Category Archives: Awesome

Some swarms I caught a few weeks ago

It’s late in the season for swarms to strike out from a honeybee colony. Typically, April through June are prime swarm months when the bees are building up to work the bountiful nectar sources during that time of year. As they get crowded from both the increase in bees as well as the stored honey and pollen, some of the bees along with the old queen strike out on their own and forma new colony. It’s natural and kind of cool, unless you are a beekeeper wanting to keep strong hives and make honey. It’s even less cool when you don’t see the swarm leave so you can’t capture them and at least keep the new colony.

A huge swarm of honeybees
A huge swarm of honeybees

Anyhow, swarming is a natural thing but it usually happens in the Spring and early Summer…and very rarely at the end of August or beginning of September. Still, somehow I got calls for two swarms recently and was happy to gather the new colonies for my apiary! The first swarm was at the local hospice house. A business across the road saw the swarm fly into a tree so called me. I hurried down and went into the hospice house. They didn’t know they had a massive swarm on their property but were happy to have me remove it. The receptionist announced over the intercom that everyone should stay inside while I did my work. Of course, that meant a huge number of employees ran outside to see what was going on. Among them was the media relations guy who saw an opportunity and called the local media. Two news crews came and before I knew it, I was being interviewed for the evening news! That was cool of course and I was happy to help hospice get some publicity as well.

Touching a swarm of bees
Don’t try this at home

A good number of the people who had gathered had never seen a swarm of bees so it took a good bit if time for everyone to see what there was to see and to get pictures with the bee guy sticking his hand into the swarm (don’t try that at home). I love catching swarms and love an audience so it was a lot of fun and the swarm was huge and should definitely survive the winter, unlike many late season swarms that don’t have time to build up in number, collect nectar and pollen, etc.

A second, smaller swarm
A second, smaller swarm
I always touch my swarms before I collect them...not sure why
I always touch my swarms before I collect them…not sure why

Just a week or so later, Larry Groce of Mountain Stage fame called me with a swarm of bees in his front yard. Larry is a super nice guy and it was a swarm of bees so of course I gathered them as well. The funny thing is that I went to his place after a Rotary meeting where he was the featured speaker! We got to chat a bit about bees which is always fun! I collected his swarm easily and merged them with another colony so they should survive as well, though not independently.

Wasps' nest

Wasps' nest
Waspers!

And now this isn’t exactly a swarm, and I didn’t exactly catch them, but these buggers are still hanging out by my back door. They are sort of swarm-like, right? I mean, it’s a mass of stinging insects…I think they are beautiful so they shall remain until they move on…

Ghost peppers

A year or two ago, Isaac and a bunch of his buddies discovered hot peppers.  They each grew various types and took them to school where they traded, challenged each other, did nerve damage to their tongues, etc…you know, guy stuff.  Most of the guys had run of the mill peppers…habaneros, thai chili, cayennes, etc.  To be sure, there are some good and hot peppers in that bunch and they were a lot of fun.  This year, we decided to step it up a bit and planted ghost peppers, also known as bhut jolokia peppers.  In 2007, it was rated as the world’s hottest pepper…a mere 401.5 times hotter than Tabasco sauce.  For reference, a jalapeno pepper registers between 1000 and 4000 Scoville units.  A freakin’ ghost pepper rates at 1,000,000 (1 million) Scoville units!

Ghost peppers
Ghost peppers

Anyhow, we grew a beautiful crop of ghost peppers this year.  They grew nice tall plants and this week, started ripening into their beautiful red color.  Isaac picked them on Sunday and ate the end off of one of them.  We watched as his face turned red and he immediately had to get a tissue as his sinuses drained.  He drank a ton of milk and had that goofy look on his face when you know you’ve made a mistake.

Eating a ghost pepper
Eating a ghost pepper

Not to be out done, I decided to step it up a notch.  I chomped the remaining pepper, including the seeds, and within 10 seconds, knew that I had really screwed up.  It took no time for my sinuses to clear and then my lips and tongue felt as if they were swelling…I imagine they probably were.  I could feel it down my throat and all throughout my mouth and nose (watch the video link).  Finally, and this is the best part, within 3-5 minutes, I had to deliver my supper to the porcelain altar.  Luckily, my mouth was so hot that I couldn’t taste a thing!

