We Are Still Here

Yes, we are still here. Still covered in snow, and still plugging away at school.  I have just been too damn busy to blog.  I do miss blogging regularly, I truly do, but it is just so hard to sit down and do it when life is moving so fast. 

Current Events:

Will got his braces off last week!!  Gorgeous smile! 

Charlie won first place in the Pinewood Derby this past Saturday!

We snapped this photo on a cold night in February in our back-yard Quinzhee.

 

Will is knitting a Doctor Who/Tom Baker scarf and has about 8 feet done so far.  This was at a Who-athon at our local library.

Charlie at the Who-athon.

Will also learned to play guitar in December, and has taken to it like a fish to water. Or something.

I have been reading a lot.  Books of my own and books for the kids.  I learned to knit this winter, too, and am enjoying it.   

Other than that, I'm just hanging in there, waiting for spring...

Geronimo!

Will unveiled his latest painting on Saturday, in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who.  Fantastic!

Setting Up The Hives -2013

Whoa! Time Machine has transported you back to May 4th, 2013 !!  While you're here, check out our hive set up day!

 Remember the boxes-o-bees in my laundry room?  Well, we decided to give them their own space outside...

Steve and I each have our own hive this year. I informed him that my gentle and mellow Italian bees will far outperform his sweet, yet impulsive Carniolan (Carnies for short!) bees.

Here's me opening my box-o-bees to remove the queen and make sure she is still alive.

 

 The queen is in her own tiny screened box. As you can see, she is popular already. She is packaged this way so that the colony can get used to her smell and accept her as their queen during their travel time in the box. The box has a cork in one end which I had to pull out and replace with a mini marshmallow. The idea is that the queen will eat her way out from her end, while attendants eat through from the other end, eventually freeing her from the cage. It should take about 3 or 4 hours.

 

 Shaking/dumping bees into the hive box. This is pretty exciting, and they don't mind it as much as you would think.

 Here I'm putting the queen's box into the hive box and I'll sandwich it between frames to hold it in place.

 Replacing frames before closing up the hive box. (Yes, I am completely aware that I am a fashion nightmare!)

 

Here's Steve dumping his bees into the hive.

 Steve sprayed his bees down with sugar water before putting them in the hive, so they had wet wings and didn't fly as much as mine did. Here they are in a big pile on the bottom of the hive so he is gently spreading them out so they aren't crushed when he replaces the frames.

Placing the Carnie queen. 

Putting a lid on it.

Now we'll leave them alone for a week or two, when we'll inspect the hive to make sure the queen is laying eggs. 

Now go. Get out of here and back to May 27th where you belong.  Nothing more to see here.

How Excited Am I ??

Out of ten?  

Eleven.

You Must Obey!

I left the house for a short time on some errands and came home to find a Dalek in my kitchen.

"Daleks do not take orders..."

 And yes, he does speak.  My kids are so strange.  I think they must get that from me.

Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey-stuff.

It's bigger on the inside.

Time Machine Takes You To Spring Dairy Farm Fieldtrip!

Whoa! Time Machine has transported you back to April 21, 2011 !!  While you're here, check out our springtime field trip to Poplar Hill Dairy Goat Farm!

We started off the day by visiting the baby goats and getting a chance to hold and feed them.

Next we had a chance to see some of the different breeds of goats in the big barns. 

This is my favorite shot from the day.  Goats just doin' goat stuff.

 The milking parlor.

And the olde-fashioned way.

After our tour we had a chance to sample some very tasty goat cheese and milk.  I was pleasantly surprised at the mild and smooth taste of this cheese.  Usually I associate goat cheese with a stinky, animal taste, but not so with the products from this farm.  Very nice.

This was such a fun trip to make with the kids and their home school friends.  

Now go. Get out of here and back to August 2011 where you belong.  Nothing more to see here.

Time Machine

Whoa!  Time Machine has transported you back to October 31st, 2010!!  While you're here, check out The boys' Halloween costumes!

 Han Solo. Captain of the Millennium Falcon-fastest ship in the galaxy.

Jengo Fett (not Boba Fett.  There is a difference) He's # 1.

Darth Vader.  Don't let the outward appearances fool you.  Rest assured he is 100% Anakin underneath.

OK. Move along. There is no more to see here.  Back to November 8th with you!