Sunday, August 1, 2010

I'm Just A Little Black Rain Cloud, Hovering Over a Honey Tree....

The Country X Fair starts on Wednesday this week! For the past two years running, our honey has taken the blue ribbon, in both extracted honey, and comb honey. We want to keep the title, and one must deliver the soon to be prize winning honey Tuesday afternoon.

Which meant someone needed to go out today and, well, not to put to fine a point on it: Steal some from the bees. Boss and the Birdchick both being gone, it fell to Woodsman Hans and I to nip down and steal it.

The green hive seemed the likeliest candidate for this, being tall and full of supers, but we checked the yellow hive first. Also tall-ish, and very mellow. No problems there, but not enough comb honey.

The Green Hive was mean from the get go. The dogs were staying far away, IN the truck in fact. We'd walked down, and Hans drove, so we wouldn't have to carry back our ill gotten gains, but they were NOT coming near. Smart dogs.

I'm not sure why they were so mad, honey stealing aside. I am not the Bee Expert. Boss and Birdchick are. We had the smoker, we wore bee suits, we went in calmly and quickly, our goal a frame of comb honey and a frame of Ross Rounds for Comb. We had to go down a few supers (Small boxes of frames) to find full ones we could take, and the bees were PISSED.

Took about 3 minutes for me to get stung, thru the beesuit. Another couple and Hans was stung. Cabal too. (He just wanted to BEE with us) It's stressful. I don't enjoy this, swarms of angry bees all bonking and buzzing and stinging.

We got two mostly full frames, and dropped them in the bucket, smoking, trying for being calm, and went in for Ross Rounds. At this point we just wanted out, bees were everywhere, angry, the Ross Rounds were glued in with propolis (Which can rival, say, SUPER GLUE as a sticking thing) and everything, including us, was FREAKING COVERED IN BEES! Hans suggested scramming, coming back later, and questioning exactly just how badly did we want a ribbon for Comb Honey this year. I agreed with his thoughts in principal but the two things that stopped me from fleeing were; one, I knew I wasn't coming back and two, Boss and the Birdchick were counting on ME to make this happen.

Assistants get pretty powerful if their Bosses are depending on them, and only them, to get something done.

I think the thought that went thru my head was: I AM FUCKING GETTING THAT ROSS ROUND BEES OR NO WHATEVER IT TAKES I WILL WIN STING ME YOU BITCHES I WANT THAT ROUND! Neither Zen, nor Pooh, but there you have it.



As you can see, I won. Of course. There is no failure. Two of the rounds look really nice and I will take one to the Fair tomorrow. The other two were pretty Funky and had to be cut out of their roundframes.

This looks like "The World According to Honey" but it is the comb and honey scrapped into a bucket, and mashed up.



The mash, with honey now flowing freely, mixed with comb is now ready to be drained thru cheesecloth. I will jar it up in pint jars and pick the most perfect for the Fair!


Ah. Yes. The Bucket of Bees Story. I did promise you that too. Well, we put the frames onto a Bucket so they would not drip everywhere, as honey does, but we could not get all the bees off right away, at first. We put the bucket in the back of the car, and that's where the trouble started, as Lola and Pearl were DETERMINED to get in the car too. Got them out. They got back in. Repeat this a few times, try flipping a blanket over your bucket of buzzing bees (who WILL stay and protect their honey no matter what, apparently) until the thing is begining to take on aspects of a Srewball comedy or farce, as the Dogs jump in, get dragged out and the bees buzz everywhere, except remember you have just had a really stressful time stealing honey and the bees are NOT HAPPY and any moment a dog is going to get stung, as you keep hauling them out.....

All I know is:

We'd better win those Blue Ribbons.

Love and Bees,
Lorraine

173 Comments:

At 16:29 Blogger Phiala said...

Blue ribbon for most complicated and sting-laden honey production, anyway.

I've done nothing nearly so exciting today... puttered around working on things.

At 16:32 Blogger DataGoddess said...

So how did you get the bees away from the honey once you got the bucket back to the garage?

And I'm surprised Lola didn't hear the bees and stay way away from the bucket.

At 16:33 Blogger Beez said...

Shouldn't laugh....shouldn't laugh...but I can just SEE the dogs, the bucket, you and Hans.

[/hiccups from suppressed laughter]

You will win. After that, you HAVE to.

Also- VICTORY!!

(stung through the beesuits eh? They were PISSED)

At 16:34 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I bonked the frames and swatted at bees and battled fiercely until nary a bee was on the fame then slid it thru the cracked open house door to Hans.

A few got in anyway.

At 16:35 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I laughed too, one of those "Funny after the fact" moments, Beez. SO sad you missed coming out today!!!

Yeah, they were PISSED.

At 16:36 Blogger Rhonda Roo said...

That's a ridiculously funny story, i mean I'm laughing with you 'cuz, um, i thought you were laughing...right?

ok good.

***I DEMAND YOU WIN THE COVETED ASSISTANT OF THE DECADE IMMEDIATELY!!******

Free mangoes for everyone!

