Bees

My father had beehives in Alabama so we thought it would be good to have some here.  We thought it would give him something to do when he visited us here and he could teach us all about them.  He started having health problems so we ended up on our own.  We got the Beekeeping for Dummies book, suits for both of us and all the tools we needed.  We had bought our bees and had the hives so we were ready.  We drove our truck out to the beehives and Fred got out, got his suit on and the fogger and headed over to the hives.  I sat in the truck, with the window cracked, reading the directions to him, actually shouting them from the cracked window.    We were laughing at how silly we looked.  I then got my suit on and got up close and person with them.  It's really amazing to see them working together and how they interact.  We have not harvested any of the honey, but will be doing more with the bees this year. 

I like the idea that they play an important role in pollinating the flowers and crops around our area. 

Farm Tip of the Day No. 2

Never put bug spray on yourself while standing in your garden.  I did this last year and never realized that the spray went on the collards.  When I went out the next day, they were all burned from the spray.  We were not able to eat them.  I didn't realize that would happen. 

Now I know to step away from any plants or trees I want to keep before spraying myself.

Here's another tip -

Never ride a 4-wheeler through the woods with your mouth open, even a little.  You never know when there will be a spider web hanging from the trees right at face level.  Ew.

Spring Has Sprung In Holly Hill

There is nothing like spring in South Carolina.  I love seeing the azaleas, dogwoods and wisteria everywhere.  It's funny, though.  I had planned on taking pictures of all the beautiful azaleas and dogwoods in bloom but by the time I got out today to take the pictures, they were not in bloom anymore.  They sure didn't last long. 

Where did spring go?  It was here a minute ago! 

Tutu DIY - No, Not for Me!

I wanted to make a gift for a baby shower and my daughter forwarded me the directions for a tutu off of Pinterest.  It was really easy and fun to make and was a big hit at the shower.  Check this out -

All it takes is elastic and two or three different shades of tulle and a piece of ribbon.  You simply cut an elastic strip about 14" to 16" long for the waist band, sew the ends together, and then I put it around my leg (like a garter).   You cut strips of tulle 16" long in all three colors, then take two colors, white and pink, for example, together in your hand and simply tie them on to the elastic strip.  You keep going around the elastic strip so it's as full as you can get it.  I alternated light pink/white, then dark pink/white around the whole thing.  Once you get the tying all done, you go around it and separate the pieces away from each other to create the "fluff".  The ribbon can be tied on and make a bow, or as the instructions that I followed said, use a hair clip, and tuck the ends of the clip underneath the tied tulle. 

I'm probably not explaining it very well, so you can get the instructions that I followed from www.theribbonretreat.com/blog/how-to-make-a-tutu.html
   

Now I've Seen Everything

My 77 year old mother learning how to shoot a gun!  Maybe we'll get her on a 4-wheeler next. 
Lord, help us all!

You're Driving Too Fast!

My mother is coming for a visit and I am frantically cleaning house.  She is not one to judge, but I was outside all weekend and didn't do any cleaning in the house so I'm now in a panic, scrubbing the kitchen, changing sheets on the beds, sweeping floors and getting ready to mop through.  She just called and said she is now in South Carolina which means she's 90 miles away from my house.  I told her she's driving too fast - I'm not done cleaning yet! 

I was washing stuff in the kitchen sink and looked up to see something in the compost pile.  I couldn't quite make it out.  Was it a possum or chicken?  Dog maybe?  Turns out it a spot on the kitchen window.  That tells me two things. 

One, I need to wash the windows and two, I need to make an eye appointment - soon.

Maybe Mom will want to wash windows when she gets here.  Probably not.

Now THAT'S a Garden!

Fred and I worked all weekend in the garden.  We took up the bricks that I had originally put down and mowed, then put them back in place but thank goodness for Fred, because he made sure they were laid out straight this time.  I had them so crooked, Fred said a snake would break his back trying to follow that line!   He pulled a string and I was able to follow it.  Guys are so great to have around, aren't they?

After that we added newspapers (again), compost on top of that, then the plants and seeds.  I'm not finished yet, and still have room for other things, but here's a glimpse of what we've done so far. 

I am putting flowers in some of the beds as well as vegetables so it not only attracts the bees, but makes it pretty too.  As you can tell from one of the pictures, Hannah tried everything she could to distract me.