Author Topic: Good Evening Post (Read 135664 times)

neillsayers · « **Reply #400 on:** October 31, 2016, 06:44:59 pm »

Scary ghosts!
Unseasonably warm here and bees are still hauling in nectar and pollen. Likely from asters still blooming.
Can you share the brick recipe?

Bakersdozen · « **Reply #401 on:** October 31, 2016, 08:39:19 pm »

Happy Halloween! Cute cartoon, river.
I spent Friday and Saturday at the State Beekeepers biannual meeting. Learned a lot. Did a presentation on providing floral sources for honey bees. I was the last presenter on the last day. I was sure the room would be empty, but noooo, about 40 or so stayed through the power point. After I was done with my power point I invited those that wanted to stay could and make seed balls to toss around to add floral sources. We used New England Aster seeds.

brooksbeefarm · « **Reply #402 on:** October 31, 2016, 11:13:30 pm »

B12, you missed the big apple dump

We bought $135.00 worth at $0.28 a pound, yes there was honey crisp, jonathan (sp?), Roma,red del., yellow del. jonagold, and others? We bought honey crisp and jonagold, real nice apples and and big as a soft ball. I told a retired fireman i worked with about the sale, he lives in Thayer, Mo. a 3 hour drive, i was there at 9:30 and he was already there with 14 bushels in his truck and filling up another wagon

he thought he had died and whent to heaven.

He said he would sell enough to pay for his gas, his wife said he won't that he will give them to friends, church people, and older people.He has a good heart, his last name is Taylor and my great grandmother was a Taylor from a town close by, i told him i didn't want to check family records that we might be related

He grinned, and said don't worry about it Jack, We were all Taylor made at one time.

Jack
PS. some of the people at the sale said they have been buying honey crisp apples at $3.00 to $4.00 a lb. and couldn't believe the $0.28 a lb.

riverbee · « **Reply #403 on:** November 01, 2016, 02:31:58 am »

"Can you share the brick recipe?"

yes i can and will neil, i tried a couple different things, but it worked...................takes awhile to dry out, but if you ask me, it's worth using the oven and maybe a little wait afterwards and no messing around in your kitchen with boiling sugar and temp gauge..........

once dried, these 'bricks' probably won't fall apart and can slip into a hive easily.

never been good or very patient at fondant recipes one has to boil on the stove.... even though i melt wax down and drag it all over the house.........

will post these up later on tuesday.........cuz it's now way past my bedtime, and looking for what i did and how i did it...........

and send you a pm and post link here for everyone who is interested!

Bakersdozen · « **Reply #404 on:** November 01, 2016, 08:26:13 am »

Jack, I saw Honey Crisp as you described. They were as big as a softball, selling for $3.99 a pound. They were beautiful and looked like they were on steroids. So, what are you going to do with all those apples? That's almost 500 pounds!

riverbee, I am interested.

brooksbeefarm · « **Reply #405 on:** November 01, 2016, 11:45:31 am »

Ooops, i made a mistake

We bought 135 lbs. of apples not $135.00 worth

. my wife payed for them while i loaded them, It felt like 500 lbs

. We will give our son and daughter family's a lot of them, i will eat one a day (or two

)and with everything my wife is making and going to make i will probably turn into an apple

. This is a Amish store, i also found where they are making Sorghum and bought a gallon $20.00, it was a little stronger than i like, but it is pure Sorghum and Sorghum cake will go good with apples

Jack

Bakersdozen · « **Reply #406 on:** November 01, 2016, 08:50:43 pm »

Came home from work, walked out to just look at hives with a flashlight. The weather is so warm, the bees are hanging out on the front porch. All of the colonies are doing this. Very unusual warm spell.

Jack, you have me drooling with sorghum cake and apples.

riverbee · « **Reply #407 on:** November 02, 2016, 01:24:02 am »

it is warm bakers! we were at 65 F today! yesterday it was barely 45 F, wind blowing about 20 mph.....it was chilly. i did a 3 1/2 mile walk and was wearing soccer pants, heavy sweatshirt, (long underwear t shirt underneath), a lined wind jacket, gloves, scarf around my neck, and ear muffs. today i was wearing shorts, and a sweatshirt............

rest of the week for weather is supposed to be in the 60's.............

honey crisp apples............we have some local orchards here that grow these apples and they do look like apples on steroids......they are HUGE! and the size of a softball. jack, or bakers, what is your sorghum cake recipe?

ps, getting to the sugar brick recipe..........

