that I want to sacrifice warmth for entertainment. Plus, my only reference for dogsledding are the movies I've seen and actors are ALWAYS racing their dogs and usually getting hurt. So, in my mind, sled dogs ran really really fast and the mushers were freezing their butts off. Well, Wintergreen taught us differently.

I chose Wintergreen for several reasons:

1. They allowed our 3 year old (now 4) to participate (rare in the world of extreme sports)

2. The owner was experienced, therefore, I felt we were all safe (he's Paul Schurke from that world famous trip to the North Pole)

3. They promised me we'd stay warm (our guide made sure of this upon arrival by checking all of our clothing and making adjustments where necessary)

Of course, Wintergreen offers much much more, like amazing lodges to stay in, gourmet food from a fantastic chef and top notch dogsledding guides...

To start off, the trip goes pretty much according to the itinerary posted on the Wintergreen website so I won't go into too much detail about that here but I do want to share a bit about the dogs and our guide.

Paul Schurke owns Canadian Inuit Eskimo dogs. Although I read a little about them online, seeing them in person is quite the experience. They are very vocal, very affectionate, and very strong. I'm use to my 3 chihuahuas. You couldn't pay them a heap of dog bisquits to go outside or to get off the couch. The Eskimo dogs live for the cold and live for the run. The part that surprised me the most is how loving they are. Not one sign of aggression towards people at any moment, not while eating or sleeping did they ever seem bothered by us hanging around them. I was also impressed at how well kept their kennel is. Paul takes immaculate care of his dogs. There is a lot of love between him and them. It was entertaining when Paul would pop into the kennel because the excitement from his dogs is indescribable.

Our guide Jason was fantastic! I have to commend him on his stamina. He guided us on cross country ski's across lakes and through the woods for several hours each day, covering a total of 20 miles. He cooked us breakfast every morning, educated us on the local environment, and made us look forward to each and every day. We couldn't have asked for a better guide.

Now, for a few pictures. If you are at all interested in Dogsledding, I highly recommend Wintergreen. When National Geographic said "you are mushing with the best at Wintergreen"... they meant it!

The Home of Wintergreen Doggers:

Jason, our guide, getting Aiyana set up in the sled (see her big smile... she was so excited):

Maya getting to know the team:

BTW/Maya and Middy managed to memorize the names of each and every dog in the kennel. I can barely remember my kids names much less a few dozen dogs so I'll just call most of them "dogs" for this post :)

Of course, who doesn't love doggies wet kisses:

Dad found his twin (they are sharing the same expression):

Stopped for a moment as we were crossing the lake:

Our team (whose names I actually remember) Clara is in the back on the left, to her right is bullet. In the front on right is Snarf and on the left is Patches:

Wolf Poop Discovery (our guide Jason explained how to identify wolf poop. This one contains hair and bone):

Having lunch outside by a camp fire. We settled in the center of the woods off the trail. Our guide Jason set this up for us. The kids had pizza and lots of other goodies. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine.

Dogs running on trail:

Middy removing the dogs harness. Middy is making the "awwwww" face because her dog is lifting it's paw to help her remove the harness.

The end of the evening, after the dogs were snug in their kennel and well fed, we headed back to the lodge:

Our goodbye photo. While we were at Wintergreen we watched a documentary of Paul Schurke and Wil Steger's trip to the North Pole. Although I told Middy that Paul had made the trek north the video turned him into a superstar :) Middy was itching to have her picture taken with him so she could take it to school and tell everyone about Paul and his dogs.

Left to right: Aiyana, Jason (our Guide), Maya, Paul (Wintergreen Owner) and Middy.

and... to close. No, the dogs weren't running at top speed trying to flip me off at every turn, instead they maintained a good medium pace and we loved every minute of it. No, we weren't cold. The only part of my body that felt a little chilly was my nose and that was only when we crossed the lake which had no tree protection. That chill was temporary thanks to my face mask :) No, my kids weren't in any danger. The dogs respond to command very well and the sled has a breaking system that always works. No bumps, no bruises, no OMG moments. It was just perfect!

THE BEES ARE OUT AND ABOUT

2011-02-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

I took a peek outside this afternoon to see how much snow melted in the backyard and to my surprise, my bees were out and about. It didn't last too long. Most of them went back inside after about 20 minutes but a few are coming and going now. I'm so happy :)

SUCH A BAD BAD BEEKEEPER

2011-02-15T14:49:00.001-08:00

It was suppose to be pollen patty to the rescue but it turned into Michelle being too wimpy to do what was needed. It was about 40 or so degrees today, somewhat of a heat wave for a MN winter, so I decided to open the hive. The U of M course said not to open til the first week of March but I couldn't stand not knowing exactly how many bees had survived so far. So, I put on my boots and headed out with hive tool and pollen patty in hand.

Since this is my first winter with bees and I have a really short memory on all I learned in my beek course, I had no idea what I should do first. Should I smoke them? For some reason that seemed cruel. In the summer at least they can move away from the smoke but now they are huddled for warmth. I chose not to light the smoker. With no smoker I worried they'd be uber angry. I slowly removed the outer cover, the insulated cardbord box, and lastly the hemosote that collects moisture. There they were, huddled in and around the inner cover opening. At that point I was just so excited to see so many alive I forgot what the heck I was doing. I tried to lay the pollen patty down and then shut the outer box but the patty was too thick to allow closure. I was going to retrieve the pollen but a few bees jumped on before I could grab it. In typical Michelle fashion I freaked. They must have sensed my uncertainty because they got miffed. I had a few girls darting at my head (yes, I had my suit on), but I tried to stay focussed. I realized at that point that the pollen patty needed to be laid on the frames inside the inner cover but when I went to open it up it was sealed tightly shut with propolis. Since we aren't through winter yet and could potentially see some single digits again, I decided not to break that seal. Instead, I did what all wimpy beekeepers would do in that situation... I quickly snatched the pollen patty back and I broke off some pieces of it off and left them on top of the inner cover and then packed the hive up.

Now I sit here wondering if that was a bad thing...
Was the cold exposure too much for them?
Will they still be alive in 2 weeks?
Did leaving pieces of pollen patty make things worse?

I should have listened to Marla Spivak when she said "when in doubt, just leave them alone, they'll figure it out."

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MY BEES ARE ALIVE!!

2011-02-13T13:58:00.001-08:00

WooHoo!!!

I'm soooooooooo happy to see my bees outside the hive cleansing. Although we aren't through winter yet, it is a promising sign to see that some are still alive. I'm excited for spring and very much looking forward to working with the bees again.

ORGANIC SOAPNUTS

2011-02-11T14:43:00.001-08:00

I have decided to give organic soapnuts a try. If they are as great as the literature says, I may have to order in bulk next time. I am curious if others have tried these as a counter cleaner or for their dirty laundry and what you thought of the results.

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ALL FOR THE MONEY: THE LIES OF THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON SCIENCE AND HEALTH

2011-02-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

"Oh the tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive."

I was hopping around twitter the other day checking out the links in people's tweets and I came across one that lead to an article on the American Council on Science and Health website. The title of the article is "The Top Ten Unfounded Health Scares of 2010."

I read it, paused a moment, read it again. Then I wondered, who exactly is the American Council on Science and Health. So, I did some digging.

Now before I begin blogging about what I found I want to recap a bit of the article on the ACHS site. The title is "The Top Ten UNFOUNDED Health Scares of 2010" and the list is:

1. BPA: Blisphenol-A
2. E-Cigarettes
3. Atrazine
4. Phthalates
5. NYC Health Dept's "Pouring on the Pounds" Campaign Against Soda.
6. Cosmetics
7. HFCS: High Fructose Corn Syrup
8. GM Salmon: Genetically Modified Salmon
9. Vaccines & Autism
10. Mercury in Fish

What the ACHS does in this article is tell the reader the source of the scare, the medias responsibility for the widespread fear, ACHS's perspective on it all and their bottom line (why all the fears are unfounded).

What the article fails to mention are two very important facts:

1. Who their founders are.
2. Who funds their efforts to spread this bias bullshit.

Before I address the founders and funding remember the ACHS calls the "Top 10 Unfounded Fears" a HOAX and a FRAUD. Now on with the founders of this great company. < sarcasm

#1 FOUNDERS: Elizabeth Whelan and Dr. Frederick Stare.

Dr. Frederick Stare: "Took money from the tobacco industry" wrote the book Food and Your Health "promoting his nutritional ideas and lambasting anyone who thought chemicals in food, or excessive sugars in the diet, could be a health problem."

In 1950, Dr. Stare assisted in establishing the Food Protection Committee (FPC) of the National Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences with grants from the food industry and the government. The committee's first report assured the country that DDT and other pesticides were safe.

In the 1960s, he had come out against butter, and suggested that all Americans should drink a cup of corn oil a day; he even appeared in television advertisements for the oil producers.

The essence of Stare's advice seemed to be "all things in moderation". He even endorsed Coca-Cola as "a healthy between-meals snack", and extolled the virtues of sugar in coffee and tea as "a quick energy food . . . put a teaspoon in [your] coffee or tea three or four times a day".

he campaigned for the fluoridation of public drinking water, maintaining that it not only helped protect teeth but was an essential nutrient.

Enough about Frederick Stare, now onto Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.

Dr. Elizabeth Whelan: Did freelance writing for the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, wrote the book "Panic in the Pantry", worked in public relations for the American Chemistry Council (top trade association representing North American chemical manufacturers), and was a political lobbyist.

Whelan and ACSH's reputation was made (and finances assured) mainly by her successful propaganda win over the activists in the Alar scare (a hormone sprayed on Apples). This campaign was funded $25,000 p.a. by Uniroyal (the manufacturer of Alar) and by most of the other SOCMA members, including Dow, DuPont, Monsanto and Union Carbide, who made large contributions. Then in 1990 the apple and chemical industries filed a libel lawsuit against the activists over publicising Alar's dangers, and lost the suit. The court concluded that the scientific case against Alar was justified. Uniroyal itself later admitted the chemical was dangerous and voluntarily took it off the US market (but continued to sell it elsewhere).

I'm done with Elizabeth, now onto the even more important facts; all that corporate funding.

Thanks to the Integrity in Science Group I was able to get access to the latest ACHS donor information.

For this blog post I am only going to pull names from the corporate donor list to make a point about the ACHS "Top 10" article but CLICK HERE to view a full listing of donors and how much they've contributed to the ACHS. You will see as of 1990's, when this information became public and the questions started, ACHS stop disclosing the names of their corporate donors (Gee, I wonder why?????) < insert sarcasm here!

#2 DONORS starting at $15,000 to more than $ 25,000:

Monsanto Fund (Genetically Modified Food)
Pfizer, Inc. (Pharmaceutical Company)
ISK Biotech Corp. (Agricultural and Specialty Chemical Products; herbecides and pesticides)
Kraft (The number one food products company in the US containing chemical preservatives, artificial colors/flavors, and trans-fats)
American Cyanamid Company (Chemical manufacturer).
Exxon Corporation (Oil/Gasoline)
PepsiCo Foundation Inc. (Soda Pop)
Union Carbide (Chemical and Polymer companies)
Malysian Palm Oil Promotion Council (Undertakes necessary promotional activities to remove obstacles and create opportunities to enhance the marketability and image of Malaysian palm oil in the world.)
National Starch and Chemical Foundation, Inc.(leading global supplier of specialty starches with a principal focus on supplying the food industry)
Johnson & Johnson (Body Products and Pharmaceuticals)
Procter & Gamble (Body and Household Products) donated $12,500 in 1997.

The important things to remember are:

ACHS doesn't reveal their corporate sponsors anymore because they don't want the public scrutiny over the conflicts of interest. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

The founders of ACHS were in bed with the chemical and food industry long before they established the non-profit American Council on Science and Health.

Some of the names on the corporate donor list may not be familiar but dig deeper and you won't like what you find. Even if, on the surface, the company seems worthy of praise you will be frightened by their associations.

Most importantly, it doesn't pay for ACHS to tell the truth, so when you see this type of information out in the world, consider the source ;)

In the end, you might not care about this type of information but there are millions who do. If you are one that believes none of the information above says anything about the integrity of "non-profits" like ACHS then so be it. I'm not the chemical, cosmetic, or food police. I am however, going to share what I learn with those who care about what they expose themselves and more importantly, their children to =)

HAPPY READING!

CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS AND FOOD INDUSTRY DEFEND BPA

Frederick Stare

Frederick Stare

Elizabeth Whelan

American Council on Health and Science

Elizabeth Whelan on YouTube

KNOW YOUR HONEY

2011-02-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

I was reading on a website where someone stated that "most honey is not raw that in fact honey is heated and refined". Of course, he was implying that honey isn't a natural healthy product once it is heated and refined and so that statement lead to this blog post.

#1 Refined is a dirty word (refined sugar anyone?). To say something is refined is implying you've freed it from impurities and if impurities to you means bee parts then yes honey is sometimes refined but I prefer to use the word "filtered" because filtering is exactly what a beekeeper does. Honey is run through a sieve to get rid of bee parts (wings, stingers, legs, wax). It looks like this:

There is no refining in the sense that nothing is introduced to change the chemical composition of the honey. But when people use the word "refined" oftentimes it is believed that something unnatural happened and in the case of honey it means nothing but good (who wants to eat bee parts?).

Sometimes beekeepers will label their honey RAW if they have not filtered it and if that is your thing, go with it. I personally don't like eating bee glop, especially since I found a stinger in some honey that was given to me before it was filtered... imagine that setting up camp in my tongue :(

#2 Heated honey. It wasn't until my beekeeping course did I understand why some honey crystalizes and some honey stays yellow/clear liquid. The difference is heating. Some beekeepers like to heat their honey, as I was told on the beesource forum this has to do with with ease of filtering and pouring honey into bottles. In my beekeeping course we were advised not to heat our honey and not to buy heated honey. As a member on the beesource said, heating affects flavor. According to my instructors at the University, heating also affects nutritional value and the antibacterial properties of honey and most beekeepers don't do it. Heating apparently limits crystalizing but heating isn't necessary for a clear/yellow smooth honey. The honey that was filtered for me this summer was not heated, sits on my shelf, and is still crystal free =) But if you find you have a crystalized honey, don't worry about it, the honey is good. Here is a good explanation on honey, heat and crystalizing:
CLICK HERE

#3 Raw honey. We also discussed this in our course on beekeeping. It was pretty much a laughable topic since honey IS raw. The term raw on a bottle of honey is used to convey that it was not heated or filtered but it is really misleading to some people. What does raw honey mean to you? Guess what... beekeepers don't even agree on what RAW means. Most will say raw means unfiltered and unheated,focussing on the unfiltered part, but some, including myself, believe it means unheated yet filtered or not filtered. Some people in my course felt that "raw" meant nothing had been done to it but filtering wasn't what they were referring to. One person said that she had asked a beekeeper for raw honey assuming she would be getting honey without any additives and was shocked when she got honey full of bee parts. Some beekeepers will even argue about straining vs. filtering playing a role in whether honey should be labelled "raw." All I can give is my opinion and since raw is defined as: not having undergone processes of preparing, dressing, finishing, refining, or manufacture. Uncooked. I say raw means just pure honey that has not been heated. Removing bee legs, wings, stingers, wax cappings, etc... doesn't alter the actual "honey." If we called bee legs, wings and wax "honey" than I'd say it needs to remain if we are to call it "raw honey" but honey is honey and those extra parts don't make it more or less so.

Getting back to the comment on another site that started this all. I think saying that "most honey is not raw that in fact honey is heated and refined" on a site that is talking about the possible dangers of eating agave due to its high fructose content is doing a disservice to beekeepers. This person was trying to lump honey into a group of unhealthy sweeteners with no scientific basis for it.

Most honey is NOT "heated" and "refined". Refined is a dirty word for many customers today, people are trying to avoid refined and if they avoid what they believe is refined honey then they are making a big mistake. Honey can be heated and often is "filtered." Some strain their honey and nothing more, others strain and then filter and some will filter more than once. In my limited experience talking to beekeepers online, in person, having learned from the most well known and respected beekeeper in Minnesota and an entomologist that is known worldwide, I don't believe MOST beekeepers heat their honey and if they do heat their honey a good beekeeper will make sure they keep temperatures below a certain point as to not affect the nutritional or antibacterial value of their honey.

So... the very best you can do when you seek out honey is find a beekeeper you can trust. Ask for filtered honey if you want to avoid bee parts and unfiltered honey if you want bee parts. If you ask for "raw" honey you may or may not get parts. Feel free to inquire about the honey being heated but I'm sure you will find the same as I have found, MOST do not heat.

WORKING MOM GOES GREEN HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND HOW TO NAVIGATE THE COSMETIC SAFETY DATABASE

2011-02-04T11:13:00.001-08:00

An excellent blog post by Shannon over at WORKING MOM GOES GREEN! Shannon, in conjunction with Stephanie Greenwood at BUBBLE & BEE ORGANICS put together a blog post on how to understand the rating system on the COSMETIC SAFETY DATABASE. Shannon originally had some trouble deciphering all of the information presented on the database and Stephanie Greenwood put together a nice summary for Shannon's blog on how to process the information .

If you use the cosmetic safety database at all you will find Stephanie's explanation on how the system works to be very helpful!

CLICK HERE FOR SHANNON'S BLOG POST

WHEN NATURAL FOODS AREN'T NATURAL: AGAVE

2011-02-04T10:44:00.001-08:00

I've had people ask me if I knew anything about the sweetener agave and all I could do is reference a couple articles I read in the environmental magazine "E" a while back. The articles quoted professionals such as nutritionists, scientists, doctors saying why agave is not the healthiest sweetener but the article on NourishedKitchen.com gives the most detailed unbiased information on agave I have read to date. The comment section also answers some interesting questions as well. If you use agave or are considering its use, please read this link.

Once the process of turning aguamiel into agave nectar is complete, the end result contains as much as 90% fructose. Keep in mind that high fructose corn syrup with all its documented ill effects attributable to its fructose content is only 55% fructose.

NOURISHED KITCHEN ARTICLE HERE

Here is an article I read in E Magazine:

CLICK HERE

I'm on the hunt in the archives for the others I read.

ENTERTAINING, EDUCATIONAL VIDEO ON GMO'S

2011-01-31T07:41:00.001-08:00

BEE ORDER TIME

2011-01-27T14:30:00.001-08:00

It is that time of year again, when beekeepers in Minnesota decide whether or not to add more bees to their existing apiary. Right now I am trying to decide if I should order 2 or 3 packages. My girls don't appear to be surviving this winter very well.. I will know more in February when hopefully the temps are high enough for me to crack open their hive and get a good look. I went out yesterday and tapped on the hive but there was no hum, no flight. I checked again today, no tapping, just observation. I saw one bee at the hive entrance so at least a few are survivng. Unfortunately we have two months of winter left.

I am still optimistic as my little girls have surprised me before.

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I FINALLY DID THE NETI POT

2011-01-22T13:14:00.000-08:00

For over a year now my friend Angie has been trying to convince me to try the "neti pot." I had read a little bit about it several years ago but the thought of running water through my sinuses brought back bad memories of the time I almost drown,

Last year an herbalist told me that I would need to get rid of my dogs. Turns out they are the cause of a persistent glob of mucus I've had in the back of my throat for the past 15 years. Again, Angie told me to try the "neti pot". On top of the mucus issue I have a deviated septum and, therefore, am susceptible to colds and never have free flow of air on one side of my nose. Again, Angie told me to try the "net pot."

Actually, Angie should be a spokesperson for the "neti pot" manufacturers because she does a very convincing sell of the product. She sold me 100x's over until I got over the fear that I may die during the process.

I was pretty ill since December and so I worked up the courage, with Angie on the phone talking me through it of course, to give the "neti pot" a try. I was hoping the little saline mix in the water would prevent that feeling of drowning but it didn't. As soon as the warm water rushed into my sinuses I started to panic but knew it was temporary (Again, Angie said it would pass), so I hung in there. Once I finished I did the EXACT opposite of what I was suppose to do. I blew my nose really hard. Immediately my left ear plugged up and about 5 minutes later I had annoying pressure on one side of my face. I bitched and moaned about how I should never have done the darn "neti pot" and my ear would be just fine. 15 minutes after that my nose let out a mini burst of water and the pressure and plug were gone. Once I calmed down about the entire experience I realized I was the problem and not the "neti pot." I didn't follow the basic instructions which state: DO NOT BLOW HARD afterwards. (moral of that mini story: follow directions).

Because this was the first time in many years that I didn't feel a blob of mucus in the back of my throat I continued on daily with my "neti pot" treatments.

Result: Angie was right! Not only do I now sleep without choking on my own snot but my facial congestion during my illness was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. Everytime I felt the congestion coming I would flush my sinuses and I was good to go. The plus in all of this is that my breathing is actually much clearer than it was before. No, my septum didn't miraculously correct itself but it isn't anywhere near as difficult to breath on that one side as it was before.

I've posted a picture of myself doing the "neti pot" - not the best picture (yes, I just woke up, yes, it is early in the morning). I thought it would be better than some random pic off the net that no one can relate to. Trust me, if you are at all aprehensive about trying this I assure you that if I can do it, so you can you :)

Thanks Angie!!

If my readers have no clue what I'm referring to, please read the following. There is even a video on how to use the neti pot.

DOES THE NET POT REALLY WORK?

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS A NETI POT

WHY NETI POTS ARE POPULAR

URGE THE USDA TO STOP MONSANTO'S GE ALFALFA!

2011-01-20T14:08:00.001-08:00

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HONEY LAUNDERING

2011-01-08T14:53:00.001-08:00

All I can say about this article and video is... BUY YOUR HONEY FROM A LOCAL BEEKEEPER YOU KNOW AND TRUST!

What consumers don’t know is that honey doesn’t usually come straight – or pure – from the hive. Giant steel drums of honey bound for grocery store shelves and the food processors that crank out your cereal are in constant flow through the global market. Most honey comes from China, where beekeepers are notorious for keeping their bees healthy with antibiotics banned in North America because they seep into honey and contaminate it; packers there learn to mask the acrid notes of poor quality product by mixing in sugar or corn-based syrups to fake good taste.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT

2011-01-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

I was doing some research on the chemical preservative phenoxyethanol when I came across the book "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" by Gagik Melikyan, a must read for anyone who makes, sells or buys body products. (yes I bought and read it)

Small Bio on Gagik Melikyan:
Gagik Melikyan is a Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at California State University Northridge in Los Angeles. He is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the field of radical chemistry. Being a highly cited author, his research has culminated in 76 papers, reviews and book chapters on radical organic and organometallic chemistry, transition metal-mediated chemical transformations, computational chemistry, natural products syntheses, anticancer drug development, and non-steroidal hormones. A devoted educator and scientist who was awarded the Outstanding Faculty and Polished Apple Awards, he has educated and trained a whole generation of professionals working in the fields of chemistry, biology, and medicine. For many years he was involved, as an expert, in protecting the American public from harmful chemicals and environmental pollutants.

In his book, he not only covers the dangers of certain chemicals in cosmetics, including parabens, but he also talks about antioxidants, foods and supplements.

He claims to have written "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" after receiving numerous questions from his students on the latest "hot topics" like the use of parabens in cosmetics. He wanted to write a book for the layman to read and understand.

“My concern is that people might be exploiting the public’s ignorance of a purely scientific issue, so I have written my book in the easiest terms possible so that the general public with no scientific background can understand it,” he said.

You can find more information here about why Gagik wrote this book: CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS

Excerpt from Amazon.com

An extraordinary book that provides compelling evidence that antioxidants, foods, supplements, cosmetics, and natural compounds can be harmful to the human body. It arms a layperson with the critical knowledge that will allow him/her to make educated choices and protect themselves and beloved ones from potentially hazardous substances.

The book is well written and although chemistry can be difficult to grasp the author does a great job of breaking down the science and making it as understandable as possible for the lay person.

A few quotes on parabens from the book:

"The accumulation in the breast tissue, in particular in the breast cancer tissues, was experimentally established, and third, their estrogenicity, an ability to mimic natural estrogen, was also demonstrated. If all these data are not enough to raise a red flag, then what else can?"

