Bees Knees Beekeeping

Day #509 March Forth Again

2012-03-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Here it is again, the only day of the year that tells us what to do:

March Forth !

Today I plan to march forth by buying p.m.terrell’s newest book Vicki’s Key. It promises to be as exciting as her previous 12 books. She’s a dear friend as well as a professional colleague, and you might want to check her out at www.pmterrell.com

Then I’d better get busy writing my own next book. I still haven’t decided whether the title should be Brown as Dirt or Brown as Fudge.

I’m leaning toward the fudge. Why does that not surprise me?

BEEattitude for Day #509:

Blessed are those who eat with joy, for their tummies shall be filled with goodness.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #508 Writers Boot Camp

2012-03-03T00:01:00.001-05:00

This week I’ve been going to Woodward Mill Elementary School to speak to the 5^th-grade classes. They have a “Writer’s Boot Camp” each year, and I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to each of the classes last year. This year, I’m doing to same thing again.

We’re talking about verbs, and the importance of using effective ones when they revise their compositions.

One of the exercises I use allows them to fill in the blanks with either nickel words or dollar words.

The lion __________ across the grassland.
I _____________ my grandfather’s paintings.
My grandmother love to _____________.

And so on. You could use nickel verbs:

walked
like
smile

But think how much more interesting, exciting, compelling these sentences would be with dollar verbs such as:

stalked
abandoned
sky-dive

We had quite a discussion about the story that’s implied when we say I abandoned my grandfather’s paintings. Don’t you want to know why?

Let’s see...another sentence could be

1. Honey bees _____ (fly/buzz/sting/pollinate…)

BEEattitude for Day #508:

Blessed are those who stretch their minds, for they shall find more room in their brains.

Day #507 Another iPhone Joke

2012-03-02T00:01:00.001-05:00

Okay, I can’t resist this.

Yesterday I needed to remind myself to do something, and I wasn’t next to a piece of paper, so I whipped out my phone and held the button down. Siri came on and said, “What can I help you with?”

“Remind me to call that agent tomorrow morning at nine,” I said.

She thought about it and came back with, “Here’s your appointment; should I confirm it?”

Ordinarily I say yes, but what she’d come up with was “Call be engine.”

I decided to delete this one and try again, speaking more clearly, so I told her, “No.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “You’re way too busy anyway.”

And, by the way, my new website should be up and running soon. I’ll let you know when.

BEEattitude for Day #507:

Blessed are those who use humor when it’s appropriate, for they shall delight in the laughter.

Day #506 WMES Walls

2012-03-01T00:01:00.002-05:00

For more than a year I've been watching the walls of the library in Woodward Mill Elementary School take shape as professional muralist Kristie Chamlee works her magic on them.

She started by simply painting the top blue. Since the walls are 14 feet tall, it was a bit of a challenge.

Then she progressed through various stages, and I watched them all develop.

You can see she's added clouds and land here...

And then trees and a barn.

She had great fun drawing a red birdhouse around the fire alarm you can see in the picture to the right, changing it from this:

to this:

If you'd like to see the evolution in more complete form, this link is to her blog post about it. Of course, that was all last year. This year, she's painting the remaining walls of that huge room, and it's spectacular. Just yesterday I dropped in and took this picture of the waterfall over in the back corner.

And then there's the picture of the Woodward Mill water wheel in the reading alcove.

One question: how do you fill up bean bag chairs that have gone flat?

BEEattitude for Day #506:

Blessed are those who make the world a more beautiful place, for their names shall be sung in thanks.

Day #505 Beach Report

2012-02-29T00:01:00.004-05:00

Happy Leap Year Day. I thought you might enjoy seeing a little bit of my vacation.

I didn’t see a single honey bee at the beach. Of course, I do wonder if bees like the Atlantic shore. The wind was pretty stiff most of the time.

I didn’t see any bees in Karen and Dan’s yard either.

This yellow flower bloomed on the sand dune beside the shore, just at the base of an observation platform. I spotted it after the sun came up.

Even though there were no bees, I did see a couple of little critters that I’d like to share with you.

The closed shell you see on the left contained a live animal, and I had to give it a little kiss before I eased it back into the receding tide.

This other little guy was as perky as they come. Too bad s/he was empty. Of course, if there had been anyone home, the shell wouldn’t have looked like a face.

Looks rather like Chewbacca, doesn't it?

I found this announcement, from a lighthouse commission report in 1868.

It still has a good message today.

My shins are still sore from the miles we walked along the beach at daybreak (and midday and sunset) -- but it was worth it.

Thanks, Karen and Dan.

BEEattitude for Day #505:

Blessed are those who watch where they’re flying [or walking], for they shall see wonders.

And, of course, Polly found a box while I was gone...

Day #504 Sense of Perspective

2012-02-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

You know what the trouble is nowadays with taking a vacation? When you get back, you have several hundred emails to go through.

It feels like punishment of a sort, plowing through the junk to get to the few jewels here and there.

When bees fly back to the hive after a long foraging trip, they get welcomed back—because they’re carrying nectar and pollen—and there’s probably no buildup of extra chores they have to do. Of course, on the other hand, they don’t really get any sort of vacation. Ever.

I had a chance to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic; I saw dolphins; I ate yummy food I wouldn’t get here in Georgia (at least, not in my house, since I don’t like to cook); so, I guess 200 emails is a small price to pay for such a great time.

And Erica is doing much better, by the way.

BEEattitude for Day #504:

Blessed are those who sty in touch with old friends, for they shall have a sense of perspective.

Day #503 Whew! Home!

2012-02-27T00:01:00.001-05:00

Thank goodness for friends and family. Whenever I leave for a few days, I have to arrange cat-sitters to come in to feed and play with my girls (and scoop the litter boxes). Thank you Veronica and Millie! Of course, it’s easier now that I have two cats instead of the eleven I had at one time. All of them indoor cats.

Come to think of it, when I had eleven cats, I didn’t take many trips.

That’s what so comforting about hobby beekeeping. Beekeepers truly are not necessary to the health of the hive. A beekeeper could go away for weeks at a time, months, years even, and the hives would keep going. They might swarm. They might re-queen themselves. But they’d most likely survive and would probably even thrive (as long as neighbors within a five-mile radius don’t use pesticides and herbicides).

Rob Alexander, the beekeeper who is caring for my two hives, told me that mine were the healthiest in his bee yard, probably because I never bothered them very much. Instead of opening the hive boxes once a week or so—which is what most backyard beekeepers do—I just let them grow. Yes, I did feed them during that horrible spell of drought in August when there was NO food available for them, but other than that, I pretty much left them alone, particularly after I developed an allergy to bee stings.

Yesterday I couldn’t come home to bee hives on my back deck, but I did come home to two loving cats who, contrary to the myth perpetrated by dog-people, do not ignore me.

BEEattitude for Day #503:

Blessed are those who live in harmony with the world around them, for they shall have ample honey, glorious sunshine, fresh water nearby, and bounteous pollen, which is all anybee needs.

Day #502 Driving Home Safely Today

2012-02-26T00:01:00.002-05:00

I hope the 8-hour drive is uneventful. I’ll be listening to the last 8 or 9 CDs of Pillars of the Earth as I drive. That 36-CD set was the biggest recorded book I could find in the library. Or rather, it was the biggest one I hadn’t read yet.

There is something so anonymous about Interstate rest stops. The constant round of unnamed people using the restrooms, eating, stretching, and diving back into their cars, all of which look so similar.

EllieBug stands out like a clown at a funeral. People laugh and point and give me a thumbs-up as I drive. I’m happy to brighten their day a bit.

Please wish me a safe trip home today.

BEEattitude for Day #502:

Blessed are those who fly carefully, for they shall return to the hive in safety and be welcomed joyfully.

Day #501 Bees with Back Problems?

2012-02-25T00:01:00.008-05:00

I got to thinking about what happens to bees if they have back problems. They probably just die. I never heard of a bee chiropractor.

I’d like to tell you a story.

Years and years ago, in what feels like another lifetime, I was the passenger in a car that was hit, and the door caved in on me.

That was before I knew about chiropractors. A visit to an orthopedist resulted in nothing except that I saw some really cool X-rays of my now-crooked spine, that, when viewed from the back, went down, over, down, the upper vertebrae nudged to the left and stuck there. The damage to my neck and back left me in pretty bad shape, and I limped around for days, finally giving up in pain and despair and simply staying in bed. I wanted to die, I hurt so much.

