adirondacks

It’s been a minute

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We drove home from Colorado in April and life and work has kept us busy.

Sadly my bees froze over the winter and most of my fellow beekeepers also lost a high percentage of their hives due to weather and mites.

I repopulated them and all was going well until a bear got into one of them. The electric net was stomped, hive frames, where the unhatched bees live, were scattered 100 yards down the hill. Honey attracts the bears but they really want the protein from the larvae.

The remaining bees were huddled on the ground and on one frame.

I put the hive box back together but I never saw the queen and could only hope she was ok. The clump of bees may have been a sign. I added an AC charger to the electric fence.

I called the NY conservation ranger who scheduled a site visit. Before she could get here, the bear came back and got the second hive.

I was very discouraged. With Tim’s help, we tripled the electric wire and baited it with peanut butter on foil.

The bees were pissed. One got under my suit and stung me under the arm. I stripped my clothes off in the front yard. Tim got stung in the hand and the Ranger got stung in the face! They were not acting like their usual mellow selves.

I was advised my fence was in good order, it was a nuisance bear to livestock (my two hives), and I was permitted to shoot it. Hmmm, I don’t think so.

I checked the bees a week later and, miraculously, both queens survived and were laying eggs. Meanwhile the workers were storing tons of honey. I added more honey boxes and will wait and see. It’s been 10 days since the last bear visit.

In the meantime, the deer get bolder.

At least they don’t eat my bees! They better leave my garden alone.

‘Tis the season

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Every year as Christmas approaches I start making projects, lots of them. I think I knit 40 hats, scarves, cowls and sweaters. Most have been distributed.

This is my current tour de force. A drop shoulder fair isle sweater I designed and knit on a machine. It’s being stretched on my new woolly board from the Wool Brokers in Scotland.

I made this pullover from a simple pattern written up in the 1980’s. The body is cashmere, sleeves are alpaca silk and sock yarn. My granddaughter thought it was soft enough to keep.

Star Wars was my theme this year.

When I wasn’t knitting, I baked, lots of different cookies. These buche noel cookies were a hit with me!

These stained glass window cookies were fun to make. The centers were a surprise though. They looked like chewy candy but were actually melted lifesavers and hard. I won’t be making these again.

Decorations were kept to a minimum. I pulled out two candle chimes and a star.

We kept the lights on an evergreen from last year, plugged it in and voila!

Then we hit the road, to Christmas celebration in Kittery, Maine, and skiing at Killington, Vermont in spring conditions.

Complete with a rainbow.

The Champlain Bridge, on our way home, was picture perfect.

A few more days at home and then we are headed back out. We will be caretakers at Mcgraw Ranch in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Can you say ROAD TRIP?!

What’s worse than a snake in the grass?

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Snakeskin in the grass

One in the basement!

I found this little guy in the basement and another under the outside stairs. A quick search led me to Snake Away to try to keep them from the house. We probably also need to seal a few cracks.

That’s Tim on the roof, for the last time, cleaning the chimney. I’m belaying him from the ground and hate the whole process. He agreed to hire someone next time. I may have to get this promise in writing.

My zinnias keep blooming. Every time I cut a flower, two more appear. They may be my only crop next year.

Here is the last bloom in my wildflower garden.

Honey is in. It was a sticky day. Best advice was to have a bowl of water and towel nearby to rinse your hands, repeatedly.

I harvested about 17 pounds. Since then, I have fed the bees about 80 pounds of sugar to keep them fed over the winter. We traded.

Will you look at that. So pretty. I need more garlic and rosemary next time but it was quite the creative focaccia.

“V” is for victory

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Although I tried to complete the alphabet today, I messed up “W”. There’s still time.

Kayaks are loaded on the car, bags are packed and we’re taking a horse and carriage ride into Great Camp Santononi tomorrow. And maybe I will get to swim.

First I have to pick out my camping, knitting project.