"From a business point of view, it is understandable that products need to be protected from premature spoilage. The question is, "What is the price that consumers have been paying for it?"

He goes on to discuss what happens to chemicals when they enter the body. It is a very profound read for anyone who has taken the lack of oversite from the FDA on the cosmetic industry seriously.

I appreciate this authors unbiased research and delivery of information to the public, the following quote says a great deal about his integrity:

"It is never easy to go against the flow, but I decided to do that because I consider it to be my civic duty, as a scientist," says Professor Melikyan.

Hopefully he's educating many more scientists like himself :)

THIS IS WHAT BEE DEATH LOOKS LIKE

2011-01-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to Jared over at JARED'S BEES for letting me share this picture.

This is the sight I dread. Little bee butts up in the air while they are face down in a cell looking for food. The bees in the above picture are all dead because they starved to death. It doesn't mean they ran out of honey, in fact, these little girls were just inches from food when they died.

Here in Minnesota we are facing one of the harshest winters in years. The snow started to fall early and the temps are below normal. The longer the winter the more I worry about my bees surviving.

The picture above reminds me that no matter how well you manage a hive we can't always prevent the inevitable :(

If only there was a way to pump copious amounts of honey into the mouths of my bees so they didn't have to do any other work besides staying warm. *sigh

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-12-31T17:46:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot to blog "HAPPY NEW YEAR" to all of you in cyberland. I cannot believe it is already New Years Eve. I'm not one for cocktails or clubbing, the hubby and I don't care for alcohol and big crowds, so we are hunkered down at home for the night with the kids. Possibly sitting up til midnight to watch that ball thingy come down in New York City (not sure exactly why we do that).

Most of you who read my blog know that I'm not one to go and make New Years Resolutions but I'll admit, this is probably the first year that I've felt like the turn of the year is going to bring great changes.

NUMBER ONE: more traveling. We are starting with a trip dogsledding. Something I've always wanted to do and I know my family will enjoy.

Soon my little tribe will be headed to Ely, MN for a dogsledding vacation with Wintergreen.

(picture source: minnesota-visitor.com)

NUMBER TWO: More classes, starting with knitting. I know how to crochet a hot pad and that is about it. When I'm 70 I'd like to sit in my rocking chair and knit, besides, I've always wanted to learn how to spin and what good is spinning wool into yarn if you can't knit. So, a friend and I will be hitting the yarnery next month and hopefully we'll emerge master knitters.

(picture source: http://www.theyarneryblog.blogspot.com)

NUMBER THREE: Get back to Buddhism. My girls and I were very involved in meditation and Zen Buddhism for a while and then mom died, I took over my sisters care, yadda yadda yadda, and I let that very important part of myself go. Well, we are headed back.

Clouds in water has great classes for families. Sunday's were always a favorite because the kids enjoy their own time learning to live mindfully while I meditate.
(picture source: Clouds In Water Zen Center)

I am read for 2011! Lots of things to look forward to. I won't even THINK about my oldest learning to drive. Let's just forget that part of 2011 :) For now, I'm off to watch the Little House on the Prairie series with my girls.

SUICIDE AND BEE POOP

2010-12-29T11:41:00.001-08:00

I had the luxury today of witnessing some bee suicide or maybe it was bee eviction and a little bit of bee poop. Is that a luxury?? Oh well, for a beekeeper it is.

I tried getting close enough to clear the lower entrance of snow but the girls weren't having it. They did, however, let me sit back and watch as they gathered to toss out several able bodied sisters, at least they were kicking and buzzing so that meant able bodied to me and I also watched as a few flew in and out to do their "business."

Cleansing flights come early for Carniolans because it is only 35 degrees F today and most beeks and books say cleansing flights usually happen above 50. Hmmmm... maybe it wasn't eviction or suicide at all, maybe the girls think they have the strength to cleanse but they don't :(

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DON'T BANG ON THE BEE BOX

2010-12-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

(source for photo: supercoloring.com)

Just in case you are wondering, I don't call it a hive anymore, it is the "bee box" and today I learned that banging on it isn't the wisest thing to do. (Yes, I was thinking maybe some very loud humming not organized military attack).

I was making the new mommy mistake today. Ya know, the one where new moms get up every two hours to make sure their babies are still breathing? If you don't know what I'm talking about then you must belong to the calm mothers club. Personally, I was a wreck. After the birth of my first child I would wake to hear her breathing every few hours and if it sounded like she wasn't I'd give her a little shake. Of course this would wake her up and she'd cry but at least I knew she was ok. Well... the bees have somewhat of a similar reaction.

So I went out to my bee box and it was quiet... too quiet. I noticed the graveyard was plenty full and I started feel a little concerned so I put my ear up to the box and as I thought, I heard nothing. Paranoia, fear, uncertainty, whatever you want to call it, came creeping in so I gave the box a little tap and....... NOTHING. I tapped again and again until I noticed that I was going full speed, banging on it like a complete nutcase and the reaction from the bee box was similar to that of a newborn baby...the bees woke up and boy oh boy were they pissed. Too pissed off to freeze. They came crawling out like it was a 90 degree summer day and I ran for my life...... or at least I ran for the safety of my exposed skin.

Well, at least I know they are still alive right!?! :)

Now that I'm somewhat over that trauma I need to go read up on candy board recipes because I think the girls are going to need it.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2010-12-22T15:09:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone out in cyberland has a beautiful Christmas and a joy filled new year!

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THE GRAVEYARD

2010-12-22T08:56:00.001-08:00

Our little patch of dead bees has come to be known as the graveyard, which is what it feels like I am seeing everytime I visit the hive lately. At present my hive is half covered in snow which I need to deal with. These cold snowy days are serious cause for concern since long winters tend not to be any survival advantage for bees. I keep reminding myself that this is my first year as a beek and I only have the one hive and all of this is knowlege and experience I didn't have last year at the same time but... it isn't working. I will still feel really sad if they don't survive.

BTW/ those bees clinging to the hive entrance are dead.

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CAN YOU SEE THE DEER

2010-12-08T14:02:00.001-08:00

In my neighbors yard

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VANISHING BEE MOVIE TRAILER

2010-12-07T06:34:00.000-08:00

CLICK HERE

SOAPMAKING JOURNAL

2010-12-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

A couple years ago I posted a page from my soap making journal for others in case anyone keeps track of their recipes and experience. I thought I'd resurrect that post in case others are interested in keeping track of their recipes and experiences with soapmaking without the hassle of drawing up your own journal.

Here it is: CLICK HERE

This is what it looks like:

I couldn't fit the entire image on my screen, but there is a section below for extra notes.

The temp for mixing section I still use. It originally was used to keep track of the temps at which I combined lye/oil/water but now I use the heat transfer method so I use it to keep track of the temp I include essential oils (yes, there is a reason for that).

Why do I keep track of the weather. Once upon a time I learned from another soapmaker, with far more experience than I, that the temp outside could effect soap. I had a string of bad batches that had to do with outside temp. LONG STORY!

UNDER THE WILLOW GIFTS

2010-12-04T09:16:00.001-08:00

My dear friend Carrie over at Under the Willow Gifts makes the most awesome products that each year or throughout I always need to get my hands on some. I can't blog about what I purchased too much right now as I've ordered these for Christmas gifts and the recipients read this blog but I couldn't contain my excitement so I wanted to say at least this...

If anyone is looking for high quality handmade body products filled with at heart and soul, wrapped up in the most creative, adorable fashion, then shop at Under the Willow Gifts. Carrie, the owner, has experience and knowledge to create the best products and I am very excited to share her creations again this year.

Thank you Carrie for the extra goodies! My kids immediately noted that there were 3 small lipbalms for little hands and one large one for momma :) Middy wants you to know that she loves how creamy soft your lip balm is.

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BEE DRAMA ON A COLD WINTERS DAY

2010-12-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

Last night we ended up with several inches of newly fallen snow and although I could see the white piling up around my hive, it would do no good to get out in the middle of the night to uncover it, so this morning I put on my knee high boots and tredged out to the hive.

Usually this process goes well but today instead of scraping the snow off the top of the hive like usual I decided to lift the box with heavy rock inside that keeps the telescoping cover from blowing away. Well, the box was frozen to the cover so with a loud crack the whole box, rock and cover came off. Do I even need to say that my bees did NOT like this one bit. A few girls came out to see what was going on but then flew off, one bee darted out so quickly that she hit snow instead of air and although I moved quickly to scoop her up it wasn't fast enough to save her life :'(

Of course, I did my best to put things back together and finished cleaning out around the hive. The girls are calm once again, buzzing loudly, working hard to stay warm.

Til next time...

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WATCH and LEARN

2010-12-03T07:24:00.000-08:00

Thank you to the Peace Bee Farmer for sharing this video on their blog.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL

2010-12-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

This travel blog photo's source is TravelPod page: Grown Man

After recently sitting through an investment meeting where I acquired a bit more knowledge on green energy and socially conscious investments I've learned something new that doesn't sit well with me. Although I heard the rumors it is only now that I've taken a good look.

The RSPO that so many of us soap makers have come to depend on just isn't what it appears to be. For those of you who may not know, the RSPO is the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a global, multi-stakeholder initiative on sustainable palm oil. Members and participants in its activities come from many different backgrounds and include environmental NGOs, banks and investors, growers, processors, manufacturers and retailers of palm oil products and social NGOs. They come from many countries that produce or use palm oil. The principal objective of the RSPO is “to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil through co-operation within the supply chain and open dialogue between its stakeholders.”

From what most of us have heard and read, buying palm oil from members of the RSPO appeared to be a good thing. For those of us who try and live environmentally conscious lives anyway. I certainly didn't want to have a hand in the destruction of the rainforest, the disappearance of Sumatran tigers and elephants, or the useless slaughter of orangutan. Instead of just focussing on finding a soap recipe I loved that didn't include palm oil I opted for the alternative, which was to buy palm oil supplied by a member of the RSPO. On the surface the RSPO seems great but the truth is always hidden underneath.

What is “sustained destruction”? Is unsustained destruction OK? And who is to determine “the interests of people in the regions”? Human rights NGOs in Indonesia have been swift to note that some companies that have obtained the RSPO seal of approval “are involved in unresolved conflicts with local communities” over land. There will be battles ahead. But nobody said sustainability was an easy concept. And debate about its meaning can, of itself, be part of the solution. CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE

Per the net, I've found these articles to shed some light on this subject for you. I could spend a lot of time typing up what most people will never read so if you are interested in this topic I suggest you not take my word for it but look deeper. Make some calls, you might be surprised at what you learn.

Despite RSPO certification, deforestation, deep peat conversion, land disputes and illegal practices continue to occur in the plantation estates owned by Cargill, Sinar Mas, and Duta Palma – all of whom are RSPO members. The RSPO is failing to enforce its own minimal principles and criteria and is not taking action on grievances filed by communities affected by RSPO members. The RSPO must revise its principles and criteria to adequately protect forests, communities and the climate by implementing a moratorium on forest and peatland conversion and by promoting the rights of smallholders and affected communities.
FULL ARTICLE HERE

As for me. I have one gallon of palm oil left in my cupboard (yup, RSPO) but it will definitely be my last until I learn from sources that I trust that harvest and production of palm oil has truthfully moved in the direction of sustainability. If that is never than I guess I will never buy palm oil again.

Ultimately the best incentive for credible RSPO is consumer demand. If consumers demonstrate with their wallets that they want credible eco-friendly palm oil, the palm oil industry will provide it. The cost of "greener" palm oil is not high — especially for buyers in rich countries. A paper I published in January with Lian Pin Koh found that the average American consumer would need to spend an extra 40 cents per year to cover the cost of switching from his or her annual consumption of palm oil from conventional to certified sources. Thus consumers have the power to change the industry. RSPO FALLING SHORT

THE OTHER OIL SPILL

IS THE RSPO REALLY LOOKING OUT FOR SMALL FARMERS?