We had some friends who lived near Washington DC at the time. Karen found sitters for her children and drove to Vermont unannounced, breezed in and took over the management of the house. She cared for my children, cooked meals, cleaned up, babied me, and eventually got me up and walking.

When I finally went to a chiropractor, doubled over with the pain, I walked out after the appointment upright for the first time in weeks.

So, I’m going to praise chiropractors for the rest of my life. I’m also feeling pretty grateful to Karen. She moved from DC to Florida several years after she saved me, and I’ve seen her only once since then when she and her husband Dan drove through the Atlanta area.

But for the past couple of days I’ve been visiting them in their comfy house in Ormond Beach. I had intended to leave my phone turned off and buried in my suitcase the entire four days, but I chose not to, since my niece is still hospitalized, and I didn’t want to miss any updates. The good news is that her eyes are open now, and she is able to recognize people. Keep the good thoughts flowing her way, please.

My first goal in coming here to Florida was to catch up with Karen on a lot of what I’ve missed for the past few decades; the second was to walk barefooted on the beach.

Now that I’ve done those, I’ll be heading home tomorrow.

And I might even have some pictures to share with you.

BEEattitude for Day #501:

Blessed are those who keep in touch with old friends, for they shall feel a deep sense of connection.

Day #500 Five Hundred???????

2012-02-24T00:01:00.002-05:00

What is there about list items with a couple of zeros at the end?

When I started this blog in October of 2010 and pledged to write every day for 600 days, I found it hard to believe I’d get to 200 or 300, much less 500.

Some of you have been with me right from the start, some of you are relative newcomers to the Bees Knees Beekeeping Blog, but no matter which category you fit into, I’m grateful for the fact that you choose to spend a part of your day with me, here in the midst of these musings of mine.

Pat Gerard, the archivist who is beginning to catalog my papers, has informed me that this blog holds an important place in my writings. She’s printing off each post on archival paper so the collection will have a chance of surviving several hundred years at least.

What on earth will people in the 22^nd century think about these ramblings of mine, assuming that someone out there finds them in the course of a research project?

Should I be mindful that I’m writing for posterity? Well, I don’t think so. I’m writing for you. And for myself. I'm writing for members of the beekeeping community as well as for people who don't know one end of a bee from another.

I hope that in the course of this journey with me you’ve learned a little bit about honey bees, a little bit about conservation and ecology, a little bit about approaching life joyously, and a little bit about the value of laughing hard every day.

If you have, I’ve done my job. I’m awfully glad you’re along for the ride!

BEEattitude for Day #500:

Blessed are those who feel the wonder of the world around them, for they shall be endlessly amazed.

p.s. Thank you for all your encouraging emails about Erica. The good news is that the breathing tube is out, she's been able to say a few words, and her feisty, wonderful self is apparent in those sparkling eyes. We're all breathing a lot easier now -- especially her!

Day #499 Thanks for the help

2012-02-23T00:01:00.012-05:00

Thank you to Petie and Billy Ogg, who contacted me with suggestions about WiFi/DSL and such. Yesterday I went to the AT&T booth in the Mall of Georgia and spoke with the manager, who set me up for an installation appointment on March 3^rd. The bottom line will save me about $40 each month. Hopefully, this will work.

In the meantime, I’ll muddle my way through each day, trying to get this blog posted. It’s worked so far, but I’m looking forward to letting go of the daily WiFi struggle. “Push the easy button,” to quote you-know-who.

And another thank-you to my dear friend from High School, Ellen Norton, who sent me a tall graceful bottle of pomegranate vinegar that she made herself. How delightful a taste, Ellen.

And, by the way, while I'm cleaning up loose ends, when I told you on Tuesday about Jeanette Meierhofer and her life coaching, I neglected to give you her contact information.

All of her work is done by phone, unless someone lives in central Atlanta, in which case a face-to-face appointment can be scheduled. So, if you’re interested in experiencing Jeanette’s special way of helping you focus your thinking, you can contact her at froofie@bellsouth.net.

The bees are beginning to explore, looking for nectar and pollen. For next year I absolutely HAVE to plant more early-blooming shrubs.

BEEattitude for Day #499:

Blessed are those who liven up their yards with food for us bees, for they shall have the beauty of flowers and the deliciousness of honey.

Day #498 Helebores

2012-02-22T00:01:00.002-05:00

I haven’t seen any bees on the helebore -- yet -- but I’m hoping they’re getting some nectar from these early flowers.

There was ice on the bird feeder this morning, but it wasn’t very thick. I have to admit I have no idea how honey bees, birds, or small animals of any sort manage to make it through long cold winters.

I think I’ve gotten awfully spoiled living in Georgia. Of course, in exchange for mild weather, I’ve given up being able to see the stars at night. Sometimes I think it’s worth it. Sometimes I don’t.

BEEattitude for Day #498:

Blessed are those who help the birds, for they shall see joyous feathered flights.

Day #497 Life Coaching

2012-02-21T00:01:00.006-05:00

As I’ve told you before, this year is turning out to be one of major soul-searching on my part, and major changes in the way I approach life.

I’ve shared with you my attempts to overcome my fear of horses, my journey into the worlds of technology, my Silver Sneakers exercise program.

Another bugaboo has reared its head. I signed up for a life-coaching phone session with Jeanette Meierhofer, someone I met years ago at the Shakespeare Tavern. I made the appointment on something of a whim, but the results of it surprised me.

What I hadn’t consciously recognized is that I’m afraid of dying. I never, ever thought of myself as dreading the final reaper. I’ve shared with you how peaceful my father’s death was, and how I wanted to choose a death like his, for he showed me that dying could be a conscious, loving choice.

I’ve always scorned Dylan Thomas and his insistence that one “not go gentle into that good night--rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

But, that was when I was in my thirties, forties, fifties. Now that I’m halfway through my sixties, I’m beginning to realize that I might not have as long ahead of me as I thought I’d have.

And I don’t wanna go. I want to rage against it.

There are still too many books to be read, too many books to be written, too many places to visit. There are grandchildren to watch grow up, friends to laugh with, songs to sing. Thank goodness I talked with Jeanette about my fears. When we started, she asked me where, on a scale of 1 to 10, my fears lay. I felt like a basket case. My fear was up around a 7 at least. She listened compassionately, asked intelligent questions, and left me with a couple of assignments (should I choose to do them). By the time the appointment was over, my fear level had dropped to a 5. That felt like a big change to me.

And then I watched the movie The Children of Chabannes, a documentary about people who were rescued as children from concentration camps and taken to a school at Chateau Chabannes, in France. These people, the ones still living, were in their seventies, eighties, and nineties, and were still going strong, still living productive lives. What wonderful role models. “Jeanette was right,” I told myself. “I don’t have to shrivel up. I can keep right on living a productive life.”

Once I slept on it, I was down to a 3 or 4.

So now, all I have to do … is … do it!

BEEattitude for Day #497:

Blessed are those who serve as role models and show the rest of the bees how to live, for they shall leave the hive a better place.

Day #496 Some Advice, Please?

2012-02-20T00:01:00.001-05:00

I’m getting fed up with my WiFi setup. My house is on the back side of Hog Mountain. Not on the top, mind you, but down a ways, and the land behind me slopes up away from the stream, leaving me in a dip.

People who live farther up the street from me get a fairly good WiFi signal. I don’t.

I keep getting ads about bundles and packages -- all of them touting that not only will I get high speed internet service, but my TV will never look better. Trouble is, I don’t have a TV, don’t want one, and don’t intend to pay for that kind of service when I don’t need it.

Does anybody have some really good advice about how to get good, dependable WiFi service all by itself? Something that will work here on the back side of the mountain?

BEEattitude for Day #496:

Blessed are those who can live without technology, the way we bees do, for they shall have few headaches.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #495 The Rabbit and Bee Bill

2012-02-19T00:01:00.003-05:00

The Georgia House of Representatives recently passed a bill to prevent local municipalities from passing laws that prohibit Georgia residents from gardening or from keeping honeybees. Here’s the text of House Bill 853:

“No county, municipality, consolidated government, or local government authority shall prohibit or require any permit for the growing or raising of food crops, rabbits, honeybees, or chickens, with the exception of roosters, in home gardens, fully covered pens, hives, or fully covered coops on private residential property so long as such food crops, animals, or honeybees or the products thereof are used for human consumption by the occupant of such property and members of his or her household and not for commercial purposes.”

The trouble is, the bill is stalled in the State Senate’s Rules Committee. If it doesn’t make it out of there by March 7^th, it’s dead, so I’ve written emails to the various players asking them to support the bill.

