Monthly Archives: June 2009

Bees

Queen Bees

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Beltane                  Waxing Dyan Moon

thebeekeeper Hat jauntily askew and ready to check on his bees.

The bees have been busy since I left two + weeks ago.  A lot more worker bees, probably three times than the original packagae, so maybe 24,000 bees.  Also a lot of queen cells so I think they are not far from swarming.  I have to contact Mark, my bee expert, and found out if I did the right preventative measures.  Using the hive tool, I opened the queen cells and destroyed the brood.

This sounds cruel, but the purpose of new queen cells at this point is to produce a swarm with its own queen.  Without them, they will continue to build more worker bees and produce honey in the hives.

Trellis and planting next.

Art and Culture

The Victorian Subversives

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Beltane              Waxing Dyan Moon

The pre-Raphaelite crew met today at the MIA.  We discussed the peculiar social habits of this genus of artist, their wonderful paintings and the meanings of their careful constructions.  Their jewel like paints make their canvases leap off the wall and a book page.  Their often medieval subject matter brings back the whimsy of knights and chivalry, while some classical allusions, the Two Gentlemen of Verona, Hamlet, and Jesus, for example create odd artistic resonance.  They are beautiful and rich with meaning.

Wendy, Allison, Joy and Antra were in attendance.  Allison presided with her usual vigor, taking us to places to see her new discoveries.  We all peaked in at the exhibit, just now being hung, craning our necks over the barrier like groupies at a rock concert.

This will be a very fun show, I hope it finds an audience.

General

The Lords of Finance

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Beltane                  Waxing Dyan Moon

Spent this morning planting egg plant, building trellises for the peas and getting familiar with the current state of the garden.

A note from my sister said the presentation of her thesis work in Athens (Greece) went well.  Quite an accomplishment.  Way to go, Mary!

Still in a post-vacation fuzz, lost naps catching up with me.

Got the docent sign up form for next year and it has to be in by tomorrow.  Since it’s a first come, first choice deal, I’m not gonna get my first picks this year for the first time since I started as a guide back in 2001.  It means I’ll most likely miss touring the Louvre show.  Darn it.

Reading a book right now called the Lords of Finance.  It explains in detail the precursors to the great depression and the central bankers who made it worse.  I’m not sure why this kind of reading appeals to me, but it does.  The story so far shows the intimate linkage between World War I and the economic devastation wrought by it and the subsequent market failure in 1929.  Reparations by Germany and the damaged economies of France and Great Britain after the war created a chaotic finanical situation in which policy decisions by central banks factored more than ever before.  Some of those decisions made things a lot worse.

General

Back in My Burrow in the Gopher State

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Beltane                           Waxing Dyan Moon

3122 153rd Ave. NW, Minnesota, USA, the mind of God

Home again and good to be here.  A couple of extraneous posts still in the netbook and I’ll get them up today sometime.  There is a lot of work to do in the garden.  A lot.  So, I have to get to it.

Boy is it good to type on a full-sized keyboard again.  My netbook’s keyboard is 92% full size and great as small portables go, but nothing beats full-sized and split for ergonomics.

Wonderful weather, though dry.  The new work by ecological gardens is in and I still have to take in all that they did.  Gotta get out there and build a trellis and plant beans, then we’ll see what comes next.  Oh, and check on the bees.