days in the life of a
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August 2010
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August 26, 2010
IF YOU WERE A HONEYBEE...
If you were a honeybee, what would be the biggest threat to the survival of your colony?
In the wild, as honeybees were for thousands of years, you might think a big menacing bear would be their arch enemy.
Bears do love honey and will climb a tree and put up with a lot of stinging bees to scrape out some of this sweet treat.
For sure, honeybees hate bears and that is why beekeepers are taught to wear light-colored clothing (like the white beesuits) to work their beehives. Thousands of years of instincts have taught bees to attack big, dark creatures around their hives.
Bears are a threat, but not their biggest one.
Even dressed in white, a beekeeper (wonder who that crazy woman is?!) poses a threat to the colony. Sure, we think we are taking care of them and helping them to survive, but to a tiny bee-mind we are endangering their young and stealing their food.
Of course, they would want to attack!
But beekeepers are not what honeybees fear most.
Fires. Forest fires.
Honeybees are terrified of forest fires.
Rightly so, as wild colonies living in holes in trees are helpless to fight off a fire. Thousands of years of God-given instincts cause them to prepare to flee a fire. And when they get the slightest hint of smoke, they are on alert and preparing for the possibility of having to fly away.
So, judiciously used, this handy tool is a beekeeper's best friend.
A smoker puts out small streams of cool smoke. When I get ready to open a hive, a few puffs of smoke at the entrance and just inside the lid does wonders calming the bees down.
The smoke tricks the bees into thinking there is a fire nearby that may threaten their colony, so they quickly find refuge inside their hive and begin slurping up honey as fast as they can, just so they will be able to sustain themselves if they have to leave for a few days.
Which, of course, is not the beekeeper's goal. I don't want them to leave, I just want them to think they might have to so they will be distracted while I do what I need to do in their hive.
'Tis the season for harvesting the honey that the little honeybees have worked so hard to store away all summer. Yesterday I took off my honey supers, and the smoker was a great distraction for the bees (who don't take kindly to big white monstrous creatures in crazy outfits stealing their food supply!).
You can see the bees huddling around some stray honeycomb filled with sweet golden honey, filling their bellies just in case they have to make a getaway.
I guess food is a great distraction for all creatures, great and small!
Unfortunately for me (or perhaps, more accurately, poor planning!), by the time I got to the big hive with the most honey and most bees, my smoker was smoked out and had stopped burning so I didn't have the advantage of smoke to distract the bees.
And being the foolish beekeeper that I am sometimes, instead of getting my smoker going again, I kept on going since I was nearly done.
The bees were pretty mad at me by the time I had gotten the honey off!
As you can see, I had a whole slew of them dive-bombing my head. Thank goodness for the protection of the suit!
I managed to escape with only 2 stings, one on each knee where the suit fabric had stuck to my sweat-drenched legs and the bees were able to sting through the fabric. (If I'd have been smarter, I'd have worn long pants under my beesuit, but I opted for shorts with the flawed logic that they'd be cooler, when I should know that nothing can keep me cool in that beesuit!)
But hey, the stings only hurt for a few minutes...nothing that a sweet spoonful of honey can't fix! Totally worth it!!!
image from google.com
image from google.com
August 27, 2010
JUPITER...AND OTHER UNUSUAL SIGHTINGS
Like many people across the world, I fell for it.
I read on Facebook (the ultra-reliable news source that it is...) that last night Mars would come so close to Earth as to appear as big as the moon. With the moon having just been full, it would look like the Earth had two moons.
Having always been fascinated by such heavenly stuff, when I got up early this morning while it was still dark, I walked outside to see if I could spot Mars.
This is what I saw in the southwest sky about 5 am this morning...the just-past-full moon on the right and what I thought must be Mars on the left.
Although they look to be similar size in this photo, actually the moon looked quite a bit brighter and therefore bigger than the other heavenly object.
When I came inside to write this post, I did a little internet research to be sure that I had indeed seen Mars. It's a good thing I did because as it turns out, that isn't Mars at all...it's actually Jupiter, and the other little pinpoint of light is one of Jupiter's moons.
The following are a couple of excerpts from EarthSky, an astronomy website, that explains this heavenly hoax...
It sounds amazing! Can it possibly be true?
No. It can’t. The email is a hoax. It has circulated every summer since 2003. Mars can never appear as large as a full moon as seen from Earth, and Mars will not even be at its brightest in August of 2010.
What is happening on August 27 of 2010? Nothing, really. By coincidence, there will be a brilliant planet near the moon on August 27, the king planet Jupiter. Will some people look outside on the night of August 27 – see Jupiter near the moon – and think this brilliant world is Mars?
No doubt!
And so the legend continues …
So I'm not the only one who got suckered into this hoax.
But I did get to see Jupiter, which I think is pretty cool anyway...
A couple of weeks ago, Kim and I were out in the yard and we saw this unusual bird running along the edge of our bean field.
Much too big for a quail, yet the markings looked similar...
Kim declared it to be a "chucker."
After looking it up (my, aren't we always searching for information in this house?! When the kids were all home, we had a dictionary near our table to look up things and settle arguments...), I have to agree with him that it is indeed a chucker.