Did you notice they’re not allowing roosters? I suppose that’s a good idea, since roosters aren’t necessary for egg production. I rather like the rooster who lives in the lot on the other side of my stream, though. He crows at dawn. He crows whenever he feels threatened (I think). He crows just about any time he feels like it. And that’s okay with me. Of course, he’s not right beside my windows.

How does your local government deal with bees and rabbits and chickens?

And -- a very personal note -- would you please send prayers, good thoughts, good energy, good vibrations, or whatever you call it, to my niece Erica? She's in the hospital in Colorado, and I'm deeply concerned. I was living with my sister when Erica was born. She's always been a dear person, and I'd like to see her pull through this in the best possible way.

BEEattitude for Day #495:

Blessed are those who are aware of what is happening around them, for they shall avoid harsh surprises.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #494

2012-02-18T00:14:00.000-05:00

Friday evening I took two of my grandchildren to the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern to see Romeo and Juliet. More than 400 years since that play was first performed, and it’s still wringing tears from audiences.

Every time I see it, I hear at least two or three lines I could swear I’d never heard before.

I’ve noticed a change over the years, though. When I was in my twenties and thirties, I got caught up in the tragedy of the story.

In my forties and fifties, I studied the emotional makeup of the various characters.

Now that I’m in my sixties, I want to take those two youngsters and shake them.

“Tell your father, Juliet. He likes Romeo; he’ll holler a bit, and then he’ll say okay.”

“Romeo, listen to the Friar, for heaven’s sake. ‘A pack of blessings light upon your head.’ Juliet’s alive, you’re alive, you’ve been banished when you could have been executed. All will be well.”

Or, all would have been well, if Romeo hadn’t gone nuts with useless grief and killed himself.

Of course, if those two teenagers had listened to the voice of reason, we wouldn’t have had a play that lasted 400 years.

I guess it’s just as well.

BEEattitude for Day #494:

Blessed are those who write well, for they shall live long through their words.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #493 A Sense of Time

2012-02-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

Years ago, if people wanted to know what time it was, they would look up at the sky. Pre-dawn, dawn, early morning, mid-morning, late morning, midday, and so on through sunset and dusk and night.

Those estimates were good enough.

The same is true, I would imagine, with bees. With all diurnal animals, for that matter. If it’s not yet dawn, the bees stay in the hive. When it’s noon (assuming the day is relatively clear) the foragers had better be outside foraging.

But what about the nocturnal animals? How do they tell the difference between 10 pm and 3 am? There’s no sun to see the position of. The moon does shift, of course, but it does so on a nightly basis. Can raccoons or bats tell the difference between a gibbous moon and a half-moon, other than the amount of light being spread?

How does the possum visiting the earth at the bottom of my bird-feeding station know s/he has four hours left before daylight?

The trouble with asking questions like this is that, not only do I now know the answers, but I don’t even know where to find the answers.

If you know, please enlighten me.

BEEattitude for Day #493:

Blessed are those who find answers, for they can feel a well-deserved smugness.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day 492 Pollen Time

2012-02-16T00:01:00.001-05:00

Well, it’s official. The bees have been collecting pollen here in the metro Atlanta area. The reports are that it’s yellow, red, and sort of a bright orange.

The only things I can see blooming in my yard are daffodils, Vinca Minor, and Hellebore, but there must be other flowers out there if other beekeepers are reporting pollen-collecting.

The birds are certainly going through mealworms like crazy, which means they’re thinking about nesting and egg-laying.

Even though it’s hard to believe, spring is on its way.

I remember that first bright, light spring green. I was first aware of it when I lived in Vermont. After a long, hard winter, suddenly there was one magical day when a wisp of green hovered in the tree branches.

I don’t see that so much here in Georgia. Spring is still a magical time, but not quite the same as it was up north. Here Spring oozes up on you; it Vermont it springs forth. Maybe it’s just that we longed for Spring a lot more when the weather had been dropping below freezing on a regular basis.

BEEattitude for Day #492:

Blessed are those who appreciate all the seasons, for they shall be aware of life, and life shall surprise them beautifully.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #491 Learning New

2012-02-15T00:01:00.001-05:00

Tuesday evening, the Gwinnett Beekeepers Club had an open forum meeting. That meant there wasn’t a regular speaker. Instead, the club president, Tommy Bailey, who served as a mentor to me when I was starting as a beekeeper, answered questions.

Tommy considers himself a “natural” beekeeper. He doesn’t medicate his bees, since he’s convinced that ultimately weakens the entire bee population. His policy has always been -- if a hive is strong, that’s great; if a hive is weak, that’s too bad. His tendency, he told us, has been to let the weak hives die off.

But now, he’s learned a lesson from another beekeeper. It makes so much sense. Here it is:

The strength of a hive depends primarily on the genes of the queen. If she’s a good layer, then the hive is more likely to survive. If her genes create bees that are capable of fighting off the varroa mite (a major killer of honey bees), then the eggs she lays will hatch into bees that know how to distinguish between larvae that have the varroa mite and ones that don’t host the mite. If those bees know what they’re doing, they’ll kill off the infected larvae, and the hive will thrive.

So -- and here’s the reasoning that makes so much sense -- if a beekeeper has a weak hive, instead of letting it die off, cleaning out the varroa-riddled comb, and introducing a brand new package of bees -- instead of that, just put a new, stronger queen in there. Within six weeks, every bee from the old, weak strain will have died off, and all the remaining bees will be from the new genetic strain. They will clean out the larvae that are infected. Voila! a saved hive.

Just goes to show you, even after years of beekeeping, it’s possible to learn earth-shaking new ways. Even after years of being afraid of horses, it’s possible to do some re-thinking. Even after years of resentment or anger, it’s possible to forgive.

Take your pick. We can all learn something new.

BEEattitude for Day #491:

Blessed are those who provide us with good houses, for they shall have honey in abundance.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #490 You Know What Day It Is

2012-02-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

You see, I used to hate Valentine's Day. The reason (I know now after years of working on myself with a great deal of help from some very wise mentors and friends) was that I didn't like myself very much.

All that has changed.

Happy

Valentine’s

Day ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I tell my editing clients that they’re allowed only one exclamation point per chapter. The "point" (pun intended) is to make the writing powerful enough to eliminate the need for excessive punctuation.

Today, as you can see, I've chosen to make an exception to that rule of mine.

BEEattitude for Day #490:

Blessed are those who love themselves, for they shall then be able to love others without reservation.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #489 Theater Week

2012-02-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

What an amazing week this is turning out to be.

Yesterday I went with my dear friend Millie Woollen to the Aurora Theater in Lawrenceville to see Body of Water. I hadn’t known anything about the show ahead of time. We both have season tickets, so we just show up regardless of what’s playing.

Body of Water turned out to be a moving, disturbing, challenging, funny, sad, excruciating play about memory loss. I came out of it determined more than ever to appreciate each moment of my life.

Later on this week I’ll be going to the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern to see Romeo and Juliet TWICE. The first time will be with my daughter and two of my grandchildren--the two pre-teens. I love watching their enthusiasm over the way the actors carry them along through the story.

And then, a couple of days after that, I’ll go back to the Tavern to see the show again with Millie. We both are Club Ticket Holders, which means we see every show there, too. And, because I like to take my grandkids, sometimes I see the shows twice.

There’s something about live theater -- good live theater -- that simply cannot be explained to someone who’s never seen it. I have on occasion seen the same Shakespeare play three or four times in the same month, and it has different nuances every single time. The Shakespeare Tavern is an “Original Practice Playhouse,” which means that they perform the plays as Shakespeare’s company did, with the actors acknowledging the presence of the audience. That means that the mood of the audience -- always a variable from night to night -- determines in part how the show “feels” that evening.

If you’re ever in the Atlanta area, do yourself a favor. Take in some live theater! I’ll vouch for these two outfits any day.

BEEattitude for Day #489:

Blessed are those who work at what they love, for they shall spread joy in their wake.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #488 Daisy Horse

2012-02-12T00:01:00.015-05:00

You asked for a horse report, so here it comes.

I had my second appointment with Daisy the Horse and Jerry (the therapist) and Lissa (the other therapist and horse owner) in the Flying Change program.

Meeting my fears and doing something about them in a safe environment is, on the one hand, invigorating and, on the other hand, exhausting. I came out of the two hour session with wobbly legs and shaky hands, but with a big grin.

