gardening blog - Grieving Gardener

July 23, 2024

No Tee Time Thanks to Our Bee Hive

It takes a lot for any man to cancel his tee-time with family and friends. That’s just what happened yesterday, as HHH continues to heal from a dozen bee stings. After a very quiet weekend, he continues to heal but it’s slow going.

Saturday morning, I woke up to a very swollen husband. With a sting above the eyebrow, his eye was swollen shut. His biceps resembled PopEye’s. The sting sites itched like crazy. HHH was poisoned with venom.

Oy. Vey.

I asked multiple times if a trip to ER was necessary. Each time the answer was “NO”. I watched his breathing as he napped throughout the day as the swelling stabilized. He’s been one sick husband.

Throughout this ordeal, the thought of living without bees is not yet a consideration. Rule #1 — Always suit up. This rule was ignored during an invasive procedure. The bees did what they do and HHH paid the price. We may change our minds, but for now, the bees stay.

It must be hard for some to understand. The calming affect the bees have on us on most days is amazing. To watch their little society of 50,000 individuals working together for the good is awe inspiring. Right now, they’re struggling a bit to establish themselves, but they haven’t given up. Last Friday, they defended the hive and HHH was in the way.

With home remedies of Advil for the swelling, and Benadryl and Hydrocortisone Cream for the itching, HHH is healing. Days later, he’s still not back to normal, but improves every day.

While couch bound, HHH and I had time to sit and watch the electric changes in our country. If you blink, you might miss something major. With time to really listen to coverage from BOTH the left and right, I realized this.

Over the past eight years, I’ve forgotten what it means to REALLY listen and consider different points of view. A simple-minded person will jump on any band wagon and cheer for the winning team. With blinders on, it’s easy to plant a flag and die on a hill, even if you haven’t heard a word the leader has said.

Same thing when slinging arrows. It’s a mob mentality when people accept rumors as the truth. We are so much better than that.

It should come at no surprise that I live on the right side of politics. I’ve never owned a Nazi flag or a white robe. I collect guns I don’t intend to shoot very often. I love our beautiful country. I want the best for every CITIZEN. The American Dream brought my ancestors from the grips of truly evil dictators. Many of my ancestors were sent to die in the REAL Siberia. I support the idea of MAGA which means Make America Great Again. Right now, America is struggling. We need great new ideas. We’re in trouble.

Just as the angry bees died before they could realize HHH was one of the good guys, many of us have lost relationships without ever listening to a candidate speak for more than a few soundbites. Not good. Any person is much more than some edited clips. There ARE reporters that can cover stories fairly on BOTH sides of the aisle. Again, we just need to flip the channels and take time to listen to what is being said.

I challenge you to find a candidate you really dislike and listen closely to one speech. Just one. From start to finish. Look for signs of Nazi flags or hate speech in the crowd. Look for the tone and cadence of the speaker. Look and judge for yourself. You may find you’ve been sold a bill of goods. While doing this, please remember that NO ONE deserves to be shot by an assassins’ bullet. No One.

This is the most important political season of our lifetime. When you choose your candidates, make sure to listen to words of your leaders carefully. Watch their actions. Consider both sides. Make your best decision based on facts, not personalities. Our country depends on it.

Whatever you do today, enjoy the great outdoors. If you see bees, watch before you run. Run, don’t swat. And follow Rule #1. Always suit up for the job.

More tomorrow.

July 5, 2024

You’ve Got To BEE Kidding!

When you are dealing with 50,000 tiny animals, it’s bound to happen. Someone is going to break a wing or spike a temp. During the last month, something is going on with our hard working hive and it’s not good. They are not flourishing in abundance. They are barely holding their own here on July 4th. But, let me go back to the beginning.

We are being schooled in Bee-Keeping 101 by our beautiful friend, The Bee Lady. Having watched over bees for a very long time, she knows when to celebrate, worry, or run. We listen intently when she visits every other week to help us work our hive.

The most important lesson she has shared is that bees can kill us. A few weeks back, while enjoying a day of working bees, she was stung 8 times in the head. Suffering a huge reaction, she went into anaphylactic shock and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Rule #1. Keep phone handy. Rule #2. Keep Epi-Pen closer. Those are two rules we won’t soon forget. Luckily, with the proper medications and emergency room care, she’s fine. Since then, she’s been stung a couple more times with no reaction. Just a very weird situation that could have turned deadly.

In case you are wondering, we have two Epi-Pens. Always be ready for the unexpected.

Since our bees arrived in early spring, our teacher has been assuring us that everything has been proceeding in the right direction. Our queen has been laying eggs on schedule while awaiting the bloom of the Russian Olive. We fed the right amount of simple syrup and pollen patties. The honey flow should’ve started around June 1, but, alas, it never happened. The bees are now making enough honey for their survival. They should be making enough to overwinter.

