Thy Hand Hath Provided

My Non-Fancy Camera

2013-05-23T10:14:00.000-04:00

One of my new favorite things to do is traipse around our yard, looking for bees pollinating our flowers, fruits and vegetables. I carry my camera along just in case. I love capturing the little things going on around here.

My camera (an Olympus SP-320) is on the old side. We bought it about 8 years ago, I think. At the time, it was quite the big purchase for us. I think it was around $200 on sale. I still think that's a lot of money for a camera, but I know many people spend much more than that. I just wanted to show you how an relatively inexpensive camera can take decent pictures. And, it's compact, to boot. No extra camera bag to tote along- it fits in my purse.

bee on strawberry blossom

bee on phlox

unripe blueberries

sweet cherries

young Robin

On an unrelated note, I had the privilege of introducing my cookbook at our local farmer's market last weekend. Despite the dreariness of the day it was fun watching the vendors set up in the quiet, early hours of the morning. I loved meeting customers and talking food and recipes with others who care deeply about what they feed their families.

One of Those Days

2013-05-22T09:24:00.001-04:00

Just in case anyone has the silly notion that things around here are always quaint and lovely , I thought I'd share with you how my yesterday went. Events are listed in chronological order.

~ I woke up with a slight sore throat and a back ache (I blame the back ache on weeding- evidently I'm still waiting for my body to make peace with the chore).

~ As I was unloading the dish rack, something scurried out of my sink and across the back of the counter top. Droppings in my sink confirmed mouse. Sink and counters were cleaned in full willy-nilly mode, just waiting for it to reemerge.

~ The reason I was emptying the dish rack was because dishes were piled up from the night before (it happens sometimes) and needed washing. In the course of washing, I dropped a quart jar on another quart jar, slicing my finger and shattering glass throughout the same sink. I. just. cleaned. Dear Sadie bandaged me up and finished the dishes, bless her heart.

~ A neighbor came over to borrow our trailer to haul something and for a few brief moments, we thought the trailer had been stolen (theft would have actually fit nicely into this particular morning).

~ After Jamey's laptop croaked about three weeks ago, mine seems to be thinking it might do the same so just glancing at (no actual responding to) my email and comments took 40 minutes. I might just have to wash it in the sink and see if it accidentally shatters, too.

~ About an hour later, OUT OF THE BLUE (I was simply walking), pain flew into the ball of my right foot. So now, walking (if not completely flat footed and as gingerly as possible) takes my breath away. I just about fainted away when I hobbled outside with my camera to get a picture of our bees bearding (picture to follow if my computer allows). Since then I've been sitting on my bum, icing my foot and thinking of all the things I could/should be doing. Driving will be interesting when and if I attempt it.

~ And that slight sore throat is in full throttle.

I'm not complaining. Just sharing. Just showing- we all have those days.

{{{{Group hug}}}}

Love,
Jane

Quite Possibly My Favorite Perennial

2013-05-20T07:45:00.001-04:00

It's a lovely shade of spring green.

It has exquisite posture.

It's head of hair is always swept in a tidy up-do.

They stand in orderly rows, as if lining up to be picked and eaten.

I'm talking about asparagus, of course, and when my kids ask me what my favorite vegetable is, I always think of asparagus first.

Our favorite and most often prepared way to eat asparagus is to simply saute a bunch in coconut oil, steam by adding a few tablespoons of water and cover until tender. Topped with a sprinkling of salt and served hot, it is divine.

After a couple weeks of eating it in it's simplest form, I pull out our other favorite asparagus recipes: Lemon Asparagus Pasta, Cheddar and Asparagus Quiche, Asparagus Pasta with White Beans and Mint and Cheddar-Asparagus Potpie.

Lemon Asparagus Pasta ready for the oven

For lunch, I've been sauteing a few chopped spears in our small iron skillet and when it's just done, adding two fresh scrambled eggs, salt, and pepper to make a mini omelet. Laid on top of a slice of toasted bread smeared with Dijon mustard....it makes me swoon!

If we're lucky enough to have more than we can eat, I freeze some to use mid-winter in quiche- a wonderful blast of spring when it's cold outside.

What would we do without you, gorgeous spring spears?

This Time of Year

2013-05-15T08:43:00.001-04:00

I love this time of year because everything is new and lush. The weeds are manageable thanks to the spring rains. They make pulling them out by the roots a breeze compared to later on in the summer. Speaking of weeds, I've been a bit hesitant to pull the dandelions from my flower beds after seeing our honey bees nuzzling down between the petals, covering themselves in pollen. Below you'll see a stretch of raspberries in dyer need of weeding. I did pull most of them, but I left a few because the bees were on them as well. Don't you just love another excuse not to weed? You're restraining yourself for the pollinators! Good for you!

The gardens still look neat and orderly. My yearly Mother's Day gift of a hanging basket just outside my kitchen window is full of bloom and color. Once again, clothes can be dried outside (without freezing my tail off). The kids are eager to be out because it's not too hot, there are chicks to play with and there are new games to invent and new places to discover to play. We're eating asparagus and the strawberries and lettuces are on their way to our table, too. It's the last week of school before a couple days of testing and soon our days will open wide-ready to be filled however we chose (well, until the garden starts dictating our schedule).

What's not to love?!

You know, in case someone needs to know where to find me.

So, what's your absolute favorite thing about this time of year?

Hive Inspection #1

2013-05-13T07:26:00.000-04:00

We hived our bees last Sunday. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning brought cooler weather and a lot of rain. By Thursday afternoon, things warmed up and the glorious sun came out once again so late in the afternoon, we took a peek inside the hives.

Okay well, it was more than a peek- we did a full inspection. I'm not sure this was totally necessary. While beekeeping with top bar hives does require more looks inside/arranging of bars, it's also not the best to disturb the bees' work too often. We're still feeling our way along...very carefully and with smoke, of course.

The reasons we wanted to see inside so badly were...

1) We wanted to see how much sugar syrup the bees were drinking. Because of the cool weather, we thought they might be taking a lot. We would need to decide if we were going to leave the syrup in, refill the jars or take them out.

2) We wanted to make sure the queens were still in both hives- fingers crossed and prayers uttered!

3) We were curious as anything to see if the bees had started building on the empty top bars.

Jamey donned his bee jacket and smoker and I my white baseball cap and clipboard. And Sam (our trusty queen locator) followed us out. The day before I made up a hive inspection checklist because I have become a BEE NERD.

There are so many things I wanted to remember to check on once we were in the hives and since my mind is a sieve I didn't want us standing around open hives with mouths gaping trying to think of what else we wanted to do/check for. And a gaping mouth could lead to some pretty nasty stings seeing as I don't use a veil.