(Now, anyone know who the judges are at Fira X/ Hmm?)

At 16:36 Blogger Marjorie said...

Ouchie.

After that trauma, you deserve the Blue Ribbon. I hope Boss appreciates your (& Hans's) Courage in the Face of Bees. There should be a medal, or something.

At 16:40 Blogger Marjorie said...

I still want to try beeing some time, though. One of my colleagues had been talking about it. I am egging him on, then if he gets done I can practice on his bees, against the day I finally have a garden big enough for bees myself.

At 16:42 Blogger Annie said...

If not a medal, at least hazardous duty pay.

At 16:45 Blogger DataGoddess said...

I can see you battling fiercely! You deserve the Assistant of the Decade award. You're lucky you're not covered in bee stings from those seriously PISSED bees!

At 17:03 Blogger Precision Grace said...

but Why take dogs to the bees? Can't they stay in their pen for half an hour while honey plunder goes down? Seems to me like adding to one's troubles for no reason..

Also, I know it sounds daft, but it might be helpful to apologise to the bees before starting and saying thank you for the honey.

Geez, what a palaver. I really hope you win that blue ribbon. You ought to win something for sure!

At 17:16 Blogger vampi said...

Christopher Robin, I've come to a very important decision: THESE ARE THE WRONG SORTS OF BEES!


<3

eeek sounds like a thriller and a screwball comedy. a thrill screw com?

At 17:21 Blogger Dragonsally said...

I can happily say, I'm glad I wasn't there!

You'd better win that Blue Ribbon after all of that, funny as it might be in hindsight.
And I hope the honey will taste extra good.

Jess, Nazi Dinosaurs was hilarious. I couldn't stop thinking that the soldiers were snowboarding, which made me laugh more. You retain your title of Quirky Clips Queen.

At 17:34 Blogger Beez said...

Re: Dogs. Muddy Lola and Pearl.

The butt-sniffing thing reminded me of a song Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson used to do called "The Dog's Party".

The lyrics *ahem*


The dogs held a convention, they came from near and far.
And some dogs came by taxi, and some by motorcar.
And at the registration, they all signed in the book.
And each dog hung his a**hole upon a separate hook.

One dog was not invited, and this aroused his ire.
He ran into the meeting, and there he shouted "fire!"
And in the mass confusion, the dogs forgot to look,
And each dog grabbed an a**hole, from off the nearest hook.

The dogs ran from the meeting, they scattered far and wide,
And which dog had which a**hole, they never could decide.
And now whenever dogs meet, on land or sea or foam,
Each sniffs the other's a**hole, in hopes that it's his own.


(melody is "The Church's One Foundation.")

I hope this moment has been educational.

At 18:46 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Oooooh, do keep us updated.

At 19:25 Blogger Fluffy said...

As I was reading this post I thought, "Ribbon, Schmibbon. Those two deserve effing huge medals." And I note I'm not alone in thinking so. I recently read a thing MaryJanice Davidson wrote about how she was sure her newly-acquired (and first ever) PA must have found life way weirder this year than she could have imagined, including naked preschoolers, etc., and I thought "Pffft. Amateur hour." Now if the assistant had to learn fire juggling... Nah. Angry bees are still harder, methinks.

At 19:37 Blogger Jess said...

Well a blue ribbon effort calls for no less. This isn't about people sitting around all day tasting stuff. This is WAR. Benadryl and flamethrowers for everyone! \o/

I hope the evening finds your stings less ouchy.

At 19:53 Blogger Jess said...

aaaaand tick

At 20:23 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

A plus to Bobbee for pointing out that Quiche and Co. need medals.

At 20:47 Blogger vampi said...

so kind of mashing up a bunch of comments i'm picturing a medal shaped like honeycomb with a skull and spicy brains and a no with a princess crown over the O in no hanging from a purple/blue ribbon.


just me?

i really should be packing, even though we are driving and can leave anytime, i would like to not scramble around tomorrow.

At 21:04 Blogger Fluffy said...

I believe I mentioned that the next North American Discworld Convention is next September in Madison, right? So, I have decided my new costume for this one will be Lady Margolotta, reformed vampire and one-time love interest of Havelock Vetinari.

According to Pratchett, she's in a pink cardigan (with embroidered bats,) pearls and sensible flat shoes. I'm thinking matching bats on the shoes, too. Also a sensible wool skirt, since she's described as looking like someone's mother, and not someone who is half-naked. I'm thinking this is right up my alley, since I can rock a pink cardigan.

So. Who else is going, fellow Fiends?? Come on, it's Pratchett. In Wisconsin!

At 21:06 Blogger Fluffy said...

That's in addition to the seamstress and witch costumes, of course. If Revelle will lend me her nunchucks and throwing stars I could also be a mommy assassin.

At 21:35 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Ohhh, Fluffy I can see you as both. Awesome. Wish I could go, but alas the money doesn't stretch that far.

At 21:40 Blogger Beez said...

Hmm... I always figure I am sort of a halfway point between Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax in real life.

