It Could Well Be a Bumper Berry Year

If things go the way they look, this could be an extraordinary Berry Year.  Stay tuned.  Strawberries (wild and cultivated) are ending.  I should note that the crop has been okay, but not been prolific. 

However, those coming up look to be extraordinary.  Black Raspberries are just about ready to pick.  The last 2 nights we have gotten 2 hand fulls.  They are so yummy.  The vines are loaded.  Blackberries and Dewberries are blooming. And they seem to be everywhere.

Yesterday, we went to the Memorial Day picnic at Fort Madison Cemetery.  One of the ladies, who grew up with Mother, was noting that wild Blackberries are far better than cultivated.  I thought that was very interesting.  

New Bees

OK, Melanie brings Bees home Friday night, and Saturday (after Memorial Day celebrations) she is off to Iowa City to be with Dave and the kids. Yikes, I feel like we were left home with the "Ba-Bees". I learned many years ago that one's child has a knack of introducing all kinds of unexpected treasures into one's life.

Early last evening, to my dismay, Richard and I discovered the Bees had eaten themselves through their sugar water. That meant that I needed to remove the jar and fill it. It had to be me because I fit into the Bee Suit. Richard didn't.  He tried.

I did some calling (to Melanie and a master Beekeeper in the area).  I was advised to wait until about 7:30 ish this morning.  I guess Bees can be grumpy and defensive after they go to bed.  I know some humans like that.  

So at 8 a.m. this morning, I donned the Bee Suit and headed out with the sugar water in the quart jar to the "Bee Yard".  Richard was waiting patiently in the wings to assist with changing the jar lid.  I walked in from the side.  Apparently walking straight in sometimes means Bees go on the defensive.  I didn't make any sudden movements.  


I am proud to report that I did it! We did it! Those New Bees are so sweet. They are just amazing. In fact, I found the whole thing enchanting. The Bees looked "so new".  I guess all of us were New Bees or Newbies.

Rain

We need Rain.

Bees

As I clatter away at these keys, Melanie is picking up Bees from the "Honey People" to bring home to our very own hive right here at the Farm.  She will be our Farm's Bee Keeper.  

The learning curve just keeps going up.  I continue to be amazed at how much small Farmers knew and must know.  I see this every time we interact with friends who are small Farmers and our Amish neighbors.  I see this every time we open the door to start a new day.

Decorating Graves

Today we had the best day. We gathered up flowers and tools, and headed to 5 cemeteries to reflect on family (friends and community), clean and "decorate" graves. (I even took a few strawberries.) This is a practice we could not do all those years we lived so far away.

Two of the cemeteries are ones we normally do not visit and are resting places of Richard's great great grandparents. One cemetery is old, out of the way, rough mowed. Richard dug out the face of 3 stones which had fallen over and were sinking down under grass and soil. Who are you? What are the stories you have to tell that are important for us to hear now?

On Saturday, we head to Ft. Madison Cemetery which is in the northeast part of our county.  My female line going back to my great great grandmother Catherine Powell South is there.  The community has re-instituted a "Memorial Day Picnic" where we share pictures, stories, and a meal of traditional foods.

Solar Eclipse

O.K., we just don't want to miss anything here on the Farm.  Sometimes, we don't have the most sophisticated technology at our finger tips but we usually can improvise something.

Yesterday marked the Solar Eclipse, where the Moon hides some of the face of the Sun.  It was not a full Eclipse in these parts but it was pretty substantial.  I checked times.  The Eclipse was to begin about 7:30pm as the Sun was dipping toward the western horizon.  Peak was 8:30pm.  Sunset, for us, was 8:24pm. 

While I was doing some research, Melanie and Noah made a fantastic East Indian Meal.  I punched 3 holes in index cards (a pin hole, a tack hole, and a hole punch). It became quickly obvious that our plans for Solar viewing needed a little tweaking.  We started out eating on the west porch, but the trees meant we were sitting in dappled shade.  My hole punches were not exactly statements of perfection.  Was that divet the Eclipse or was it simply a product of my creative hole punching skills?  Quickly, things began to change.  I suggested that we find other objects with small standard round holes.  Emily and I were on search and find mode.  She grabbed the strainer and I grabbed one of my best kitchen friends, the large collander.  I also suggested we eat our dinner on the west face of the white garage which was in full view of the Sun.  Off we went.

The experimenting began.  Sure enough, each of those round holes had exactly the same cut-out where the Moon was slipping over the face of the Sun.  We just couldn't believe it. 

Snapshots