Eating a ghost pepper

Eating a ghost pepper
About to cry…but I ate the rest

A video of my reaction

So, if you find yourself in need of something stupid to do on a Sunday evening, find a ghost pepper and eat it all in one or two bites…it’s for the teenage boy in all of us!

By the way, Isaac took a few to school to share with his buddies…sharing is a good thing, right?

My bumblebees

About a month ago, I got a call from a local woman who had a bee problem.  As a flower gardener, she knew she had bumblebees rather than honeybees, my usual bugs of choice, but she hoped I could help her.  In her gardening efforts, she was getting stung as she worked near their colony.  You see, in her beautiful flower garden, a nest of bumblebees had taken up residence in one of her birdhouses.

Bumblebee house?
Bumblebee house?

I’ve never kept bumblebees, but I like all of the flying creatures with the word “bee” in their name so I said I would come and take a look.  From talking with my grandpa a dozen or so years ago, I remembered that bumblebees do indeed make honey.  As a kid, he said he and his siblings used to follow bumblebees back to their nest to collect the small caches of honey they made.  Grandpa described their unusual-looking nest (better pictured here than my trying to describe it) and talked about the fun he had chasing after them.

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A bumblebee nest
A bumblebee nest

Isaac and I entered the woman’s garden and found, on an eye-level shepherd’s crook, a little birdhouse filled with a bumblebee nest, just as she reported.  I told her I didn’t think I could get the bees out and she said, “Oh no, of course not, just take the house and all if you want to.”  Of course, I wanted to so Isaac and I wrapped it in a sheet, returned home and placed it on a shepherd’s crook in my yard where it remains, still full of bumblebees.

A bumblebee nest

Bumblebee helping my raspberry blooms
Bumblebee helping my raspberry blooms

I am not sure how/if they will winter there, but I am inclined to leave it alone and see what happens.  They have been a delightful addition to the yard and garden and we have enjoyed seeing them on blooms all over the yard!

We did finally make it to the Potomac

For a summer that doesn’t feel like we had any vacation, it occurs to me that we have done some pretty fun things.  Earlier in the summer, we had planned to tube on the Potomac River.  Of course we were rained out and altered our trip some.

Family time!
Family time!

A month ago, we actually made it to the Potomac, but rather than tubing, we spent the weekend boating.  My brother and sister-in-law have a river house along the river and invited the family for the weekend.  My parents and aunt came from PA and my crew drove in from Charleston.

The dock and watercraft
The dock and watercraft

Rock and roll!

So, their place has a dock which was begging for something to be tied to it.  My brother has a saying:  “If you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly.”  We use that all the time, but in our case, it’s usually when we screw something up…we go all-in.  Anyhow, my brother goes all-in also but not usually in the screw-up department.  My point is that when the decision to buy a boat came up, he decided not to settle for a mere 16 foot boat, but rather to buy a 30 foot long pontoon and two jet-skis that will knock the tears out of your eyes.

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When I was a younger man, I had a motorcycle that I rode everywhere in all weather…even once in the snow…don’t ride a motorcycle in the snow…it’s cold and really really hard to not slide.  Anyhow, I loved riding my bike but as newlyweds, we really needed a washer and dryer.  I sold my motorcycle and never got another.  So, the jet ski was a perfect sort of hearkening back to my motorcycle days.  I could go crazy fast, do stupid stuff and have a much lower risk of getting killed compared to a motorcycle.  It was perfect!

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Anyhow, we had a great time at the river house and boating and eating all sorts of food.  My brother cooked bacon outside on an electric skillet and my kids raved and raved about it.  It’s hard to beat camp food or anything cooked outside for that matter.  And of course, anything cooked by their uncle is good too.

That's the bacon
That’s the bacon

I love these family times and boating and the Potomac, at least where we were, was absolutely beautiful  There were eagles and lots of fish and turtles and ducks.  People were nice and we all had a wonderful time sharing each other’s company!  I’d call that a good trip!