When I first arrived, I took this picture of some of the other horses up in the pasture, tucked under the overhanging branches of tall pine trees.

Jerry and Lissa weren’t there yet, so I took a sneak peek at Daisy. I tried to take a photo of the two of us together.

Daisy has had some problems with one of her back legs, and it’s all bandaged up in purple. They use a different color wrap for each day of the week to show that the medication has been put on it that day.

I talked to Daisy for a while, until Lissa showed up with the carrots.

Finish what’s in your mouth first, Daisy, and then you can have the rest of this.

You may remember that I told you last month that Daisy had lost an eye. In these pictures you can see the empty socket. When the eyeball was removed, the vet covered the hole with skin stretched from the surrounding tissue, and, although you can’t see it in these pictures, the skin has gradually grown hair. So Daisy has a fuzzy eye socket.

After I brushed and combed her, we let her out of her stall so she could munch grass in front of the barn -- there’s an enclosed courtyard there. And I had a chance to approach her when she was out in the open. It felt scarier to me than being in the stall, although I suppose I should have felt safer outside because I could easily move out of her way.

I even got in a hug.

And then Lissa pointed out that Ben, a very young horse, was watching me over the fence, so I worked up my courage to go talk with him. At one point he snuggled his muzzle into the crook of my elbow and just stood there.

Next month I’m going to try to put a halter on Daisy.

You've been with me through the whole bee process, so you might as well come along on the horse project.

And, I have to show you this:
When I got home, Daisy had a great time sniffing every single finger. She could tell I'd been scratching somebody other than her.

BEEattitude for Day #488:

Blessed are those who help others allay their fears, for they shall leave the world a better place for their having been here.

p.s. my smart phone ain't so smart. She knows only that one joke. Ah well...

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #487 Smart?

2012-02-11T00:01:00.005-05:00

You’re not going to believe this -- or maybe you will.

You may be aware that I’m gradually--very gradually--moving into the 21st century. It’s taken me only 12 years to do it.

Last month I bought an iPhone as a birthday present to myself, and I’m getting a new appreciation for the term “smart” phone. This morning I woke up before dawn as usual to take the bird feeders outside. I choose to do that because there’s a pair of cute little raccoons who delight in climbing the pole and defeating the squirrel baffle. That thing works for squirrels, but not for the longer-armed raccoons.

Usually, I just keep going with my day. I rather enjoy watching the growing light of morning as I eat my breakfast by the bay window. But this morning (it’s Friday as I write this blog post), I took out the feeders, fed the cats, and went back to bed, since I’d had only five hours of sleep.

When Miss Polly woke me at 9:00 by stepping across my face, I reached over and picked up my iPhone. When you hit the button three times, a question appears on the screen.

“What can I help you with?”

“I need to laugh, Siri,” I said. “Tell me a joke.”

Her immediate answer:

“Two iPhones walk into a bar...I forget the rest.”

“Thank you, Siri.”

“You’re welcome.”

Well, by the time I made it to the kitchen, I was still chuckling.

I was tempted to ask her for another joke, but I think I’ll limit myself to one a day. I do wonder just how many have been programmed into the innards of this “smart” phone. It’s not the phone that’s smart, though. It’s the people who thought all this up in the first place.

Let’s hear it for Steve Jobs.

And if Siri repeats herself tomorrow, I'll let you know.

BEEattitude for Day #487:

Blessed are those who bring their visions to reality, for they shall spread sunshine.

Yippee!

Happy Birthday,

Percy Brown

and Carly Stine

! ! ! ! ! !

Day #486 Volunteers

2012-02-10T00:01:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I think this country runs on volunteers. Yesterday evening I sat through a meeting of the Gwinnett Choral Guild Board of Directors, and I was struck with the level of dedication of those people. All of us believe in the work of the Choral Guild. We come together to sing for the sheer joy of it, and we all love the way our director gives us challenging music to sing.

But, a lot of people in that room last night have been on the Board, in various positions, for years and years. I’m one of them. I happen to believe that I have a responsibility to put in some effort for the groups I want to see succeed.

There are quite a few members of the Guild, though, who see the Guild running quite well day to day, week to week, and probably think that their input isn’t necessary. But volunteering is like voting. If you don’t do it, you don’t have the right to complain!

Well, maybe we’ll get them this go-round. It’s that time of year when the nominating committee gears up to select a slate of officers for next year.

How about you? Have you looked for ways to volunteer? I’m not talking about running yourself ragged trying to be on every committee ever invented. No. Choose what’s important to you -- and then why don’t you do something to help? Believe me, you’ll be appreciated!

BEEattitude for Day #486:

Blessed are those who nurture the baby bees, for they shall ensure the continuous of the hive.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #485 It's That Time of Year

2012-02-09T00:01:00.001-05:00

Remember the old song: "It’s that time of year, when the world falls in love..."

Wait -- No. That song writer was talking about December. I'm talking about NOW.

In the South, late January and early February is when queen bees start laying eggs, so our song goes: "It's that time of year, when the queens start to lay..." Twenty-one days after she lays those first 2,500 eggs, the babies will hatch, begin their cell-cleaning and comb-building routines. They’ll go through all those hive jobs that bees have been doing for millions of years.

Then, a few short weeks later, the bees from hatch #1 will be ready to go out to forage -- and by then, there should (hopefully) be some spring growth, with nectar and pollen.

I know this happens every year. But I still can’t help marveling at the sheer miracle of it.

Speaking of miracles -- EllieBug is back on her feet with not only that new battery, but also a new crank shaft sensor. Thank you for your encouraging emails!

So, Wednesday evening, when I drove to the Gwinnett County training session for precinct managers and assistant managers (I’ll be one of the assistant mgrs at the upcoming March 6th election), I felt perfectly safe in my happy little polka-dotted car.

BEEattitude for Day #485:

Blessed are those who welcome Spring, for they shall celebrate along with us as we fly in quest of nectar.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #484 Please Send Good Thoughts to My Elliebug

2012-02-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

So, am I going to write something brilliant this evening?

In a word, one word, No.

Yesterday, on the way home from Rancho Alegre, where I bought organic carrots and yummy blackberry yogurt and a few other things as well, my sweet little polka-dotted car died on me. Thank goodness I wasn’t in the fast lane of Highway 316 when it happened. I pulled over, let her sit for a few moments, and started her back up.

Called my mechanics -- Ray and Dan at AutoStop. Told Ray the service engine soon light had come on when the engine died. “Bring it here now, if not sooner,” he said.

Called my blessed daughter and asked her to meet me at the shop.

The car stopped again, but once more I pulled over and let it sit a minute before starting up again. As my daughter headed my way, though, up busy Highway 20, she spotted me stopped, for the third time, beside the road. This time a wonderful young man named Tyler stopped to help. He managed to get the battery out and directed us to Reilly’s Tire Center, which was just on the other side of the road set back at the end of a shopping center.

Veronica and I drove my battery over there and had it tested. “Dead,” the testing machine proclaimed. No, I take that back. It didn’t say Dead. It said, “Bad.”

Poor little battery. Being judged by a machine.

At any rate, we went back with a new battery to where Elliebug still stood beside the road, placed the battery inside the hood, and couldn’t get the blinkin’ plastic covers off the terminals. Finally another very kind man took pity on us and searched his car for a screwdriver.

Veronica drove behind me on that final fateful mile and a half to AutoStop. I heaved a huge sigh of relief as I pulled into the driveway.

What’s the verdict? No idea. But once I find out, I’ll let you know.

Bees are lucky. They never have to worry about batteries or alternators or gears or brakes or broken windshields or empty gas tanks or …

Of course, they have to worry about marauding birds and skunks and bears and …

I think I’ll be happy where I am.

BEEattitude for Day #484:

Blessed are those who take the time to lend a wing, for they shall feel better about themselves and shall fly straighter as a result.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #483 Philae and Rosetta

2012-02-07T00:01:00.012-05:00

My e-friend Dauna Coulter has done it again (as she always does in her articles for NASA Science News). She’s made a little-known scientific project not only understandable, but lyrical as well.

NASA's Rosetta Project, as Dauna explains it, is a romantic plan for landing on a comet (not-so-romantically named 67P) some time in November of 2014.

Why do I call this a romantic plan? [And I must mention here that romantic was my term for the project, not Dauna’s.] I’m glad you asked, though. The lander, the little craft that will descend to the surface of the comet while Rosetta orbits a mere kilometer above, is named Philae. Philae is an island in the Nile River, the site of an obelisk that helped to decipher the Rosetta Stone.