Perhaps I should be Mrs. Cake.

Or Vena!

At 21:41 Blogger Dragonsally said...

That's funny Beez, that's where/who I picture myself too.
God how I love his characters.

At 00:26 Blogger spacedlaw said...

You thieves! No wonder the bees were upset. Besides they had all nicely settled down to watch a movie and you guys crashed the party!

That swap-the-dogs-and-bucket moment in the car must have looked like classic slapstick comedy from outside.

At 01:10 Blogger Ticia said...

Too much excitement!

The honey looks delicious though.

Have you noticed any taste difference, year to year?

I hope your bee stings are feeling better.

I am about to collapse into bed and am feeling poetic for y'all tonight.

May your dreams take you to magical places. May your actions take you to the places where your dreams live. May you find something that makes your soul smile. May you always remember that there are people here who love and support your wildest dreams.

Nitey-night.

At 01:12 Blogger vampi said...

that was beautiful ticia:)

sweet dreams to fiends. and for those waking up, may the day bring joy.

At 06:33 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Ah, when I said "A plus" I meant like "AY-PLUS", as in "A+". Oops.

Feels like fall in RI. That's weird about New England. One day it's burning up to a hundred degrees and now it's in the low sixties this morning. Huh.

Nah, don't have anything much interesting for yuhz.

At 06:33 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

At 07:16 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I made the wrong move on the dogs and bucket thing, funny as it is in retrospect. I ought to have walked AWAY. Like they wouldn't have followed????

Pretty stupid of me, but I was under a lot of stress at the moment.

Cabal was scared in the night of the HUGE EVIL STORMS. Well, that was he take mine was: A little lightning and some rain. Woke a LOT.

Need more tea.

The honey tastes faintly spicy, very light honey too. It gets dropped at the fair tomorrow!

At 07:43 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Never heard of spicy honey before!

I need tea too. Black or green? (thinks) Black. Morning tea. Shwoo.

At 07:44 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Surprised myself last night by polishing off a disgusting but uncontainable story about rape. ((0.0))

At 10:12 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Tick and run.

At 10:56 Blogger Martha W. said...

You are so brave to stick around those angry bees. I've dug up two nests of ground bees this summer, so I totally appreciate your courage and feel your pain. Of course you were nicer to the bees than I was. I hope you win the blue ribbons again!

At 11:08 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Fluffy, that's September 2011, right? I hope. Plenty of time to save for 2011.

Of the characters I've met so far, my guess is I resemble Magrat the most.

At 13:40 Blogger Na said...

me too, Sock. :) tho' the character i most wish to emulate is Granny Weatherwax.

beeeees! good luck at the Fair, Lorraine. and this post & comments very much lifted my spirits this morning.

At 14:26 Blogger Ticia said...

Hello Fiends!

Na- *smoochies*

Spicy honey got me thinking...

Do different species of bees look for different types of pollen?

Would that make their honey taste different?

Honey.... yummmm

At 14:27 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

I like that you use "emulate", Na - am I the only one that uses certain book characters as role models of sorts? I actually do think girls tend to need guy role models, to a degree, and I've so often had them in books. Weirdness, I know.

At 15:11 Blogger Martin Millar said...

It all sounds like a very dangerous enterprise.

Thanks for the Twitter support!

At 19:21 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Always Martin! And most welcome! Always loved your writing, and Lonely Werewolf Girl and Curse of the Wolf Girl are rather THE BEST EVER!

So there.

Honey always has different flavors, depending on where the bees were browsing. Lots of lilac and sweet in the spring. I think they got into radish flowers, and oregano for a bit there. Sometimes you get pine. Heartier in the fall.

I don't want to keep on and get boring about this, but ZUMBA so rocks. Met more people tonight, and we had so much fun. It's kind of like clubbing, you just dance.

I don't know what I look like but I feel really beautiful doing it.

At 20:15 Blogger Ticia said...

I love hearing you talk about Zumba. :)

At 20:23 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Cool! I just don't want to get boring. New obsessions can tend to go ON.

I am meeting with the teacher I really like tomorrow for an hour before class, just to talk FIT, Zumba, and maybe have her take me thru some of the more complicated steps. I don't have much samba experience. Or dance, to speak truth. Doesn't matter, you learn REAL quick.

My energy is thru the ROOF too, after class.

There's such a joy to it, dancing and music.

At 20:25 Blogger Ticia said...

What a good idea! Knowing a few of the more complicated steps can only make the experience more fun, in my mind.

At 20:32 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Uh-huh. You got a free personal training hour with the gym membership. I want to know what this women DOES to be that FIT.

Waiting for Melissa to come for her friend Pearl, so I can go home to my Bengals who were NOT amused at me being gone all night last night. And all day today.

Honey goes to the County X Fair tomorrow!!!!!!

At 20:40 Blogger Ticia said...

How does Pearl being there (we'll get to beeing in a minute ) affect Cabal? Is it tough for him to not play?

Now to beeing. So, your honey tastes different every time you harvest it?

