Wednesday, January 28, 2009

When I feel cool

I generally think of myself as kind of dorking along. I run sort of cloddily, I run into things, I wave my hands around a lot when I talk, and I just kind of blunder my way through many things I do.

Take beekeeping. I can't keep my smoker lit, not to save my life. So I do the bees, but I'm not great at them. A lot of the time I open a hive, and think, "What is this?"

But I did something very cool today. After watching them zoom in just loaded with pollen (the eucalypts are blooming in the hills), I wondered how the hives were doing since the look-see I did the other day. Generally, I suit up completely when I play beekeeper. But I just wanted a little peek.



Soooooo, I just tiptoed over behind the first hive, and lifted the top up barehanded about 2-3 inches. Just enough to see the girls on the top of the frames. Not enough bees to put a super on top -- they're just starting to move up there -- but they're in both boxes. Next hive didn't look so fantastic, so I will go in more fully in a week or so to evaluate. But no stings, no fuss. I felt kinda like a rock star.



And the kids and I started our Trails Challenge today, with a short lakeside hike, which also was pretty cool. We'll see if my enthusiasm holds all year 'long.
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5 comments:

MarieGrace said...

Oh man, I want to hike by my lake... but its frozen and its like 2 degrees out and the wind is blowing to beat all. I'm so jealous.

Good for you with the bees. The whole thing still just mesmerizes me and I am in awe of your super powers.

Charity said...

You should feel like a rock star - that's awesome! :o)

Samantha said...

That's great! The bees are awesome. :)

allisonmariecat said...

Oh, that IS cool! (But, then, I'm a dork, so I'm not sure my opinion counts.)

Katherine said...

That sounds very cool to me! What's the Trails Challenge - I missed something. I was determined to get us out walking all winter, but then the uber-cold set in and here we are.

I saw a finished Kauni cardigan today and thought of you. That is one beautiful sweater.