The rest of the trip

So a few days ago, I mentioned a trip we took and how it changed because of rain.  As you may remember, we had planned to tube the Potomac River on day 2 but the rain was so bad that the river was not going to be fun.  Still, we wanted to save the weekend so we decided to visit Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass, WV.

Cass Scenic Railroad
Cass Scenic Railroad
At the Company Store
At the Company Store

The Cass Railroad used to service a series of lumber camps on top of the mountain.  The town was a company store kind of town which has been pretty well restored.  The rail line is also well maintained and has covered train cars so it was perfect for a rainy day!

At the Company Store
At the Company Store

The trip to Cass requires a winding trip through some beautiful scenic territory in the Eastern Mountains of WV.  It’s amazing getting to Cass and even cooler once you get there.  We wandered about the town waiting for trip up the mountain.  I love trains and this trip reminded me of the several trips my family took when I was a kid.  We rode several steam engines around NY and PA on trips just like this one.

Shay locomotive at Cass
Shay locomotive at Cass
Ready for our trip up the mountain
Ready for our trip up the mountain

I think I irritated Emily, but I just couldn’t get enough of looking at the trains and the dirty coal-men and the company store.  I know it was a hard life and definitely not a romantic era for working folks, but for some reason, I sort of visualize the turn of the century as a special time that is intriguing to me if I had a time machine.  Goofy, I know.  Anyhow, I stared at the trains and imagined the people who used to live and die in the forest cutting massive trees with hand saws.  I imagined the raucous parties when the men had a chance to go to town and I wondered if the life that seems so simple in my mind was something I would want to live.  And then I remember that the average lifespan was poor and the time between birth and death for many of those guys was no dream…at least not a good dream.

Huge drive arms
Huge drive arms

Anyhow, we rode the specially built train up the mountain where it traversed an 11% grade.  For modern locomotives, a 2% grade is steep.  The train travels a series of switchbacks to climb and descend the mountain and I cannot imagine the guys who used to haul huge loads of timber down the mountain, counting on the brakes to keep them from rolling down the hill out of control.

One of the switchbacks
One of the switchbacks
Selfie on the ride up
Selfie on the ride up

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Almost to Whittaker Station
Almost to Whittaker Station
Touring the logging camp
Touring the logging camp

I guess this train ride will be one I won’t ever forget.  It was just special.  The kids and I sucked on hard candy we bought at the company store and found ourselves chatting about…stuff.  We took silly pictures and had absolutely no cell service at all so had to resort to conversation and our imaginations.  We jabbered and day-dreamed as the scenery passed us by on the trip.  In my mind, it was just perfect and without the rain, we would never have seen this part of WV!

The family at Whittaker Station
The family at Whittaker Station
CassVideo
Click for a cool video with the train whistle…wait for it

(If the video above doesn’t work for you or if you want a smaller but lower quality version, try this link)

After the train ride, we decided to go to Snowshoe Mountain Resort which is a well-known ski area in the winter.  In the summer, it is sort of nothing I guess.  There aren’t too many people around, but the mountain and scenery remain beautiful.  We were fairly near the Greenbank Radio Observatory, a national radio quiet zone.

Greenbank Radio Observatory
Greenbank Radio Observatory…in the rain

Cell service was sketchy and the resort facilities where we stayed were even sketchier…summer visitors have to endure repairs and upgrades from the ski season I guess.  Anyhow, the technology-free weekend was a lot of fun.  Of course, the rain continued and storms rolled in as well.  We jumped into the pool at one point and 5 minutes later, they booted us out because of impending lightning.

In Lewisburg

In Lewisburg
In Lewisburg

We survived the night, had a great and greasy breakfast and drove to Lewisburg, WV where we ate lunch and walked around in town a bit.  Lewisburg is an awesome town and we love visiting, even if we just walk up and down the street.  It has a small-town-America feel…back to that romantic vision of a different time I guess!  Anyhow, we ended up having a fantastic trip, even though our plans were so significantly different from what we originally planned.  I think those sorts of trips may be the best kind!

Change of Plans

A little over a month ago, we took a trip with our aunt and uncle.  We all like to get outside and kayak, hike, swim, etc, so this was going to be a great trip doing a little of all of that.