FAILURES AND UNANSWERED QUESTIONS AT THE RSPO

RSPO ATTACKED ON MANY FRONTS

DECLARATION AGAINST GREENWASHING SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL

NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL

TROUBLESHOOTING SOAP DISASTER

2010-11-30T09:14:00.001-08:00

I have been making soap for several years now and I thought I'd seen or heard of everything in the soap world but yesterday I uncovered a batch of soap and was surprised at what I saw. The soap had pulled away from the edges of the mold and turned almost rock solid. It reminds me of chocolate bark, the kind with the almonds in it. The soap isnt caustic, I can wash with it and it feels soft on my skin but it is hard hard hard. It can't be cut. I attempted to cut with my circle cutter and the soap split and the edges crumbled. Anyone know what happened?

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DON'T LEAVE HOME NOW!

2010-11-26T09:40:00.000-08:00

One of my girls left the hive but didn't make it back. I'm assuming it was recent because she isn't covered in snow. My daughter found her in the driveway, quite far from her hive, so I don't think she left her home to die but maybe came out when the sun was shining but got too cold??? Whatever the reason, it is always sad to see them like this but it's natural nonetheless.

FARMAGEDDON

2010-11-24T19:05:00.001-08:00

Farmageddon Trailer from Kristin Canty on Vimeo.

FREE CHRISTMAS TAGS

2010-11-24T08:15:00.001-08:00

I've found several cute, free, printable Christmas tags that I wanted to share for those who would rather not buy any this year.

WINTER PENGUIN TAGS

CUTE MITTEN TAGS

ELF TAGS

ASSORTED CHRISTMAS TAGS

COLOR THE PICTURE CHRISTMAS TAGS

MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY TAGS

SUPER CUTE LITTLE BIRD HOLIDAY TAGS

LOVELY TREE TAGS, JUST NOT SO CHRISTMAS LIKE

FUNNY CHRISTMAS TAGS

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD

2010-11-17T12:37:00.001-08:00

Actually, it is soap. I love this iridescent glitter from brambleberry and I am looking forward to buying some of the newbies she is selling. Have you seen the little stars? I have posted the before and after photo in hopes you can see the glitter better. It was added on the second pic.

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BEES DON'T FREEZE, THEY STARVE!

2010-11-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

(picture) The hive at night

Although I took 16 hrs of "Beekeeping in Northern Climates" course back in March I find that I've forgotten most things about honeybees. Like remembering the fact that they don't freeze but instead starve to death in the winter. Why the black cardboard box to warm them up on sunny days then? Well, because, the warmer they are the less honey they consume. Ooooooh, yeah... Oh yeah?? Ok, now I'm lost.

I had to go through it all again in my head, filling in the blanks, so please enlighten me on some of the finer points of beekeeping because I'm totally lost.

1. The colder bees get, the more energy they use to warm their hives.
2. Bees cluster in the hive and shiver to stay warm, heating the center of their cluster up to 80-90 degrees F and the outside of the cluster gets about 40-50 degrees F.
3. The bees rotate from inside to outside, sharing the warm spots, as to avoid freezing.
4. The bees are always surrounding their queen to protect her in the winter from the cold and they feed her throughout as well.

Here is where I believe I'm confused. Do bees eat honey more when it is cold or when it is warm?

4. I've heard that bees do not consume honey if it is too cold because they don't want to break cluster, therefore the colder it is the more likely they are to die.

and

I've also heard the opposite, that they need more honey the colder it is because they use up more energy warming their hive. The more shivering/warming they have to do the more eating they have to do.

If bees do consume more honey when it is warm, risking honey stores the warmer days we have, then why use the black box at all - since the black box will contribute to warming on sunny days. If we don't use the black box and they remain colder then they won't break cluster to eat. See why I'm confused?

5. Bees will die off if there isn't enough honey to get them through the winter.
6. In Minnesota that means a beehive needs at least 80 lbs of honey.
7. The honeybees start their cluster at the bottom of the hive and move up slowly as they consume the honey, ending their journey at the top hive body.
8. I need to check the hive on a warm sunny day (Jan, Feb?) to see if the cluster is moving nicely upwards (not sure what I'm suppose to do once I determine where they are in the hive).
9. Start feeding the bees sugar syrup and pollen sub. in March.

BTW/I had to clean snow away from the lower entrance of the hive today. It is only 33 degrees (warm for a Minnesota winter) but my bees are working diligently to keep their hive toasty. I peeked in the upper entrance to see what they are up to and I saw shivering little bodies doing lots of buzzing. I'm proud of them... doing what nature does best... SURVIVING!

WINTER IS HERE

2010-11-13T08:15:00.001-08:00

...and it is beautiful!

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CUPCAKE BATH FIZZIE HOLDER TUTORIAL

2010-11-06T01:08:00.001-07:00

Can you tell I'm feeling paper crafty lately? LOL!

I have my phases and this months phase is paper. I was trying to find a small box pattern when I came across a blog with this box holding a a washcloth cupcake (very cute).

So, this box pattern is not mine, we have PASSIONATELY ARTISTIC to thank for it. The instructions are on her blog or else you can follow along with mine.

You'll need:

cupcake bath fizzie (see ANNE MARIE FROM BRAMBLEBERRIES TUTORIAL ON MAKING BATH FIZZIE CUPCAKES)

Sheet of cellophane
Cardstock
Patterned paper
double sided tape
Scissors
Scor-pal (or other scoring device)
Paper cutter
Measuring stick (if your cutter doesn't have measurements)
Circle & Scallop punches or other circular cutting device

BOX BASE
First: cut a 12x12 piece of cardstock down to 10.5 x 10.5

Second: score at 3 1/4 on all four sides (I hope you can see the score lines)

Third: cut 1.5 inches off of template on all four sides and .5 inch notches angled diagonally on all four sides.

Fourth: assemble and secure your box.

BOX TOP

First: cut a piece of decorative paper down to 6 1/8 x 6 1/8 and then score at 1 inch on all four sides.

Second: cut notches on all four sides. To do this you will measure in 3/16 of an inch from the score line on all four sides and then cut in at an angel like I did in the picture.

Third: You can use circle punches for this step or some other type of circular cutting device. I used a stampin up circle cutter with blade for the plain cirlce that I'm not even sure they carry anymore and a scallop circle punch for the frame. The punches would work much faster and easier. Passionately Artistic suggests using the 3 3/8 scallop circle punch and the 3 1/4 circle punch which would make the opening of the box bigger than what I have shown here.

I cut my scallop and then I cut a circle out of the center. This frame will fit perfectly around the circle window of my box.

Here I punched the hole in the center of box top and attached the scalloped frame.

Fourth: assemble your box top.

BOX INSERT

You'll need an insert so your cupcake doesn't rattle around in the box.

First: cut a square piece of coordinating cardstock at 4 7/8 x 4 7/8.
Second: score at 1 inch on all four sides.

Third: punch a hole in center to hold your cupcake. I used my stampin up cutter which allows for various circle sizes and I used the circle size that matched the size of a standard cupcake base. I'm not sure if a circle punch would be exact to the base of a cupcake, you would have to play with that.

Fourth: cut notches on all four sides of your insert. There was no measuring required here, just do it by site.

Fifth: place insert into the center of box base.

Add your cupcake, put the cover on and ta da... it is all finished. I added a little cellophane window but it could be left open for smelling purposes. I didn't gussy it up with tags or anything but that is a possibility as well, or maybe even some fun accessories around the box top and/or sides :) You could also add shredded paper inside to surround the cupcake or even wrap the cupcake in cellophane with a coordinating bow that would peak through the circle window.

LIPBALM HOLDER TUTORIAL

2010-11-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

I was walking through the MOA this afternoon when I saw this cute itty bitty bag holding a lip balm tin. I thought the bag was uber cute so I bought it, took it home and disassembled the bag so I could make the template. I'm not a big fan of lipbalm in tins but I do make natural perfume oils that I put into flat tins and therefore, I'm turning these into stocking stuffer gifts.

I wanted to share this idea with others in case you too are in need of some stocking stuffer ideas this Christmas. This bag is really simple. I tried really hard to create a template to share but I'm no expert at this type of thing. The template before folded must measure 5 1/2 x 5 inches in order to fit the .5 oz flat tin perfectly. You will need to adjust the template to get it to the right size because I had no idea how to size it correctly on my computer (it just sorta grew after I scanned my original).

CLICK HERE FOR TEMPLATE

If you have trouble viewing the template let me know. I can email the .pdf

Fits tin size .5 oz

Here is my sample (I have Christmas paper on order so I did this one as a simple "to you from me.") I used the lipbalm that came with the sample I purchased. Sorry about the blurry pictures, photography isn't my forte either :(

Cut out template:

Scor along designated lines (and fold):

Using a 1 3/8 circle punch, punch a hole in the lower front of bag:

I added a scallop border using a scallop punch. You can see that part of the flat covers the circle opening so I just trimmed that bit off (it must have been my measuring skills that I don't have either):

Now that you've trimmed off that extra bit you will adhere the flap on the left side of bag:

Then fold in the bottom:

So it looks like this:

Pinch in the sides:

So it looks like this:

Punch a hole small through the flap and all the layers of cardstock:

Wrap ribbon or raffia through the hole twice and tie:

You need to wrap it twice to make the flap lay flat:

Decorate with a little tag and your done:

One tip: cut a piece of cardboard and slide it in behind your lipbalm tube to keep it pressed snuggly against the window.

LATE POST: HONEY EXTRACTION TIME

2010-11-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Wow! Is this post going to be out of order. I should be blogging about my bees getting ready for winter but I finally found the charger to my camera so I'm able to talk about the honey extraction I was invited to observe this fall.

Unfortunately my bees didn't make enough honey for me to take this year so Cindy and Mark over at Bees In Our Bonnets invited me over to watch them extract honey. It was a great experience. It certainly makes me feel more prepared for honey extraction time next year.

Here is one of Mark and Cindy's two hives with the honey supers on (Four Horseman Apiary)

Mark is lightly brushing the bees off of the frames of honey.

Mark and Cindy's son has placed the frames in the extractor. He cranked quite a bit on the manual extractor and we stood by and watched as the honey came out.

Here is Mark and Cindy's son filtering the honey of bee parts as it poured out of the extractor into the bucket.

Cindy was kind of enough to share one of her honey bears and some handmade jam with my daughter and I before we departed.

Thank you Cindy and Mark for allowing us to come by and watch while you bottled your first years batch of honey!!!

UNDERSTANDING TERMS ON A LABEL ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH ANYMORE

2010-10-26T09:38:00.001-07:00

Organic
All Natural

Those terms on a label seem pretty clear, right? Don't be too sure.

Over the years, struggling to understand ingredient lists, reading what I can on how things are processed, whether or not something starts natural and remains so after processing, how products earn their "organic" labels, so on and so forth, I've learned that just being able to read a label and know what the ingredients are isn't good enough anymore.

MY SIMPLE STEPS FOR UNDERSTANDING INGREDIENTS:

No purchase is life or death, unless we are talking medicine, which we aren't. So before you make a purchase you should read the label and then:

1. Find out what the ingredient is (i.e. formaldehyde in shampoo). Formaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O...
2. Where does it come from? Formaldehyde is a by-product of combustion from gas. Formaldehyde is produced industrially by the catalytic oxidation of methanol...
3. What is the role of this ingredient in the shampoo I'd like to buy? Preservative.
4. Are there any health concerns associated with this ingredient? Carcinogen. There is scientific evidence that formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans...

Searching out information on formaldehyde might seem a daunting task but actually that was the easy part. Now try looking into the words "All Natural" and/or "Organic." Trying to understand those two can be exhausting. After all, most natural ingredients are no longer "natural" once they are processed for use and organic... that term deserves even more scrutiny.

I recently came across a company that claimed to sell organic soy candles. I immediately remembered an article I'd read stating more than 90% of soy beans are genetically modified. The wheels in my head turned and I wondered, how can something be organic if it is GMO? Isn't that against "organic" labeling standards? This candle company didn't say they were using non-GMO soy wax. Maybe the producer of these organic soy candles assumed consumers knew that if it is organic then it isn't GMO? Hmmm... So I did a little search and it turns out that not only is there no such thing as non-GMO soy wax to be sold in the U.S. there aren't organic soy candles either. Turns out, the processing required to turn soy into a wax renders it NOT ORGANIC (yup, chemicals are involved).