The problem is...chuckers are not native to Indiana. In fact, the proper spelling is "chukar," from the partridge family (NOT the singing group I grew up watching...) and is native to eastern Asia, countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. In fact, the chukar is the national bird of Pakistan.
So why was a chukar running along our bean field??? Apparently, chukars are raised for game bird hunting and Kim's guess is that one of our neighbors raises chukars for game hunting and one escaped.
Not every day you see a chukar. He's probably become a meal for a coyote by now...
It's also not every day we see a car like this tooling along our country road.
The same afternoon we saw the chukar, I heard a strange honk/beep a distance away. As I walked toward the road to see what was making the unusual sound, here comes this antique truck/bus/vehicle driving along.
And you thought I lived a boring life out here in the middle of Nowhere, USA...
"chukar" image from google.com
August 28, 2010
ENTOMOLOGICAL LESSON
My school classmate Mike was an expert on bugs. Seriously.
Mike was a very nice guy, smart, and kind of cute in a geeky sort of way, and boy did he know his insects! He took Entomology in 4-H (one of the few who chose that project) and year after year he dominated the state competitions with his wonderful glass cases of insect displays.
Mike had insects native to Indiana that I had never even seen in my life mounted, categorized, and named. I loved to look at his amazing collections and marveled at the oodles of different insects that Mike had found.
Mike, by the way, went on to major in entomology at Purdue (where he lived at Circle Pines... for my Purdue friends) and the last I heard was working for a major agricultural company using his vast insect expertise to help develop pesticides and such. I guess his passion for bugs paid off...
I thought about Mike the other day as I was wondering what kind of little butterflies are swarming our blue salvia. And I do mean SWARMING, as they are all over the place!
Mike could have told me what these little fellas are called.
In my never-ending quest for useless knowledge, I perused gobs (I'm not sure I should use the words "peruse" and "gobs" in the same sentence...) of photos of native Indiana butterflies on the internet to figure out what kind of butterflies they are.
And since I know my readers are smart and also have an endless thirst for random facts, here you go.
I present to you.... Epargyreus clarus.
Commonly (???) known as the Silver-Spotted Skipper.
AND...(you also might want to stuff this little bit of Silver-Spotted Skipper knowledge away for future reference)... you will never find this little butterfly on a yellow flower.
They only visit blue, red, purple, pink, and occasionally white flowers.
Which explains their love for our blue salvia.
I love our blue salvia too, by the way. It blooms all summer long, very pretty planted close together in a large clump of blue spikes.
Hello, Mr. Silver-Spotted Skipper.
(I don't know why I'm assuming he is a "he"...a skipper just sounds masculine to me, but there must be girl skippers too or there wouldn't be any skippers at all...you know what I mean?)
Now don't you feel so much smarter this Saturday morning with this new entomological knowledge tucked into your brain?
Have a great one!!! And Mike, wherever you are...wishing you a great Saturday too!
August 29, 2010
5K RUN IN THE SON
God blessed our little town with a cool, gorgeous morning for the 1st Annual 5K "Run in the Son."
It was sponsored by our church...
...and planned and coordinated by our Pastor CJ, an avid runner himself.
About 50 people registered, received T-shirts, and got the pre-race briefing from CJ before heading out.
Rosie and Lindsay took care of the registration.
All ages and abilities were welcome for this non-competitive event.
We even had a few participants who caught a free ride, like Kylee's two little boys!
Ready, set, GO!!!
And they're off! The runners in front...
...and the walkers (including me and my gang) bringing up the rear.
As we headed down Main Street, the sun was beginning to climb into the sky and I couldn't help but feel that God was looking down on us and enjoying watching this group of His Children celebrating life together.
It was "non-competitive," but as you know in our family's mind EVERYTHING is competitive. So if there had been a "winner," this fellow would have been it. He was several seconds ahead of the pack.
Our farmer friend JB was second...
...followed by these 4 athletes...Nate, Dan (from our church), Jeremy, and Greg.
I have to qualify this (since it's non-competitive, it really shouldn't matter but it may so I better qualify it)...these photos were about 3/4 of the way through the race, so I can't be sure that's how they actually finished. But I am sure that these 6 had a pretty strong lead on the rest of the field.
Walking near the end, it was fun to see everyone. Look how adorable these twin girls are!
Speaking of adorable...cute little Sadie...
...and her brother Dutch were water-kids!
My gang...Kyler, Emily, and Zach...
The finish line was at the cross, where CJ handed out water and bananas.
And yes...CJ may be a terrific pastor and spiritual mentor, but he'll be the first to tell you he's no English expert. He did go to school in Greene County...guess that's how they spell "finish" down south!
It was a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday morning!
August 30, 2010
DOWN ON MAIN STREET
Nothing says Small Town, America like a parade down Main Street.
Which is, by the way, a national highway. And yes, the local police department DOES close it down for the 20-minute parade.
It's my favorite part of the annual Community Days weekend celebration in our tiny town of Sulphur Springs.