Wandering Man · « **Reply #408 on:** November 02, 2016, 08:44:11 am »

We are finally starting to see a downward trend in our temps.

September saw the temps drop from the upper 90's to the mid 90's.
Then, in October, we dropped to the lower 90's, to the upper 80's.

This week we are in the mid 80's.

Next week, we are hopeful of dropping into the low 80's. We might even see a low of 57 sometime next week!

Bakersdozen · « **Reply #409 on:** November 02, 2016, 08:59:43 am »

Quote from: riverbee on November 02, 2016, 01:24:02 am

jack, or bakers, what is your sorghum cake recipe?

I don't have a recipe for sorghum cake. It just sounded good.

brooksbeefarm · « **Reply #410 on:** November 02, 2016, 10:46:53 am »

I'll get the recipe from my wife The problem is she got it from my uncles 86 year old mother, my wife ask her for the recipe and she couldn't tell her? So she said let's go in the kitchen and i'll show you

. My wife wrote it down the best she could, but there's just a little something not right

. But it's close enough. This was about twenty years ago. Mrs Gentry was more of a grandma than my own, but i was around her more the Big Sac river ran through their farm.

Jack

riverbee · « **Reply #411 on:** November 02, 2016, 10:42:32 pm »

................

hey bakers, it did sound good! and jack, i know how the family recipes are 'catalogued'............

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #412 on:** November 16, 2016, 11:51:19 pm »

Mrs River;
i now work barefoot.......so i don't transfer beeswax through the house!

Well.. does that mean you DANCE when you step in hot wax on the floor? Need video!!!!

Although, it is probably not a lot different from seeing a cat get scared.. LEAP into the air and then walk away like it MEANT to do that.....

riverbee · « **Reply #413 on:** October 25, 2017, 11:24:26 pm »

lol.............thought i would fire up this thread cuz you know what is coming! especially for those of us in the northern climates! something to talk about i guess and post about our day, weather, happenings now that bee season is well for me now, a loooooong wait to spring!

so good evenin'..........

snow is coming tomorrow night............

probably not much of a cover, maybe 1 -4 inches? it won't last long i am guessing but still..........i don't like the cold weather, i like wearing shorts and flip flops. our weather has been so up and down, one week so cold, the next week bees flying and it was like summer again. grilling and campfires on our river. been pretty crazy for me this summer, perhaps i will get around to sharing some pix. we had a bridge that was out and a petroleum pipeline that was exposed during the spring flood. we have been watching the drilling of the new pipe (under the river) from one bank to the other.....975 feet. much more to it than that, but what an amazing learning experience.

oh, and the bees, my bees are pretty good for wintering, this weekend i will add a shim and place in some of the sugar bricks. it's only going to be in the low 40's with rain and snow mix, but they will be alright.

efmesch · « **Reply #414 on:** October 26, 2017, 02:26:22 am »

Hopefully. it looks like the Mediterranean dry summer season is coming to its end.
Our last rain of last winter came on April 2. Over six months of totally dry weather ended on October 9th, with the arrival of 10.8 mm of rain that opened the new winter season. The weathermen predict more showers to arrive on this coming Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully they will be correct. Last winter we didn't even get to 200 mm for the whole season---think of that---less than 8 inches of rain for the whole year, spread over a period of six months.
It's great for allowing you to leave all sorts of things out in the yard without having to worry about them getting ruined by rain, but not too helpful when it comes to producing flowers with nectar.

Hopefully this coming winter will be better. We're praying.

Lburou · « **Reply #415 on:** October 27, 2017, 11:49:09 am »

Quote from: efmesch on October 26, 2017, 02:26:22 am

Hopefully. it looks like the Mediterranean dry summer season is coming to its end.
Our last rain of last winter came on April 2. Over six months of totally dry weather ended on October 9th, with the arrival of 10.8 mm of rain that opened the new winter season. The weathermen predict more showers to arrive on this coming Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully they will be correct. Last winter we didn't even get to 200 mm for the whole season---think of that---less than 8 inches of rain for the whole year, spread over a period of six months.
It's great for allowing you to leave all sorts of things out in the yard without having to worry about them getting ruined by rain, but not too helpful when it comes to producing flowers with nectar.