We were thrilled at what we found. First of all, the bees didn't take much syrup. In the upper hive, it didn't look like they drank any. In the lower one, maybe a third of the quart was taken, so we just removed both feeders. There are some sunny days in our forecast and we want to encourage them to eat their own home cooking instead of fast food.

Secondly, we know the queens are in there! We couldn't find the queen in the upper hive, but there was evidence ALL over the place of her existence- eggs, eggs and more eggs. In the lower hive, we actually spotted her and she was laying well, too.

Lower hive queen- a hair left of center

The bees had been busy building! Below you can see their own handiwork on the top bars that were empty on Sunday- beautiful, clean buttery-looking comb.

The bars closer to the nest were more built up than the bars toward the back. This is expected.

The right side of this bar is a piece of a Lang frame screwed into the top bar that we wanted to save. The bees are building up the left side on their own.

Here's a peek inside the hive- look at how the bees make bee chains to get from one bar/comb to another even when we've made more space than usual between. These creatures are amazing.

We did some rearranging of the bars and added some empty bars to each hive so the bees won't feel crowded and will continue to draw out comb if they like. Last Sunday, we had 12 bars in the lower hive and now there are 15. In the upper there were 10 and now there are 14.

We noted a few ants in one hive thanks to all the rain that overflowed our oil can barriers, so those were emptied of water and refilled with oil. The bees were very tolerant of the inspection and we appreciate that very much. Jamey only used minimal smoke and there were no stings.

If you're having trouble picturing what the bees (and their developmental stages) look like, here is a really helpful image I discovered on another beekeeper's page:

It was SO much fun to check on them, see evidence of the queens and to know they are busy building, caring for tons of brood and curing honey. Now, our goal will be to keep our noses out for more than three days at a time and let them do what they do best.

Pullet-Holding Attire

2013-05-09T08:35:00.003-04:00

So, what do girls who love to spend every free minute outside playing with chicks wear when their mama doesn't want them changing their shirts three times a day due to chick-yness?

Outside aprons, of course!

They're perfect- light weight for warm weather, easy to hang on mudroom coat hooks and a cinch to slip on and off. Not to mention, they save on laundry, making me one happy mama.

Transferring Langstroth Nucs to Top Bar Hives

2013-05-07T08:24:00.001-04:00

Disclaimer: We are documenting our experiences here so we can keep track of what we've done and for others' curiosity. We are NOT experienced beekeepers. Please be sure to watch and learn (over time) from our successes and failures!

*****************************************************

One of our bees

Well, plans changed. To make a very long story short, instead of purchasing two bee packages (bees only), we obtained two "nucs". A nuc (short for nucleus hive) consists of five (total) frames of brood (eggs, larva, pupae), honey and pollen along with a whole mess of bees (more than in a package).

Pros to Nucs:
- there can be more bees
- they know their queen
- they have a better head start since there is brood already developing and they already have stores of honey and pollen

Cons to Nucs (for us):
- the frames aren't the right size for our top bar hives
- they are more expensive (about $40 more per nuc)

On Friday evening of this past weekend, we met a very nice couple who agreed to sell us two nucs the following day. They have been beekeepers for the past 8 years and sell honey down the road from our church. These nucs came from Florida, but the queens are Minnesota Hygienics (bred to be more pest and disease resistant). On Saturday morning, Jamey and Sam went to pick up the nucs. The beekeeper suggested that we just set the nucs on top of our hives for a few days to allow them to recover from their car trip (bees are sensitive to vibrations- their car ride was only 10 minutes long).

Jamey opening the doors to the nucs (they were closed for the car ride)

We set the nucs on top of the hives and the whole family enjoyed watching the bees emerge and get acquainted with their new yard and find their water source and nearby fruit trees that are still blooming. Sam spent the entire afternoon outside watching them with Sadie and Miriam joining him at times. The bees were extremely tolerant of their new family, allowing us all to get very close with no problems whatsoever.

Possibly the very first bee to find the water source

After taking a look at the weather forecast we realized that the bees would have to be transferred into our top bar hives the following day (Sunday) because Monday would bring several days of cool, wet weather. It's important to work with bees on sunny, mild days when many are out foraging and their mood is better. Bees don't go out in the rain. Instead they are all at home guarding their brood and stores.

A peek inside the top of one of the nuc boxes

Our task on Sunday would be to cut the rectangular Langstroth (Lang) hive frames down to fit our hive. These wooden Lang frames held plastic foundation down the center with comb drawn out on either side.

After church and a potluck meal, we anxiously returned home and got everything ready. About 30 feet from the hives, Jamey set up a plywood table over two saw horses and we gathered our supplies.

Supplies
- our spacing plan (where/how we wanted to space the bars/comb)
- instead of a bee brush, Jamey used tall weeds nearby
- a water bucket for cleaning sticky hands and tools
- 2 1-quart jar feeders of sugar syrup (ratio 1:1)
- container for cut-off comb pieces that wouldn't be used
- smoker
- sugar syrup spray bottle
- hive entrance covers
- 2 hive dividers (one for each hive)
- plywood template/pattern of top bar comb size/shape
- tools: saw, hacksaw, tin snips, knives, pliers, drill and screws
- bee hood/jacket
- work gloves (which never got used)

Preparation
- About 15 minutes before beginning, both nucs were sprayed heavily with sugar syrup. This was to keep them from flying off because they have to clean their wings first.
- Get the smoker smoking
- Feeders of sugar syrup were placed in the back of the top bar hives (so bees shaken/brushed into the hives would be enticed to stay).
- Top bar hive entrances closed so they wouldn't leave before we got everyone moved in

Locating the Queen
One of the most important parts of this process was to make sure the queens made it in the hives. So our first job was to locate them (one per hive). We started with the nuc on the lower hive. We searched the front and backs of all five frames and couldn't locate her. We knew this was our fault- our eyes aren't yet trained to pick her out from among the masses! We decided to close up that nuc and move on to the other hoping that when we came back to the lower nuc later we'd be able to find her.

Searching for the queen

I wasn't quite quick enough with the camera- queens move fast. You can see her abdomen only at the bottom of the picture just to the left of the wooden frame. Notice her size compared to the worker bees.

The queen in the second hive was found pretty quickly and Jamey carefully brushed her into her hive along with the rest of the bees on that frame, then placed the top bars back, creating a lid to keep the bees inside. From there the process went as follows:

Process
- Bees were shaken and the remainder brushed off two Lang frames at a time (into the hive) and the hive was closed back up.
- The mostly bee-free frames were brought over to the work table where Jamey used the template to cut the frames down to size.
- The saw cut through the wood frame and the hacksaw and/or tin snips cut through the plastic foundation/comb. The top of the frame was then screwed into a top bar without a starter ridge.
- The top bars with comb were placed back into the hives.
- If there was a lot of brood on the frame pieces that were cut off, they were also attached to top bars so that in the end we had 7 or 8 bars with comb on top bars to be placed into each hive.
- This process was repeated until all the frames were transitioned into the hives.

