My neighbor had another bee swarm. Three in the space of eight days! I missed the first two, but she called me as soon as she spotted the latest and I got to watch our friendly neighborhood expert deal with it.
Here’s the swarm:
Category: Rural and small-town living
Life far from freeways, Starbucks, malls, and other benefits/distractions
A small-town pot store having its grand opening. Nice store, too. Yeah, I know I said I’d be away from the computer most of this weekend. But when I logged on for a quick check, my operating system it informed me rather nastily that it needed to be reinstalled. 🙁 Consider this to be testing … 1 … 2 … 3 …
Just a short post. I’m going to close down for most of the next three days. Will pop in occasionally to check comments, but otherwise be out in the sun hammering and nailing. —– We had a big old bee swarm on our street a couple of days ago. I could have seen it from my windows had I known. But the woman with the trees full of bees didn’t have my phone number handy and wasn’t venturing out to inform the neighborhood. Never saw a “live” bee swarm. I think it would be cool. The beekeeping neighbor who eventually…
Police face recruiting challenges, according to this NPR interview with cop advisor Darrel Stephens. But know what? If that very last line Stephens’ speaks is what cops aim for, they’re going to face a lot worse than mere recruiting challenges in the long run. They’re gonna face us. (Both audio and transcript at the link.) Of course, some cops merely aim for good old-fashioned sadistic fun at our expense. While others just watch too many movies. (Via Borepatch) Reminds me of this oldie but goodie from XKCD. All of which is why we call them thugs, regardless of their race,…
It was free spring-cleaning day at the landfill and furrydoc guessed that I might have construction rubble to add to her truckload. (Gee, wonder what made her think a thing like that?) So she came over, we loaded my demolition leftovers on top of hers, and off we went to the dump. And there it was, right on the nearest heap: The center pane had a crack across it that someone had patched with blue masking tape and cardboard from a Cheerios box. The wood has a few dings. But nothing a little Bondo or wood filler can’t handle. Rick…
The Sugar Pine Mine situation in Oregon, which a lot of people have been cautiously watching, is not yet (and hopefully won’t have to become) a stand-off with the Bureau of Land Management. But according to David Codrea, Oath Keepers (bless ’em) has been on the scene to provide security as the confrontation remains tense. Oath Keepers is looking for responsible volunteers (no agenda-driven grandstanders/provocateurs) to support them at a noon rally in Medford, Oregon, today. They are also looking for a camp cook, medical personnel, and other volunteers with specific skills. They may need other help in the future,…
It’s been a year since I’ve scrounged anything good from the woods. Then it was the foundling end table (which got improved and which Commentariat member Pat eventually dubbed “Doorway to the Sun”). This afternoon I brought home a small heap of equally unprepossessing but potentially useful stuff I found in a newly dumped trash heap. To wit: This is tongue-and-groove beadboard from somebody’s old house. Depression-era, I’m guessing. Probably wainscotting from a kitchen or bathroom judging by the bits of ancient wallpaper clinging to it. This small amount isn’t enough for anything by itself, but I’ve got this ceiling…
Walked to the grocery store this morning, arriving just before opening. The lot was nearly full and the street outside lined with parked pickup trucks and SUVs. Unheard of on a Sunday morning. Clerk opened the doors — and out of those vehicles poured guys. I’m guessing there were six men for every one woman.
It’s SuperBowl Sunday in the NorthWest and the local team is playing for the second year in a row.
We’re having another of those moments where the sky is blue, the sun blinding, and the air so mild that fleece sweatpants and a turtleneck under the tee-shirt are almost too much.
So the guy who helps with my yardwork turned up to do some long-discussed brush clearing, trash hauling, and felling of small trees. (Totally blowing my January “minimalist” budget, but that’s another story.) Twice this week he and a couple of grubby kids (one of whom is his daughter-in-law, a tough bundle of charm) have crawled down the slope across the road and dug in. They’ve attacked noxious giant weeds (which my beekeeping neighbors won’t let me poison if I want to keep peace in the valley). They’ve taken down and heaped up small, malformed trees. They’ve hauled out every sort of trash, from microwaves and broken toilets to dozens of bags of cat poop.
My apologies, all you people there on the upper east coast. I hear that the ghastly weather you’re having is our fault. Something to do with this monstrous ridge of high pressure plunging down on us; creates a monster low for you.
Believe me, I was thinking of you this afternoon while I contemplated whether or not I should wear the tee-shirt with a turtleneck or skip the turtleneck for a dog walk. I felt soooooo guilty.