They are investing in UT. That's a great sign.

Derby?

It's not all good news then, never mind.

Wow... just wow. It's slowly sinking in to my thick head just how closely the church and government are tangled up over there. :litebulb:

Derby? When? I'm going to be in that neck of the woods in mid-July ...

Oh, and WTG UT! What fab news!

Don't know when yet... late June is most likely.

Wrong thread for this, but it annoys me that passports are so expensive now. I used to always keep mine up to date, even if I didn't have any possible trips in my future, but it's a real expense now.

Seems unconstitutional or something that you have to pay so much to get papers to travel.

Just tell the dude at the airport you refuse to pay that much to exercise your god given right to free travel over his earth.






And let us know where you are. :lol2:

...and say hey to Billy for us.

;)

Billy? The one from 'Midnight Express'?:eek:

Props Toad, way to go!

Major congrats UT.

Please, please, please let me know when you are coming. I'd move heaven and hell for a simple meet-up & photo-op.
You brought together a disperate group of people who have literally saved my life. And also loved me and treasured me and asked me to write for them.
And asked for pretty much nothing in return aside from what a mostly ex-alkie can spare.

I would feel like Monkey meeting Bhudda (except I wouldn't piss on your fingers)

Billy was a dwellar from China who posted frequently then went to ground.

snigger.

Beest's sister lives there.

Congrats, UT :D

Does she or her neighbors sound like Kelly?

V I love you more than ever.
I found myself sounding like Kelly after a Misfits marathon. But then I'd been prepped by living in Leicester after all.

I'll probably go home sounding like Compo these days..

Anyway, what made me happy yesterday was meeting up with the Dana in Leeds.
She'd had a rubbish morning, so I tried my best to improve her afternoon. She certainly improved mine.
The weather was patchy, so although we had a brief wander, what we did more of was sitting indoors, eating and talking.
I was having a (not unusual) crisis of confidence, and instead of slapping me about the chops, Dana was kind and complimentary and made me feel bettered.

Photos will follow at some point I guess. I have so many to post though.
Dana balked at taking a pic of me with a replica of a terracotta warrior fondling my breast.
Well I thought it was funny anyway.
If you ask her nicely she might even post the alternative one she took, which was much more proper.

After working in Shanghai, and a couple spots in Europe, he's in Germany now. Takes every opportunity to go sightseeing with week long and weekend trips.

Today: playing all day with my 2 1/2 year old great-niece and my 8 week old new niece puppy... a 'silver' Labrador Retriever. OMG they're both so funny. And I am worn out and old. ;)

Introducing R0XIE:

Awwwwwww. Oh she's adorable! Is that her puppeh pen I see in the background?

Hee. No actually that's my great-nieces foldy uppy princess house.

They're gonna be great pals! :)

Thanks Dana!

Good to hear!

Cute!

Runner Beans
 

I constructed the bamboo cane framework and planted the Runner Beans this evening.

It isn't a masterclass in geometric perfection, but I did it for the beans and not for the benefit of passing structural engineers.:):):)

Yay, Carruthers! I'm sure the beans will thank you in their own little way!


Sent by thought transference

I've been off since last weekend, which was my regular weekend off. I took off because I was at a training for three days this week. I took Monday off because I didn't want to be up all night before having to go to the class at 8am. Then I decided that taking the rest of the week, including my regular weekend to work off, would be a good idea.

So today I was reflecting on how I managed not to do one productive thing these last couple days, and that I would have to go back to work and ... suddenly realized that I don't work the Monday after my weekend on and ... that's TOMORROW.

Another day of completely lazy slacking!

(okay, I did something, just not terribly productive. I tried to sort some of my google drive documents into folders.)

Hey, consistency should be recognized and rewarded too. :elkgrin:

We had a newbie beekeeper challenge over the weekend. Minutes before we went out to add deeps to both hives Lil' Pete looks out the window and asks, "Are those your bees?" A cloud of bees were in the air. One hive swarmed meaning the old queen and about half the workers took off. The other half of the workers stayed in the hive to raise a new queen. I found the swarm on the ground. They had flattened some weed the queen landed on. We carefully scooped them into a cardboard box with a brood frame from the other hive. Pete's gonna pick up a hive box tonight and we'll attempt an install. If it works out, we'll have three hives!