The work station- hives can be seen in the background

A Lang frame cut to size for our top bar hives- you can see the top bar at the very top screwed into the top of the Lang frame

Attaching two pieces to a bar

Bee Stages
One of the coolest parts of the day had to be getting to hold the comb up close to peer inside the cells. We were able to see (and show the kids) freshly laid eggs (too small to get a picture of with my camera), different stages of larva, capped pupae, emerging new honey bees, pollen, unripe honey, drone cells (larger than normal), and capped honey. I felt like a little kid!

See the capped cell in the center of the photo that looks different than the others? That's a new bee's head squirming it's way out.

Here you can see unripe honey (shiny and brown), bee larva (white, fat, curled-up worms), and capped brood (light colored caps covering the pupae stage- just before "hatching").

Queen on the Lose!
With one hive completed, the entrance was opened slightly and we moved back to the lower nuc again. While looking on the first frame for the queen, Sam announced that he found a queen on the ground under the hive we just finished! How he spotted her or why he even bothered to look over there while Jamey and I were searching for the other queen was a miracle. Jamey carefully placed her back into her hive. We have no idea how she got out- if she jumped/flew out (queens don't fly very well when laden with eggs) when we had it open or if she fell/walked out the entrance after we opened it. Good save, Sam!

The queen was found just in front of the empty nuc box after we had closed up the hive and opened the entrance.

We went back to the lower nuc/hive and found that queen and were especially careful to get her into the hive (although until we see fresh eggs laid in a few days we won't know for sure that she's still in there). We then proceeded to alter the combs. Once finished with that nuc/hive, we closed it up, opening it's entrance slightly, too.

Even though we now have partial Lang frames in our top bar hive, we don't intend to keep them there. As soon as we're able we'll try to get them out of our hive's circulation by encouraging the bees to fill those combs with honey. Then, if the hive has plenty, we'll remove the bars with the Lang frame, harvest the honey and replace that bar with a normal top bar, allowing the bees to build their own comb. Reused comb (it was very evident that these Lang frames have been reused) can contain higher levels of pesticide residues, layers of pupae cocoons and fecal matter (yuck for the bees and yuck for us). By constantly cycling out old, darker comb, we can decrease these contaminants for bees and beekeepers alike.

Spacing
When bees feel too crowded, they start preparing to swarm. Swarming is when a new queen(s) is reared and half the hive leaves with her to find another home. The older queen and remaining bees are left in the original hive. Horror movies have made everyone afraid of swarms but swarms of honey bees are not dangerous. They're just trying to find a new place to live.

In order to discourage swarming (we'd like our bees to stay put, thank you very much), it's important to make them feel as if they have plenty of room to grow. Placing empty bars staggered at one end of the hive gives them room to stretch the nest. In top bar hives, it's also important that the bees draw out comb in nice vertically straight rows so that the combs can be lifted out easily. This is another reason spacing is important. If you place an empty top bar between two built combs, the built combs act as a guide and the bees will build/draw out comb in a vertically straight manner. I wish I was good at computer graphics but I'm not, so you'll have to imagine this with me. This will be written vertically, but of course the hive sits horizontal.

(entrance end of hive)

full honey comb bar
brood/honey comb bar
brood/honey comb bar
brood/honey comb bar
empty bar
brood/honey comb bar
empty bar
brood/honey comb bar
empty bar
brood/honey comb bar
divider (cut short to allow bees to travel underneath)
empty space: empty top bars above with jar of feeder syrup sitting underneath

(opposite end of hive)

The whole process took just over four hours.

Putting a package of bees into a hive goes much quicker and there are top bar hive nucs out there- we just didn't have access to them. While it wasn't our original plan, we are so happy to have our bees all snuggled in their new homes. Here's to hoping that this cool/wet stint will clear up soon so they can explore. In the meantime, we're hoping they're in there building lots of new comb.

On the next sunny day, we'll peek back in and check on how they're doing.

A note about feeding bees sugar syrup: It's our intention not to feed them unless we absolutely have to. Times that we've determined will make it necessary are

1) as they're getting adjusted to their new hives but only for a brief period since we know they have stores and there is a nectar flow (things are in bloom), and

2) if they appear they might starve (no stores or if they're heading into winter without enough).

Also, we put a second source of water out next to the first that holds some sugar syrup. Our neighbors have a pool, so we wanted to make sure that the bees established our water source as the place to go. The sugar water attracted them to the drink buffet but now that they've found it, we'll only add water, allowing the sugar water to be diluted and eventually replaced with plain water.

Here are the first two bees who discovered the sugar syrup source (to be converted to water). On Sunday, there were 50 or so happily drinking.

Natural (or organic) beekeepers try to let the bees do the work they were created for as much as possible. Their food is much better for them than ours is.

The sun setting with the bees tucked inside

Harvest
While we're not expecting much of a harvest this first year (we want to leave plenty of honey for the bees for winter), we did harvest about a cup of honey from the cut off pieces.

Sting Count

Jamey was stung twice on the hand. The first time he accidentally squeezed a bee and it she stung him. The second time he's not sure what happened. Even though Sam and I were right up to the hives and had bees crawling on us at different times, no one else was stung. We were very proud of Sam. At one point, he walked slowly over to me and very calmly said, "Mom, there's a bee on my ear." I picked up the smoker and smoked it off.

We all feel quite differently about bees after this weekend. And we feel badly about the brood and stores that were destroyed during the cutting process. We hope to redeem ourselves with good beekeeping practices that will help our hives thrive.

In Between

2013-05-03T09:51:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted a recipe in a loooong time. I haven't because there has been nothing new going on here lately. Instead, I've been using tried and true recipes to use up what's left in our freezers. One is in major need of defrosting and I hope to combine the contents soon AND soon there will (hopefully) be lots of strawberries to crush and freeze (and eat!).

That said, we could all use a little inspiration in the kitchen this in-between time of year. So, pretty pretty pretty- please...will you tell me what you had for dinner last night? I really want to know- even if it's mac and cheese from a box. That will make me feel better on a whole other level:-).

Last night we had Chicken Chimichangas (from the freezer, made with turkey), Brunswick Stew (from the freezer, for the kids since the Chimichangas are a little spicy), sauteed asparagus (fresh!), applesauce (from the freezer), and lettuce (from the store because I am very, very weak).

Okay. Your turn! (please)

Further Preparation & Why Top Bar Hives?