Although every flower seedling was selectedfor the bees, they haven’t been as interested as in years past. The flowers that they should have been thankful for remain visited. The flowers that they shouldn’t be interested, such as Fox Glove, have been their favorite. (More on that one in a bit.)

We’ve been awaiting the sign of wayward wax on the top of their second large super to tell us it’s time for the honey flow. It hasn’t happened. In fact, the honey and pollen storage have stalled a bit, along with our queens production.

If it were just us, The Bee Lady would let us know where we went wrong. According to her (and the latest talk around town), it’s every hive in the area. No honey or pollen. Just hives that would die if winter were around the corner. Ours included. They may not be able to overwinter at this rate and we may lose this bunch to start again next year.

So many people have asked us when the honey will be ready. This year, it’s almost a certainty that there will be NO extra honey. We’ll be lucky if the bees can put together enough for themselves over a hard winter. And so it goes. Farming is exactly like this situation. Some years you have bumper crops. Other years, you can lose you investment in the blink of an eye. And so, we wait.

We did need to do some housecleaning for the little ones. It seems they decided to lay their comb in creative ways, not following the pattern on the ten frames in their home. Not sure why, it seems the hive construction might have been off on the proper dimensions that bees require. Even 1/2″ off can make the difference between behaved and unruly bees.

The Bee Lady and HHH took time yesterday to fix the mess. In doing so, they brought me 6 1/2 pints of raw honey to drain and place in labeled jars. Our honey name was chosen by HHH and certified by me. Winterpast Honey. Simple as that. So far, we have 14 4 0z jars of honey and 6 8 oz. jars. That’s quite a bit from just four wayward frames.

The talk around our area is that experts are on the way. They will be looking at every aspect of the hive decline in our area. Thank goodness they are coming to the rescue, for without pollinators, we’re all in trouble.

Through their struggles, the bees remain sweet and calm. They are carrying on while flying in and out of the hive to forage for food. Time is running short and winter will arrive sooner than it seems. Please pray for our queen and the survival of her littles. We’re depending on it.

Whatever you do this weekend, you might want to learn a little more about bees. They are one of God’s most precious little creatures. There is still so much to learn from them. Patience is a lesson HHH and I are working on through this experience!

Caring for Roses

One of the many things HHH and I have in common is our LOVE for roses! We aren’t fans of every kind, just Hybrid Tea Roses with gigantic and fragrant blossoms.

On our first Christmas together, I gave HHH his favorite rose, Mr. Lincoln. I wrapped up a certificate for the rose, explaining that the bush would arrive in March, and it did. Having purchased it from one of the “best” rose companies out there and at a premium price, I was shocked when it arrived, unwrapped with bare roots exposed in a carboard box.

HHH lovingly planted it here at Winterpast long before he proposed and then it refused to thrive. For 365 days, it was on the verge of dying, while HHH patiently worked his magic. From then on, I promised myself I’d only purchase potted roses that we could inspect.

This year, we purchased nine rose bushes named “Serenity” to celebrate Mother’s Day. With sweat and brute force, HHH used his trusty pick ax to plant each one. Slowly, they are beginning to settle in, blooming for the second time this season. There are plenty of very healthy roses sold at Walmart or the hardware store. It’s not necessary to pay twice the price because you just might receive half the plant.

Rose bush names are interesting. I’m sure the proper name can market more roses. Who could resist buying a bright yellow rose named “Happy Go Lucky”? (We now own two.) Or a stately rose named “The Grand Dame”, which she is. Mr. Lincoln now presides over the rose beds, while Independence Day, Tahitian Sunrise and Stainless Steel (a very pale lavender color), all fall in place. Bliss pumps out bloom after bloom.

All roses need good drainage and lots of water. Don’t plant them too deep, leaving the crown exposed so it can breathe.

Roses do need regular feeding. Bayer Systemic Rose Pellets are long lasting and work very well. Here on the high desert plains of Northwestern Nevada, aphids are proving to be a big problem which the Bayer food will solve. Luckily, the systemic insecticide is okay for use around the bees because bees don’t visit roses. Simple as that.

During the heat of the summer, all the rose bushes will slow down, using their energy to survive the heat. They will bloom again when the weather tames down in the fall. Last week, we had 2″ of rain here on the desert and the roses were thriving. This week, a heat wave is coming with a temperature of 106 predicted for Sunday.

After blooms have faded and died away, be sure to clip them off. There are many articles online about the proper way to do this. While growing your bush larger, clip them back to the first place there are five leaves growing. If you are just deadheading, clip only the dead blossom. There are specific reasons on what to trim and why, so do your own research.

Whatever you do today, try your hand at growing roses. There is nothing prettier than a freshly grown bouquet sitting on your kitchen table.

More tomorrow.