Dam at Stonewall Jackson Lake
Dam at Stonewall Jackson Lake

The plan was to head to Stonewall Jackson Resort in Roanoke West Virginia (not Roanoke, East Virginia) Friday morning, where we would rent a pontoon boat and tube/swim/boat on Stonewall Jackson Lake.  The next day, we planned to drive to the Eastern Panhandle of WV where we would spend all day tubing down the South Branch of the Potomac River.

Does anything ever go as planned?

Nope.

Carp at Stonewall Jackson Lake
Carp at Stonewall Jackson Lake

Well, we did leave Charleston on Friday morning, but it was raining as we pulled out.  Still, we drove to Stonewall Resort, about 2 hours away.  Just as we pulled into the resort, the clouds parted, the sun came out and our day was saved!  Stonewall Jackson Lake, we discovered, has a carp population, to say the least.  So, we watched the carp a little and headed out on the boat.  It was an absolutely great time and we trolled around the lake taking time to swim here and there.  The water was nice and we just had a wonderful time.

Trust us...we have a map
Trust us…we have a map

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We returned the boat and decided to use the bicycle rental pass we got for staying at the resort.  The lady at the counter warned us of a coming storm and that we simply had to be back by 8pm.  She was certain that at exactly 8pm we would be under fire, so to speak.  We looked that the radar and sort of figured she was crazy.  Sure a storm was coming but it was a ways off.

It fits...I guess
It fits…I guess
I love this pic!
I love this pic!
And this one too!
And this one too!

So we rode our bikes and had a lot of fun.  We decided Abigail was not quite ready to drive a car as she was a bit wild.  Poor Emily got the only non-mountain bike so she worked hard on the hills.  She chose the bike though so…

And this one too!
And this one too!

Anyhow, our time was up so we returned the bikes.  At 8:03 pm, I’ll be darned if the storm didn’t drop!  We sat in the library at the resort and played cards while the storm raged a bit.  The outdoor wedding on the patio below the library was sort of…ruined I guess.  It was impressive and the rain was substantial.

Planning for the next day!
Planning for the next day!

With as much rain as we got and with the forecast for Saturday to be full or rain, we sort of figured that the plan to tube the Potomac was out of the question as it would be raging.  We worked out plan b which ended up being a blast…stay tuned…

Great raspberry year!

Probably my all-time favorite fruit is raspberries.  As a kid, we had a patch in the yard where we could stroll by and get berries any time we wanted.  Raspberries tend to get a little wild and spread like crazy.  Of course, that makes them wonderful but they can be a bit much for a smaller yard.

Red raspberries!
Red raspberries!

Red raspberries!

Of course,w e have a smaller yard in Charleston so we were unsure whether we could have raspberries.  At some point, I stopped caring whether a patch looked good or not so we planted a dozen or so starter canes and our patch was born.  Actually, we started a patch of red raspberries and a patch of black raspberries and then we added another red patch.  All of them have thrived and produce probably 25 pounds of berries per year.

Black raspberries!
Black raspberries!  (some were frozen)

We have made jellies and jams and syrups with them for several years, but Emily found recipes for black raspberry pie and for red raspberry muffins, both of which are to die for (yes, I said that).

Raspberry muffins
Raspberry muffins

We freeze a lot of the berries and use them as we need them.  My word they are just like fresh and so much better than the flavorless ones that cost too much in the stores!  Thank goodness for backyard raspberries!!!

By the way, here are the recipes for the pie and muffins…Emily found these somewhere on the Internet so these are not our own…

Raspberry muffin recipe

Raspberry muffin recipeRaspberry muffin recipe

Raspberry pie recipe

Black Raspberry pie

 

Happy Anniversary!

It’s hard to believe, but 21 years ago today, I married my best friend!  We were young and foolish but the best decision I ever made was marrying Emily.  We met during the first week of college and started hanging out regularly over hot chocolate around Christmas of freshman year.

OUR_WED WED_KISS

I struggled and worried and acted all weird trying to work up the nerve to kiss her on the last week of freshman year and that sort of started it all.  What a goofball I was…it was easy!

