LOVE BIRDS

Did you know that cardinals (and other birds) feed each other?

ROMANCE

Scientists have offered three different theories to explain courtship feeding: (1) courtship feeding allows females to evaluate the kind of parent a male would make for her offspring, (2) courtship feeding strengthens the bond between mated males and females, or (3) courtship feeding provides nesting females with extra nutrition during a time when they can’t travel far to forage.

I sit most mornings very early, drinking a cup of coffee, reading my bible, thinking about the day before me...watching nature wake up.

The last few days I have seen a pair of cardinals at my feeder and witnessed the male hopping over to the female and gently placing a seed in her beak.  I could  not stand how precious this was!! 

I began to read a little bit about it and you can too at the link above.

I told my daughter this morning

"let your man be the man...depend on him to take care of you in all ways...and you do the same for him in the ways you can....

a tidy home that smells like supper when he walks in...laundry tumbling...baby sleeping..fire burning, flowers on the window sill....

let him earn the living

you make life worth the living

romance in the most simple form

right outside my window

*PURA VIDA*

SWEET BEE STUFF

I am learning so much stuff in the middle of the night, when I can't sleep and get on my iPad and read about bees.

This week, I've been learning about the problems of  beekeeping  and I found this so fascinating that I want to share with you.

It seems that bees can get mites and from what I understand, they are much like a tick or a flea...a pest that they can control on their own, but can get out of hand in some cases...but here's the coolest part that still blows my mind...to treat them...you dust them with powdered sugar!

WHAT???

So a few weeks ago, our hive swarmed and in my early morning education I found that

this was really a good thing...nature's way of bees multiplying

our bees simply ran out of room

so I hurried and ordered a new hive and an upstairs for my existing hive, knowing that this is the time of year to be swarming and I wanted to be ready to catch another one if the chance came our way

and it did!!

we got a phone call from a teacher who had a swarm in her backyard

So the Mister and I grabbed our outfits and off we went!

video from Beekeeping Like a Girl

this was a very each catch and the bees were so docile

he put them in a box

and we brought them to 822

where we had lots of pretty flowers

and then...... 

YIKES!!!  One of those very scary storms brewed up in the west

and it was so bad that we even made the news on The Today Show!

Flowers...gone

Roses....gone

Tree leaves...gone

BOO!

Bees in cardboard Nuc box?

Damaging hail, high winds, flooding rain

They hung in there until we could put them in their new home

well hello new bees! 

hope you like your new cute bee house!

Beekeeping Like a Girl

Practical Smoker Fuel

KEEPER OF THE BEES

When Mr. PV goes to his PRPC meetings, the office is on 8th Street which is near 6th Street and a long line of quaint antique shops that I love to visit.

Last time I came upon a new one and made a new friend

her name is

Kim Beauchamp of

Camelot Antiques

her quirky personality made me instantly like her

I came across the most wonderful old book

The Keeper of the Bees

1925 by Gene Stratton-Porter

even in its delicate condition I promised myself to read it

the first of two art plates....I have looked at this many many times

it is so pretty

and not long into the old wonderful smelling pages, I read these words--

....and dimly he was beginning to formulate in his own mind the feeling the world was made up of good people and bad people, of selfish people and thoughtful people, of cruel people and kind people, and it was merely a case of luck as to which kind you met when you went on a great adventure.....

in my brand new age old bee world

I have found those words to be so true

I am lucky to find so many good, thoughtful, and kind

~PURA VIDA~

CONFLICT

Have you ever had a conflict in your most concrete of beliefs?

Have you ever smelled a skunk up close and personal?

well, it seems that the hole being dug beneath our back fence

that we were certain was due to a cute little rabbit...

so much so that we built a rabbit home....

seems in reality, not to have been a cute little rabbit at all

living in rural Texas...it is possible to get all kinds of critters,

most of which are desirable!  We trapped a raccoon in our backyard a few years ago..he was eating our Koi!

many of my country Instagram friends are posting snakes in houses and that's about as icky as it can get!

but, if in fact, you claim to be a wildlife habitat,

does this not include ALL wildlife?

where would YOU draw the line?

this pile of rock and brick and cinderblock, along with a trap,

has been moved around a bit the past few days

as our new friend has moved in...

we move it to catch him/her

he/she moves it to come and go

who will give in first?

SKUNK PET???

ummm...I have a basket just like this

:-)