2013-05-02T07:45:00.001-04:00

Before we decided to get the beekeeping ball rolling, I had never heard of a top bar hive. When I pictured a bee hive, I envisioned the popular Langstroth style (although I had no idea that was their name at the time) - wooden boxes stacked on top of each other, forming a tower. They are what you see in some fields around here- clusters of Langstroth hives of differing heights gathered together as if having church.

When Jamey built our first hive last year I was surprised that it didn't look like the hives I had seen. In fact, I had never seen a hive like it ever. I trusted he must have known what he was doing. And, as usual, I think he did. He chose the top bar hive for two reasons. First, he liked the fact that you can harvest the honey without an extractor. With standard frame-style combs, most people use an extractor which spins the frames, allowing centrifugal force to remove the honey. These extractors can be expensive, cumbersome and difficult to clean- not very practical if you're interested in harvesting several small batches instead of doing it all at once. With top bar hives, the comb (with the honey) is cut off, crushed to release the honey and allowed to drain through a sieve. Requiring the honey bees to make new comb regularly stimulates their wax glands (a health benefit for the bee) and cycles out old comb that may harbor traces of disease, pesticides and pests. And, we get the added benefit of harvesting beeswax as well. Candles, anyone?

Another reason he liked this style hive is because it is very inexpensive to make, can be made without treated wood (chemicals) and can/will be recycled if one day it's no longer in use. But let's not go there before we've even begun!

Here are our top bar hives placed in the back of our little orchard ready for honey bees. These hives (whose general design is originally from Kenya) mimic hollow logs. Instead of building comb on wooden frames of foundation, honey bees in top bar hives form their own comb on the top bars which make up the ceiling of the hive when all in place. The roofs go on over top.

The carpet underneath will keep down weeds and hopefully discourage the reproduction of small hive beetles which drop to the ground, hatch their young in the dirt beneath hives and then can crawl back up and in. The feet of the hives will be set in cans of oil to keep ants from becoming unwelcome guests.

These are the top bars that will make up the ceilings of the hives. The built-in ridge will point down and give the bees a guide to build on. Brushing the ridges with beeswax will draw the bees' attention to the ridge, encouraging them to build there. One of the tricks to master with top bar hives is helping the bees build nice, vertical combs in line with the bars so we can lift them out easily for inspection. Spacing the bars is a technique which helps with this and I'll try to write more about that later.

The bees wax smells so beautiful- mild honey deliciousness. My task only enticed one honeybee to come check me out. We don't see as many honeybees around our house as we think we should- here's to hoping we can bolster the local population!

Here is an example of a beautiful top bar comb- not one of ours since we don't have the bees yet (photo credit).

I became a bit frustrated as I read through several of the popular, recommended beekeeping books. First of all, there were only brief mentions of the top bar hive. Basically, they just noted that they exist. All the remaining instructions assumed that we have Langstroth hives (which, of course, most people do). Secondly, no space was given to the alternate approach of raising bees organically. When addressing all bee pests and diseases, the only remedies provided were chemical in nature- antibiotics to prevent problems and medications to treat them.

I understand why most beekeepers medicate their bees. They want to save them from what's ailing them. They care about their bees! I just wanted to hear the other side. We finally found what we were looking for in Les Crowder's book, Top-Bar Beekeeping: Organic Practices for Honeybee Health. His book resonated with us so completely, that we've decided to keep bees the organic way. His website outlines reasons to consider the top bar hive so beautifully, I'm just going to link to it instead of trying to re-write and re-word what he and his wife have already written so eloquently. I encourage you to hop over and read it right now.

I know several of you are starting your bee journeys this year, too. No matter what type of hive you have, I am so excited to have readers to learn with and from! And I know there are some experienced beekeepers among us as well. As I write about our experiences, feel free to share yours- no matter the shape of your bees' abode:-).

Out and About

2013-04-30T08:50:00.000-04:00

Our 17 pullets are growing fast. We've decided that chicks are a must every spring- they provide hours of outdoor entertainment for our kids! They are living happily in the chicken tractor for now.

Baby, stick-trees do begin to look like real fruit trees after awhile- take heart! This is the first year that I think our peach and apple trees have trunks that actually look like trees instead of sticks.

Our two hives all set and ready to go.

Leaves on trees mean shade once again.

snow peas

Our first couple spears of asparagus with onions behind.

A really neat trick of Jamey's- place tomato cages over fall-planted garlic. It allows the garlic to come up and the chickens to be in the garden at the same time. The cages keep the chickens from scratching up the garlic.

Our second blueberry bed in complete with age-old railroad ties. A little stone wall is being constructed on this side of the white work shop for the remaining few bushes.

Grow Dirty Fruits and Vegetables

2013-04-29T08:31:00.002-04:00

If you like eating pesticide residues please raise your hand. C'mon...no one?

If you would prefer not to eat pesticides AND like to save money please raise your hand.

Well, it's really pretty simple. Find out which fruits and vegetables are laden with the most pesticide residues and grow them yourself. What? You don't have the time to do the research to find out which ones are the worst? No problem! The Environmental Working Group does it for us and they recommend we buy them only if they're grown organically.

Better yet, you can add them to your list of things to plant this year or next and grow them yourself.

The 2013 Dirty Dozen

apples
celery
cherry tomatoes
cucumbers
grapes
hot peppers
imported nectarines
peaches
potatoes
spinach
strawberries
sweet bell peppers
kale/collard greens
summer squash

Which ones can you add to your garden this year?

Beekeeping Preparations: Emotional

2013-04-25T13:48:00.003-04:00

So, as many of you know, we're expecting our two packages of bees to arrive next week.

To say that I'm nervous, excited and ... obsessed would be an understatement. I have taken on preparation for the bees' arrival as if it was a full time job. I've read books, poured over online forums, watched countless you tube videos, ordered more books, made lists (surprise, surprise) and have even been taken notes on 3x5 cards as if I'm in the process of writing a research paper (I'm not- I just know how forgetful I can be). Can you say, "Bee nerd"?

The agreement between Jamey and I was that I would do the research, he would build the hives and be the bee man (the one who will work directly with the bees). Envision Jamey suited up in his white hood and jacket at the hives and me standing across the yard with my bullhorn shouting instructions and taking notes. Yeah, that will be us. Note: add bullhorn to supply list.

This arrangement sounded perfect to me as I started my research, but now I find myself pretty jealous. I received blueberry bushes in advance for my birthday- maybe I'll add a full bee suit to my Christmas list. If I can wait that long.

So, why is it that I am positively bursting with nerves and excitement over this endeavor? I mean, I was excited about chickens the year we first bought chicks- but nothing like this. I've been contemplating this for days- hence my silence, oh, and having my head stuck in bee books. I think why I'm so nervous/excited (an exhausting combination, thank you very much) is because I have grown to love and stand in awe of honey bees. Through learning about them, I have been bowled over by their absolute amazing-ness!

I started out knowing very little.