Now to Bengals. I bet if you bring cooked meat home with you they'll be distracted enough that they may not attack you. Do they do that? Attack you when you leave them alone too long? Should we be concerned?

At 20:56 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Cabal doesn't seem to want to play much, he did for a bit, but I think his leg is hurting him, poor guy. SUrgery next week.

Yup. The honey tastes different every time!

The Bengals just sort of look...DISSAPOINTED. Which is worse.

At 21:10 Blogger Ticia said...

Disappointed. That is the worst. There's nothing to do with that but feel guilty.

I'm sorry Cabal's hurting. I hate to think of any animal in pain. I'm glad he's going to be fixed soon. I hope his recovery is quick.

Do you have to do anything with the honey other than strain it?

At 21:16 Blogger Jess said...

Disappointed Bengals could be the sister site to Disapproving Rabbits.

The featherstick has stopped moving. Why does it fail me?

etc.

At 21:27 Blogger Ticia said...

Funny, Jess.

At 21:47 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Earlier today, I posted a comment about how the best writers can write stories about disturbing and scary subjects like rape, how from now on I will think of the angry school supply shopping customers where I work as angry bees, and how I have a story shortlisted in a magazine. I will hear if it has been accept in a few weeks. But, that comment did not actually post.

HELLO FIENDS!!!!!

^.^

At 22:46 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Jess, you slay me. Yes, it is WAY worse when they just LOOK dissapointed. They are happy now tho, I am HOME HOME HOME!!!!!!!!!!

But I abandoned the Dogs, who looked so betrayed when I left, despite being with them for the last three days.

Not sure I can win here.

HI WENDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nope, for the honey, Ticia, one simply mashes up the comb in a bucket then strains it thru cheesecloth. There are other ways, like extractors, but I like the Bucket Method.

At 22:50 Blogger Precision Grace said...

ooh poor Quiche, needs a replicator so she can be in two places at once.

Are the dogs going to be OK on their own over night? How many romance novels can Lola go through in the night. I hope there are no storms for Cabal's sake.

Zumba sounds fun fun fun. I really wish I could go to class but I'm allergic to people so that wouldn't work. Still fun to bounce around to videos at home though.

BTW, it's 4:50am - the curmpet & mayo o'clock. [don't ask]

At 23:36 Blogger Jess said...

Betrayed Dogs! You have left me all alone. Now I must eat your romance novel. I'm telling you, there's a fortune to be made, here, provided Birchick doesn't sue.

Wide awake after midnight, again, and trying to self-sedate with milky tea. Would schnapps have been a better addition? I don't have schnapps. Just milk. And chocolate liqueur, which I'm not sure would be good in chai.

Awake awake awake. Yayayayaya.

I am pleased for those among us who are having Happy Writing Days. Me, I'm not having that right now. The stuff I'm turning out lately is just weak. It drives me crazy that it's weak. I can do so much better than this, but it feels like I'll never get it back. And there I am wondering what on earth could be keeping me up at night. :/

At 23:38 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I have a new goal for next Monday, when I get paid: buy a fan.

x.x

At 23:44 Blogger Precision Grace said...

Hey Jess, I have a suggestion for you; it's something I do when I feel I'm writing like crap. I sit down and give myself a task to write like crap on purpose. It's actually really hard but really fun too. And it works. (well, it feels like it works; gets you out of a rut, can't guarantee more than that)

If you do try it, I'd love to know how you got on.

At 23:48 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Jess, have you considered ZUMBA? You will sleep at night. I would be asleep but it is my ONE night to stay up, don't have to be up tomorrow or be anywhere until 11.

Such decadence, I say.

At 23:50 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

(and I admit it, I am sucking up to some bengals)

At 00:08 Blogger Jess said...

You can't not suck up to bengals, though.

I am not into the Zumba idea for myself, which is mainly to do with the fact that I like to work out alone. (And also that miserable jazzercise class when I was 11. Bad flashbacks there.) But I kind of want to join a gym again. I miss the weight machines. Made me feel like a badass.

Trouble is that all the gyms around here start at about $1000 per year plus a $90 sign-up fee. I feel like I'd rather spend that kind of money on fixing up the house. Or buying a new sofa. It's not like there aren't HILLS around here. That's a good workout. Then again: how often do I hike around the neighborhood like Heidi-of-the-Swiss-Alps? Not very often.

At 00:08 Blogger Na said...

so. i completed some editing this morning, sent off an invoice, spent some time with monsters in between. needed a break and decided to do something for Fitness' Sake and went for a walk! while stepping up onto a sidewalk but looking at my arm (brushing off a mosquito) instead of at my feet, i misstepped, smashed my foot into the curb, and sent myself running/flailing about thirty feet down the sidewalk, bent over with my arms outstretched for balance and prolly looking for all the world like i was trying to take flight. i did not crash at least, but my foot still hurts. ye fods if i can't walk safely ... !

and taking a long, circular route home i came across a roadside stand selling fruit from B.C., so came home with cherries, which made up for the sore foot a bit.

At 00:12 Blogger Beez said...