Kara, Kyler, Emily (with her balloon hat!), and Zach await the beginning of the sirens that signal the start of the parade.
The Grand Marshals ride in style.
As you'd expect, everyone knows them! Denny and Marge have lived in Sulphur every since we've been here (and I'm sure a lot longer than that!)and are well-loved by the community.
The volunteer fire department cleans up its trucks and shows them...and the high school cheerleaders...off.
Big doin's in Sulphur! The kids scramble to fill their bags with candy!
Mighty Marching Raiders!!!
My daughter Emily has many of these kids as students in her high school math classes at Shenandoah.
Sweet, pretty Annaliese is a friend of ours.
Some very young campaigners...along with Kara's sister Kelli and friend Katie.
Our church float showcased our church children singing Bible School songs.
Love these little ones!
Love this little one too! What's a festival without a princess contest?
Cute little Syndie is in my Sunday School class too!
These 2 men go to our church as well....but...
...maybe it's just me, but I thought this was a little too creepy/scary for the parade...
Monster trucks...
Show-off cars...
Miniature cars....
...and miniature horses!
Bryce leads a brigade of 4-wheelers...
...followed by the antique tractors.
Proud grandpas showing off the next generation with Sulphur roots.
This little guy's daddy was one of Kristoffer's best childhood friends...my, how the years have flown by!
John Deere reigns in this part of the country!
Bringing up the rear are the BIG tractors! This part always tickles me a little...it seems to be the farmers' attempts at one-up-manship...who has the biggest, baddest tractor to show off?!
Okay, Josh...you win.
Until next year, that is....when it'll all be happenin' again down on Main Street!
August 31, 2010
GOD IS LIGHT...KEEP ME WHERE THE LIGHT IS
Mark and Gina have been friends of ours for years. Our youngest son Kyler and their son Nathan were (and still are) buddies, both on the athletic fields and off. The boys were in the same class and grew up playing Little League and football together.
Ah...FOOTBALL!!! It was through football that we really got to know Mark and Gina. Kyler played quarterback and Nathan was his center throughout middle and high school, while Kim and I and Mark and Gina, along with the rest of the football parents, cheered them on.
Mark was the president of the Football Boosters and I was secretary/treasurer and we spent a lot of effort and hours organizing team meals and tailgate parties to support the boys. There's just a family feeling surrounding a football team that you don't find in other sports, and for those years when our lives seemed to revolve around Friday nights, we were all a big football family.
Kyler and Nate have since graduated and gone off to college, so we only see Mark and Gina occasionally, perhaps running into them at some Shenandoah sporting event or graduation open house. But we have fond memories of shared joys and aggravations, amazing victories and devastating losses from those football days.
Mark and Gina have the hearts of champions, strength and determination and persistence, the never-give-up attitude that football teaches.
Never in their wildest dream did they imagine how much they would come to rely upon those very qualities just to survive from one minute to the next...
Eight weeks ago, on July 5, Mark and Gina (along with another couple who are friends of ours, Steve and Lori, and Mark's brother and his wife) were tooling along on their motorcycles in Bloomington enjoying the glorious freedom of a summer day, when a teenage boy driving his car ran a red light and barreled into the two motorcycles carrying Mark and Gina and Steve and Lori. It was a horrific accident, with all four suffering severe injuries, so severe that during the minutes and hours that followed no one was even sure if all four would survive. Mark and Lori were injured the worst, but Gina and Steve also had multiple leg fractures and other injuries.
As word of the tragedy quickly spread through our little community, love for these couples poured out and I can picture God being bombarded with thousands of prayers being shot up like little arrows, prayers for their survival and healing. At one point that first night, it is my understanding that Mark even "coded" and the doctors thought they were going to lose him, but I have to believe that the prayers of their believer friends may have tipped the scales in Mark's favor.
But when Mark woke up from his drug-induced coma, his vision was gone. Immediately after the accident he had still been able to see, but somehow sometime during the terrible trauma his body endured afterwards he lost his vision.
Temporarily. For we continue to bombard God with our prayer arrows that Mark's sight will be restored. God told Gina that Mark would see again and we're all holding onto that promise.
It's been 8 weeks now and all four still have a long, long road to recovery. Their lives will never be the same...and neither will ours. Because as they have struggled and fought through unimaginable pain and suffering these past 8 weeks, they have been such a witness to God's goodness and power, a witness to all of the rest of us.
Undoubtedly there have been times where their strength has wavered, but their faith never has!
I borrowed this post title from Mark and Gina, as they've said this from the day Mark discovered his blindness..."God is light, God is life, Keep me where the Light is"...what a great reminder to ALL of us! Some of the "blindest" people I know have perfect eyesight, and Mark with his temporary loss of vision can "see" better than most of us!
On August 22, their home church celebrated God's grace and His sparing of their lives that terrible day, and during the service Mark and Gina shared their powerful testimony of faith. About 12 minutes long, it's a little lengthy but so inspirational, and if you need a spiritual boost today and a reminder how fleeting life on this earth is, this is sure to give it to you!
Love you, Mark and Gina! And THANK YOU for the way you have touched all our lives by being living examples of faithfulness!
