Getting the hang of it

After an inauspicious beginning at the dog park today (bitten on the ear by a mean dog), Jackson did some actual swimming – for the very first time. It wasn't graceful, but he was determined to Get. That. Ball.

We were very excited for him, and he seemed quite pleased with himself. Lucy celebrated by going in up to her ankles.

Deb & Erik get their bees

Deb has been helping me document my experience with bees since nearly the beginning. She came along on my second swarm capture and was wowed by it. She also helped me with hive inspections and honey harvest. Now she's got her urban homestead with greenhouse and chickens. Of course she wanted bees, too!
She and her honey, Erik, had just finished up their beekeeping class with the Backyardhive.com folks when I called them with news of a swarm at the community gardens where a couple of friends have plots. Yay friends! We arranged to meet there at 6 a.m. – Deb and Erik with their brand-new bee jackets and me with my swarm gear.
The bees were clustered on a tree branch about 6 feet off the ground. Because it was early and cool, they were in a nice tight bunch.
The 6-foot ladder we had was a little too tall to hold the box with enough room for branch-shaking, and the 4-footer too short, so Deb opted to hold the box as Erik shook the branch.
And shook it some more.
Things started to go south after Deb set the box down and discovered that some bees had gotten into her sleeves and under her pants cuffs. She started to panic a little (can you blame her?), and got stung a couple of times on her ankle.

She and I walked far enough away that she could get the bees out, while Erik stayed and tried to herd more bees into the box, which he put on the taller ladder. But it wasn't strapped down. You can guess what happened.

When Deb and I got back, there were bees all over the sheets we'd laid out, but still quite a few in the box.
It seemed best to go have breakfast and let the bees sort themselves out. Which they did.

When we returned, the queen was in the box with the bulk of her court.
Erik gently wrapped the box in sheets and carried it to the car.
At home Erik shook the bees into their waiting hive. Now, nearly two weeks later, Deb reports that the bees have a goodly amount of comb built out and are active and happy.

I have video of the whole thing, but it's quite long, so Deb or I will need to edit it down, and I'll let them decide if they want to post it. (To Erik's credit, he did not swear when the box fell. At least not audibly!)

A rocky afternoon

I've tried to keep the path to the side yard covered with mulch, but the dogs keep turning it into a dirt racetrack.
With a fair amount of effort this afternoon, I got some flagstones and pavers laid down and reasonably level. The addition of mulch and a flat of groundcover – thyme, probably, or maybe ironwort – should make it look a lot nicer.
I did get that last big paver in the back laid, too. I had to take a picture before I finished because it was getting dark.

I encountered the concrete plug for a former fence post and briefly toyed with digging it out. I even tried to break it up a little with a pickax. No such luck. But at least it was off to the side enough that I could still center the big paver.

Boy, I sure am achy now.

Uncool

When I moved into this house, one of my first improvements was the addition of a swamp cooler on the second floor, tied into the upstairs ductwork.

If you live in a dry climate, a swamp cooler (or evaporative cooler) is a great alternative to air conditioning; it cools the air by blowing it through wet pads, much like hanging a damp towel in front of a fan. It uses much less electricity than AC and you don't have to seal up the house.

It does mean I have to climb into the attic twice a year to turn it on or off and rearrange the ducts, but that's not arduous.

This spring brought a little surprise, though.
Remember those darned pigeons that were nesting under the deck? And then building over the front door? Well, they thought they'd finally found a viable alternative: a fold in the cooler cover. The wind had flipped it over because I didn't tie it securely enough last fall.
When I got up on the ladder and flipped the cover back, Whooosh! a pigeon came shooting out. "Whoa!" I shouted, scaring the Sergeant. I had to reassure him I was OK.

I'm sure the pigeons would've thought it poetic if I'd fallen off the ladder.
I felt sorry, but not enough to leave the nest. Did you know that pigeons produce up to five sets of babies a year? This pair will just have to try again somewhere else.

Dog park bee tree

Out at the dog park there's a solitary bee tree. I had an idle hope earlier this year that I could get a swarm from it; those would be some great, hardy genetics.
The Sergeant and I were at the park a couple of days ago and I immediately noticed something amiss. The bees' trunk had fallen!
For comparison, here's a photo I took in May last year. You can see that the trunk that was behind Jackson is now on the ground.
Yet the bees' nest must be even lower in the tree, as there was a great cloud of them still hovering around the entrance. I wasn't willing to get closer without a veil; if I were them, I'd be a little freaked out by the recent disturbance. I did see some going in and out through the damaged pith of the tree; I imagine all the recent rains have played havoc with climate control in the hive.
I also wondered where they might be finding any nectar, as little is blooming out there at the park right now. And the wind can blow pretty well, making it hard to fly far.
Later in our walk we did find one flowering shrub – golden currant or Ribes aureum – next to the pond.
And sure enough, some busy bees.