I had to wonder then, why are so many people selling either "organic" soy candles or "non-GMO" soy candles. Surely I must be missing something. I understand the part where you can't process organic soy beans into wax without rendering them non-organic but what about non GMO soy wax. Try googling and you will get dozens of companies that sell non GMO soy wax candles and yet several candle supply sites I've visited claim there is no availability of non GMO soy wax on the market yet. Being the skeptic that I am, I assumed those suppliers just aren't willing to pay the price for this non GMO soy wax because, after all, why would people misrepresent their product. So I searched and searched and searched for one single company that sold non genetically modified soy wax to candle makers and I haven't found a single one. I did find these tid bits of information though:

"Soy refineries that have an excess of soybeans produce soy wax by “cracking”, hulling, flaking and extracting the oil from the beans using the solvent hexane. It is not by most natural food standards a natural or pure product because it contains synthetic chemical solvents. No European countries bother making wax out of tiny soybeans. Soy refiners can’t certify that their wax is “non-GMO.” The DNA of the soybeans has been modified with DNA from other organisms. Genetically modifying the seeds make the plants more resistant to weed killers. We worry about the people spraying the chemicals. Grains, beans and oils that are GMO either have been or will soon be banned in European Union countries. Soy wax will never be certified organic because it is chemically distilled and then hydrogenated which also introduces synthetic chemicals. Soy is a commercial row crop that does not encourage biodiversity or sequester carbon. All the tillage is not sustainable for the soil." SOURCE OF QUOTE

Question:
Are there any organic or non-GMO soy waxes?

Answer:
The short answer is no. Only a very small percentage of the total US production of soy wax is organic. About 98% of the soybean harvest has been either genetically modified (GMO) or non-GMO mixed in with GMO soybeans. All of the soy wax in the US is made by just four companies, and none of them currently process organic soy oil into candle wax at this time.
We will carry certifiably organic non-GMO soy wax if and when it becomes available. SOURCE OF QUOTE

FACT

Are soybeans used to make soybean wax GMO-free (GMO = Genetically-modified organism)? Probably not. According to the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA-NASS), 91% of the soybeans planted in 2009 and 93% of the soybeans planted in 2010 were resistant to herbicides or insects or both through biotechnology. (Reference: Acreage 6-30-2010, from http://www.nass.usda.gov )

So I now know that soy wax is not pure and natural (thanks to that chemical processing) and it is questionable as to whether or not the wax is non-GMO (I'm still looking for those suppliers) which means it certainly fails miserably in the organic category. Conclusion? Why would a company label something organic or natural when it isn't? There are only two reasons:

ONE: DELIBERATE MISUSE OF A LABEL TO MAKE A SALE
All mislabeling is deliberate if the producer of such product knows what they are doing is wrong. The moment you call your product something that it isn't or say it has or does something that it doesn't, you are consciously mislabeling.

Here is one obvious "wrong" that companies often perpetrate that consumers should be getting wise to.

ORGANIC: If a product contains one organic ingredient and the label reads "organic" shampoo, lotions, lipstick, etc... across the front, that is deliberate mislabeling. One organic ingredient doesn't make a product organic but one non-organic ingredient does render a 99% organic product not organic.

One direct misuse of the word "organic" that comes to mind is on a honey label. There is no such thing as organic honey, something we covered in my beekeeping course at the U of M. Bees travel far and wide (up to 2 miles) to forage for nectar and pollen. We can't control where our bees choose to venture. Sure, we can treat honeybee diseases naturally but they still pick up pesticide laden pollen on their legs and bring it back to the hive. I like this article on honey labeling gone wrong CLICK HERE.

"Like other foods from free-roaming, wild creatures, it is difficult -- and in some places impossible -- to assure that honey bees have not come in contact with prohibited substances, like pesticides," said Chuck Benbrook, chief scientist for the Organic Center, a national advocacy group for the research and promotion of organic food.

Recent U.S. Department of Agriculture research, he said, shows that the average hive contains traces of five or more pesticide residues.

As for that "natural" honey. All honey should be natural. It comes straight off the frames from the hive. Labeling it "natural" is just... funny, and... ALL beekeepers know there isn't such a thing as "organic" honey.

TWO: MISLABELING OUT OF IGNORANCE

ALL NATURAL:. I used to believe that labeling something all natural when only natural ingredients were used was honest labeling but the more I've researched the less I believe this to be true. As manufacturers of a product it is our responsibility to know where our ingredients come from and how they were processed. Consumers assume we do this type of homework. I know I use to believe companies like Johnson & Johnson, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, etc... did this type of research so why should small body product companies be held to a lesser standard? The problem is, we can do extensive research into the ingredient we are buying (i.e. oils, colorants, fragrances, etc...) but our research will only be as good as our suppliers allow it to be. Just because I read about essential oils, what parts of a plant they are extracted from and what that process entails doesn't mean that my supplier carries that pure type of essential oil. So how honest we are really depends on the knowledge we've acquired through research and also how honest our suppliers are. If I label something as phthalate free only to learn that my supplier was dishonest about their essential oils being phthalate free, am I to blame for this mislabeling? No. If I use an essential oil that I know for a fact is ALWAYS solvent extracted (using chemicals like petroleum ether, methanol, ethanol or hexana) am I responsible for lying on the label when I call it "All Natural?" Absolutely!

The case of non-GMO soy wax is a good example of possible honest labeling by a company when the supplier may not be forth coming. It is quite possible that some of these candle companies have purchased what they believe to be non-GMO soy wax (they've trusted their supplier). We've read that 93% of soybeans in the U.S. are GMO which implies that 7% of soybeans are not. We could dig deeper and find out how much of the worlds soybean crops are actually processed into wax but that still doesn't tell us if that non-GMO soy wax is truly non-GMO. Only the supplier knows that or should know.

What does it all mean? Those of us that create body products for sale or personal use are at the mercy of the companies we buy our ingredients from so I would say it is essential to develop a good relationship with your supplier. Individuals who buy their products off the shelf at the supermarket or from an online small business shop are at the mercy of their own knowledge. Sadly, this doesn't amount to much in a world full of greed, manipulation and shady labeling practices. As consumers we have to put some faith in those we buy from and also do a little research of our own because there isn't a higher power or Federal Agency that is staffed well enough to oversee and enforce all the regulations. We aren't going to see GMO on the label but if we see non-GMO on the label, we can almost assume the counter part of the product we are buying has GMO ingredients (Corn anyone???).

If after reading this post you have no idea what I am babbling about. Let me just say this... learning about GMO's this past month has me miffed and I'm on a mini crusade to help people understand the importance of truth in labeling.

Now I will close as I am famished and want to eat my salad that I've been craving. The one I'm hoping is truly ORGANIC like the label says (BTW/beware of organic food you find on the natural food store that comes from China... it isn't organic). Grrrrr!

Non GMO Shopping Guide
Essential Oils:Premium Quality

DO YOU WANNA KNOW ME?

2010-10-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

I love being tagged and tagging people for these self-revealing posts. Since so many of us have gotten to know each other solely through our blogs it is always nice to share a little about yourself and read a little about others.

So here is a bit about me (thanks to the tag I received from Nakin Soap)

1. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Hypocrisy: saying one thing and doing another. We see it everyday. Politicians are such hypocrites, business people are hypocrites, but it is slightly more annoying when friends practice hypocrisy but only because we have come to expect it from business people and politicians. My favorite hypocrites are celebrities. You know... those environmentalist movie stars that live in 20 million dollar homes and fly around the globe preaching to the "little" people about how we can live more environmentally friendly lives. LOL! Now you know my pet peeve!

2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Honestly, after much travel, I would love stay right here in Minnesota. I love my state, I think it is beautiful, I would prefer a different city with much more land but I definitely want to stay here. Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change my mind on that one since I may visit England someday and prefer to live there. LOL!

3. Have you ever been searched by the cops? Security guards, yes... cops, No. BTW/I think being searched is very humiliating but I'm opting for the body search over those airport scanners they are using now.

4. What is the one thing on your mind right now?
My kids.

5. Favorite song right now.
Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls. It has been my favorite song since 1991. What can I say... it speaks to me :)

Closer To Fine on You Tube

6. What talent do you wish you had?
I wish I could tell stories fluidly the way my grandfather did. Not write them... actually tell them.

7. Favorite drink.
Lime water.

8. In one word, how would you describe yourself.
Sagittarius. That is all one would really need to know to understand me :)

Now I will pass this tag on to some of my blogging buddies. Please don't feel like you have to do this, it is just for fun and if you don't have the time or inclination, that is ok too.

Amy at Great Cake Soapworks

Teresa at Homestead Notes

Carrie at Under the Willow Gifts

Jennifer at Jenora Soaps

NOPE, THOSE AREN'T POTATOS

2010-10-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make this apple butter for a while now but I tend to avoid things if I sense I may be risking failure, especially when it comes to food :( Well, I went apple picking with the intention of using some of the apples for this very purpose and it had already been over a week since we went apple picking so I figured it was time to give this yummy sounding recipe a try.

I chose the title for this post after my kids kept asking me why I had so many potatos in the slow cooker. LOL!

I'm sharing the recipe here because it turned out wonderful with very little effort. Just threw all of the ingredients into the slow cooker and although it said it would be done 10 hours later it was done inv7 hours. (my apples were small, not medium).

We blend ours with cream cheese and put it on a toasted english muffin in the morning. Yum! Yum! Yum!

12 medium cooking apples
1 1/2 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves

1. Mix all ingredients in 5-6 qt slow cooker
2. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 - 10 hrs or until apples are very tender (in my case it was 7 hours)
3. Mash apples with potato masher or large fork.
4. Cook uncovered on low heat setting 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is very thick. Cool about 2 hours.
5. Spoon apple butter into container. Cover and store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks.

Thank you Betty Crocker :)

CORPORATE INTERESTS = VOMIT IN MY MOUTH

2010-10-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

I read this today and I must admit, I'm less and less surprised by this garbage. When is there going to be a turning point? Like I've said a million times before, always read behind the research. Just because it says "scientist so and so said" doesn't make it valid.

According to an article in the New York Times, the mystery of Colony Collapse Disorder has been solved! The part that bothers me the most about this is how many people will actually believe it. When people believes lies they behave accordingly. This article puts honeybees at more risk.

The New York Times recently declared the case of Colony Collapse Disorder, the great bee die-off, "solved." But the reporting hyped the science and left out important conflicts involving the lead scientist.

many scientists believe that a novel class of pesticides called neonicotinoids -- which are insect neurotoxins -- has played a major role in CCD worldwide. An Italian entomologist at the University of Padua, Vincenzo Girolami, has research currently undergoing peer review showing that bees can be exposed to lethal levels of these pesticides through the use of seeding machines that sow neonicotinoid-coated seeds. These devices throw up a toxic cloud of pesticide as they work: bees fly through the cloud and either die or take the pesticide back to the hive. Once inside, even at low doses, it can cause disorientation or, as Girolami calls it, "intoxication" of whole hives.

The maker of this pesticide is Bayer CropScience. What does a corporation do when it discovers it may have developed and marketed a dangerous and potentially devastating product? Here in America, you confuse, you obfuscate, and you buy off scientists.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

NATURAL COLORANT FOLLOW UP

2010-10-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm back to blogging I will also be back to posting about natural colorants in soapmaking. To start off I wanted to do a follow up on the natural colorants I already covered. I didn't think this was very important but recently I discovered that some soapmakers are actually claiming to have used natural colorants and are saying they don't work well or if they do work, they don't last. Since I've been using the natural colorants for years (some longer than others and some not at all) I thought a follow up on their success or lack there of as a natural colorant in soap was in order.

Alkanet Root: Ambra asked me how this colorant aged and so this picture is for her :) I blogged about this colorant in July. It ages well! The picture is from today. BTW/I hated this soap. The colorant was great but the EO combo I used ended up making the soap smell like coca cola. I had several people sniff it and all had the same response... "COKE."

Yuck! Who would want to use a bar of soap that smells like coke? :(

Honey: this bar of soap is more than a year old. It was a honey oatmeal soap. Honey holds as a colorant. I think it faded slightly but only SLIGHTLY! I do think you have less control with honey as a tan color than you do with hibiscus.