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Fast forward a few years and I struggled and worried and acted all weird trying to work up the nerve to ask her Dad’s permission to marry her.  What a goofball I was…it was easy!  We were watching Spartacus which was intense enough, but he simply asked for a number of goats and sheep and it was a done deal!  I’m still trying to collect enough to pay off that debt, but some day…

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So, here we are 21 years later with 2 wonderful kids and a life I never would have dreamed of!  I couldn’t be happier!

Fish Hawk Acres

West by God Virginia is full of all sorts of interesting delights that often go overlooked.  While we are not technically a “fly-over” state as they are traditionally defined, we really are pretty much overlooked for everything except as the butt of jokes.

Fish Hawk Acres

There are so many things in WV that I would consider gems that most people passing by just miss.  A few weeks ago, we discovered one – Fish Hawk Acres.  Fish Hawk Acres is a combination catering service, organic farm and outdoor restaurant…at least 4 days a year.  We had the pleasure of driving to Rock Cave, WV a small town near Buckhannon…another small town in central WV.  Emily and I met in Buckhannon 25 years ago so I reference Buckhannon whenever I can.  Anyhow, we drove into Rock Cave and through a few fields to an un-assuming pavilion where Dale Hawkins, the chef and owner of FHA was preparing a gourmet meal with items that were all grown in one of 14 farms nearby.

Vegetables
These vegetables were for sale…fresh from the field

Dale talked some about his theory on sustainability and farming, food and cooking, and his pleasure in returning to the family farm in WV to do what he loves.  He found that he was more a chef than a farmer so he partnered with Patti and Lupe Espinosa who took the endeavor from a 3 acre row-crop farm to a 30 acre farm to supply his cooking.  Before we ate, Dale and Pati took us on a walking farm through a few fields to describe how they manage and conserve water and soil as well as how they plant vegetables and manage weeds.  It was an incredible operation and one that made me wish I could undertake such an adventure.

Fish Hawk Acres outdoor dining
Fish Hawk Acres outdoor dining

We returned from the field, ready to eat.  I guess there were 100 or so people that dined on beef tips and pork loin, asparagus and fresh roasted potatoes.  We had cucumber-basil mojitos (not bad) and salad made from fresh greens.

Vegetables
This struck me as beautiful…simple foods

After dinner, Sarah Loudin Thomas,  a WV-native who has authored two books read a few segments from each novel for us.  In her blend of WV and now-NC accents, she told us a story of life in WV in the early 1900s.  After she read, a number of people asked for her to sign their books including her 5th grade teacher who was in the audience!  It was one of the coolest things of the night!

Junk food!

On our way back, we had to stop for gas.  For some reason, I felt the need to pollute my palette with ultra-processed ice cream.  Still, we had a wonderful time as a family, enjoying one of the many gems that WV has to offer!

 

All-County Band

I know I have been posting a lot of band stuff lately but it has been our lives lately.  School is winding down so band is slowing too although lessons and playing are definitely not!  Anyhow, I have been remiss in posting about our kids’ participation in All-County Band for Kanawha County!

All-County Band
All-County Band…They can get along!

Abigail started lessons a few years ago as a younger-than-normal flute student.  She had her ups and downs with it initially, but has developed into quite a flutist.  Jump ahead to this year, the first year she is actually old enough to play in band.  She was ahead of the curve some from experience which set her up well to try out for All-County Band.  As I understand it, she was the only 6th grader in the county to make the band and to boot, she made 9th chair out of 22!  I am so proud of her and she really stepped up her game.  She rose well to the challenge and plays all the time now around the house.

Music Of John Williams
Pride Of Wv
Rage
Tempest
America The Beautiful
Lullaby

Isaac also made the high school All-County Band for tenor sax. He’s such a funny kid…he did his audition but felt like he didn’t play as well as he had hoped. He was disappointed and never bothered to even look at the list of students who made the band when it was released. By dumb-luck, one of his friends made a comment along the lines of “See you at practice tonight.” He had to query what the friend meant who of course, let him know that he was in the band…the day of the first rehearsal!  Isaac had no idea that he had made the band as second chair!  Anyhow, he also played very well and I am so proud of his playing as well.  Band truly does mean a lot in our house and we enjoy watching the kids develop into really great musicians!

Give Us Peace
A Slavic Farewell
American Riversongs
Americans We
Fiddler On The Roof