Episode 57: Pinky and the Brain

Welcome viewers! Glad to have you all back.  Hello new viewers.  Don't forget to subscribe to be updated on new posts, and join our group on Ravelry.
I am DaniGirlCO on Instagram and Ravelry.  Come and follow along.
Here are the show notes for Episode 57:  

On the Needles: 
Knitting Projects - 
FO's:  

WIPs:
Swirl E. Socks for my niece.  Took the heel setup out and am just going to do an afterthought heel.

Summer Sanctuary is on the border band.  Might be shorter than I thought.

Walk on the Moon About ready to start the third color.

Stalking:  

Acquisitions - Fabric for face masks

Spinning Projects -Braid from 100th Sheep in Violet Headed Hummingbird that I 3-plied.  About 398 yds.

Under the Needle:
Sewing Projects - 
Block Heads 3 by Moda, a new block every week.  Borders on the red/green quilt.
Face masks for the family.  Using pattern from Frontline Masks.
Hand piecing EPP hexis. Long term project.

Beading more stitch markers, paw prints and badgers.

In the Garden:  Spring cleanup done.  First round of weeds pulled, but it's like Pinky and the Brain.  Ordered new perennials from High Country Gardens that should come this week.  Fill in with plants from Harding Nursery.  Harvested rhubarb twice already.

In the Beeyard - I think I caught a swarm???  Girls are building comb and making honey, but there is no brood, larvae, eggs, or queen sighting.  No clue.  They aren't robbing it out, it was empty.  Now there's honey.  So confused!

Off Topic:  Tired of this pandemic crap.
Watching/Listening: Itchy Boots about a woman riding an adventure bike around the world.  Soooooo, Brian bought a new bike!  It's a Honda Africa Twin DCT and it's pretty neat.  Off-road here we come!

Thanks for watching!

Episode 24: No More King Sized

Thanks for coming back to watch My High Plains Life!  Welcome viewers! 
I am DaniGirlCO on Instagram, Periscope and Ravelry.
Here are the show notes for Episode 24:  

On the Needles: 
Knitting Projects - 
FO's: n/a

WIPs: 

Celtic Myths shawl by Asita Krebs, ran out of yarn, waiting on another skein.  About 65% done.
Linum Tee by Bristol Ivy, using Classic Elite Bella Lino yarn, sz 3 needles.  Loving the fabric.
Blueberry waffle socks out of MadTosh Sock in Cobbler color way, little more length then on to the toe!
Blueberry waffle socks out of Opal in summer colors because I needed another pair to tote around.  Good for the Colors of the Season KAL, too.

Stalking - Bond Street by Kirsten Kapur, saw an example in person and it was gorgeous.  My LYS Ewe and Me has some great samples that make me want to knit it all.

Acquisitions - fabrics

Spinning Projects -

none

Under the Needle:
Sewing Projects - 
Nicole's wedding quilt top is all complete, borders and all, and off to the quilters.  Will get it back just in time to bind it before the wedding.

In the Garden: Perennials are blooming and growing.  Somehow I have a random corn stalk growing in my front yard.  Go figure.  Hops are about 10 ft tall now.

In the Beeyard - 
Looks like one of the swarms I caught was good.  I got the queen!  They've been coming and robbing out the frames left from the honey extraction.  REALLY need to add another honey super to them ASAP.

Off Topic:  
Watching: I've been sucked into Legacy Knitz podcast with Chelsea and Sue.  
Want to play in the Colors of the Season KAL? Started June 1, thru Aug 31.  Make something in the colors of the season that inspire you.  Are you playing in any other KALs?  What are they?
Mr. HPL did a 1000 mile in 24 hr motorcycle ride to earn his Iron Butt certification.  Crazy.

Thanks for watching!

Episode 23: It's a Sweet Life!

Thanks for coming back to watch My High Plains Life!  I'd like to welcome any new viewers we have. 
I am DaniGirlCO on Instagram and Ravelry.
Here are the show notes for Episode 23:  

On the Needles: 
Knitting Projects - 
FO's: n/a

WIPs: 

Celtic Myths shawl, doing the fingering weight pattern, finally on the border!  going to run out of yarn, had to order another skein.  Hope the color blends into the border well enough.  This is going to be an expensive shawl.

Stalking - things for the Colors of the Season KAL, swatching for the Linum tee, 

Acquisitions - 

Spinning Projects -

none

Under the Needle:
Sewing Projects - 
Nicole's wedding quilt, some new blocks, trying to get my rear in gear already.

In the Garden: we had yet another hail storm, and my rhubarb is still recovering.  Perennials are blooming and growing.  Hops are about 7-8 ft tall now.

In the Beeyard - Extraction party went great, if messy.  Everything got sticky.  Hubby used it as excuse to buy a power washer.  Rented extractor from the Pikes Peak Beekeeper's Association.

I've gone out on two swarm calls, but I only managed to get one, and not sure if I got the queen at that.  Installed in a hive.  Checked them yesterday and they were still there but didn't see any brood or eggs.  Not enough population to make it worthwhile to requeen.
Also did a hive extraction for a lady with bees in her house.

Off Topic:  
Watching: n/a
Want to play in the Colors of the Season KAL? Started June 1, thru Aug 31.  Make something in the colors of the season that inspire you.


Thanks for watching!

Episode 21: Quick, Quick, Slow

Thanks for coming back to watch My High Plains Life!  I'd like to welcome any new viewers we have. 
I am DaniGirlCO on Instagram and Ravelry.
Here are the show notes for Episode 21:  

On the Needles: 
Knitting Projects - 
FO's: nada

WIPs: 
vanilla socks, using Zitron Trekking XXL

Celtic Myths shawl, doing the fingering weight pattern and turning out much better on the edging.

