Lake on Flat Creek 2-13-11 3:00 pm

One of the really nice things that I love about the Texas Hill Country is a peaceful, sunny, late winter Sunday afternoon that feels like spring and warms you with sunshine. And spending that day on a crystal clear lake, perfect for catching fish, and letting your mind wander as far away as the Moon. It’s hard to beat.

Bee day
2-6-11, I knew the bees needed a helping hand after the nasty weather last week. Today was nice, got to 70 degrees in JC. I mixed the bees a couple of gallons of food which should see them through the worst of winter, and put back 2 of the 3 frames I owed them in the honey super. The bees had built their own honey comb in the rest of the space. Most of it was empty and they had obviously been living off that honey. There were a few dead soldiers at the hive entrance, but the hive was surviving despite the recent cold temps. I removed the comb they had hanging from the hive top, but there was still a large piece of comb at the bottom of the honey super that was left for the bees. I still get rattled by the buzzing bees, knowing they are pissed to be disturbed. My new dome hooded bee suit is awesome, and keeps me protected, but once you have come face to face with a bee inside your bee suit it (and know the inevitable outcome) it is unnerving to hear them buzz so close. I work quick and don’t linger for a photo op.
Here is one I took at home:

Am I in central Texas???

Yep it's February 3rd at the BEE Ranch in Texas, but the weather feels like we're in the Arctic! It's been below freezing going on 3 days, and it snowed last night right after the sleet quit. Before it froze, 60 mile an hour winds ushered in the cold front. I don't know if it was a Blue Norther because it was dark when it arrived, but I do know that what ever you care to call it, this has been one strong sum bitch of a cold front! I hope my bees are doing OK, they survived a strong cold snap last winter, but it didn't last this long.
I'm including a couple of photos to show ny point.

ice ice baby...

Fresh beginnings

Fresh beginnings
In 2005 we bought a piece of land right outside Johnson City, to have a place of the Hill Country that I love and as an investment. We did not have any concrete plans beyond- hey this is a nice spot lets plop down all of our savings here. Maybe it was a little more thought out than that, but not much. I must admit I am the dreamer and schemer. In 2011 I have started down a path that has led me to a new start. I have decided to double the number of bee hives on the BEE Ranch and the new hive is on order, and the bees will arrive in the spring, sometime in April. And I am going to expand the existing hive adding another level. I have more projects planned, but right now it is all about the bees. I have ordered the bees from R Weaver in Navasota, they are my go to apiary supplier. Meanwhile, in real life I am training for the MS 150 bike ride from Houston to Austin in April, so I better get my ass back to the gym and keep getting ready. I am starting fresh in 2011, healthier lifestyle, and new bees. A fresh beggining.

FREE HOME TO GOOD OWL

I have a free barn owl home up for grabs to a good hard working Owl. Plenty of mice, bugs, and small animals to feed on, lots of water too.
Seasoal work is OK. Bring the family or raise a new one. House is located in very mature Live Oak tree, stop by if you are interested.

Cedar fever!

I kicked my own ass yesterday, and I’m paying for it today. I have a reminder living in my head of the misery that Cedar (Ashe Juniper) can bring to visit some of us humans in the month of January in central Texas. Yesterday I was out near Marble Falls in Double Horn Creek marking a property line for an electrical underground service and I had to pick my way through some very thick Cedar to do the job, big mistake. A few minutes in I started sneezing, and then my nose shut down, and my eyes started burning. What was I thinking? I should have known better. Welcome to central Texas in January.I have sneezed my way through 3 boxes of Kleenex in the past 24 hours.

From Wikipedia:

Juniperus ashei (Ashe Juniper) is a drought-tolerant evergreen shrub or small tree, native to northeastern Mexico and the south-central United States north to southern Missouri; the largest areas are in central Texas, where extensive stands occur. It grows up to 10 m tall, rarely 15 m, and provides erosion control and year-round shade for wildlife and livestock.
The feathery foliage grows in dense sprays, bright green in color. The leaves are scale-like, 2-5 mm long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. It is a dioecious species, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are globose to oblong, 3-6 mm long, and soft, pulpy and berry-like, green at first, maturing purple about 8 months after pollination. They contain 1-2 seeds, which are dispersed when birds eat the cones and pass the seeds in their droppings. The male cones are 3-5 mm long, yellow, turning brown after pollen release in December to February.
The pollen causes a severe allergic reaction for some people in the winter, and people who are allergic to Ashe juniper are also often allergic to the related Juniperus virginiana. Consequently, what begins as an allergy in the winter, may extend into spring since the pollination of J. virginiana follows after that of J. ashei. Ashe juniper is sometimes known in the area as "mountain cedar" (although neither it nor J. virginiana are cedars), and some locals refer to the allergy as cedar fever.

Although Cedar is native to Central Texas, the proliferation of overgrazing of livestock in the late 1800’s allowed by the invention of barbed wire, enabled Cedar to overtake the native grasses and dominate rocky areas like the Hill Country. I favor the eradication of Cedar. Each mature Cedar tree sucks 12 gallons of water a day from the soil, water that would otherwise nourish native grasses. I have removed about 15 acres of   Cedar on the BEE Ranch, and the native grasses have come back. I still have more work to do, but Cedar is losing the war. In the mean time January is a good month to take a vacation away from central Texas.

truth or its consequences

Truth or its consequences

There is an ancient Hopi saying making the rounds on the internet today, or at least I just saw it today. I’m always late to the party on these kinds of things:
“"When birds fall from the sky and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people ...shall come unto the earth from many colors, classes, creeds, who by their actions and deeds shall make the earth green again. they will be known as the warriors of the Rainbow." —Hopi Prophecy
I have not researched this quote to see if it is in fact from the Hopi Indians, but it sounds interesting. I’ve never thought of myself as any kind of warrior, but if the shoe fits...I am all for the idea of making the world a better place so birds don’t fall from the sky, birds are not supposed to fall from the sky. And I like the idea of making the earth green again. I’m just not so sure about the warrior part. When I think of a warrior I think of some angry dude with weapons ready to kick some ASS and draw blood. That is not me.  If I’m a warrior, its one that works on what they believe in and follows through and sees results from the efforts of their labor. Maybe the Hopi had a different meaning of the word warrior from what my American past taught me. I can imagine sitting around the barn cross legged on the floor at the BEE Ranch smoking the peace pipe chatting it up with the spirits of some Hopi elders. The conversation would go something like this:
Me: So what to you elders think we should do about the sorry state of our environment? I mean like all we have done for 200 years is take, take, take, from our mother earth?
Elders: Well son if you don’t get your ass in gear to start changing your peoples ways, you are definitely screwed and it will not be a good outcome.
Me: I’m working to make things better a little at a time, but I’m just one person.
Elders:  A warrior leads his tribe, you must lead your tribe, and we must go.
And that is where they left it, so I’m working on getting the message out.