1) bees collect pollen and nectar from flowers and turn it into honey...somehow
2) they sting
3) I love to eat their honey

I might have know a little more since I've read a couple kid books about bees with my children and watched The Magic School Bus: In a Beehive. That was pretty much the extent of it. But, if you're like me, don't feel bad. You know that famous guy, Aristotle? The one that was so smart? Here are some of his writings about the workings of bees....

"The honeycomb is made from flowers and the materials for the wax they gather from the resinous gum of trees, while honey is distilled from dew and is deposited chiefly at the raisings of the constellations or when a rainbow in the sky."

and

"Some affirm that bees neither copulate nor give birth to young, that they fetch their young. And some say that they fetch their young from the flower of the callyntrum; others assert that they bring them from the flower of the reed, others, from the flower of the olive."

Feel better?

One of the most impressive things about bees is their collective mindfulness of the colony as a whole. They do whatever they need to do to ensure it's safety and survival. Imagine if people acted a bit more like this. Not only are they programmed to carry out very specific jobs at different points in their little lives (roughly 6 weeks long during the summer months), but they have been given the ability to make decisions.

Here is one of many, many, many examples I could give: A forager bee comes back to the hive with a belly full of nectar. She sits near the entrance and waits for another bee (a receiver) to take it from her and put it where it belongs. Depending on the number of seconds it takes for a receiver to appear, the forager will respond in different ways. If the nectar is received too quickly, with other receiver bees standing around waiting, it's a sign the receiver/forager ratio is out of whack, so the forager takes to "shaking" receiver bees, triggering their instinct to step up and become a forager themselves (the next duty in line after receiving) and then does the waggle dance to show them where to go. If the nectar is received in an appropriate amount of time, the forager just heads back out for another load. If it takes too long, it's a sign that there aren't enough receiver bees and the forager will go deposit the nectar herself and then go shake younger bees to trigger their receiver job promotion and maybe receive herself for awhile to help out.

Need another example? When a pollen forager comes back to the hive and deposits her pollen load in a cell, she will beg a little food from one of the nurse bees (who feed and care for the young). Depending on the protein content of that little snack (pollen is their protein), the forager will decide if the snack was a little on the protein-weak-side, meaning she should keep collecting pollen, or switch over to collecting water or nectar if the protein content was too strong.

If you're bored silly, I do apologize. If you find this fascinating, pick up one of these bee books and enjoy- even if you have zero plans on becoming a beekeeper. Learning about these creatures just thrills me- how amazing is our Creator?!

The bees live in community with each other. A healthy hive is a strong one. And, just like with us human beings, negative influences from the outside world can impact their health and cause a breakdown. There are certain things I can protect against- ants, mice, and skunks, for example. But then there are many other influences that can weaken colonies that I feel helpless against. I'm sure you've heard of their recent plight. Beekeeping is not what it used to be. Pesticides, GMOs, monoculture, mites, beetles, viruses, spores, and even cell phones have been named as culprits (just to name a few). Many have been dis-proven when singled out but all together are hard on these sweet little bees.

I guess that's why I care so much about our bees succeeding. Despite the threats, I want them to thrive. They remind me of us. While we're all clearly individuals with unique gifts, we could really learn a thing or two from the honey bee. The world's me-focus, consumerism, greed, hate and lack of empathy break us down. We're meant to live in community with each other- lifting each other up, putting each other first.

And this may be why I'm oozing honey and doing waggle dances in anticipation. Imagine taking me out in public these days. Say a little prayer for Jamey...will you please?

The Terrible Sickness of Feeling Unloved

2013-04-23T08:10:00.000-04:00

"There are many medicines and cures for all kinds of sick people. But unless kind hands are given in service and generous hearts are given in love, I do not think there can ever be any cure for the terrible sickness of feeling unloved.

It may happen that a mere smile, a short visit, lighting a lamp, writing a letter for a blind man, carrying a bucket of charcoal, offering a pair of sandals, reading the newspaper for someone- something small, very small- may, in fact, be our love of God in action. Listening, when no one else volunteers to listen, is no doubt a very noble thing."

In the midst of our busy lives, are we keeping something in our reserves so that we can reach out and give of ourselves in love? As we pour ourselves into our responsibilities, families and gardens this spring, let us keep our eyes wide open for those moments when we can show others (even in very little ways) that they are loved.

If our lives are full to overflowing, will we be tuned in to these moments? In what way can we free up time and energy to be available to do the small things?

"There are many people who can do big things, but there are very few people who will do the small things."

- both quotes courtesy of Mother Teresa

Stumped

2013-04-17T08:21:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm still here but I'm stumped. Stumped, as in where to begin. There's been a lot going on for me recently- all of it good, all of it time and/or thought consuming. This leaves little time to write. But I want to chronicle these times and I want to include you, so here we go- a little snapshot of (some) of what's going on. Since I'm a list girl....

1) My grandfather passed away last week. This is the sweet man who was married to this lady. After 71 years of marriage, they left this world within two months of each other. His passing is truly a celebration. While losing my Grandma was a bit unexpected, Grandpa had been sick recently and for years was not himself. The thought of them reunited, whole and in the presence of Jesus has kept tears at bay. This time love and peace are dissolving my tears before they begin. How can I be sad? Instead, I am thankful and looking forward to coming together with family to reminisce his person and life.

2) Everywhere I look I see flowers and green! Each year this overwhelms me. Out of dullness, comes life and vibrant color. The birds, insects, sprouting plants, young chickens happy as can be in the chicken tractor, blueberry bushes accepting their first rains (in our yard, anyway)...it all leaves me so happy and hopeful and keeps me from wanting to leave our yard. Like, ever.

3) Four more weeks of school. Four more weeks of school. Four more weeks of school. The kids are actually doing fine with it- it's me that's struggling. I want to be doing other things! The mild weather and all things related to number two above leaves me feeling restless and giddy. Like I've had too much coffee. Oh, wait. Maybe it is the coffee...

4) I am living, breathing and dreaming honey bees! We placed our order and are expecting two hives worth of honey bees in a couple weeks. I cannot tell you how excited and nervous I am. More than any other hobby we've started, this one is the most exciting for us. We've been thinking about beekeeping for years. Jamey built the first top bar hive last year but we didn't feel quite ready so we put it off a year. He's built a second one, the bees are ordered and I've been reading and watching everything I can get my hands and eyes on. I have SO much to say on the subject, but for now I just want to say that I am in utter AWE of God's creation of these little creatures. Awed, stunned, amazed, impressed and incredibly humbled.

Much more about this (and other things) coming soon, but for now, I need to hit the books again. And tend my own little brood.

Enjoy this beautiful time of year!

Love,
Jane

Blue Gold

2013-04-11T08:00:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty sure my favorite fruit is the blueberry.