Stalking - nothing, trying to finish up WIPS

Acquisitions - quilting ruler, quilters have gadgets too!

Spinning Projects -

none

Under the Needle:
Sewing Projects - 
Nicole's wedding quilt, some new blocks, past half done point.
1st Thursday mystery block, one of two block finished

In the Garden: landscaper finished and the sod looks great.  Still need more perennials.
Rhubarb is picked, hops are vining already.

In the Beeyard - And the bees are . . . one of the two hives has died out.  Low populations probably couldn't keep brood warm?  Saw queen in the second hive, but also several swarm/supercedure cells.  They haven't swarmed yet, but . . . I reversed the hive boxes (top to bottom) so we'll see if that helps.  Suffered a bit of heat exhaustion doing hive inspection, so it's a good thing Jason and Sarah were there.  Jason ended up hauling everything out that needed it.  Thanks Jason and Sarah!

Off Topic:  
Watching: Suburban Stitcher with Dianne Brown.  Want to play in the Around Your Neck KAL? 
May is flying by so fast, yet I feel like I'm getting nothing done.  The rhubarb needs pulled again, the weeds need pulled already, and the hop needs trellised.  Garden needs planted this weekend.  Where does the time go?
We celebrated the Kentucky Derby with friends and family, and lots of mint juleps.
Been sleeping A LOT.

Thanks for watching!

Episode 10: Fall Came Too Fast

Thanks for coming back to watch My High Plains Life!
Here are the show notes for Episode 10:  

On The Road: missed the September ride with the gang to Pagosa Springs

On the Needles: 
Knitting Projects - 
FO's: none
WIPs: 
Atlantic Current Socks, working up the leg, 
Vanilla socks in Zitron Trekking XXL color way 156, need to start the heel
Tivoli Eileen Tee by Coralie Meslin of Tahki Stacy Charles, my swatch lied! Using Tahki yarns Sedona, 90/10 wool/silk, in the Kiwi color way.
Plain garter stitch shawl in some TLC Heathers acrylic
I am ready for the DCS Pigskin Party 2015!

Spinning Projects -
WIP: some unknown white fiber, lots of neps but VERY bouncy

Under the Needle:
Sewing Projects - 
no sewing because my room was in use by the niece!

Gone to the Dogs: n/a

In the Garden: 
starting the fall cleanup already.  Hubby trimmed the hedges and family cleaned up the front yard.

In the Beeyard - time to pull the honey supers and rent the extractor for the weekend

Off Topic:  will be volunteering for Habitat for Humanity build this weekend

Thanks for watching!

Is Anybody Out There?

I apologize for the time warp, but there's so much more time to post during the winter, when I'm not actually handling the bees.  

Aug 2013:

I thought all of our bees would be dead by now.  What with no viable queen laying since May, they should be.  Granted, we picked up some homeless bees during the Black Forest fire, but that was in June.  It's been at least two months, during which there has been no worker brood.  What the hell is going on?  I'll tell you one thing, being a beekeeper isn't boring.  I'm sure it will be keeping me on my toes 40 years from now.

After the last hive check, where we removed the second deep box due to the drop in population, we assumed it would only be a matter of weeks before it was completely empty.  There was no sign of Queen Catherine, the Carniolan queen I tried to introduce in July.  Then I get a message from Dick saying that there were still bees flying into the hive.

Sarah, Jason and I drove out and suited up to check for ourselves.  This is what we discovered:

Pile of earth beneath where the hive used to be.

A gopher (or something, not ants) had built a little hill of earth beneath the hive.  And there were still bees left!  We knew it wasn't viable, so we made the decision to walk about 100 ft away from the hive, shake off the bees, and load the bee-free equipment in my car.  We packed it all up and left nothing but a pile of dirt with lonely bees flying around it.  

I had a few stowaways in my car, but none of them bothered me on the drive home.  I unloaded the equipment and stored it away for the winter, with plans to start again next spring.

I love bees.

Last Steps

Sarah and I performed another hive check on Sunday, and what we found wasn't good.  Actually it was what we DIDN'T find.  No Queen Catherine!  There were actually still bees left in the hive, a very small population, but enough to care for some brood, if there were any.  We went through every frame, and no queen, no eggs.  No dead carcass with a red dot on the bottom board or in front of the hive.  Did she fly away?  Was she killed, even though they appeared to accept her fine?  I hate not knowing what happened!  If I don't know what it was, how am I supposed to correct it so it doesn't happen again?  Arrrggghhhh!!!


Only a few frames of bees left

 

Both Sarah and I working without gloves. Granted, there was only a small population of bees.

The only good things about Sunday's hive check was that my niece Enya helped out again, and I worked it without any protective gear.  Sarah also did it without gloves.  We did put our veils on when we shook the remaining bees into one box, but I think we're getting more comfortable and less jumpy.  Due to the declining population, we took off the second deep box, and brushed or shook all the bees off of the frames into the bottom deep.  We put the best frames into the bottom box, and packed up the others. 


Enya helping with the honey extraction

 Oh, and we got a little honey.  HONEY!!!  There was one frame we pulled that had 1/2 of one side with capped honey.  Not much, just enough for a taste, right?  Wrong!  With Enya helping, we scraped the capped honey into a strainer lined with cheesecloth, sitting over a bowl.  We crushed it all up, breaking open all of the honeycomb cells, and let gravity do it's work (hence it being called the "crush and strain" method).  After letting it sit for a few hours, with periodic smooshing, we ended up with 2 small jars of golden elixir.  At least the day had a sweet ending!


Our first honey!