Nice! Free bees are good bees. I went through my hives yesterday - they're building up quickly. These are 2 new packages of Italians this year, plus a nuc of Carniolans. Added upper deeps to both. Here's a nice frame of brood.

Oh, nice save Griff!

nowhereman, you should have been around here when a truck dumped about 20,000,000 bees on I-95. Talk about free bees. :haha:

The I ninebeehive?

Looking good man! Do you have a preference for the Italians? I have video of my bees marching into the hive, that was so cool. I'll post it if it ever loads to youtube.

I'm planning to start beekeeping once back in PA in July. I have to read up on it beforehand ... griff, nowhereman, do you have any recommendations for references? My qualifications are that I'm not allergic. And I have a small orchard and tons of flowers. And four awesome hugekultur raised beds that my family built for me in the last short while, that I have to post pictures of as soon as I can. :)

We've got a few different books. Beekeeping for Dummies is nice because it doesn't tell you all the choices you could be making. The Beekeepers Handbook by Sammataro will give you more depth. There are a few bloggers with good info as well. Joining your local beekeepers association will be invaluable.

Here is the swarm video.

These Italians are doing really well so far, we'll see how they do going in to fall and winter. The Carnis overwinter with a smaller cluster and are more efficient with stores. They also winter lower in the hive. My first overwintered Carnis were down in the lower deep hive body, so I didn't see any activity in the top box. Thought they were goners, but once it warmed up a bit there they were. The photo of the honey I posted last year came from those bees.
Orthodoc, "The Backyard Beekeeper" is pretty good as a start. If you have time, I would seek out and join a local bee association. They can be of great help. If they run a bee school, that is always helpful. There is also a forum called "Beesource" that you may find interesting, but take the information there carefully. As with anything, if you ask 6 people, you may get 6 different answers.
Mike Palmer from Vermont is a well respected beekeeper - his opinions are always worth noting. Beekeeping, like most hobbies, is a slippery slope both time wise and financially. Enjoy !

That was a cool video, Griff! I've never seen bees marching like that.

Thank you both! I'll check into local bee associations and get a couple of books. There's no deadline for this, so I'll learn enough to feel comfortable before diving in.

Wow Griff, I didn't know they would do that.
That video needs Bill Millin and his bagpipes urging the marchers onward. :haha:

What an epic lost chance at bee puns!

I am disappoint.

I moved back into my house last night and haven't unpacked, but it feels great to be back. Once the shoulder gets better I will commence repairs.

Excellent! This makes me happy. It's your damn house, with all the work you put in it.

wonderful news about reclaiming your home.

good job.

Yeah, your gd house!

Good, foreword progress foots. :thumb:

Alas, I was unpunny today. Running between seminars at a Workers' Comp conference, my puns were undone. But I am very glad you're back in your own house! Hopefully a better summer lies ahead.

Ah, been there done that.

I'm heading to the beach! YAY!! :-D

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Hurrah! Have fun :)

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini ?

Stop that! Stoppit rfn!

Here's another video by a Beebro.

Hihi....nope! I have fair-skin, so I protect myself from getting skin cancer. I wore a rash guard and surf leggings. :D I didn't take any pictures (too busy having fun), but someone did. I'd post up a pix if I remember to grab them from her.

Nice video Bruce! I just have the 3 hives now, but would like to get to about 10. I have 2 people that want me to place hives with them, one is a small farm, the other has a huge garden space.

What's making you happy today?
 

I'll tell you what's making me happy today, a hike to Dorothy Lake and perhaps beyond to Bear Lake. If you follow the link, the pushpin for Dorothy Lake is a couple screens below where the map opens up. Follow road 6412 and you'll get to the trailhead/end of the road... Description from Washington Trails Association.

This is a warm up hike for a bigger trip later this summer, one I'm very excited about, a trip of a lifetime.

See ya!

How big you going?

Don't be camping under any mud slides. :unsure:

you cover up way too much skin. strip down and put on some sun screen. I would be glad to help with the hard to reach places.;)

please, pretty please with sugar on it:blush:

Hehe...I burn more than I tan so I ain't exposing no skin! I have sunscreen in a spray bottle so I have no problem applying it myself. :D

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