Hopefully this coming winter will be better. We're praying.

It is difficult to imagine a string of years with so little rain Ef. About 15 years ago we lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado. That year we had a total of 6 inches of rain at our house. Just six inches. When we drove to Nebraska to visit relatives that year, the prairie was brown all summer. The grass didn't have enough rain to turn green for the wildlife or livestock. What is your average annual rainfall Ef?

efmesch · « **Reply #416 on:** October 28, 2017, 02:35:39 pm »

The average rainfall for my area of the country is about 400 mm (~16 unches) annually. But the distribution is very distinctly divided into two seaasons: "winter" rainy season which usually starts in October and ends in April and "summer", totally dry season, from May through September. The winter rains start slowly and build up to their maximum, usually in January or February, and then reduce to their minima in April. When the rains come, they usually are in "waves" of a few rainy days separated by preiods of dry, sunny, gloriously beautiful days. Other parts of the country, may have more or less rain, but the rainy season and the dry season are the same all around.
As a side comment, I would add that, one of the benefits of this arrangement is that about 90% of the country uses solar panels for heating home water. It's economical and very dependable, saving a lot from electric bills year around.

The weather report that was broadcast on TV a short while ago, predicts a few days of rain this week---starting tomorrow (Sunday) with occasional showers, building up to heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday and petering out on Wednesday.

Here's hoping that the prediction holds true.

Lburou · « **Reply #417 on:** October 28, 2017, 02:53:53 pm »

Very interesting, it sounds similar to the rainy season in southern California.

Bakersdozen · « **Reply #418 on:** October 28, 2017, 09:09:23 pm »

Just got home from the state beekeeping association fall meeting. I sure do learn a lot. The information is elevated from the local bee club. Great for those beekeepers wanting to move forward.

I do have to share this story about my experience.
The club tries to rotate meetings around the state. This meeting was about 95 miles away at a Best Western that had meeting rooms that suited their needs. Those that needed, reserved rooms at the Best Western. I reserved a room several weeks ago. I missed most of the first day of the meeting due to work. I arrived about 4:30 to check in. The clerk explains that she will have to meet me at the room to let me in. The electronic lock isn't working because it needs batteries. I asked if there were any batteries. No, no batteries. She explained that I would have to put a piece of paper in the door covering the lock when I left that way I could get back in. She went on to assure me the manager said that there was no charge for the room. Leery, I agreed. I didn't have anything of value and at least I could lock the door from the inside.
She met me at the room then went to get me some towels. I noticed there wasn't a toilet seat. I asked if there was a toilet seat that could be put on. She checked a store room. No, no toilet seat. Again, she reassured me there was no charge for the room. Later I went to the desk and asked if she found someone to put a toilet seat on. No, the maintenance man said there wasn't any toilet seats when she called him. I asked if someone could go to the hardware store and get a toilet seat. No, but she assured me there was no charge for the room. I considered leaving and going to another motel.
Having forgot anything to sleep in, I left and found the nearest Walmart. I came back and changed clothes. I decided I was too tired to go somewhere else. After all THERE WAS NO CHARGE FOR THE ROOM! I turned the room heater on. The temp was going to drop down into the mid 20's. The heater set off the smoke detector. No heat. I didn't bother the desk clerk and reminded myself that this was going to be an adventure. I was warm under the blankets and slept well dead bolted in the room.
In the morning got up, and improvised a toilet seat out of the towels she brought me. I started the shower and noticed the water was a little rusty at first. Well, I wasn't going to drink it, just take a shower. I noticed the water was draining slow. No, not draining at all. I reassured myself that it wasn't my problem. Noticed a couple of spiders on the floor. I went to the Best Western restaurant for my complimentary breakfast. They lost my order. When I got it, it was fairly cold. I don't think I have ever had a worse experience. The Best Western should have explained the booking error from the beginning so that I could go else where.
The kicker of it all is the lady that made all the club arrangements, in person, and booked a room for herself, in person, was told they didn't have a reservation for her. She went to another motel! She had brought them a lot of money, and they didn't have her reservation.
I am guessing the club will NEVER be back there.

neillsayers · « **Reply #419 on:** October 28, 2017, 10:12:19 pm »

Wow! Just Wow!

This would make a good beginning for a Halloween story.