On a roll

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Helicopter cloud shadow

We hiked with friends on Sunday and then swam to freeze off. We created, what I am sure would have been, a beautiful “R” but my gps hiccuped. Instead, I improved my “P”.

Today I was motivated and it paid off. Three letters! I could still feel my fingers when I was done. Drumroll…

“T” is missing because I already swam it when a “K” fail became a “T”.

Since I started at the end of the alphabet, I only have one, maybe two letters left. Maybe, because I could flip an “M” to make it a “W”.

We’re going kayak camping this weekend. I may really complete this challenge.

Minding my “P’s and Q’s”

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They are both a bit of a stretch but autumn is coming. It was 49 degrees at home this morning! I swam with a brave friend who let out such a whoop when she got in the water, it echoed for minutes off the cliffs around Chapel Pond.

Not sure what I triangulated. Or how it happened. I split the letters into 2 swims to keep it neat. It’s hard enough retracing one letter. I had to quit early because a few fingers went numb.

My “Q” is weak.

Autumn is coming!

So I knit my fourth pair of jaywalker socks.

Time to get a move on

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Summer is flying by. Nights are cooler and “tropical” Storm Debby dumped some very cold water in the Adirondacks.

I hoped to swim 3 letters today but my fingers were numb somewhere in the middle of the second letter.

I tried to sneak in a tiny “f” At the end but it doesn’t count it because it’s not legible.

Tim shivered the whole ride home with the car heat set at 80! My fingers were so cold, I couldn’t button my flannel shirt! (I got some help with that task).

Swimming the alphabet

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It’s summer and we have been swimming in lakes and ponds since mid -May. I wore a shortie wet suit (an old scuba diving suit I cut the legs and sleeves from) for the first two weeks until Memorial Day.

Tim is on a quest to swim the largest lakes in the Adirondacks and I come along for the fun.

I’ve decided to draw with the gps map of my swim track. Today I made an “x” or even better, a bow tie.

I had a little trouble retracing my lines to extend my swim.

This adds a whole new challenge to swimming. I have to plot my course and pivot points in the water. I think “Y” or “L” is in my future.

Busy bees

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A lot of wood has gone into the stove since my last post. We had snow, then a melt and torrential rains and finally, flooding. I couldn’t get home from work for several hours because the road was flooded and then washed away. I had to walk over the bridge but the road was repaired the next day.

We travelled near and far. First to White Pine Camp, where we plan to spend a lot of time in the next several years. We spent three days at President’s cabin, where the fireplace was blazing.

Our bedroom had a quilt pieced by former President of the USA, Calvin Coolidge. How many of our former presidents were quilters, I wonder.

We were reminded that Adirondack black bears look sweet when compared to those of Manitoba. They do not stand taller than me and like to dress up for holidays.

Christmas quickly approached and we spent a few days in Kittery, Maine with family. A good time was had by all. I received this knife, to add to my collection, and now it looks like we have the makings of a murder mystery in the kitchen.

I did not walk away from this holiday season uninjured. First I burnt my finger on the new wood stove, which is much less forgiving from the old one. Then it became infected and entailed an ER and doctor visit. That finally healed but then we went ice skating with the grand kids, and I decided to show off and demonstrate speed skating form. Well, I fell and broke at least one rib, maybe two. You would never know it from my happy smile taken after the fact.

It’s been two weeks now and I no longer tense up for a sneeze or cough, but I still hold on.

On the home front, a friend had a new baby and I got to make baby things. I tried out my new to me standard gauge knitting machine and made a cute little fair isle sweater. Note to self, it needs more contrast in the bands.

The event that will dominate 2024 is my daughter’s wedding. I already took a trip to DC and she found the perfect wedding dress. I am working on linens for the newlyweds, so can’t preview them, but here is a shot of my weaving area, where I will be spending plenty of time.

I’m going to try downhill skiing again in a few weeks. Hope it doesn’t slow me down!