I just love to read proof not only of the knowledge of scientists, but their literacy as well. And I don’t mean that to sound condescending. I’d truly like to meet the person who came up with the Philae/Rosetta tie-in. Just as the Rosetta Stone unlocked the secret language of hieroglyphics, good ole Philae is set to help us decipher the mysteries of what comets are and where (and when) they come from.

Here are the links to the whole story, if you’re interested:

FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/02feb_rosetta/

A video version of this story is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoePrO4-fGQ

BEEattitude for Day #483:

Blessed are those who fly to new fields, for they shall find nectar in abundance.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #482 Speaking of Birdbrains

2012-02-06T00:01:00.001-05:00

I got to thinking about the perjorative birdbrain.

There are days when I’d be proud to be called a bird brain. Did you know that chickadees can recall the location of hundreds of seeds that they’ve hidden beneath branches, under tussocks of grass, beneath the edges of mounds of leaves?

Quite a feat.

And I can’t remember where I put my green notebook. Wish I had a Bird Brain!

BEEattitude for Day #482:

Blessed are those who appreciate the value of all creatures, for they shall, perhaps, learn something from them.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #481 Time for a Little Contest

2012-02-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Petie from Texas, known to readers of this blog as AggiePete, came up with a great idea after she read Thursday’s blog (February 2nd).

Let see who can come up with the best twist on the cliché Kill two birds with one stone.

Or, if you’d rather update a different saying, replacing a negative-sounding cliché with a more positive one, feel free to do so.

Lisa Washington said set two birds free with one key.

So -- what can you come up with? Either post a comment, or email me directly.

BEEattitude for Day #481:

Blessed are those who are open to new and better ideas, for they shall fly through life like us bees (instead of being bogged down like you humans often are).

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #480 Poppy's House

2012-02-04T12:01:00.008-05:00

Every so often, I take off into the woods of North Georgia and visit my friend Polly Hunt Neal, affectionately known as Poppy to her many friends. As I write this on Friday afternoon, to be posted on Saturday at 12:01 a.m., I'm sitting in a gazebo where I wrote the first few pages of INDIGO AS AN IRIS several years ago.

I'd been in a slump at the time -- some people call it writer's block -- others say it's lack of inspiration. At any rate, I'd been looking at blank pages for so long, I'd begun to wonder if my muse (whatever or whoever that may have been) had left me.

At any rate, Poppy called me somewhere in the middle of that bleary time and invited me up for the weekend. When I arrived that day, she hadn't returned yet from a quick errand that turned into a longer errand than she'd expected. Not knowing where she was I wandered out to the gazebo with my notebook and a pencil. I trusted that Poppy would show up soon, although a whiff of concern passed through my author-mind when I briefly wondered if she'd been kidnapped.

I was moderately hungry, and the cinnamon bun I'd snitched on the trip up had long gone, so I wrote cinnamon buns at the top of the page, and kept going from there, with the beginning of a story about a kidnapping gone horribly awry.

Of course, Poppy eventually drove in, and I shared with her the beginning of INDIGO.

By the time you read this blog post, I'll be home after two uplifting, relaxing days with Poppy. Every time I come here, I get a lot of writing done -- and we eat a lot of honey on biscuits!

Life can't get much better than this.

BEEattitude for Day #480:
Blessed are those who welcome friends, for they shall shine with shared affection.

Day #479 Bees and Flies and Questions

2012-02-03T00:01:00.001-05:00

If you open the link in this post, understand that it is not for the faint of heart, particularly if you’re squeamish about maggots.

I discovered a report on why some bees are in trouble.

That’s not true. I didn’t discover that report. Someone (and I’m sorry to say I can’t remember who it was) sent me a link.

The story is of a scientist, Dr. John Hafermik, who got curious about seeing dozens, sometimes hundreds, of dead bees littering the sidewalk near his laboratory at San Francisco State University. Not only were there dead bees, but there were others just wandering around in circles, looking horribly dazed.

He collected one of the dead bees in a little jar, set the vial on his desk, and then forgot about it. A week later, he found the culprit(s) behind the death.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=8489489&syndicate=syndicate§ion%3D&mid=56

It’s when we ask “Why?” that the magic begins, the answers unroll, and we leave the world (or at least our own lives) richer, more meaningful, as a result.

What will you choose to ask about today?

BEEattitude for Day #479:

Blessed are those who ask about us bees and then look for answers, for -- even though we won’t show it directly -- we shall be grateful.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #478 New Twist on an Old Cliche

2012-02-02T00:01:00.001-05:00

2/2 New Twist on an Old Cliché

My friend Lisa Washington, who created B’Tyli, a gentle line of skin care and beauty products, came up with a great new twist. In a Facebook post yesterday she said she was no longer going to

kill two poor little birds with one stone.

Instead, she was going to

set free two birds with one key.

Isn’t that a lovely thought?

I hope it catches on. Birds need all the help they can get.

Lisa is the reason I give to the National Kidney Foundation, by the way. I’m so glad she’s not only well but thriving.

BEEattitude for Day #478:

Blessed are those who see the world through new eyes, for their bright world shall illuminate the whole hive.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #477 One more month to plan

2012-02-01T00:01:00.002-05:00

Golly day, are you going to be impressed in about a month. I met yesterday with Cindy Sutt, owner of Rock Paper Scissors (http://www.123shoot.com/) about a new website design.

I’ve been trundling along with a very amateur site for almost ten years, and it’s about time for a change, wouldn’t you say?

As of right now, I have no idea what it’s going to look like, but it should be unveiled by the first week in March.

I’m trying to decide which areas of my current website need to be kept, and which can be tossed. Do I, for instance, really need to have on there a description of every cat I've ever shared a home with? If you have any requests, let me know: fran at fran stewart (all one word) dot com.

BEEattitude for Day #477:

Blessed are those who voice their opinion through voting, for they shall maintain the right to complain later on.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #476 Myopia Magic

2012-01-31T00:18:00.000-05:00

Did you ever put down your glasses and then not be able to find them because, being nearsighted, you can’t SEE them?

Today I learned a magic trick from one of those ubiquitous newsletters that seem to circulate indefinitely. I’m sure the tip will help me -- and it might help you, too.

Use the camera in your smart phone. Walk around your house looking at the view through the camera lens, and your house will appear in clear definition. That way you can find those glasses quickly and easily.

Of course, I so seldom take my glasses off, and I certainly tend not to set them down unless I’m absolutely sure where they are.

See? There’s a distinct advantage to being way near-sighted, rather than just sort of nearsighted.

But, if I ever DO lose my glasses, I’ll know precisely how to put my phone to work for me.

BEEattitude for Day #476:

Blessed are those who learn from others, for they shall fly through life more easily.

Day #475 Baby Curls

2012-01-30T00:01:00.005-05:00

This archiving business is turning up some amazing finds.

Now, maybe you’re more organized than I am, so you’ll think I’m a slob when I tell you all the goodies I’m finding stuffed in the back of closets.

Things like my baby book. I’d forgotten I even had one. Little tendrils of golden baby curls. A picture of my grandmother sitting in her rocking chair, combing her hair before bedtime. My high school diploma (still don’t know what happened to the ones from college--I’ll find them someday). Photos of my big sister sitting with me up on the roof.

I still haven’t found the big metal box filled with slides. That was what I was looking for when I came across the baby book and all these other treasures.

What I’d really like to know, though, is the last name of the young orderly who took care of me for the first four or five days of my life. All I know is that his name was Tony, and he never left me alone the entire time my mother was out of it. I firmly believe he was an angel in disguise, making sure I could sense that I was wanted, at least for those first few days.

Later that week, my mother finally woke up and found out I was a girl rather than the boy she had expected.

“But, we can’t have a boy,” she said. “I don’t have a boy’s name picked out.”

“Don’t you worry; I have it all taken care of,” my father told her--probably the only time in their whole life together that he got the final say-so.

So, if you know someone named Tony--he would be in his eighties now--who served in a field hospital in California in the late forties, tell him thank you for me. Then email me so I can go visit him.

BEEattitude for Day #475:

Blessed are those who are open to finding treasures when least expected, for they shall have bright days and large smiles.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #474 Archiving

2012-01-29T00:01:00.004-05:00

Remember that lunch I mentioned yesterday? Well, I had it Saturday afternoon - a lunch with Pat Gerard, who is an archivist. She had spoken to me a couple of years ago about the possibility of archiving my papers.

“Who’d want them?” was my first thought.