Parsley: I do not have this soap to reference but I will say this...I find parsley to be kind of tricky. I've had it last a long time to not lasting at all. I'm thinking it definitely depends on the fragrance used. I've used parsley in recipes that were the exact same aside from the fragrance. It seems recipes with EO faded the fastest and recipes with synthetic fragrances lasted the longest.

Hibsicus: You get various shades of tan depending on how much hibiscus you use so I've used two soaps here for reference. The round soap is the darkest because I used twice as much hibiscus. This soap was made back in May 2010 and the picture is from today. The lighter tan soap was made in early spring 2010 and as you can see, the color is still holding very well, hardly any fading. I used only half as much hibiscus in the lighter soap as I did in the darker soap. This colorant does very well over time!

I apologize for picture quality. I took these with my cell phone. That is my new thing, to blog with the cell phone. LOL!

Jennifer Young from Jenora Soaps was very generous to share some of her own natural colorant experiments with me. Here are her comments:

Can I add from my experimenting - Annatto lasts. Nettle seems to be lasting. Goat milk tan lasts. Alkanet lasts (I agree with you). Coffee, cocoa & cinnamon last. Pink Clay and Green Clay last. Carrot Tissue Oil produced the most beautiful yellow for me that DID NOT last - it turned very faint. Spirulina does not last. So far that is about it! Glad you are back! xo Jen

GIFT BAGS ARE READY... HOLIDAY ORDERS ALREADY COMING!

2010-10-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

The soap pixie is now offering handmade burlap gift bags (made by me of course). The bags contain an aromatherapy soy candle with matching scented soap. I finished up a bulk order of 20 gift bags recently and they all went over very well. The holiday orders are pouring in already and I'm very excited. Lots of bags, soap and candles to make.

Here is the small pic I took of my large order, as I was putting it together.

I apologize to those who keep looking at the website and seeing nothing. I must admit, I haven't devoted the time to the site like I should have but I am working on it. If you want to order anything just shoot me an email :)

A BOOK SUGGESTION FOR THE EMOTIONAL BEEKEEPER

2010-10-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, and this will probably rub some beeks the wrong way, I believe there are two kinds of beekeepers; those that have an emotional connection with their honeybees and those that don't. I'm not using this post to judge, I'm just stating what I believe is the obvious.

I was reading then participating in a discussion on the beesource forum where the topic posted was "kill off your bees/colony" and the poster wanted to know how to kill off their hive instead of trying to overwinter them. The discussion that resulted came down to those who are against killing off bees and those who are either proponents of killing or don't find anything wrong with it. I think anyone who reads my blog would know where I stand on the subject of killing ones own bees.

So... I am reading this book written by William Longgood and I happen to come upon the chapter in which he talks about this type of beekeeping just days after debating the kill or not kill topic on the beesource. At one point he is quoted saying "I faced a dilemma common to people who try to manage nature, when human values conflict with nature's unsentimental imperatives. That is the part of beekeeping that I dislike and often it gets in the way. Is it more merciful to kill outright or to let creatures perish slowly and possibly painfully through want of their own kind and their own elementary biological needs? The manager becomes an arbiter of life and death. I was forced to confront a decision that was distasteful to me." As I suspected. the author doesn't disappoint, he chooses the emotional over the logical.

I use the word "logical" loosely. Killing off your own bees can be logical if you see beekeeping as pure business and nothing else but if you have any emotional connection to your bees at all you wouldn't think of killing them as logical at all. Logic isn't something an emotional beekeeper can make peace with, at least not right away. People keep bees for various reasons, some do it for the honey, others for the beeswax, and quite a few people do it out of pure fascination with bees. If you are fascinated at all by the life cycle of bees and you derive more pleasure from watching them work together as a colony than you would from extracting honey, then you would never take the "logical" approach of killing them off because it doesn't make for good nighttime sleeping.

There is an intolerance amongst beekeepers as there is with people in most aspects of life. I'll be the first to admit, I don't want to make nice with the commercial beekeeper who lit his hive on fire just because they didn't give him any honey, actually, I'd prefer never to meet such a person and I'm sure the feeling would be mutual... he wouldn't want to make nice with someone who mourns the death of a single bee. But... the point of this post isn't to slag off those who have a different beekeeping style than I do, it is purely a book review and plug.

The "Queen Must Die" is the best beekeeping book I've read thus far. William Longgood has taken the logical parts of beekeeping and exposed its emotional side. He has dissected every aspect of the hobby/business and his heart is open in every word he uses to describe these beautiful insects. As an emotional beekeeper, it is nice to see someone put into words what is so hard to convey to those who don't keep bees or those who don't care if they live or die. Plus the fact that you walk away from this book with the sense that humans could learn a thing or two from bees in how we function as a society. Longgood covers a lot of ground in this book so I recommend putting it on your reading list if you aren't the one burning your hives in the fall ;)

Bees are more than a hobby; they are a life study, in many respects a mirror of our own society." ~William Longgood

HELLO BLOG

2010-10-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! ... I'm ready to start blogging again.

I WISH I HAD THE PATIENCE...

2010-09-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

OF A CARNIOLAN.

After Gary Reuter from the University told me it was definitely time to remove the honey super that I eagerly waited to be filled with honey (but it wasn't), I headed out to the hive. The bees have been doing their own thing for quite a while now and so I wasn't sure what type of attitude I was going to find them in when they saw me. Afterall, it is September and the nectar flow is done. Hearing that lack of nectar makes for an angry bee made me nervous but I've since determined that is only when you are taking their honey, not when you are opening the hive.

Since Gary told me the honey super had to come off now I figured I'd remove it, prop it up next to the hive and let the bees find their way home. Funny thing happened... THEY DIDN'T GO HOME! They were happy on those frames and from what I could tell, by all the huddling together, they seemed cold. I waited and waited but they just kept huddling. Since I worry too much I figured I'd better get in there and help them find their way back into the hive. I removed all the frames and propped them up next to the hive but... that didn't work so I started banging frames one by one on the ground, watching hundreds of bees fall. Initially, they didn't seem to mind. It wasn't until the last three frames that a few of them had enough. I was being head butted left and right, driven far from the hive.

I must say... my bees have a lot of patience. I certainly would have lost my temper much sooner. One bee died when it came after me and hit the smoker (yup, it was hot). Another died when I banged one of the frames. So I counted two casualties. Even so, the loudest buzzers with the tenacity for head butting never once exposed a stinger, they just wanted to make a statement which was "WE'VE BEEN PATIENT ENOUGH NOW GET THE HELL AWAY FROM OUR HIVE BEFORE YOU REALLY PISS US OFF!"

I've realized that there is much more to learn from these little creatures then just how they make honey and beeswax. They certainly taught me a lesson in patience. They had every right to sting me, I was even prepared for it, but they weren't interested in all that hoopla. Deep down I think they know I'm a wimpy beekeeper and so they take pitty on me.

Now, the sun is shining and the temps have bumped up to a little over 60 degrees so they are out flying about. I went over to the hive in my shorts and flip flops and the had no interest in revenge... so in my world that means all is good :)

Now the trick is... getting these little girls through the winter. *sigh

MY HIVE TIPPED OVER!!!

2010-08-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today we came home and found our hive had tipped over. At first I thought maybe some kids came through the yard and pushed it over but upon closer inspection found that the "landing strip" as I call it had actually broken apart. I noticed that it was coming apart several weeks ago but then promptly forgot about it. Well, now I've learned a valuable lesson, when said hive is looking shabby I must repair said hive or I'm going to be in deep doo doo.

I feel horrible. There were lots of casualties. Mostly because hubby and I panicked and rushed to put it back together. We should have taken our time and worked carefully but a racing heart and uncertainty did not make for a good combination. We crushed several bees, mainly a heap that was laying on the ground and we just blindly happened to step on. Everything is back in place and the bees went back to business as usual. My only fear... did the queen get killed in that mess?

Any experienced beeks willing to share any tips on how determine whether the queen has perished or not, aside from the queen cells that the bees would make?

UPDATE: (8/23/10) I've learned several things.

1. I'm not the only person to experience the hive tipping drama.
2. The queen is most likely alive since my bees showed know sign of defensiveness when we put the hive back together.
3. I need to check the hive in 5 days to see if there are eggs just to make sure the queen is ok.
4. I should strap my hive down with a heavy leather type strap. Wrap it all away around the hive so in case it tips again all the hive bodies will stay in tact.

Thank you posters and beesource.com buddies for sharing all this information with me!!

JUST AN UPDATE

2010-08-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't blogged lately. I'm busy back at school and honestly, the bees aren't doing much of anything right now. On July 31 I added a honey super to the three hive bodies because the top hive body was filled plum full of honey. Initially I put a queen excluder between the honey super and the top hive body but was advised to remove it since the queen isn't known to cross honey (so no risk that she'd go into the super and lay eggs). I removed the excluder on August 7. About 3 bees actually went through the excluder into the super. I checked a couple days ago and there were about a dozen bees in the super but they haven't drawn out a single frame. So... it looks like I won't be getting any honey this year. I'm not disappointed since I wasn't expecting it. Hopefully the girls make it through the winter and produce lots of honey next year :)

TAKING A BREAK

2010-08-17T19:18:00.001-07:00

Hey bloggers!

I've decided to take a break from this blog for a while. I'm back in school studying aromatherapy (AGAIN)... this time I'm actually getting a degree in the program instead of a certificate and therefore will be able to use it for consulting and writing purposes. Woohoo! I'll actually know what I'm talking about. Anatomy and Physiology is a lot more involved than I anticipated and have lots and lots to focus on so I won't be able to blog anything too serious or facebook for a while. With my studies, my kids going back to school, my bees to take care of, and trying to get my website back up and running again, among a trillion other things, I'm just going to let this blog collect some dust for a bit. I look forward to coming back and reading what everyone else is up to on their blogs though.. hopefully when I'm on the run I can do that from my phone :)

REMOVING THE RISK FACTOR IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

2010-08-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Whether you are a health conscious individual or not, the thought as to why you maintain a healthy lifestyle or why others choose to must have crossed your mind at one time or another. We all have reasons for what we choose or choose not to do.

Why does someone eat organic?
Why does someone avoid synthetic ingredients in body products?
Why do people exercise?
Why do people only eat certain types of foods?
Why are people vegans?
Why do people drink 8 glasses of water a day?
Why do people meditate?
Why do people read?
Why do people take long walks in the morning?
Why do people avoid buying products from China?

So on and so forth.

The list of questions can be endless no matter which side you are on (healthy or not).

Lately the big question with people seems to be, why try and eliminate things that COULD be bad for us when it seems like EVERYTHING is bad for us? Our food is pesticide laden, the corn you ate last night along with the soy milk you drank was genetically modified, you just planted a garden in your backyard just to learn that the soil is full of toxins, the natural lotion you bought turns out to be not natural at all and instead has a preservative in it that some say is carcinogenic. What is the answer?

Is the answer "oh well, everything will make you sick so you might as well throw your hands in the air and say forget it?"
Is the answer "no matter what you eliminate you can't eliminate everything so why bother?"
Is the answer "I feel like all of this information is just causing me and my family to be fearful so I'd rather not know?"
Is the answer "I don't know where to start, do I focus on food first or the body products? Gee, this is all so over whemling, I just can't do it?"

Maybe you recognize some of those answers as your own or belonging to others you know. It is so much easier for us to throw our hands in the air and give up because, afterall, the truth is that all of this information on chemicals in our food, water, air and body products is VERY overwhelming and VERY scary but the point of it all is ELIMINATING RISK FACTORS!

The world is toxic, there is no question about it. Our very being is polluted with numerous chemicals, unborn babies are polluted, but ask yourself how did we get here? We didn't just wake up one day and become toxic, we slowly found ourselves in this position. Unregulated industries, lobbyists, politicians, uninformed Americans, that is what brought us here. We've been at the mercy of corporations for a very very long time.

Today, with the internet, we are a much more aware society than anytime in history. It is time to turn that feeling of being overwhelmed into being grateful and the feeling of being scared into positive action. Be grateful that you are aware, be positive when you shop. Avoid the risk factors. No, you won't detoxify your body by starting to buy organic food today, you won't cleanse your soul because you've purchased an organic all natural shampoo, but you will eliminate many of the risk factors contributing to some cancers, fetal abnormalities, hormonal disorders, depression, obesity...