It's almost the same price-wise here for me. Even the Y has gotten kind of expensive.

Zumba is everywhere now, though. Or else I'm noticing more. I was walking through Sabathani Center today and lo! a lunchtime Zumba class was underway.

I really have no good excuse, I have a full weight machine AND a recumbent bike right here at home.

At 00:13 Blogger Jess said...

Accidental cardio! :D Oh, Na, I should not giggle. I hope the foot's feeling better now.

Stop bangin' your toe! I seem to recall this isn't the first time.

At 00:25 Blogger Dragonsally said...

I can't believe I've done it Fiends...
I'm inked
It didn't hurt half as much as I feared.
Its lots bigger than I had planned but I LOVE it.

At 00:33 Blogger Precision Grace said...

Sally that's AWESOME!


Every year I get an itch to get one too. This year I'm torn between Ouroboros and Choku Rei Reiki power symbol.

Wonder if this will be the year to finally cave in..

At 01:01 Blogger Ms T said...

Tumeke! Ka pai tou ta moko, e Sally! Tino ataahua.(Choice! Love the tattoo, Sally. Very beautiful. But you probably worked all that out without the translation. :) )

I want one, and it used to be that I didn't have one because I was terribly indecisive. Now, it's because I want a couple of reasonably big ones and I need to save up for them. Well, that and work out if my pain threshold is up to it. And book in with the artists / tohunga ta moko and travel to them.

At 01:22 Blogger Ms T said...

And my apologies - we've just had Maori Language Week here and I've been reading little chunks of the language all day, so I failed to resist the urge to break out my very limited and most probably grammatically incorrect Maori. It might not have been the most appropriate place though...

At 04:34 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Why is it that politicians, especially during election mode always want photographs/film with babies?
Is it meant to make them look more caring? It just makes me more cynical - if that is possible *sigh*

At 07:33 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

That sounds fun, Ms. T! I've studied a lot of languages but never learnt any of the Maori.

Sally, your tattoo is way cool, very very cool, and I have to agree about politicians. Benjamin eats politics for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the little snacks in between. I have serious trouble putting up with this, because meanwhile HE.DOESN'T.READ.BOOKS.

At 08:40 Blogger Na said...

Jess, giggle away! this seemed the post for physical comedy bits.

it's occurred to me that years of dedicated yoga practice are possibly the reason i didn't splat - all that balance stuff.

yer right about the toe, too. hmmmm. i love my toes, honestly!

terrific ink, Sal!

At 12:19 Blogger Jane said...

tick and laugh about the beeing.

At 14:24 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

We LIKE Maori here, Ms T! Feel free! I can impress Hera with it.

Na, good start! I mean, more or less. Go for it! Carefully...

This day is rocking my world!!!!!!!!

At 15:11 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Have you done Maori languages, Quiche?!

At 16:38 Blogger Fluffy said...

I don't know any Maori, but I really want to go back to New Zealand. It would be extra cool if Dennis could get another business trip there.

Jess, walking is fun if you have an MP-3 player. I like audiobooks or music. Zumba sounds fun, too, if it doesn't involve Britney Spears or similar. I see they have classes at our little senior center. I have an AARP card - maybe I should sign up. And likely get my ass kicked by a gang of 80-year-old Texas ladies.

I just finished my first spy novel in years and years - "The Kill Artist" by Daniel Silva. It was so good I almost dropped everything, drove across town, and bought the second one. Maybe after dinner...

At 17:03 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

I think walking feels great. I've never walked with music myself, but I love the idea of it.

I shelve a lot of Daniel Silva books but have never read one.

At 20:38 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

ONE little black raincloud. We laughed at it. While trail riding.

(See where this is going?)

It was trying SO hard to turn into a thunderstorm with torrential downpours.

It succeeded. At the apex of our trail.

Very, very soaked.

Cooler now.

At 20:41 Blogger Phiala said...

But of course.

Here it threatened rain, but has not delivered. My tomatoes would like some precipitation please!

At 21:16 Blogger Jess said...

We got some. Wasn't expecting that. Hooray, my tomatoes will live to see tomorrow!

Watched Totoro again tonight. Has to be the happiest and maddest film ever. :D

At 21:36 Blogger vampi said...

i freaking love totoro. the umbrella scene and the nekobus are my favs.

aww i bet riding all wet can be both fun and uncomfortable since there are things like the chaps. wet and heavy. i do like doing things in the rain.


having a nice vaca, went to San Diego zoo, that place is hue, we were there for over 6 hours and didn't even see it all.

i'm about to go some dinner, and then nightswimming:)

At 00:55 Blogger Ms T said...

Phiala, we could send you some rain. It would be no problem. Really. Although your tomatoes might not be that thrilled about it - it is rather heavy rain.

Can you tell I'm a bit over the weather we've been having? :)

At 01:46 Blogger Na said...

we've had some little (and big) black rain clouds too. some gentle rain, cooler temps. too many mosquitos for me to weed the garden patches, which of course need weeding more than ever because of all the rain this summer, which of course is why there's so many mosquitos...

