New Bees

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I took the five-hour round trip drive to pick up my bees for the season.  Five of my seven colonies I attempted to keep alive over the winter died.  The two that did make it through the winter are strong and are off to a good start.

I got only four additional colonies this year.  I often start the year with ten colonies but after being called to pick up swarms I have ended up with up to sixteen colonies.  That is way more colonies than I care to deal with.  Hopefully I'll top out with ten hives this year, but I will probably only take honey from six of them.

Last year was the first year I cut the honey production, and it was kind of nice.  I was sold out easily by November.  Most of the years of large production I still am scrambling to sell the rest of the harvest in December.  Though selling honey and hive products makes it so I can at least break even on my endeavors; a person can get used to the less is better module.  It may not be really better, but it is easier.

Kissing Frogs

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Kissing frogs is the term we use for horse shopping.  Our last two goes at finding good horses went pretty well and I think we are done for a while.

In the last year my wife had a horse that put her in the hospital on several occasions. He was unpredictable and would throw her on a whim.  He needed an owner that could school him on being more polite to riders.  She has since found a local horse on her first try on Dream Horse.  Her horse is well trained and does everything we need him to do, calmly.

Then in failing health, I had to put my horse down last fall and I got the Beav on a one year trial, but after several months and probably a thousand dollars in vet care, we realized he would never over come his foot issues so we returned him.  I then got a loaner horse which we've had for the last two or so months.  He was big he could do everything, but he wasn't for sale.  We had him only until we could find another horse for me.

The photo above is my new horse Kali.  I have her on a one month trial.  She is young, six years old, but has some good training under her, though she is still considered green which shows when she confronts a new situation like cows and culvert pipes  She keeps her ears on the rider looking for cues as to what she should do.

She is a Belgian/Quarter Horse mix and she is a big girl at 16 hands.  She has the enormous feet of a draft horse and they are good sound feet.  The last three horses I've had had foot problems and that changes what you can do with a horse.

It takes about a year for a rider and a horse to know each other and anticipate what each is thinking.  Kali learned a few things on the trail today.  I got her to walk through several puddles and she didn't even look for a way around it. She did get spooked a couple times but I kept her going and she was much more relaxed at the half way point.  There is a tarp beside the road that spooked her last time we rode and this time she didn't pay any attention to it at all.

Now I need to test her to see how she feels about the beach and walking in the surf.  I need to get her to cross a river and go over bridges.  The adventure begins, again.

We All Raise Our Voices To The Air

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If you are a fan of the Decemberists and especially if you have ever been to one of their concerts you will be enchanted by their new live two CD collection, We All Raise Our Voices To The Air.  This collection will take you back to the theater where you saw them.
The Decemberists are fun and intelligent.  Colin Meloy's lyrics use words and phrases of long lost and forgotten languages. (when was the last time you heard of someone being called a rake?)
This collection hosts songs from each of their previous albums, and yes, the Mariners Revenge is there in all of its glory.  You can practice screaming as though you were being eaten by a whale...

What's With The Doves?

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What is with the doves this year?  The only time I normally ever see them is when the cascara berries are ripe and they can be seen bouncing from one branch to the next.  Each time they land on a branch the branch will sink down a couple feet and spring back when they move on to another branch.

However this year they have been a constant outdoor companion.  They coo all day and well into the evening.  I've only seen them in flight a couple of times, but I always know they are near.  It's nearly as annoying as hearing a dog barking all day, but not quite as annoying as our former rooster, Blue.

I recall my first experience with doves in Oregon when I first moved here.  I had a bird feeder just outside my bedroom window.  At that time I was new to feeding birds and I was trying to find the best seed or blend of seeds to attract the largest variety of birds.  This one time in particular I purchased a bag of millet and I filled the feeder that same evening.  The next morning I was awoken by some sort of squabble at the feeder.  My feeder was covered in doves and the electrical service line that ran outside my window was the host of probably 30 doves waiting to get their turn.

I realized the millet had to go.  I didn't want to have one of those houses that was home to a flock of doves.  I've seen houses where pigeons hung out on the roof and soiled the shingles like an statue in the park.

I replaced the millet with black oil sunflower seed and never had a dove on the feeder again.  I suspect one of the neighbors hasn't learned this lesson yet.

Jesus' Blood

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No, I haven't converted, I'm still the hard-core Atheist you all know and love.  Though being Atheist I am not immune to the charms of religiously based music such as requiems and most Classical and Baroque pieces that were commissioned by the church or written as an indulgence to help the composer sneak pass the gates of heaven in the end.

Back in the mid 70s Bryan Eno of Roxy Music fame, started the Obscure Music label where he produced records for av ante-guard musicians.  One which caught my ear was an album by composer Gavin Bryares called, "Jesus' Blood Hasn't Failed Me Yet."  Gavin recorded a street tramp singing a short improvised section of the hymn and he made a loop of the recording.  As this loop recording played over the next twenty five minutes Gavin added strings and then fused in an entire orchestra.

Bryars made a new/shorter recording of the piece with Tom Waits (totally unnecessary) in 1990 which this video link below represents.  The 26 minute original version is on You Tube as well.
Jesus' Blood on You Tube