The industry responsible for creating chemicals and those promoting their usage want you to sit on the couch, throw your hands up in the air and feel overwhelmed. They want you to feel like you are fighting a losing battle, because if you don't feel those things than they can't win. Be the educated positive force that you are and begin now by choosing the healthier alternative so that you eliminate some health risks for yourself and reshape the future for your children and grandchildren.

I often ask people, would you accept a plate full of formaldehyde for dinner? The answer is always "NO". I ask why, and almost always they say "because it would kill me." Then I ask them why they put it on their body in the form of nail polish. They often reply, because there is such a little amount that isn't dangerous. Then I ask, how do you know it isn't dangerous?
They know because the very industry responsible for the creation of this harmful chemical has told them so. Not directly but in the way of the media (internet, television, magazines) and thanks to the lobbyists hard at work in Washington we now have politicians who have lined their pockets with large amounts of money willing to tell us it is safe too.

So the BASIC answer to the WHY questions is ELIMINATING RISK FACTORS! Do not INCREASE your risk of health problems by making your body MORE TOXIC than it already is. Keep exercising, keep searching out the foods with the least amount of pesticides, keep planting that garden because your soil is no where near as toxic as the soil the foods at the grocery store came from, keep buying the organic natural body products, keep educating yourself on the issues, keep insisting that government regulate the industries responsible for making us sick. Your body will be grateful and so will future generations!

WHO DO YOU TRUST?

2010-08-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

We always look to others with credentials to tell us the facts on what is good and bad for our health but what we fail to do is look BEHIND the studies that are done. Who are these people that release reports on chemicals? They have scientist next to their name so we think they are honest and forthcoming, right? Next time you want to know the truth, investigate the person telling you something is "safe." Who paid them to do the study? Who do they work for? I guarantee you will be surprised at what you find.

According to SourceWatch.org, “In the latest years for which information is available, some 40 percent of ACSH’s (American Council on Science and Health) budget was supplied directly by the industry"

Now ask yourself. Do you trust the ACSH to be honest?

CLICK HERE FOR SOURCE WATCH REPORT

Now read the report from ACSH on Phthalates and ask yourself... can you trust them?

ACSH REPORT HERE

What I always like to ask people is, if I paid you a million dollars to test my product and determine its safety, what would you say? Kinda like having a gun to your head, isn't it?!!

NOTE: The ACSH no longer makes their financial backing information available to the public.

Dr. Elizabeth Whelan (not a medical doctor) is president and co-founder of the industry-friendly, global warming skeptic group and The American Council on Science and Health.

INTERESTING READ ABOUT DR. WHENLAN HERE

ANOTHER GOOD READ ABOUT BEHIND DOORS LOBBYING

PLEASE HELP: CAN ANYONE IDENTIFY THIS?

2010-08-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

This plant/herb is taking over my yard, choking out all the flowers and other weeds (that I actually like) but the upside to it is that my honeybees LOVE it. This is the first time I've seen hundreds of honeybees head straight over to something in my yard. They aren't the only insects in love with this plant either, there are bumble bees, wasps, and other things I can't identify. Can anyone identify this crazy plant/weed?

NATURAL SOAP COLORANT: ALKANET ROOT

2010-07-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, my every Friday natural colorant posts aren't working out like I planned. Life is getting in the way. So, here it is. Natural soap colorant #3... Alkanet Root. I apologize for low picture quality, I took these photographs with my cell phone.

Alkanet Root is an herb that is used as a dying agent (among other things) and has been for centuries .

Here, I'm using it to color my soap.

To begin, I take 6 tablespoons of Alkanet Root and add it to 16 oz. of warm olive oil (that I've heated slightly on the stove).

I let it sit in the pan for 5 minutes and then pour it into a clean jar, cover, and let sit over night.

The following day I strain the oil.

I add the olive oil to the other oils in my soap recipe. Add the lye/water. Mix until trace.

Continue with the other additives at trace. Pour into mold.

This is the result 48 hours later. Tiny bit of ash on top but looking great. Turned out a deep purple.

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DO's & DON'T's on a RESUME

2010-07-25T20:07:00.001-07:00

One thing that I learned in college that stuck with me more than interview etiquette is how to put together a resume. You'd almost think my professors beat the "protocol" into me because I've become a very nit picky person about how resumes make a potential employee appear to potential employers. I've put together a list that doesn't include what lots of other sites have covered. These are just the things I think that most people either don't know or are confused about when they put their resume together.

1. If you don't know how to put your resume together DEFINITELY work with a template like the ones in microsoft word. Most of them are laid out perfectly and require your input in specific locations. Just follow the visual guide and you'll get most of it. It is always better to follow a template than to wing it on your own if you have no idea what you are doing.

2. If you are using a template, don't include the fancy graphics that come along with it. The colors, boxes, lines, etc... can be distracting to the reader. There is no need to be cute because employers aren't interested in that. Simple and to the point is what employers want. Tip: employers are busy and want to spend as little time on resumes as possible so if they get distracted by fancy graphics they might just miss the finer points of your resume. Bullets are great, italicizing is also helpful, but graphics are useless.

3. Do limit the pages of your resume but... I've learned that it depends on the job you are seeking. If you are hoping to be employed as a CEO of a fortune 500 company it will serve you well to list all the experience you have and if it takes up 3 pages than fill it up. For most positions you are setting yourself up to be "ignored" if you have a long resume and I'm not talking about that job as a professor at the University (another job that would require sharing as much as you can on experience and education). I'm talking about the average jobs. You really don't need to submit a three page resume for a position as a librarian or a job as an administrative assistant. Do at least one full page but try hard not to go past two.

4. Your objective: don't say your objective is to gain employment as a janitor when applying for a secretarial position. Yes, this does happen. The problem is that people put together resumes and then save them for when they want to apply for a job, so when it comes time to submit them they touch up the areas of employment but they ALWAYS forget the objective. Make sure you review the objective for each and every job you apply for because the objective is the FIRST thing employers read.

5. Don't spend a lot of time listing experience that doesn't relate to the position you're applying for. If you are applying as a house cleaner it is unlikely the employer cares that you can type 90 wpm. The entirety of your resume should reflect the job you are applying for so only list relevant work history and education related to the position you want. The only exception to this is a major gap in work history. If you are applying for a job as a secretary and the past work includes secretarial jobs but there is a 2 year period where you worked as a teacher or something else, it serves you well to list it because any job is better than a gap in employment. Some employers will just ask in the interview why there is a gap in employment and others will toss the resume assuming the gap is a reflection of something negative but you won't know which one will be reviewing YOUR resume.

6. Do list jobs in chronological order and MAKE SURE IT ALL FLOWS WELL. Example: If line one is current job (2010) and line two is the job you had before that (2007) then the third line should be the job you had before the 2nd to the first. Don't do this:

2010 (current job)
2007 (next job)
2004 (other job)
2006 (other job)

There isn't a single employer that wants to sift through resumes that make their eyes spin. It is tough enough to go through 70 resumes but even worse to go through resumes you have to figure out what they are saying.

7. Don't list job references or personal references on the resume. Some people think this is etiquette but it really isn't. Employers are going to ask for references during or after an interview, I've not known one to ask for them beforehand. With this make sure you give the employer work references along with those personal references. I've known potential employees to forget to submit the work references quite often after they've been requested. I'll receive a list of personal references instead. It isn't deliberate but interesting that it happens more often than not.

8. Please do a lot of proof reading or better yet, have someone proof your resume for you. I'm one of those people that grit my teeth when something is misspelled (ignore my misspellings on this blog!) I've seen resumes where every other word is misspelled. If english is your 2nd language and you aren't sure about the spelling, just ask a friend to proof for you and make corrections. Each employer has their reasons for why misspellings make them tear their hair out so avoid misspellings and along with that avoid poor grammar because if you don't the 2nd line into your resume could be the moment it hits the trash.

9. Don't send in a resume for a job you have no experience in. If you do this you are just wasting your time and the time of the employer. Doing so will not by some miracle get you an interview. No experience = no job in todays market. You MUST have something to offer the employer!

10. Don't throw a hissy fit when the potential employer asks you to fill out an application after you've submitted your resume. A lot of people think that the resume was sufficient because essentially they are going to repeat on the application 90% of what was on the resume but... a resume is not a legal document the way an application is. You sign your application and your giving oath to several things on that document, one being that you haven't lied about the content of your app., and another usually being that you have no criminal background. So just fill out the application with a smile, you'll get through it just fine.

11. Do use a legible font when you type your resume. Don't use anything like a fancy "giselle" font because cursive can be hard to read when it is typewritten. Use Ariel, Ariel Narrow or Times New Roman. Bolding headings is a good idea because it helps the eyes. Don't include color, example: don't highlight anything red so it stands out more. Make sure the entire resume is the same font, don't get carried away using numerous fonts.

12. Don't forget to list how the employer can reach you, this would include name, number, and email address.

13. Don't list hobbies. I file this under sharing too much info about yourself. Sure, share it in the interview if they ask you "tell me about yourself" but generally I haven't met an employer that really takes hobbies into consideration when hiring and depending on what the hobbies are, it could backfire.

14. Don't show employment gaps and jobs you've held for a short time or be ready to explain them. Something that really hurts on a resume is a gap in employment or short term work. If you were employed Sept. 2009 to Jan. 2010 and you list that on your resume, it could be a red flag to the employer that you aren't dependable. Depending on the rest of the content on your resume it could be cause to take a pass on interviewing you. Same with gap in employment. If your resume is weak than the employer might not take the time to ask you why it is that you didn't show any work during May 2007 and June 2009. I even tell my kids that this is something they should always keep in mind when they become a part of the working world.

Remember, the resume is all about getting your foot in the door for an interview. Don't confuse the resume with the interview itself. With the resume you are trying to create a "wow factor" that makes the employer want to call you. Focus on the important in as few words as possible!

NAME THE APIARY

2010-07-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

I've decided to name my apiary and so I need help from my readers. I am requesting that you share an apiary name in the comment section of my blog and at the end of august I will let my kids choose their favorite name from the list of comments. Whomever gives the name that is chosen will receive a bar of handmade soap and one 4 ounce aromatherapy candle. I will put up a sign with the chosen name in my apiary.

THE STORY OF COSMETICS (2010)

2010-07-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

BEE DRAWINGS BY MAYA VALADEZ

2010-07-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

QUEEN BEE

WORKER BEE

INTERVIEWING ETIQUETTE

2010-07-22T09:54:00.000-07:00

I decided after talking to several people about this that I wanted to share some information on putting a resume together and doing interviews for potential employers. I am surprised how many people are not aware of interview/resume etiquette. At first I thought it was a generational gap but it turns out that many of my peers are in the dark on this. I'm going to do this in 3 separate posts. First: Interviewing etiquette. Two: The do's and don'ts on a resume. Three: The "OH NO YOU DIDN'T" Interviews I've had.

This information is NOT based on personal "opinion". I'll be sharing things that have been passed on to me from employers, from teachers in high school, from a course I took in college and from the experience I've received being part of the hiring process in companies I've worked for (as Director of Communications and Administrative Assistant positions), plus my 3+ years of experience as a manager of healthcare workers.

In this list I won't only explain why you should or shouldn't do something, I will tell you why.

1. When you are called for an interview, sound enthusiastic (even if you aren't). Whether we like it or not, employers are already forming an opinion about you when they hear the attitude in your voice. Don't sound frumpy like Eeyore from Winnie the Poo. Nothing says "I really don't want this job but I have to get it" for whatever reason, like a frumpy voice.

2. Dress conservative when going to an interview even if the job you're seeking is construction work. How you dress isn't so much about the position you are seeking as it is about showing respect to your potential employer.

3. ALWAYS shake the employers hand and greet them professionally. Included in this is firm handshake (not squeeze them to the ground handshake or limpy wimpy handshake) and eye contact. In America, firm handshake and eye contact shows confidence. Other countries, this can be the opposite, but here in the U.S it is a must.
The first impression is 90% of the interview and that first impression happens in the FIRST 5 minutes. It is difficult for employers to shake off certain physical aspects of an interviewee which leads me to #4.

