Monthly Archives: April 2017

Weekly Challenge: Wanderlust…

The prompt is to share a photo that means travel to you.  Wanderlust: noun – 1. A strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.  Who, more than the Vikings liked to do just that 🙂

101315_004FullSizeRender

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/wanderlust/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The Vineyard Gazette Parody Issue…

3192078146_8b03e9c0c7

Long ago and far away in the year of 1984 a staff of very clever, creative and whimsical people put out a parody issue of the Vineyard Gazette ingeniously titled ~ “Not The Vineyard Gazette”.  I, collector of all things Vineyard actually have a copy of this on  e-ti me parody edition.

3191230935_5c9f57b791_m  One of the articles on the front page is about the discovery of a baby Vineyard named Arthur’s Vineyard after the helicopter pilot who accidentally found it. There were  several theories of how the baby Vineyard came to be, one of which was that it was the baby of MV and Nantucket and that a recent rain storm had been the baby shower.  So funny.

Another article is,  “Oak Bluffs Changes Name to Oaks Bluffs.”  Apparently the name change was due in part to the fact that too much time was being taken correcting people who were getting Oak Bluffs name wrong and it was decided to just not fight it anymore.  Of course that would never ever ever happen.

3192078522_6ecb29dfc5_m Amusing article on Edgartown hiring fashion police.  Apparently a glitch in getting the fashion police out on the streets is the inability to agree on a color scheme for their uniforms.  Tawny brown and mocha versus cranberry and puce.  I would think they’d have trouble recruiting anyone if they had to wear those combinations of colors.

3191231429_a540b4269c_m   Take your pick of a Vineyard themed movie.

3191231071_1d22cd4706_m  Vine was an actual drink on the Vineyard.  It was grape flavored water and it was delicious.  I wonder whatever happened to it… I wonder why I didn’t keep a bottle of it, or the label at least.  Here’s to the memory of Vine.

Clever real estate ads…or are they un-real estate !

5349939186_454642e2185349333885_b2a9304740

Sadly the one and only edition of ‘Not The Vineyard Gazette’.

 


The Most Bee-tiful Time of The Year

A few days ago I made a honeycomb cake in anticipation of today.

04.20.17a

It didn’t last very long, but it made me happy to think about how close I was to being a beekeeper again. And today was the day!

I drove out to Scottsville this morning to pick up my package of honeybees. It had been postponed a day, which is probably okay considering it rained a bunch yesterday.

04.20.17b

The lovely folks from Scottsville Supply Co  handed me my bee package and queen cage, and off I went, the sound of thousands of buzzing honeybees filling the car. I serenaded them with a bit of Hamilton, but I don’t think they were too into it.

04.20.17c

The queen is in her own separate cage. These bees have not been “bonded” to her yet, so she’s being attached by rubber band to a frame in the hive, which is blocked by sugar.  The rest of the bees are then dumped into the hive with her, and this evening I will make sure the hive is closed securely and “lock” them in with her for now.  In the time it takes for her to eat the sugar and emerge from her cage, the bees will have fallen under the spell of her pheromones, and that will be that. A queened colony!

04.20.17d

The can contains the sugar syrup they were shipped with. There were still quite a bit in there, so I’m leaving it for them to continue to feed from while they acclimate. Since there were still a lot of bees in their plastic bus after shaking most of them out, I decided to leave that in there, as well. After a few days I’ll go out to check on them and I can remove it then, and hopefully remove the entrance reducer and allow them to go forage for pollen on their own.

04.20.17e

Go bees! Draw comb! Feed your queen! And pollinate!

 


Tagged: Bees, Farm

Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth…

Earth Day is Saturday, April 22 and to celebrate it the challenge this week is… earth …

My photos are of the beautiful Gay Head cliffs in the town of Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard.

100_18463743617790_e7a8918752

DSC_0079

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/earth-2017/


ABC’s Of Martha’s Vineyard…

My creation


Easter 2017…

 

 

imageedit_7_6282727617

25818096371_13630c6147_bpizap.com14587352861261

 


Weekly Photo Challenge: Surprise…

A surprising place to find flowers… which were in Ocean Park on Martha’s Vineyard, the park in my header picture.

100_0193

100_0192

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/surprise-2/


Reading

btt button

Sorry it’s been so long!

So, here’s a simple question:

What have you been reading lately?


Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!


Onto Greener Pastures. Literally.

With the ewes showing no signs of being bred there was no reason to keep them in the front pen anymore. The grass in the back was starting to really look a tad tall, so I made the decision to move them last night.

IMG_5255.jpg

Perivale and little Ram were the first to head out. The halter was NOT popular. However, all the ladies figured out it was easier to deal with it and get back to the fresh grass. Darby, on the other hand, well. Let’s just say that boys are the worst.

IMG_5256.jpg

“No, lady, the fresh grass doesn’t make up for the halter.”

IMG_5259.jpg

IMG_5261

IMG_5269

IMG_5262

IMG_5270

IMG_5271

There’s tons of work to be done (will there ever NOT be? Unlikely!), but I am falling in love with my little corner of the world all over again, and from the contented noises the flock was making, I’d say they are as well.


Shearing Day 2017

I’ve watched our friend Emily shear our sheep for several years now, and it never stops being mesmerizing to me. Her speed has increased dramatically over the years,  and the ease with which she handles even the biggest sheep is wonderful to see.  Yesterday she arrived after shearing probably 100 other sheep and goats on various farms in the area and got ours handled in less than an hour. Which was a good thing, because it started sprinkling just after the last sheep was done. The wool was packed off on bags with her, off to be sold to the wool pool. I have a substantial amount left here for hand-spinning, and until we decide what direction we are taking this venture, I’ll be allowing commercial buyers decide where it will go.

The disappointing news is that it looks fairly certain that our ewes are not bred this year.  But, that gives me another year to prepare and plan.  The good news is that everyone is fat and healthy.

IMG_5242

 

IMG_5243IMG_5244

IMG_5245IMG_5246

IMG_5247IMG_5248

As soon as the weather clears out and the thunderstorms (and tornado watch) have passed, I’ll be moving everyone out to the back pasture, where plenty of fresh, green grass awaits.


Tagged: Farm, Spinning