Now that the White House has been decorated for Christmas for 2012, I thought that I would repost my experiences decorating there in 2011. I looked at the pictures for this year and one caught my eye, the 'Rainbow Tree'! I thought that this interpretation of a Christmas tree was outstanding. Here is my experience …
Continue reading "Decorating the White House for Christmas-Part 1"
Make your own honey body butter in the kitchen with readily available ingredients and tools for a fraction of the cost of commercially bought cream.
I opened my hive the other day to check on things -removing my last super, and to button everything up for the winter. When I took off the inner cover, I noticed some small black beetles scurrying around on the top bars of the hive and my heart sank. I knew right away that these were …
Continue reading "The Dreaded ‘Hive Beetle’ Attacks"
Cranberries and honey- two great things for your health!
It doesn't seem possible to be able to use the words 'chainsaw' and 'art' in the same sentence. The chainsaw is such a workmanlike and crude tool that it is always surprising to me what beautiful carvings can be made within a couple of hours with the right kind of wood and a noisy, sawdust spitting, dangerous …
Continue reading "A Cut Above – Creating Sculptures from Wood"
Color in the Fall Golden Rod A succession of color and flowers is easy to produce in the spring and early summer, but once September hits, the show of blooms peeters out and it gets harder and harder for the garden to be colorful. That is why I am sure to plant some stellar standouts, that …
Continue reading "Fabulous Fall Performers- The Best of the Best"
Watch out for the invasion of the body snatchers! - no really it is just saddleback caterpillars, Sibine stimulea. I have noticed them in my yard this year and I would rather be stung by a bee than stung by this nasty caterpillar. They look like ugly bizarre clowns or a Scotty dog in a …
Continue reading "Saddlebacks are Back!"
Honey Princess 2012 On a hot and muggy afternoon recently, I worked at the MD State Fair in Timonium at the honey booth selling honey products. As a MD beekeeper, you are encouraged to work the fair for a shift to help our group, the Central MD Beekeepers Association, sell members honey. While there, I got to meet …
Continue reading "Honey Bee Royalty at the Maryland State Fair"
It happens every August - honey extraction! After babying the bees, feeding, monitoring, re-queening, splitting, and just plain worrying about them, now is the moment of truth. How much honey did they deposit in the combs for me to rob from them? I won't leave you in suspense - I extracted 55 pounds from my one …
Continue reading "Robbing the Bees- A Honey of a Day"
I ended up with some free Okra seeds this spring and thought I would try them, not thinking at all about eating them, but just to enjoy the beauty of the plants. Now they are 6 feet tall and producing tons of okra pods every few days so I am trying to use them in cooking.  I did …
Continue reading "Okra – Superfood Superstar"