Zoom zoom

Many months ago I bought a Groupon-type deal for karting at Unser Racing, a new indoor track on the north side of Denver. Neither of us had ever been in a go-kart outside of an amusement park.

The Sergeant has race-car driving experience, as does a friend who joined us, so they left me in the dust. I didn't mind; it was fun to just zip around the tight curves and rev down the (admittedly rather short) straightaways.

It's kind of expensive ($25 for about 8 minutes of racing, plus a $5 "day pass"), so once was enough for me. But the Sergeant thinks he might go again.

I've made my bed

There's a lot of lawn in our yard that I would like to hold flowers and vegetables instead. But boy, digging up sod is hard work!
Lucy shows how high the grass is in a small area that was full of cosmos last year but this year was reclaimed by the underlying turf.

What makes sod removal so tedious is the need to shake out as much dirt as possible and rescue all the worms tangled up in the roots. Other people may not feel that need, but it would still be a lot of work just digging out all those roots.

It pretty much took me all afternoon to do this one patch.
Now you can see the irises the Sergeant planted last year in that patch. All the plants need barriers around them to protect them from roughhousing dogs.

Basil artichoke pizza at Udi's

A month ago we went to dinner in Arvada with some friends who suggested Udi's in Old Town. The appetizers were forgettable, the Old Fashioneds were acceptable, but OMG, the pizza was awesome.
Specifically, the basil artichoke pizza. I liked it so much I took Mom there for lunch a few days ago (she's been out for a lovely visit).

The lunch offer of salad with the pizza is redundant, since you get all that lovely arugula, and the salad is nothing special. Then again, if you eat the salad, you can save some of the pizza for later. It's good cold, too.

Mom had the lamb pita, which she enjoyed. She says she doesn't like pizza. I didn't encourage her to try mine.

Udi's
7600 Grandview Avenue
Arvada, CO 80002-2410
(303) 421-8000

Indonesian fried rice

My friends came for brunch today and I made nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice) from the May/June issue of Cook's Illustrated. I'll make it again and blog about it when I have time to document the process. The rolled-up eggs are a fun touch, and fried shallots are a revelation.

These bees better stick around

At 6:30 a.m. it was still dark enough under this juniper that I needed a flash to illuminate the swarm. It was also a little chilly. Easy-peasy! I thought.
Now, 18 hours later and after reviewing my video, I think there were really two swarms in this little tree. One by the trunk and one over on the left, by the wall. Weird, huh?
After unsuccessfully shaking the central cluster, I discovered the ones on the left, and I thought the queen had moved up there. I shook that bunch, too. Again, no queen.
Frustrated, and running out of time, I left the box there, with a warning sign. Then I went to the dentist, because I'm a glutton for punishment.
When I came back a couple hours later, I got that end cluster in the box. But the bees in the middle wanted nothing to do with it. I finally just left them there and took the bees I had home.

Here's a short video of the bees going in the box:


And here's the box being shaken into the hive at home.
Stick around, bees! It's a nice place you've got there.

The bees that got away

First the construction workers told me about a swarm around the corner. I went and looked at it, came back to get my gear, and in those few minutes the bees flew away.

Then there were two swarms more than 15 feet up in trees. Too high for me.

Then there was a swarm on a very rainy day when I needed to drive to the airport. Someone else got those bees.

And a swarm that showed up while I was working.

Finally there were these bees:
This very tiny swarm landed at a garden center where I'd left my card two years ago. It was a windy day.
I was disappointed with the size of the cluster, but beggars can't be choosers. Certainly the location was easy. Right at eye level in a potted fruit tree. I spread out a sheet on the ground, tipped the tree over the box and gave it a good shake.
The bees seemed really lethargic, but those that landed on the sheet dutifully marched into the box, so I knew I had the queen.

When I got home, I tipped them into the hive and closed it up. At first all seemed well, but later the Sergeant said the entrance seemed awfully quiet. Then it rained for many days.

When I looked in the hive this morning, they were gone. Argh.

BUT. I got another swarm call tonight, so I'm going to pick it up first thing in the morning. Cross your fingers!



P.S. Yes, I started fiddling with blog layout. I'm not sure I like it, but I can't get back to the old version.

Fuzzy wuzzy

Furry Scurry!

THANK DOG. The staircase gymnastics are OVER.

Custom oak pet gate on spring-loaded hinges installed today.

Cone zone

Long-suffering Lucy is on the DL again.

Deb's chickens

My friend and former cow-orker Deb left her exciting desk job in favor of urban homesteading. I stopped by last Sunday to see how she is progressing. I didn't get photos of her cool raised beds or her awesome greenhouse, so I'll just have to go back for another visit. But I did get a couple snaps of her chickens.

I also got more than a couple of their lovely eggs, some very freshly laid.

It was, after all, Easter Sunday.
Thanks, Deb!