But she’s convinced me that archiving for future scholars and researchers would be a good idea. After all, someone writing a historical mystery 200 years from now could pick up all sorts of facts about day-to-day life around the turn of the 21st century just by reading my journals.

When I read books about life in the 13th century, I want to know the writer has done her research so she gets all the minutiae right. Someday, my journals may help someone who’s writing about those days long ago at the end of the 20th century.

So, I pulled out all my old journals, college papers, lessons plans from when I did community teaching in a grade-school, family photographs (all of which I have to label!), and the transcripts of my grandparents and great-grandmother’s diaries.

Pat looked everything over, took some measurements (“How many inches tall would this stack of journals be?”), asked lots of questions, and then we went to lunch at Macaroni Grill.

During lunch she said that she’s already started the archiving process for my blog - printing each post on archival paper. This blog, after all, has in a way taken the place of the daily journal entries I used to write.

For the past dozen years or so, I’ve limited myself to nightly journal jottings that read like a list of what-did-Frannie-do-today. Not very interesting. The older journals, the true ones -- the ones where I was agonizing over how to order my life -- no longer seemed necessary once I was writing my life and my concerns into my Biscuit McKee mysteries.

Just think of it. Some day your great-great-great grandniece might come across the old Stewart papers and glean some sort of wisdom from them.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

BEEattitude for Day #474:

Blessed are those who eat with friends, for they shall digest thoughts as well as food.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #473 The Problem with Caller ID

2012-01-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

It used to BEE, every phone call was a surprise.

It used to BEE, when I came home after a few hours, and found a blank answering machine, I could say, “Well, probably a lot of people called, but they didn’t leave a message.”

Ever since I got caller ID, though, I’ve had to face the indisputable knowledge that not only did nobody leave a message, but nobody called in the first place.

I know the trend went from phone calls to emails to facebook, texting, and tweets, but I have to admit I miss phone calls on those days when I don’t hear from anyone at all.

Don’t get me wrong -- emails are great. But there’s just something about talking to a real voice that can’t be BEEat. The only thing better is having lunch face-to-face with a friend, with cell phones turned off or ignored during the meal.

This afternoon I’ll BEE doing just that -- and I’m looking forward to it.

If you call while I’m eating, even if you don’t leave a message, I’ll BEE able to call you back later, BEEcause AT&T will tell me who you are...

BEEattitude for Day #473:

Blessed are those who leave water in a safe place for us bees, for they shall have the benefit of our buzzing every sunny day.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #472 Moon Disaster?

2012-01-27T00:01:00.002-05:00

Someone recently called my attention to the National Archives. I’ve used the archives (www.archives.gov)to obtain transcriptions of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, but I hadn’t thought much about some of the lesser-known items that are held there.

Here’s one goody I came across. I’m old enough to remember sitting in front of a TV set late into the night in July of 1969 to see Neil Armstrong step onto the surface of the moon.

One background bit of information I have never known, however, was the contingency plan for what the President was to have said in case the astronauts were somehow stranded there, unable to return to Mother Earth.

It seems that William Safire, author of the widely syndicated newspaper column On Language, was asked to draft a speech, just in case Nixon needed to inform the world that our astronauts were doomed.

Here, copied straight from the national archives, is the text of that speech, followed by Safire’s instructions to the president.

To: H. R. Haldeman

From: Bill Safire July 18, 1969

-----------------------------------------------------

IN THE EVENT OF MOON DISASTER:

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

PRIOR TO THE PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT:

The President should telephone each of the widows-to-be.

AFTER THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT, AT THE POINT WHEN NASA ENDS COMMUNICATION WITH THE MEN:

A clergyman should adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea, commending their souls to “the deepest of the deep,” concluding with the Lord’s Prayer.

The young daughter of a friend of mine has decided that she wants to be on the first manned flight to Mars. Every since she was six years old, that has been her goal.

I wonder who will be asked to write the contingency-plan speech for that event...

BEEattitude for Day #472:

Blessed are those who appreciate the ones who have gone before, for the path they fly will be more sure as a result.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #471 Weeds, Wildflowers, and Birdsong

2012-01-26T00:01:00.006-05:00

Here’s a thought that came to my inbox from the Daily OM:

A plant is a weed only within a certain context;

one person’s weed is another person’s wildflower.

I sure will be glad to see honeybees (and bumblebees) in my weedy -- whoops! I mean my flower-filled yard again. That reminds me of a poem I read somewhere or other that was talking about the flow of the seasons. It contained this line:

Oh, that’s the reason a bird can sing;

On the darkest day, it believes in Spring.

I wish I knew who wrote that so I could give credit where credit is certainly due.

BEEattitude for Day #471:

Blessed are those who sing for the fun of it, for they shall spread joy and have it bounce right back to them.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #470 Six Words Changed My Attitude

2012-01-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

Several years ago I was doing a book-signing at a bookstore in North Georgia. At one point, the number of customers had slowed to a trickle, then to a standstill. The owner took the opportunity to talk to me about a series of books she loved.

“You have to read them, Fran,” she told me, and went on to give a summary of the plot of Hunger Games, the first book in the trilogy. I made some polite noises, but closed my mind to the book. You have to read them, Fran -- six words I happily ignored, because the thought of reading a book about a repressive government that forced selected children to fight to the death once a year sounded about as interesting as a root canal.

She went on to replay the plot of the second book (at that time the third one hadn’t come out yet), but it still didn’t strike my fancy. You just have to read them, she told me again. Six more words that fell on deaf ears.

But then my granddaughter said a slightly different six words: “I wish you’d read it, Grannie.” She’d just finished telling me how much she’d enjoyed that first book and wanted to discuss it with me. But there was nothing to discuss, since I hadn’t read it. Until she made her request.

There’s a big difference, wouldn’t you agree, between you have to and I wish you would.

The upshot of all this is that I bought Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for my brand new Kindle and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Now I can’t wait to discuss it with the one who talked me into it in the first place.

BEEattitude for Day #470:

Blessed are those who persuade with gentle, honeyed words, for their buzz shall be listened to.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #469 Answers, Already

2012-01-24T00:01:00.001-05:00

Questions are wonderful, aren’t they? You know why? It’s because asking a question seems to imply that there is probably an answer, and if the answer isn't known yet, it might be worth looking for.

When I ask the bee-joke questions, I don’t always have an answer in mind. I just enjoy seeing what you come up with. Sometimes I do have an answer available, but the ones you come up with are frequently funnier than mine.

Why is one of the most adventuresome words in the English language. Look at where it leads. To outer space, to the depths of the ocean, to the correcting of social ills, to the discovery of new technology.

And sometimes it drives the mothers of four-year-olds absolutely batty.

But still, it’s worth asking, don’t you think?

And if you’re wondering what you get when you cross a bee with a boomerang, the answer might be:

from Texas: “Crocodile DunBee,”

from Minnesota: “I dunno, but it’s gonna BEE home before you know it,”

from Alabama: “An insect that never has to fly backwards,”

From Colorado: “A BoomBeeRang,”

from New Hampshire: “An AborigiBee,” or

from somewhere unidentified: “A circular Buzz saw.”

Why do I ask these questions?

Why not?

BEEattitude for Day #469:

Blessed are those who buzz for the fun of it, for their singing shall brighten the world.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #468 Bee Wisdom and Eli's Blog

2012-01-23T00:01:00.003-05:00

Bees are up against a lot of dangers. Sometimes it can be the weather, as I wrote about yesterday. Warm weather like we’ve been having makes the bees want to fly outside, but there’s no nectar or pollen for them to collect, so they waste a lot of energy for no results.

Sometimes they’re picked off by a hungry bird. Sometimes their little wings wear out and they can’t make it home to the hive. Sometimes a skunk or a bear raids the hive--skunks to eat the bees--bears to eat the honey.

As far as I know, bees don’t wage senseless war. Why am I thinking about these things?

Well, for some unknown reason, I went back the other day to take a look at my son’s blog. Now, keep in mind that the last time he posted anything was in April of 2006, shortly after three terrorist bombs went off in a marketplace in Dahab, Egypt.

Eli was there, vacationing. He’d been in the marketplace drinking juice, but he wandered away to a restaurant. Then the bombs went off--near the juice bar where he’d been standing minutes before.

The Egyptian government shut down all internet traffic, so it was almost two days before I knew my son was alive. The email I got from him said, “Alive. More later.”