At 01:48 Blogger Na said...

the days are also growing noticeably shorter now! this with the cooler temps makes me begin to fret about the end of nice weather. bad news on this end of the globe, but good news then, soon, for Ms T and Dragonsally, i guess?

At 03:45 Blogger Dragonsally said...

You bet Na...its FREEZING and wet today and I am looking forward to some warm weather.

At 07:03 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Hot hot hot hot hot!!!!!!

That's us here.

Today is the day of the Honey Judging at the Fair!!!!!!!! I will go and check after my lesson this morning!!

Fingers crossed! This would be THREE years in a row if we take the BLue!

At 07:18 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Is you kind neighbour entering again this year?

At 08:05 Blogger Ticia said...

Good luck today!

(not really awake enough yet for anything more interesting to come out of my mouth)

At 08:11 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

You guys can keep your rain. I don't want my bathroom ceiling falling in again. At least not until right before I move. Then, a free carpet cleaning would come in handy.

At 08:53 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Dark and rainy here in Chicago. Not good for areas already flooding. After this hot and steamy summer, I demand a crisp, sunny, and long fall.

Hoping I can wrap up an aggravating work situation today. It has become way too complicated.

Good honey wishes to Team Gaiman. And good day wishes all 'round.

At 09:45 Blogger Laura B said...

I love reading of beeing adventures!

Totoro rocks!

I joined a writers project a couple months back, but have failed to submit anything, yet. I'm having major blockage going on right now.

Sally, I love the tattoo!

Got eaten alive by chiggers sitting around a fire the other night.

Sorry for all the randomness. Stressful stuff going on here right now.

At 09:45 Blogger Laura B said...

aaaand *tick*

At 10:13 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Part one of aggravating work situation resolved! And there was much rejoicing! On to part two...

At 11:23 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Good on you OSS!

And... I am finally officially on holiday for three weeks. About time too!
(And I got China Mieville's KRAKEN in the mail today. Talk about excellent timing!)

At 11:25 Blogger dabbler said...

Tick...TIck...TICk...TICK

At 11:30 Blogger Phiala said...

I just finished Kraken today, and wrote a 14-character twitter review:

Mieville-Kraken: Magic. Formalin. Hidden London. Stunt-writing. Fire. Zombie squid. Clever language. Biology. Red herrings. History. #review

At 11:34 Blogger spacedlaw said...

It was the clever language bit that made me rush for it. Somebody twitted that in the first few pages he had learnt about 8 new words...

At 11:40 Blogger Phiala said...

The language was excellent. The stunt writing was also very impressive (tenses of timetravel type things, only different).

At 11:43 Blogger Precision Grace said...

Excerpt?

I've never read CM and cannot find anywhere online to read an example to see if I'd like it. It doesn't sound like a type of thing I'd usually go for but I'd make exception for clever writing.

At 11:45 Blogger Phiala said...

You can read an excerpt from the publisher.

I'm not much of a Mieville fan, but greatly enjoyed Kraken.

At 11:51 Blogger Precision Grace said...

thanks Phiala
Couldn't get through it; can't cope with dense writing. oh well.

At 11:52 Blogger Precision Grace said...

Oooh Congrats on Blue Ribbons for honey! I can smell new post in the air..

At 11:53 Blogger spacedlaw said...

A giant squid. This just HAS to be good.

At 11:56 Blogger Phiala said...

Blue ribbon bees!

Congrats to all the Bee Team.

And yes, Kraken is rather densely written. Makes more room for the clever language and stuntwriting, dontcha know.

At 11:57 Blogger Precision Grace said...

must admit I'm intrigued by this stun writing thing. how will I recognise it?

At 12:00 Blogger Na said...

dabbler, don't 'splode!

Kraken sounds good. thanks for the tip. i've only read short stories by CM, but recall liking them. i do have Curse of the Wolf Girl on the way, hurrah.

alas, am now buried by work again, and also working on the journal article i meant to finish last summer, i'm lead and co-authors are pressing to get it submitted, because turns out its significant data others are waiting to read. so reading for pleasure shall have to wait a bit. also monster school starts in a few weeks. and craziest is, we are entering another family crisis, as it seems my guy's grandmother will not be able to recover any from congestive heart failure she's been recently diagnosed with. they're arranging hospice at-home care today, and she's been prescribed morphine. she seems somewhat resigned to what's coming but none of the rest of us are. oh! we were speaking of heroes a while back. i just realized, this woman is one to me.

oh. holy.

i think i might 'splode.

At 12:02 Blogger Phiala said...

Oh Na, *hugs* from someone who has just gone through that...

At 12:05 Blogger Na said...

ooh! high-fives for the blue honey ribbon!

and i'll listen to reviews here any day over other online ones, but just read one about Kraken that was entertaining in itself. onto the to-find list it goes...

At 12:05 Blogger One Sock Short said...

{{{Na}}}

At 12:12 Blogger Phiala said...

Would this shit just stop now please? Just found out a friend has a brain tumor. I am completely and thoroughly tired of this.

