Fran Sale Stafford

Poor Bees

The remaining hive doesn’t have as many bees as I would like with the winter now here. The past few days have be hovering between freezing and 40 f and windy with nights in the 20’s. I gave them all the stores I could scrounge from the hives that had been robbed and killed and added chunks of sugar bricks.

Today the first 10 lb sugar board was made. As soon as it is dry and we have a slightly warmer day next week, the board will be added to the hive and any bricks left added on top.

I don’t want to have to open the hive any more than absolutely necessary to add more sugar. I explored the Mountain Camp idea of just placing newspaper down and pouring loose sugar on it, but saw mixed reviews of the idea and my local friend said they would never do it that way again. To provide a bottom to my sugar board, I stapled on a queen excluder and placed a single sheet of newspaper on it with a hole in the center for the cluster to move up under to feed.

The frames that were brought up from the dead hives have all spent at least 3 days in the freezer, then placed back in the boxes and sealed in large bags to prevent wax moth destruction.

I hope that by keeping this hive fed and not opening it unless to add feed, they will survive the winter and become a strong hive next year. Then adding a second or third hive back will be explored using the built out frames and working with the medium boxes. I am disappointed with my first season of bee keeping/learning, but medical issues interfered at a critical time and sometimes life just gets in the way.

Winding Roads

We live in a very rural mountain area in Southwest Virginia. Main roads are reasonably straight or at least gentle curves and more subtle elevation climbs through gaps, but if you leave the main road for a paved two lane road, those rules are tossed out the window. Our road has curves and elbows, no true switchbacks, but climbs steadily two miles to our turn off, then 4 more miles to Mountain Lake Lodge. Son 1 has said more than once, that a head on collision will occur. So far, we haven’t seen that, but have seen a two wheel drive sporty sedan slide off the wrong side on ice and stopped by a large tree from a more destructive ride or tumble down the side of the mountain. We have seen a young couple, who allegedly came up to watch the sunrise, drive straight off the road where it made a 90 degree left turn, no injuries we were told.

Today as we headed out to lunch, walk, grocery run, and a follow up hearing check on me, we stopped to pick up yesterday’s mail that we didn’t get in the rain then and turned downhill on the road. If we had been 90 seconds earlier by not stopping for our mail, we would have become the head on that son has discussed. A young man, driving a fairly new Mustang up the mountain, in spite of a sign that shows a right L turn and 25 mph speed recommendation, came around the turn too fast, off the left side of the road, and to rest at a more than 45 degree tilt, held up from the field below by a sturdy tree. He was still attempting to climb out the passenger door that he had to open up and climb over the edge and just as the neighbor who lives across the road came out to see what had happened. He was fortunate the tree was there or he would have rolled the car down into the hayfield, probably more than one roll. He was young, English was not his first language, and he didn’t know what to do. We stopped and with the neighbor, attempted to provide some guidance. His rear bumper was pulled off and I’m sure the driver side caved in, probably an air bag or two deployed. We were out for several hours and wondered if he managed to get it towed out. When we approached the curve slowly, a Sheriff’s deputy was controlling “traffic” (us) while the tow operator was trying to figure out how to remove the Mustang from it’s location. The young man was not standing there, so he must have gotten a ride from someone. He is about to learn a lesson about insurance claims, probably received a citation and will get to appear in the county seat courthouse in the near future.

We were glad we were not in the way when he sped around that corner.

Seasonal change

Halloween is done, jack-0-lanterns and ghosts packed away til next year. The wreath on the door was a grapevine wreath with fall ribbon and ceramic turkey and pumpkins shapes so it stayed up until yesterday. Our friends, the wonderful flower growers that come to the Farmer’s Market, Stonecrop Farms moves on from fresh flowers to dried flowers and wreaths this time of year. Hubby suggested that since I had expressed an interest in purchasing one, that I pick out one for my birthday still more than a week away. When we got to the market, there were still several to choose from and though I was attracted to two, decided this one called me the loudest.

It is beautifully full with fresh greens and bright dried flowers. As soon as it arrived home, the skimpy grapevine one was packed away and this beauty hung to grace the door until it fades and the Christmas one is pulled out for a few weeks.

Yesterday was above normal fall weather, following the extreme rain from the late hurricane remnants on Friday, and this morning we awoke to below freezing temperatures, light snow falling, but only accumulating in crevices on the coop, deck, and corners.

It continued with light snow showers throughout most of the day. We managed our walk in spite of the freezing temperatures, wind, and snow showers.

While we were out, a birthday card was needed as one had been missed earlier in the week. It’s purchase, caused me a head shaking pause. The clerk rang it up, told me the total. I handed her cash, she messed with the register, paused and said, “I owe you (long pause)…” I responded, 95 cents, having quickly done the subtraction in my head. She counted out the change and as I was walking out, she called out to me and said, I owe you more money. No, I responded, the purchase was x, I gave you y, the change was 95 cents which you gave me. “But the receipt says z” she says. No, you gave me the correct change, you rang it in wrong, your register is right, my change is correct. She looks confused and heads toward the manage stocking shelves in the back. Poor girl can’t even make change. I fear for her future in that job.

After arriving home, some dried Amaranth and Eucalyptus that I had purchased fresh many weeks ago from Stonecrop and hung to dry with the idea of making a couple of decorations to sell at the last Christmas Bazaar, the last hurrah for the cottage business, was pulled out. The two tobacco baskets that had been display pieces for yarn and hats at events were decorated with the dried plants and dried Baptisia seed pods from my shrub were bunched and tied with Christmas plaid ribbons and floral wire hangers on the back. Hopefully they will sell and grace someone’s home for the holidays.

At the conclusion of that event, all of my display pieces that can’t be repurposed here will be gone. Hopefully, the stock of hats, mitts, mittens, scarves, soap, salves, and lip balm will be reduced to only what can be used as gifts or for personal use. It will be bittersweet to end CabinCraftedshop, but also a relief to not have to deal with the website, taxes, and deadlines.