The next email began, “I carried dead bodies yesterday.” He ended up using parts of that email on his blog. I must warn you that there are pictures (beginning on about the third entry down the page) of the extreme devastation caused by those bombs in April of 2006, including one of the mangled body of a man Eli tried to save. There are also pictures of the hundreds of people who took to the streets the next day begging for peace, demanding that the terrorists stop.

If you don’t want to read his commentary, I’ll understand. If you don’t want to look at the photos, I won’t blame you. But if you do, here’s where to find it all:

http://yelloideas.blogspot.com/

Eli stayed in Dahab for several days afterwards, doing his small part to help the local economy that depended on the tourists (the tourists who left the city in droves after the bombings). Then he went to Israel, where he posted his last blog entry for that year (and the next six years, come to think of it).

He wasn’t too excited about traveling for quite a while after that.

Why do we (the collective we of humanity) do such things? Bees are considerably smarter than we are in this aspect.

BEEattitude for Day #43:

Blessed are those who never treat the world or each other in any way they wouldn’t want to be treated themselves.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #467 Until the Sled Dogs Sing

2012-01-22T00:01:00.005-05:00

I try not to complain about the weather. I figure the only things I have a right to complain about are the things I helped to institute--or tried to prevent. That’s why I vote each year, so I’ll earn the right to comment on what is (or isn’t) happening on the political scene.

That’s why I conserve water, recycle, give blood, and donate to libraries. So I’ll have the right to complain if things don’t go well -- or congratulate myself when they do. After all, I own a piece of the action.

But I don’t complain about the weather, since there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. That ridiculous bumper sticker that says Prevent Global Warming, for instance. Just how am I as an individual supposed to prevent global warming? I reduce, reuse, recycle. I buy local products as much as possible. I drive a fuel-efficient car, and I lump all my errands together so I don’t have to make repeated trips down the same road.

Still, I’m up against large industries spewing out fossil fuel residues by the ton. And I’m up against the Arctic Oscillation. Not much I can do about that.

What is the Arctic Oscillation? I’m glad you asked. My friend Dauna Coulter, a writer for NASA Science News who I’ve quoted before in this blog, explained it quite well this past week. Here’s the email that came to me, since I subscribe to NASA Science News

Winter seems to have been on hold this year in some parts of the United States. Snowfall has been scarce in places that were overwhelmed with the white stuff at the same time last year. In today's story from Science@NASA, JPL climatologist Bill Patzert explains what's going on.

Here’s Dauna’s story. Read it and then decide whether or not you have anything to complain about.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/17jan_missingsnow/

And here’s a video about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdUa820fT1g

BEEattitude for Day #467:

Blessed are those who try to understand the “why” of it all, for they shall find new fields of flowers to explore.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #466 Lion Cub

2012-01-21T07:19:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine -- someone I’ve never met in person, but got used to talking to when I called for blood donation appointments -- sent me a link to a video of a guy whose last day of work involved getting kissed by the lion cubs he’d been caring for.

As I watched it, it brought to mind something I hadn’t thought about in years.

Here’s the video:

http://www.m.wimp.com/lioncubs/

And here’s the email I sent her in reply:

Pat, what a sweet way to start my day. Thank you for sharing this. Boy, did it bring back wonderful memories.

When I was in 8th grade, my sister came home from college one weekend with four of her friends, and we all went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which perches on the side of the mountain above Colorado Springs. It was mid-winter, so there weren't a lot of other visitors. Imagine having a whole zoo to oneself!

At any rate, when we got to the aviary, we spread out looking at the various birds. Suddenly, a baby lion came padding into the center of the room, soon followed by one of the keepers, a rather good-looking young man, or so my sister told me later. I wouldn't have known. All I was interested in was the lion cub.

The keeper told us that the various workers took turns socializing the cub, taking him with them as they worked around the zoo. He'd forgotten, apparently, to latch the door, and the cub took advantage of his lapse.

We ended up sitting in a big circle on the floor of the aviary, the girls listening to stories of zoo work from the fellow, while the cub pranced his way around the circle, making friends with everyone. When he got to me, he stayed, probably because I was the only one truly paying attention to him. I received the kinds of hugs and kisses this video shows. My cub was smaller, younger than the ones here, and the only "video" I have of that event is the one running in my head.

Thank you, Pat, for you inadvertently gave me a delightful gift -- the gift of a marvelous memory!

--Fran

Those little round ears and the scratchy, scratchy tongue still live, and I’m sorry the memory has been buried for so long, but what fun to bring it to light!

BEEattitude for Day #466:

Blessed are those who share delightful experiences, the way we bees tell each other of good nectar sources, for they shall have wonderful memories forever.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #465 Silver Sneakers Report

2012-01-20T00:01:00.003-05:00

I’ve been taking the Silver Sneakers classes now for three full weeks, and I thought you'd like a progress report.

The first day I barely made it through the class, as I’ve already mentioned.

By the end of the first week, I had a pretty good routine down. I’d take the class, then get on the treadmill and walk one mile, keeping my heart rate at about 135 for a good cardio workout. It took me a little over 26 minutes to walk the mile.

Last Friday (after two weeks of classes), I could do the mile in 22 minutes, AND I’d increased the incline from 1 (wimpy) to 4. Love those readouts!

This week I’m still using only 1-pound weights during the classes, and I’m still doing the “beginner” phase of all the exercises. I still have to hold onto a chair back for most of the balance routines, but I’m not quite as exhausted by the end of class.

The treadmill’s getting a bit easier, too. I’m not pushing it too much, just trying to keep my heartbeat at a steady 130 beats per minute. The 135 was just a bit much, so I was smart enough to back off a bit.

A couple of days ago, I did the mile in a few seconds over 20 minutes.

So, this is turning out to be a good decision.

BEEattitude for Day #465:

Blessed are those who find the best nectar and pollen, for they shall reap the benefits.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #464 Bee Joke Time Again

2012-01-19T00:01:00.003-05:00

Inspired by the recent Australian jaunt --

What do you get

when you cross a bee

with a boomerang?

Let’s see who wins this one...

BEEattitude for Day #464:

Blessed are those who like to chuckle, for their insides shall be massaged with laughter.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #463 Daisy at the Horse Farm

2012-01-18T00:01:00.001-05:00

Two days ago I told you that something wonderful had happened. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you may have noticed that ever since I decided to take up beekeeping, I’ve become braver and braver. After all, beekeepers are incredibly brave people. They face thousands of potential stings (and many actual stings) every time they open a hive.

So actually getting the bees was a first step toward courage.

Lately I’ve started voice lessons AND an exercise program -- both of which took me beyond my comfort zone.

And two days ago, I tackled my fear of horses. I’ve always been afraid of them, afraid of being stepped on or pinned against a wall, or slammed into by a head as heavy as a sledgehammer.

But I know a psychotherapist who works with the horses at "Flying Change"--the horses serve as a sort of co-therapist to help people work through their various issues. I could think of a few issues it might be time for me to tackle, but the thought of doing it in the company of a potentially lethal half-ton four-legged creature was, shall we say, a bit daunting.

Enter Daisy, a 21-year old mare who lost an eye last year. Sunday afternoon I drove to the other side of Atlanta (about 50 miles from my house), spent half an hour or so talking with Jerry Connor, the therapist, about what I wanted to accomplish, and then we walked down to see Daisy.

I’d met her once before when I accompanied a friend I’ll call Donna, who was having a session with Jerry and Google. While Donna was patting Google, I happened to be standing next to a stall where an incredibly gentle horse (Daisy) put her head over the wall and practically begged me to pat her neck. As long as she was on THAT side of the wall and I was on THIS side, it was okay.

So, later, when I called Jerry to make an appointment, I asked if I could work with Daisy.

Sunday, it took me a while to get up the nerve to step into her stall with her, and I stayed near the open door at first. Daisy had been playing in the field and was muddy, muddy, muddy. The mud had dried into her hair. They handed me a stiff flat rubber brush, and I went to work.

Daisy must have enjoyed the scrubbing because at one point she lowered her head and butted into me, scratching the front of her face up and down my wooly vest. It startled me and sort of scared me, until I heard the laughter from the other side of the stall. “That means she likes you and trusts you!”

At one point, Daisy sidled closer to me, and my fear level skyrocketed, as I was between her and the wall of the stall at this point. “You can push her away,” I was told, but I didn’t believe it. “Just put your hands firmly against her and apply pressure. Don’t let up, just keep gently pushing against her. When she realizes you mean it, she’ll move.”

And, guess what? I did, and she did. I moved a 1,200 pound horse just by setting a boundary. This is my space, and you can’t move into it.