At 12:16 Blogger Na said...

thanks! and i agree with the last, emphatically.

At 12:18 Blogger One Sock Short said...

{{{Phiala & Friend}}}

At 12:30 Blogger Marjorie said...

Oh Na, & Phiala. So sorry to hear of bad news. Hugs to you both.

At 13:53 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

I'm sorry, Na and Phiala!

At 13:53 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

At 14:31 Blogger Marjorie said...

OK, this is ...... Odd. Someone has stolen my porch.
Not a proper porch, just a teeny tiled bit that stops you getting rained on if you are standing outside the front door - got home today & all the tiles (which is only about 35-40 tiles - about 6 rows of 5 or 6 tiles) have been removed.
It's been done very neatly.

But who steals tiles?

At 14:53 Blogger Phiala said...

Marjorie, that's just bizarre.

At 15:23 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Holmes needed.

At 15:43 Blogger Marjorie said...

Phiala, that's what I think. I'm too bust thinking it's bizarre to be properly angry.
And LiHua, if it means I get a visit from Holmes & Watson, especially in their newest, BBC incarnation, then I'm all for it!

At 15:47 Blogger Phiala said...

Haven't seen an entirely official statement, but the early word is:

Because Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses...

and so on.

There are a few things I think worth violating Q's "no politics" dictum. Declaring Prop 8 unconstitutional is so one of them.

Waiting anxiously for confirmation...

[California's anti-gay-marriage bill]

At 15:52 Blogger Marjorie said...

Hurrah!!

At 15:54 Blogger Phiala said...

And... CNN says so too. I think it's official.

Hooray!

At 17:48 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Firstly 0 hugs to Na, and Phiala and friend.

Secondly, Congrats Team Gaiman on 3 years of blue ribbons, awesome.

Thirdly, Prop 8...woohoo!

And back to catching up on emails...

At 18:28 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

I am PROUD of Team Gaiman!

At 18:47 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Oh so behind on posts!

ticky!

At 18:50 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Talk the hell away! This isn't politics! This is about equal rights for everyone!!!!!

(And politics are ok, but if you need to have HEATED pol talks, take it privately, is all, you know, like respect each others differences and all that)

At 18:50 Anonymous Joypeg said...

Congratulations to the Bees, and in honour of your blue ribbon honey, here's a blue ribbon tree for FL:
www.flickr.com/photos/86268937@N00/
4460653402/
Enjoy.

At 20:31 Blogger Dragonsally said...

My mother just created The Irony Of The Day...message on answering machine "Sally, I have no intention of leaving you a message, I'll ring back at 7pm" I don't think she realized how funny that was.

At 21:28 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Benjamin talks nothing BUT politics!

At 00:41 Blogger Chantrelle said...

farther behind that before...i actually forgot to tick the ticky.

I need Kindle book recommendations! We're heading to my dad's cabin for a week. No internet or phone! wheee! But i want to load up teh kindle before we leave. Nothing too heavy, but not complete fluff. I'm near finishing a Chris Moore book and taking a Cory Doctorow.

At 06:21 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

"Eight Days of Luke" by Diana Wynne Jones if you can find it. "The Stepsister Scheme" by Jim C. Hines.

They're both fantasy, so you know.

At 07:02 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Martin Millar! Do you have Curse of the Wolfe Girl?

Also, I have this book called History of the Kings of ENgland. Or something like that. It's the finniest history I've ever read, really well written.

That's all I got.

I will take new pics today of the honey with a real camera! new Post coming!

At 08:02 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Whoo!

At 11:12 Blogger vampi said...

i quite enjoyed The Good Fairies of New York. i want to get these other martin millar books mentioned. why am i so late to the MM party?

At 11:27 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I have a DWJ book on the kindle waiting for me (can't remember which!)...LOVE her.

Haven't read Millar. Yay! New author!

Today, Ben is 6. He requested french toast for breakfast. We will go out to La Posta (an amazing italian place) for dinner by his request as well :) Can't believe he's 6!!! Happy Birthday to my baby boy who's becoming less and less of a baby every day!

At 14:03 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Yes, indeed, Happy Birthday to Ben.

I have never read Martin Millar. I mean, a BIT of Good Fairies, a couple years ago.

At 14:21 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

I don't see why it's not time for tea. Going into the village and then catching a bus to Chinese lesson ...

At 20:07 Blogger Na said...

busy Lorraine? busy fiends?

we're packing up the car again. Grandma Mazie passed away this morning. it amuses me to think that in her dying as in her living, once the woman made up her mind to do something, she simply went and Got It Done.

so, we're off to the gathering of the tribe. blessings to you all and all your loved ones.

At 20:11 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Oh Na,sorry to hear that...I hope the gathering of the family is comforting.

And Happy Birthday to young Ben.

At 20:15 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I'm here. Still recovering from ZUMBA. Stayed up way too late last nigth , got up early and never stopped.

Love my new hair tho!

I now have some Hair Skills!

WILL go to the fair and shoot honey tomorrow!