I grew up following behind my mother and grandmother, a bucket strung around my neck. I'm sure that early on, I would eat more than went into my bucket, just like in the book Blueberries for Sal. We picked at my Great Uncle John's farm which his family still owns so our family still has access to. As I got older and especially as I started thinking about growing our own food, my goal shifted and I filled those buckets as fast and as full as I could whenever I had the chance. I wrote about one of our trips there in this post.

His farm is out of state, so even though there are more than enough blueberries for us to have our fill, perfectly timing a weekend to go pick is tough and we feel badly relying on nearby family to pick for us.

I also feel badly because my very last quart of frozen blueberries is almost empty.

When we first moved to this house, we haphazardly bought a few blueberry plants and plopped them into the ground. We crossed our fingers hoping that we had good blueberry soil. Meanwhile, the blueberry plants died a quick and, hopefully, painless death.

Years later, I did some research and started a notebook on all that starting a small pick-your-own blueberry patch would entail. One of our side yards was the target planting spot. Maps were drawn up, the shade was charted, and I got pregnant with Miriam. So much for those plans. Morning sickness, Jamey in school, and everything else caused us to put those plans on the back burner.

This winter I told Jamey I wanted to try again (for blueberries) and asked for some for my birthday. It's not until June, but early spring planting is the way to go. This past weekend, we planted the majority of the bushes he bought for me. I have the sore muscles to prove it. These will be for us, but hopefully we'll one day have enough to share with friends and neighbors.

I'm going to show you what we did. While we did have our homework done this time, everyone's soil is different, so I'm not going to go into detailed specifics. We're not successful blueberry growers yet! So, if you're interested in planting blueberries do your own research specific to your own soil and region.

We decided to plant them at the upper end of our sunflower patch where they would receive full sun. This spot is also right outside our kitchen windows, so I can keep a close eye on the weeds, birds, and children picking. We already had two sweet cherry trees planted at that end, so one row has both cherries and blueberries. The cherry trees might provide some shade, but it will be minimal since these are fruit trees that we intend to keep well-pruned for ample production.

Blueberries need special attention for the following reasons:

1) They are particular about their soil, specifically the acidity level. Have your soil tested and determine if you need to manipulate the soil to increase it's acidity (like we did).

2) They don't like wet feet. By this I mean they need proper drainage. Planting them on slight mounds and mixing in plenty of organic matter (like peat) will help with this.

3) Their roots are shallow, so they don't like to dry out.

4) They like full sun.

Our attempt is shown below.

Our sunflower patch is a patchy mess of bare ground and grass. You can tell where the upper end of it is because of the two cherry trees.

Here Jamey is tilling the all-blueberry row. He found very old (and falling apart) discarded railroad ties to help keep out the weeds and help hold the additional soil/peat that those rows will contain. You can see Sam in the red shirt by his bike killing ants by lighting them on fire with a magnifying glass. He's a boy.

Here the railroad ties have been dug homes and are in place. I dug the holes for the blueberry bushes in this row. The holes are five feet apart and the row is about three feet wide.

This next photograph shows Jamey tilling up the row with the cherry trees.

I prepared the holes and soil and planted those little beauties with Sam, Sadie and Miriam helping.

We then mulched them with several inches of untreated mulch. We ran out of railroad ties. If anyone local knows where we can score some more super-old ones for free, we'd really appreciate it. We still have three bushes that we didn't have room for, so they will be planted along the work shop (the white building to the right). It's shaded in the early morning, but receives intense afternoon sun (the white wall will help reflect it, too).

We planted at least four varieties to ensure pollination and chose bushes of different ages, anywhere between one and four-year-old plants, for a total of 16 bushes. According to one source, each mature bush can produce as many as a gallon or more blueberries each year. I'm not counting on having it that good. Even half of that would make me very, very happy.

Our fingers are crossed once again! If you grow blueberries, what tips do you have for us? What do you do for them year to year? How many bushes do you have and what is their yield? Do you love them as much as I do (this may be a trick question because I'm pretty sure I love them best)? :-)

Calzones for Lunch

2013-04-09T08:24:00.000-04:00

Jamey packs his own lunch. I try to put leftovers in containers that travel well so that he can just grab them and go but sometimes there are no leftovers and this leaves him without many choices. Feeling a bit badly about this, I decided to make calzones for him thinking that they could be kept individually wrapped in the freezer so that on the days no leftovers are available he would have something easy to take.

I wanted to put meat in them because we rarely eat meat for dinner - this would make them special. But I also wanted to incorporate a lot of vegetables because... well, they're good for him. I also wanted to include some sauce so he wouldn't have to take something separate to dip them into but was worried tomato sauce might seep through. After some thought and using what we had on hand, I came up with a recipe that really works. Pureed roasted tomatoes provide the sauciness (with no leak) and a little zing. We sampled some and were both really pleased- don't you just love it when things come together?

Jane's Calzones
Prepare the dough first and let it rise while you make the filling. These freeze and reheat nicely, making them perfect for lunches. This pizza dough recipe is the one we make every Friday night (Pizza Night). It makes two large pizzas.
Makes 16 calzones

pizza dough (adapted slightly from More-With-Less Cookbook)
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp. yeast
2 tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. canola oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups all-purpose flour

In the bowl of your electric mixer, using the dough hook, pour 2 cups warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top and turn the mixer on the slowest setting. Add the sugar, salt and vegetable oil. Keeping the setting on low, add the whole wheat flour. Once combined, slowly add the remaining flour. If need be, stop the mixer and lift out the mixer head so you can invert the dough ball, then mix again. Once well combined (not wet-sticky or stuck to the sides), form it into a ball in the same bowl. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand, cover with a clean dish towel and set in a sunny spot or in a warm room to rise for 1 hour. If the dough is very sticky, add a little more flour and mix again.

While the dough is rising, make the filling.

filling
1 1/2 cups roasted tomatoes
1 lb. ground sausage
2 large onions, chopped
3 large red bell peppers, chopped (frozen work fine)
4 cups frozen chopped spinach, Swiss chard or kale
2 tsp. salt

cooking spray
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
4 tbsp. cornmeal, divided
1 heaping cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Puree the roasted tomatoes in a food processor until almost smooth. Set aside. In a large skillet, cook sausage, breaking it up, until almost browned through. Add onions and bell peppers and continue to saute until the vegetables are tender and the sausage is fully browned adding a bit of oil if needed. Add frozen spinach (or chard or kale) and cook down, uncovered until all the liquid evaporates (stir and check often to keep filling from burning). Take off heat and stir in the pureed roasted tomatoes.

Prepare two large cookie sheets by coating them with cooking spray and sprinkling each with 1 tbsp. cornmeal. Set them aside. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and 1 tbsp. water and set it aside. Flour your counter and rolling pin.

