Well, it’s again 2 months since I calculated our last riot. I’ll average May and June. Last year’s averages (calculated here) are mentioned as a baseline. I use this calculator. Gasoline. 14.528 gallons per person (pp) in cars + 10 miles pp on public transport. 35 % of the US National Average (Last year’s yearly …
Monthly Archives: June 2010
New Pots
I was very happy with how this session’s pots have turned out, especially the glazing. I never seem to have any inspiration when glazing. This time around I went for a common theme: turquoise (which is matte, as I found out last time) overlaid with a clear glaze (which makes the whole thing shiny). Here …
First Tomato
This should have been a joyous day, a glorious day. Instead there was cussing. I don’t often cuss, so it was shocking. What happened? The chipmunks got to the first tomato of the season. THE first tomato. The ICONIC tomato. The one you take a picture of: Its good side Its chipmunk side They also …
My Camera Works Again
Feverfew Vervain Maltese Cross
A Fungal Soil
closer look (notice also the creepy crawly at the bottom – and the weeds):
Flowering, Ripening, Growing
I drive the speed limit and blink even when I’m the only one on the street. I pay my (one) credit card bill, my taxes, my library fines. I smile, I make peace, I don’t gossip or speak ill. But I am no goody two-shoes. I am the most subversive person I know. I grow …
Finished!
Happy Summer! On this hot sunny day what did I do but seek out the two hottest areas of my garden. First, the compost bins. They looked pretty tame, on the surface. Then I stuck in my fork and woosh, the temperature rise was immediately apparent. I persisted, turning, consolidating and sifting out the finished …
Mite Count and Camera Trouble
Exactly three days after installing the sticky board underneath the hive, I pulled it out. Fascinating what’s all on that sticky board: dropped pollen, nectar, honey and propolis, dirt and dust, little insects and… varroa mites. Yes, there were mites, tiny fat disks a dark reddish brown, all of them stuck to the board and …
Honey Bee Stinging Bumble Bee
Bees coming in on the landing board The hive was getting very crowded, with 8 frames entirely built out, so today I added the second brood box. The colony should build out 10 new frames much faster than they did the previous 9 ones, because there are many more bees now, and the colony is …
Amie is Still an Artist
It’s been a while since I wrote about Amie’s art. This has become a garden (and beekeeping) blog, no doubt about it. But while the blog has changed, in one respect Amie has not: she is still an artist. Ever since a boy at her preschool claimed that she is not, she has been working …