This morning a friend and I drove to the supplier’s place to pick up our packages of 10.000 bees (3 lbs) with a marked Italian Queen. Driving back with a couple of loose bees in the car was no problem: they stuck with their caged compatriots, maybe listening in while we talked doom :) Installing …
Author Archives: kaat
This Year’s Robins Nest
Every Spring, since we’ve been here, we’ve had a Robin’s nest near the house. That’s why we call the place Robin Hill – plus it has a little bit of Robin Hood in it. Year One (2008) they chose the rafters of the carport and Year Two they chose the nook next to Year One’s …
Riot for Austerity – Months 17 and 18
Wew, it’s May 2 already, over two months since I reported on our Riot.I’ll average March and April (Mapril). Last year’s averages (calculated here) are mentioned as a baseline. I use this calculator. Gasoline. 12.66 gallons per person (pp) in cars + 10 miles pp on public transport = 31 % of the US National …
Here’s a Funny One – Hoop House Adventures
Excerpt from chat between DH (at office) and myself (at home): me: It’s soooooo windy I fear the hoop house will fly off. DH: It won’t. me: Really? DH: Yeah. Really. me: Check your email. I had just sent him this: Yup, that’s our hoop house, SPLAT. Amie and I were outside for a while …
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Vote For My Ocean Hero!
My friend, Laura Medrano-Hernandez, has been nominated for the Ocean Hero Awards and I’m voting for her. Oceana, which organizes the awards, was founded in 2001 and is the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation. Their website is a gem, with tips for play, research, activism and (if you’re so inclined) shopping (with …
Rhubarb Flower Stalk
This long flower stalk appeared over four hot days on one of the rhubarb plants. After doing some research I decided to pull it, as well as the smaller stalk on the other plant, as letting the rhubarb go to seed will reduce its vigor and next year’s yield. As the plants are only two …
Child in the Garden
The child is sick now with a cold – it seems to be going around in the schools. And it’s raining – a soft, welcome rain. But yesterday we were outside most of the day planting more seeds: She wrote the ASTER labels. We sowed Asters, more Calendula, Monarda, and two more kinds of Sunflowers: …
Poetry or Bees
This weekend I did very little gardening. Amie and I did our daily chore of watering the garden that’s in as well as all the seedlings that are inside the house. That was all. We had planned to recreate the hoop house but instead we saw many friends, attended a hive opening, waited for rain …
Kale Going to Seed and Amie in the Garden
The four vigorous kale plants that survived the winter in the hoop house are bolting. I am daily harvesting three of them, letting the biggest one going to seed for saving. Since all four plants are of the same kind, and there are no other brassicas going to seed within a mile, there is no …
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Scraping the Bottom
… of the rain barrel. I had only one set up and it filled with the first rain, several weeks ago. Today, after many days of intense watering (intense for early Spring, that is), I used the last of it. This was good, as we wanted it lighter so we could move it in order …