Once the dough has doubled in size, divide it in half. Set one half aside. Form the other into a thick log and, using a sharp knife, cut it into 8 pieces. Form one piece into a ball, flatten it in your hands and then roll out on your floured counter with the rolling pin to form a 5-6 inch circle. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg mixture around the edge of the circle. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out 1/4 cup of filling and place it just beside the center of your circle. Place a generous pinch of mozzarella cheese on top of the filling. Fold over the empty circle half, not quite matching it up on the other side. Fold the bottom exposed edge over the top and pinch/crimp to seal. Transfer the calzone to a prepared pan and repeat this process until all 16 calzones are made.

Using the remaining egg mixture, brush the tops and edges of the calzones and sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until they are a light- medium brown. Transfer the calzones to cooling racks and let them cool completely before wrapping them in wax paper and then again in foil and place them in the freezer. Or, enjoy them immediately.

Freezer Love

2013-04-04T07:52:00.000-04:00

Before too long, we'll be heading out to the garden to pick the main ingredients of our meals (and what a joy that will be!). Before that's possible (like now), it's my freezers and pantry I head to for main ingredients.

But there is one thing my pantry/canner can't do for me that my freezer can: hold quick meals.

When I make dinner, I rarely just think of that one meal. I almost always double (or triple) the recipe because my time is limited and because there are just some nights I don't feel like cooking.

Does that ever happen to you?

Kids + school + maintaining a home = exhaustion. Am I right? A long while ago, I stopped beating myself up over the fact that sometimes I feel utterly depleted. So, I aim to be proactive and anticipate those days by taking dinner out of the equation. Sure, every once in a blue moon we head out to a restaurant. Or have sandwiches for dinner. Or waffles. But, having some extra meals in the freezer takes the burden (and dare I say, dread?) away and assures me that we're eating something healthy. Exhaustion - guilt over the exhaustion = sanity (for me).

How's my math?

If you haven't discovered this little trick, I encourage you to try it. And, just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about here, I opened my freezer and took some pictures to show you what this looks like.

The door to my upright freezer holds most of the meals (the door means no digging and labels can be easily read). Yes, we eat a lot of yogurt. Yes, I used to make yogurt myself. Now I buy it. And I buy bread, too. I've also learned I can't do everything. And, I'm okay with that.

These life-savers contain...

With some homemade rolls, tortillas and pie crusts ready in the freezer as well, a meal is easily within reach. Here are some examples of what's there and what it will become...

Other meals are easier to freeze in baking dishes and so I keep some of those on hand as well. These are the truly quick ones (as long as you remember to set it out to thaw in the morning, of course).

Keep in mind, I didn't make these all at once. My, no. When I make a meal that's easy to double or triple, I do just that. The extra finds it's way to my dear friend, my freezer.

She's always looking out for me. Now let yours look out for you, too.

Recipes for almost all of these easy-to-freeze meals can be found here or here.

Easter

2013-04-02T08:51:00.000-04:00

It's the Tuesday after Easter. My heart is still stretched out from all the swelling it experienced this past weekend. I'm one of those fortunate people who truly, truly loves being with her extended family. It gives us so much joy to be able to host such a special holiday at our house. Most are spent traveling. But this one...for this one we make our preparations, settle in, open the door, and celebrate right in our very own home.

To us, every Easter here is special but each year brings it's own joys.

I've never owned a set of real silver and was completely content. Then, my parents brought me my Grandma's mother's set- all polished and gleaming- and I am thrilled.

Also, in remembrance of my grandmother, we kept her tradition going and made pickled Easter eggs.

Plates waiting to be filled....

And, just to be clear, none of my dishes or glasses were bought- all are family hand-me-downs and a few are wedding gifts.

We're bursting at the seams with children. Three ate here in the kitchen, three sat in high chairs at the corners of the main table, and another two sat in boosters. And there were four more that celebrated elsewhere (and we missed dearly)!

Last week, Jamey came home with 17 pullets, already sprouting real feathers. He fixed a home for them in the corner of the workshop. They'll live here until they're old enough to move out into the chicken tractor.

The upside down buckets are seating and are pulled out between visits.

My brother made Sam a very special Easter "basket". The day after, Sam could hardly move his arm for all the throwing.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow....

Alert: Cookbook Correction!!

2013-03-28T13:57:00.003-04:00

Dear friends,

I am utterly embarrassed and once again face-to-face with the fact that I am way-beyond human!! As if I could ever forget!

If you bought a cookbook from me (either the e-version or paper-version) prior to today (March 28th), please grab a pen and make two much-needed corrections.

On page 90 is the Grape Pie recipe (one of my most favorite pies). The error is in the method (direction) portion of the recipe. At the very start of the paragraph it reads, "Combine 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup sugar..." Here it should read "3 tbsp. flour" (not 1 cup). And, later in the paragraph, where it reads "3 tbsp. flour", it should read "1 cup flour". The two got switched! Also, please note that the 1/4 cup melted butter should be added to the sugar and flour when mixing up the crumbs.

Please, make the corrections and please, please, please forgive me. If you've already made the pie and it flopped, it wasn't your fault!! It was mine!! Please also forward these corrections on to anyone you might have gifted the cookbook. And be assured that all future cookbooks will have the correction already made.

Thank you so much for understanding. I'm guessing that you will go easier on me than I will!

Blessings and with great apologies,
Jane

This Week

2013-03-26T08:14:00.000-04:00

Well, dear friends. It's Easter week - one of the most important weeks of the year because of what it represents- the Almighty giving up is only Child for little 'ole you and me. To redeem us and reconcile us to Himself. But He didn't stay down, no, no. He overcame the world. Hallelujah!

In celebration, we are hosting a houseful (two housefuls, actually) of family for Easter weekend. We are taking a half week off school to prepare and I'm taking the rest of the week off from visiting with you lovely people as well. In the meantime, I've provided the links to several of my favorite Easter posts and recipes below.

Enjoy your Holy Week. Relish in all that it means. Celebrate with the wonder and excitement such an occasion deserves. You are treasured and loved beyond belief!

Grandma's Pickled Easter Eggs

Red Raspberry Applesauce Jello Salad

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

Glimpses of Easter 2012 (I especially love the panorama images!)

Blessings,
Jane

Thy Hand Hath Provided Cookbook as an E-Book!!

2013-03-25T08:51:00.000-04:00

People asked and now it's here!

To purchase a copy for your e-reader (via Amazon), click the image below!

As always, you can purchase a coil-bound, paper copy right here.

Story Starters and Kaleidograph Winners!