4. Cover the tattoo and piercings! Like it or not, tattoos say two things about a person. One: they are followers (before you get huffy on this, look around you. 99% of the population didn't get a tattoo until it was popular to do so) and two: they are rebels. Of course, this doesn't speak for everyone as a whole, my husband got a tattoo for spiritual reasons and had it done in a spiritual manner, but stereotypes come about for a reason and although they are wrong, people have a hard time separating the stereotype from the person. Employers are no exception. Generally, an employer doesn't want an employee that can't think independently and they don't want an employee that can't follow instruction. If your potential employer doesn't have the time to take the risk on you, THEY WON'T. Cover the tattoos and piercings until you get the position and the employer has the time to get to know you. Yes, feel free to ask if your tattoo or piercing (THAT IS COVERED DURING THE INTERVIEW) should remain covered during work hours because some companies demand it and you'd want to know that ahead of time to prevent problems later. Most employers don't care if you have a tattoo or piercing, they just don't want to see them at an interview. It is all about respect, respect, respect.

5. DO NOT ACCEPT CELL PHONE CALLS OR TEXTS DURING AN INTERVIEW. This should need no explanation but seriously I guess it does because this actually happened to me. Besides being obviously RUDE, it says several things about an interviewee. One: you aren't that interested in the job, Two: you can't get through 30 minutes much less 8 hours without talking or texting on the cell, Three: your phone is your life-line and you can't manage without it, even manage to do your work. It is one thing if you forgot to turn your phone off, in which case you'd apologize to the potential employer and then turn off the phone or if you have an emergency call (and it better be a REAL emergency) coming through, explain that BEFORE the interview starts so that no one is caught unprepared.

6. Don't ask about salary during an interview. There has been some serious misconception about this. Every employer knows that you as the potential employee needs or wants money or you wouldn't be interviewing for the job, you don't have to shout it out by asking what the pay is. It means you care more about the money than you do the job and you want to give several impressions in a job interview. One: you want the employer to believe you are sincerely interested in the work you'll be doing, two: you want the employer to believe that work is first and money is second. That isn't true for most people and employers know it, this is where "unwritten" etiquette comes in. Employers know you need/want money but they want to feel/believe that your heart is into this job (whether it is or isn't) and that you really don't care about the pay (even though you do). Few words speak volumes and in this case it yells greed. Most employers won't admit this but I guarantee it is what they are thinking. No one wants someone who obviously is driven by the almighty dollar because it leads to other thoughts about that potential employee, thoughts like will this person stick with us if the company struggles financially, will they always be harping on the employer over raises and benefits, will this employee be remain productive even if the salary demands can't be met, etc... Some companies can't give you a hefty raise every year so if your eyes read $$$$, you won't get hired. Save the questions about salary for when you are offered a job. You might feel like you've wasted your time if you need $20/hr and you learn later you can only make $10/hr but time is not wasted in any interview. All interviews should be considered valuable experience. The more you interview the better you'll get at it. Asking about money isn't worth risking a potential job. When the employer offers you a position and if they haven't already told you, then and only then do you ask about pay. If it isn't what you expect you tell them "I'm sorry, the pay isn't what I expected so I will have to decline the offer." If they want you bad enough they may meet your demands and if they don't they will be ok with it and move on.

7. Try to avoid telling personal stories that lead to "revealing" what should be private information. I know this is difficult because sometimes, especially in casual interviews, you can fall easily into this trap. It might not be a "trap" in the sense that it is intentionally set by the potential employer but again, the employer is making mental notes. Avoid telling them you have children. Legally, you don't have to and legally, they can't ask. Don't talk about your family troubles like the drug addicted sister, the needy mother, the absent father, the slacker husband, etc... Anytime you share some part of your life the employer immediately digests that information and then ponders whether or not these things are significant and in some way can impair your ability to work (whether that means taking you away from your job or consuming your mind so much that your productivity will be lacking.) KEEP ALL PERSONAL DETAILS TO YOURSELF. It would serve you well to know what an employer can and cannot ask and I would stick within that guideline as well when it comes to sharing information. Here is a list of 30 questions that can't be asked in an interview: CLICK HERE

8. Don't interrupt. If the employer is talking and blabbing on for what feels like an eternity just keep on nodding and smiling. People who interrupt are NOT good listeners. You want to give the impression you are a good listener, even if you aren't. This is fact. I've had to train myself to be a better listener over the years so I can attest to this. There are even some courses on how to be a better listener. I don't like to call it a personality flaw because we are who we are but we do need to learn when listening is important and an interview is that time.

9. Know something about the job you applied for and the company/person offering the job. Would you go into Microsoft seeking employment without knowing Bill Gates is the founder and that they manufacturer a number of computer products? Maybe you would but you shouldn't! This goes back to the money issue. Not knowing anything about Microsoft would tell them interviewer that you need a paycheck (and who doesn't) but the job itself is secondary = NOT GOOD EMPLOYEE!

10. Always arrive on time, better yet be early! Although most people already know this, being late to an interview means your likely to be late a lot to work.

11. Don't fidget in your seat. This gives the impression that you are nervous, which is ok, but it also gives the impression that you are insecure and that isn't ok. Insecure people need lots of guidance and employers want to feel they can trust you with the job, whether it is done independently or not.

12. Don't talk negativity about past employers. All it shows is that you have no respect and your likely to do the same to the potential employer. No one wants to be raked through the coals behind their back and all stories have two sides, so if your slagging off a past or current employer it is just a sign of your inability to hold your tongue and quite possibly you've represented yourself as the new "gossip" monger of the company which we all know leads to office politics and no one wants that.

13. Don't tell the employer that you have applied to numerous other companies. What this tells the interviewer is that, one: you could actually leave your current position with their company if one of these "other" companies you applied to comes a calling, two: you are desperate.

14. Don't blame anyone for leaving past jobs, even if there are legitimate reasons. I left a job at a church because the Pastor I was hired under left after 4 years and a new one came in. She and I didn't see eye to eye so I left that position. Actually the entire staff of 5 left because of the new pastor and of course in a new job interview I could explain the ins and outs of that story, afterall I had 4 other staff members that would concur with what I had to say but it is all irrelevant. Don't get stuck on triviality. No one cares if you and your former boss had a beef or if you and a former co-worker couldn't breath the same air. You can still be honest without revealing details. In my case, I would say that I left that position because I had been there 4 years and at the time I wanted to explore something new. Unless your resume shows you jumping job to job every six months, wanting to explore something new after 4 years isn't a big deal and "exploring something new" might translate as the new boss and I didn't see eye to eye but the interviewer will appreciate that you didn't slag off the old boss even if you could prove she was a wench.

15. Refrain from bringing people to interviews with you. This is all about being able to stand on your own as an adult. Confidence and security is what you want to emit and bringing mom or hubby to interview emits the opposite. Bringing kids to an interview is sooo baaaaaaaaaad. Although it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me as an employer because I have kids an understand that need but some employers will see that as an inability to balance home life with work life. If you can't leave the kids at home or with a sitter than reschedule the interview.

16. Last, for heavens sake don't lie on an application ESPECIALLY if a background check is involved. No one wants a liar working for their company for a thousand reasons. If you broke the law, tell the potential employer. Most times, depending on the crime, employers see past that. You're just hurting yourself by lying. Same goes for falsifying experience or education. Eventually it all comes to light and the embarrassment and possible prosecution is NOT WORTH IT!

HONEY

2010-07-19T19:46:00.001-07:00

Although honey isn't something people usually reach for when they "think" natural colorant and I hadn't plan on blogging about it as such but I was making milk, oatmeal and honey soap this week and so I decided to include this in the blog posts on natural coloring.

(BTW/sorry about these blog delays lately. Things are crazy over at the Valadez home and I'm not finding the time that I had before to play on the net.)

So for those who haven't tried honey yet. If you want a natural tan color and a great all around additive, honey is the best. Unfortunately, I'm not at a point in my beekeeping venture where I can use my own honey... the bees are just making enough for themselves right now, so I had to reach for the store bought kind. Always get local honey! Better for the environment, better for the beekeeper ;)

In this recipe I used 2 ounces of honey mixed with .5 - 1 ounce of hot water (it takes hot water to liquify honey, cold doesn't work so well). I only mix the water with the honey so all of it gets incorporated, otherwise without water some honey gets left behind.

Add the honey at trace.

This is the color it produces. Without the honey, this soap turns creamy white.

Why honey is good for skin:

1. It moisturizes.
2. Promotes tissue growth.
3. Reverses damage caused by free radicals.
4. Great for sensitive skin.
5. Contains antimicrobial properties.
6. It is a natural antiseptic.

Happy Soaping!

I KILLED LOTS OF BROOD TODAY!

2010-07-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

The only thing keeping me from throwing in the towel on this beekeeping venture is thinking that the death of all these brood really wasn't my fault. My hubby likes to tease me about it but I just didn't see any other way.

We did a partial reversal on our hive as many experienced beeks suggested we do. It wasn't in-line with what I learned at the University but what was happening with my hive wasn't what I learned at the University either. We were instructed to do a full reversal on the hive before fall, ONLY after the third hive body was filled with brood. Well, we have nearly 5 full frames of honey in the third hive body and yet we have no queen or brood in there. My mentor said my queen must be getting squeezed in that 2nd hive body (he actually told me this a few weeks ago) and yesterday told me to get my butt out there and do a partial reversal.

Hive body 2 would go in the place of 1 and vice versa. We removed hive body 3 and set it aside, we removed hive body 2 and that is when we saw the massacre. My bees had drawn out comb on top of the frames in hive body 1 and below the frames in hive body 2 and the queen placed brood there. I'm thinking this means the queen ran out of space and her tribe was creating new space for her to lay in. The sad part is, when hubby lifted the 2nd hive body it exposed the brood. I figured, and maybe I'm wrong, this brood was now dead so I took to scraping the comb off the top of the frames and in turn that also removed the brood. What makes it even sadder is the nurse bees weren't given up. They kept tending to this exposed brood and here I am 10 minutes later sitting at my computer, looking out the window and the brood I scraped off and there are still nurse bees tending to them.

I hope I did the right thing by scraping them because, and I don't know if any other beeks ever looked this closely, but one of the larvae is moving. The pupae aren't moving but oh yes, that lavae is :(

They look like they may have been drones?

A BEE IS A BEE IS A BEE. WELL...

2010-07-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

One of the most common things for people to do is refer to most stinging insects as bees. Generally, if a stinging insect has a slender body and is colored yellow and black, it is a bee in the eyes of humans. I'm no exception. I always called yellow jackets bees and those around me at the moment knew exactly what I was talking about. But, there is a problem. When we call all stinging insects "bees" it gives the real bees a bad rap.

Here is a link to explain the difference between "real" bees and their stinging counter parts the yellow jacket, hornet and wasp.

Here is a pdfile that shows you the difference.

BEEKEEPING: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

2010-07-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

While I was out weeding the backyard tonight I saw one of my bees crawling around on the ground. Odd I thought, considering she was about 4 feet from the hive. I went to pick her up and she tumbled off my glove only to land on her back. She buzzed vigorously and managed to right herself. She started walking about so I let her climb on my glove again, this time with success, all the while begging her not to sting me. I tried to get her to walk onto a flower in front of the hive but she wasn't interested. I thought about flicking her off but I imagined she could sting faster than I could flick. I regretted picking her up, knowing full well that the gloves were thin enough to be stung through. I decided since I had been idiotic enough to allow this venture that I needed a picture. I walked slowly up the stairs onto the deck on our house and yelled for my daughter to get the camera. I watched our little bee friend groom herself, at least that is what it looked like she was doing, for about 5 minutes. Then she stopped and took what looked like a "mini" nap and then started grooming again. Rubbing her head and eyes with her front legs and then pumping her back end (hoping that wasn't a sign I was about to be stung) and rubbing her back legs over her torso. She didn't seem to mind me at all. Of course, my hubby appeared, claiming I was holding her back from her sisters and insisted I flick her off so she could fly home. I was scared but he was guilting me into it. I flicked her and SHE DIDN'T FLY!!! I watched her drop quickly to the bottom of our deck (it is a long way down) and then proceeded to yell at my husband for guilting me into killing one of my own bees. He walked away leaving me in sorrow :( I feel badly. I can only hope that she hit the rocks below like a feather instead of like a brick.