8 is too early for bed. But 9 isn't.

At 20:37 Blogger Cecily said...

I feel completely out of the loop, as I haven't finished reading the blog or even started the comments. But I have a forced (non-paid) vacation for the next week and a half, so there will be time!

At 06:36 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Morning my FIends!

How is it I go to bed at 9 and no one comes sneaking in????

Looks like you need a new post with things to lure you out of hiding. I shall do my best to oblige you today.

I am meeting my friend for coffee at 7. This does not even seem like an odd thing anymore. Early is weird.

At 07:59 Blogger Marjorie said...

are you going riding as well, or just coffee? Either way, enjoy.

I am not chatting (much) becasue I am working. It's very dull.

At 08:07 Blogger Phiala said...

I'm sitting in front of a computer, but like Marjorie I'm actually working.

A long planning conversation with my officemate yesterday highlighted just how far I am behind for the year, and added a new project on top of the load. I have four papers and a math project to finish by the end of September.

Um, right.

At 08:31 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Riding is later today, both Dim in the ring and then a trail ride with Chanel. This morning is something called "Basic Step and Abs."

I fear this "Basic"

At 10:10 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Hallo Fiends. William is big into Harry Potter right now. I like having the movies as the background noise of the house lately. Plus he wants to read "a chapter a day" ... nice. Yay.

At 10:28 Blogger gaypet said...

Any "Ab" workout scares me. My abs are in serious disrepair. I hope the "Basic" kindly kicks butt. :)

At 11:23 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Our house is all about Harry Potter right now too. We're on book 6. We read a 1/2 hour before bed each night. Love it....especially now that i'm through frickin' book 5...argh!

We're packing up today and heading to the mountains for a week so I will have no internet and no phone until the 14th! Holy shit batman! What will I do? ;-)

At 12:15 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

This class doesn't really work for me, I need to do an earlier one. I can get an ok workout from it, but no inspiration.

I would rather be the worst one in class, than in one with people who are all where I am at. I want to have to really WORK to keep up, not figure out ways to make it more challenging, if you see what I mean.

And both the music and the teacher disappoint in this class. SHE isn't pushing herself, takes too long between sets, and laughs like a hyeana.

(That last was a very uncharitable remark. I am ashamed of myself.)

But she Yells, hey how about another set, yes? Or no? HAHAHAHHHAHAHA. It gets on my nerves.

The other ladies did think my hair was the coolest thing ever tho.

At 12:17 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Oh, I can be catty like that too, it's really hard not to! Hyena! HAAAAAAHAAAA!! :)

At 13:26 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

Chantrelle, it's funny, book FOUR is the one I don't enjoy much. Was always my least favorite HP.

You go kick butt, Quiche.

At 13:26 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

At 13:48 Blogger Cecily said...

I enjoyed reading all of the books but hated watching the fourth one (I think it was the fourth one). It felt like it was on fast forward the entire movie. Entire sub-plots were left out and it skipped around way too much. I think it was around that time in the the series that they should have started doing two movies per book. There is just too much information to be condensed into one movie. Plus it was like the shortest of all the movies. I would gladly watch a 3 hour Harry Potter, and it wasn't, and really left me feeling very disappointed.

At 14:06 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

The fourth film had a flavor interesting enough to keep me riveted, but it WAS a fast-forward kind of movie. On the other hand, the movie that blew me away with its blaring suckishness was Order of the Phoenix.

At 14:42 Blogger Cecily said...

See Order of the Phoenix has a get out of jail free card in my opinion. It's cast includes Gary Oldman, whom I find to be one of the sexiest most yummy men alive. He has a smile that makes my knees quiver and my insides go all squishy.

And I just looked at his IMDB listing and it appears he will be in the second part to Deathly Hallows! *SQUEE*

At 16:25 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

This DAY!!!!!!!!!

The biggest wrench in the world just leapt from the cupboard onto my foot. Who knew I OWNED the Biggest Wrench in the World???????

And all three Bengals went walkabout. Came out of the gym and had MESSAGES, and a Possee of people hunting them!

They'd got Mim back and inside, but venus and Magic were under the house!

I sent the Possee away and simply called like my heart was breaking. They came home for love of me. And the food cans I had been opening.

I will do a new post tonight after riding.

At 19:02 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

If the Biggest Wrench in the World is going to be found in someone's cupboard, it's going to be yours.

At 02:16 Blogger Dragonsally said...

a perfectly Fiendish cat vid

At 07:02 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Morning my fiends! Is it a good day in the neighborhood?

Gayle is coming to visit me!

Farmers market, county fair, horse riding and apparently, she wants to see UNDERWORLD. Well, I guess I can watch it one more time...

At 12:33 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

All's well here. Benjamin is doing some politic thing with Linc Chaffey in the afternoon.

At 15:56 Blogger Beez said...

@fablor

How you suffer. Underworld AGAIN.

At 19:51 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

ok! Promised you a new post (days ago, I know, I do know!) but at long last!!!!!!

Oh, yes, it's up!

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