2013-03-22T14:27:00.001-04:00

Thanks so much to everyone who entered. My favorite part was reading what your favorite games were as a child- I had forgotten about some of those! One of my favorites was Feeley Meeley. Did anyone else play this? You put your hand inside a box and feel different objects and find a specific one. I'm not sure if you can buy it anymore, though. We played it at my Grammie's house and loved it.

image credit

Now let's see who won!

The winner of the Super Story Starters is janelmartin!

The winner of the Original Story Starters is Kay!

The winner of the Crystal Kaleidograph is arianne!

The winner of the Flora Kaleidograph is Carol and Doug!

Congratulations, winners!! Winners, please email me (thyhand123@gmail.com) your address and we'll get your items mailed out to you!

Note: For those of you who didn't win and really want Story Starters or a Kaleidograph, please don't fret. Red Hen Books and Toys is offering a discount until the end of the month (3/31) for my readers only!!

In order to use this discount, please hop on over and "Like" Red Hen Books and Toys' facebook page and then use the respective codes below for the following items!

Use the code THYHAND2013SYI to get 15 % off any of the Story Starters items found here.

Use the code THYHAND2013KG to get 15 % off any Kaleidograph items found here.

(One code use per order. All items matching the code will receive the discount.)

Thank you Red Hen Books and Toys! In a couple weeks we're giving away some more Little Orley CDs right here, so stay tuned. These are perfect for car trips- they are one of our family's favorite things to listen to on the go!

Herky Jerky

2013-03-20T08:10:00.000-04:00

As we cross over from winter to spring, it's no smooth transition around here. And that's a bit of how life feels right now- herky jerky- a bit like these nice people look.

Last week, I spent an entire afternoon in the sunshine clearing the flowerbeds of leaves and debris from last year. Exposing those beautiful green shoots and working carefully around the grape hyacinths and daffodils was life-giving. I had to shed my sweatshirt and wear a baseball cap to keep the sun out of my eyes.

Three days later, it snowed.

And then it rained, the wind blew and the snow is gone again.

Tired of managing laundry on drying racks (three out of five are in need of repair and finagling to get them to stand up is getting old), I so look forward to warm breezes that dry clothes in a few hours versus a couple days inside.

Soon, we'll start our yearly achievement test prep work. We've wrapped up formal grammar for the year and are almost through our science book. Making use of my inside-time, I ordered (Cores C and G, for those Sonlighters out there) and organized (more or less) our curriculum for next year so the majority of the summer can be spent summering. It feels like school should be wrapping up, but we still have seven weeks left.

I'm even forcing some bulbs I intended for our back patio this spring. The wood stove drew them up and out in no time.

In an effort to eat more greens, we've been buying some lettuce and it's been a breath of fresh air. But it's also a tease. What I really want is our own lettuce and spinach piled high on my plate. You know, instead of wooden fruit. Not that there's anything wrong with wooden fruit. In fact, if Miriam asks, I prefer it.

So, we live in limbo. Itching to get outside after being cooped up inside. Excited to switch gears, to move on to what comes next.

In the meantime, we move through our days trying to be patient, still enjoying the cozy aspects of winter, but all eyes on those bulbs I just had to help along for more signs of spring.

Story Starters (and Kaleidograph) Giveaway!

2013-03-18T08:28:00.000-04:00

This giveaway is now closed. Go here to see who won.

Please forgive the blurriness of my photographs below- it was a dreary day outside. The cards themselves are beautiful, crisp and clear!

Do you ever wish you had something to keep your children occupied while waiting at the doctor's office or in the car on a long trip? Ever wish that you could think of something that would actually help you engage your child and see inside their little minds instead of just letting them watch the waiting room cartoons or DVD player in the van?

Story Starters do just that. While you could come up with story starter scenarios yourself to occupy you and your little ones, sometimes us moms don't feel all that creative when we're waiting in line or trying to keep everyone happy in a waiting room.

Well, our friends over at Red Hen Books and Toys wanted me to introduce you to these cards AND offer two sets in a giveaway!

The Super Story Starters (shown on top in the photo below) are larger and include illustrations and simpler scenarios- best for preschoolers, in my opinion. The Original Story Starters include more detail and inspire the imaginations of older elementary school children.

Opportunities to use these cards abound- at restaurants while waiting for your food, at bedtime, with your grandchildren, at the dinner table, in the car or on a plane, on a hike, or around a campfire. They can also inspire art projects, writing exercises, dress-up time, and putting on plays with friends.

Our kids really enjoy them. We broke them out on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Miriam opted to "read" her cards just like the big kids and ended up telling us her own stories (very cute). She didn't want anyone to help her read her card. She wanted to do it all by herself.

Red Hen Books and Toys is making this giveaway even better by also offering up two Kaleidographs as well! You can read our family's impressions of the Kaleidographs here.

If you'd like a chance to win a set of Story Starters or a Kaleidograph, read the instructions below carefully! Be good listeners, please!:-)

To Enter:

Please leave me a 3- PART comment below.

1) Tell me what you are entering to win (choose one): Super Story Starters (younger kids), Original Story Starters (older kids), or a Kaleidograph (please specify Flora or Crystal).

2) Let us know when you'd like to use these items with your kids or grandchildren (in what settings).

3) (My favorite part!) What game do you remember loving as a child that you wish you could introduce to your kids?

Please only one entry per household. Please leave your initials or some way to identify yourself in your comment. I'll randomly choose 4 winners on Friday (two will get Story Starters and two will get Kaleidographs).

Happy entering and thank you, Red Hen Books and Toys!

P.S. My family was given a set of each kind of Story Starters to try out prior to this giveaway. I like to know what I'm talking about:-).

Silence

2013-03-14T07:59:00.000-04:00

Sam and I recently read Teresa of Calcutta: Serving the Poorest of the Poor for school. It prompted me to pick up for myself In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories, and Prayers, a collection of Mother Teresa's written words. This particular passage has drawn me back to it over and over.

"To make possible true inner silence, practice:

Silence of the eyes, by seeking always the beauty and goodness of God everywhere, and closing them to the faults of others and to all that is sinful and disturbing to the soul.

Silence of the ears, by listening always to the voice of God and to the cry of the poor and the needy, and closing them to all the other voices that come from fallen human nature, such as gossip, tale bearing, and uncharitable words.

Silence of the tongue, by praising God and speaking the life-giving Word of God that is the truth, that enlightens and inspires, brings peace, hope, and joy and by refraining from self-defense and every word that causes darkness, turmoil, pain, and death.

Silence of the mind, by opening it to the truth and knowledge of God in prayer and contemplation, like Mary who pondered the marvels of the Lord in her heart, and by closing it to all untruths, distractions, destructive thoughts, rash judgments, false suspicions of others, vengeful thoughts, and desires.

Silence of the heart, by loving God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength, loving one another as God loves; and avoiding all selfishness, hatred, envy, jealousy, and greed."