Golly day, I wish I’d learned that lesson when I was five. Then maybe I would have remembered it when I was 20, 30, 40, 50.

I came away from the Daisy session feeling so successful, I’m going back for another round next month.

BEEattitude for Day #463:

Blessed are those who help others to learn, for they shall make the world a better place.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #462 Comet Lovejoy

2012-01-17T07:11:00.000-05:00

Dec 25, 2011 by Wayne England

From Australia to the stars. You see, we’re not really leaving Australia yet, because this story from NASA Science News contains a photo of Comet Lovejoy that was taken from -- would you believe it -- Poocher Swamp in South Australia.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/12jan_cometlovejoy/

As fascinated as I am with the story of the comet, I was equally intrigued by the name of the swamp, so I went online to find out about it and found this fascinating tidbit on Wikipedia:

Once owned by Dalton Staude, Poocher Swamp was sold to the Australian Parks and Wildlife Service for a recreation area and is now a favourite spot for pickincking, boating, fishing, yabbying and canoeing.

I get the part about pickincking (typos happen), but what, I ask you is yabbying?

If you find out …

Oh dear, that phrase reminds me of a gentleman I met in the London tube station long ago. I was trying to get from where I was to another subway station on different line, and the map of the subway showed that there was an underground walkway between the two. I couldn’t find this end of it, though. I walked up to this man, who, in a gray three-piece suit, with a bowler hat in one hand and an umbrella over his arm, looked the epitome of London gentlemanliness.

I explained what my problem was. “Could you tell me how I get from here to,” I pointed to the map, “to there?” He looked at my map, sighed, and said, “Madam, I have lived in London for all of my 63 years, and I have never known how to get from here to there. If you find the answer, do let me know.” At which point he stepped into a subway car and was swept away.

I finally found the way, but he was gone.

BEEattitude for Day #462:

Blessed are those who ask, for they shall--eventually--get answers.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #461 Carnarvon Gorge

2012-01-16T00:01:00.003-05:00

Here’s the last of the Australia photos that I plan to show you. Come to think of it -- it might not be the last one. It’s simply the last one I’ve saved so far, but who knows what’s around the corner?

This is Carnarvon Gorge. It’s part of a national park in central Queensland, Australia. I learned (from Wikipedia, of course) that the canyon is 30 kilometers long, and at the mouth of the gorge, it’s 600 meters deep. That’s pretty impressive.

As I read on, though, I found that there are concerns about the way tourists hand-feed the animals, causing a population explosion among them and then near-starvation when the humans leave at the end of the tourist season, and the over-populated animals are left to try to find enough food.

Doggone it, why can’t people play nicely?

In the meantime, I want to share with you that something wonderful happened yesterday, and I’ll be writing about it in a couple of days. I need to process it for a while before I’ll feel comfortable telling you about it. But I’ll give you a hint. It has to do with someone who weighs 1,200 pounds.

BEEattitude for Day #461:

Blessed are those who leave us alone to live the way we were intended to live, so we can make all the honey we want to.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #460 Clowning Around

2012-01-15T00:01:00.002-05:00

I know I’ve been talking/writing about the Australian adventure, but I’d like to digress for today to share with you a photo that one of our loyal blog followers, AggiePete from Houston, shared with me.

Her mother worked for the USO during WWII, and was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. She met Emmett Kelly, the man who epitomizes the wonderful world of clowning. Mr. Kelly took clowning to a new level of professionalism.

And here he is:

Whoops! No, that's not Emmett Kelly!

Here's the real Emmett Kelly:

Let a little laughter into your life today. The bees and I will be happy you did!

BEEattitude for Day #460:

Blessed are those who save old photos, for they shall keep us all humble and happy.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #459 Eli's Clouds Turned to Beauty

2012-01-14T00:01:00.006-05:00

So, yesterday I talked about the necessity of clouds for beautiful sunsets.

Shortly after Eli arrived in Australia, while he was SCUBA diving, someone smashed the back window of his rental car and stole a great deal of specialized camera equipment.

The police officer who came to the scene found a torn woven bracelet, the kind worn by many of the native people of Australia. Eli was introduced rather vividly to the distrust and downright anger of the Aborigines.

He could have railed against his misfortune. He could have turned to hatred. Instead he wrote this haiku:

lives like shattered glass

harsh social truths create strife

why else would he rob?

--by Ei Reiman

and he turned anger into understanding, clouds into a sunset. A good lesson for all of us.

BEEattitude for Day #459:

Blessed are those who focus on the sunset, for their lives shall reflect beauty.

Day #458 Clouds

2012-01-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

While I’m sharing vicarious Australian journeyings, I simply have to show you this sunset Eli captured in Northern Australia.

Did you ever notice that in order to have a lovely sunset,

you have to have some clouds?

Without clouds, the sun just disappears below the horizon, and that’s it.

Next time I’m up against clouds in my life, I plan to look for the sunset in them. They have to be there. Mama Nature (and Eli Reiman) tell me so.

In tomorrow’s blog I’ll explain what Eli does with clouds in his life.

BEEattitude for Day #458:

Blessed are those who love the wind, for they shall have music around them.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #457 A Spectacular New Year's Eve

2012-01-12T00:01:00.003-05:00

Have you ever wanted to spend a spectacular New Year’s Eve? Well, Eli Reiman did this year -- he spent it at Uluru in Australia. Here’s a picture he took at sunset. Such a magical place -- what a start to a new year!

Uluru at Sunset
(c) 2011 Eli Reiman

I hope you started your New Year as beautifully as Eli did.

Now have a good day today. You might want to join this little guy and have something yummy to munch!

BEEattitude for Day #457:

Blessed are those who respect the sacred places on this earth, for Mama Nature shall respond in kind.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #456 Australian Adventure

2012-01-11T00:01:00.002-05:00

For the next few days, I’d like to share a vicarious adventure. My son is in Australia, and his Facebook page is chock full of amazing photographs. He has that “photographer’s eye” that seems inborn, the results are so natural.

In my entire life I’ve taken only two really good photographs -- one in London, and one in Vermont. But Eli doesn’t have to work at it. The stunning pictures flow out of his camera like an aria out of the mouth of Beverly Sills.

In addition to the photos, he occasionally sums one up with a haiku. So, here’s one of his photos of a termite mound. Enjoy it!

Haiku on Australian outback mysteries (by Eli Reiman)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

miles of fire ravaged

sage brush, hawks, and termite towers:

yet green life bursts forth!

I’ll have another photo for you tomorrow.

BEEattitude for Day #456:

Blessed are those who share beauty, for they shall radiate wonder.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #455 Rolltops

2012-01-10T00:01:00.001-05:00

When I was a kid, the only roll-top I knew of was an old desk.

So I was intrigued recently when someone sent me a link to a site that shows a rolled-up computer. Who knows where technology is going to lead us over the next few years? When I went to the site, www.myrolltop.com, one of the first thoughts I had was that if the computer had been yellow instead of silvery (or blue or green or red -- so far I’ve seen videos with all those different colors), it would have looked like a honey bee with those stripes along the body of it.

I know -- that’s stretching it a bit. You have to use your imagination. Okay, a LOT of imagination!

Part of me thinks the site is a hoax. If so, it’s a pretty impressive one. The other part of me thinks, Why not?

What do you think? If this is real, will it catch on? Is it like the bumblebee that isn't supposed to be able to fly, because scientists can prove that the bumblebee body is too heavy for its wings to support? The people who are developing this roll top computer may be the bumblebees of this generation.

Here’s another site about it to check out if you’re interested:

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/roll-up-notebook-looks-more-like-mini-yoga-mat-than-computer-video.html

BEEattitude for Day #455:

Blessed are those who try new flower patches, for they shall be pleasantly surprised.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #454 Honey Bee Sanctuary

2012-01-09T00:01:00.003-05:00

I just saw a website for a honey bee sanctuary in Florida. It’s called Spikenard Farm, and the background picture on their home page makes me drool. All that lush green and the gorgeous bee-friendly flowers !

I’m going to quote them directly from the Sanctuary tab on their site (I’m the one who bolded several of the phrases):

Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary was founded in the certainty that there can be a better future for the honeybees. Today the sanctuary has become more and more an oasis of beauty, peace and joy.

The Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary is a place where the honeybees can live and thrive, safe from exploitation and mindless exploration into "whatever is possible, try it". The question "How much honey do you get from your bees?" urgently needs to be revised into "What do the honeybees need to become and stay strong enough to withstand the onslaught of our modern time with all the visible and invisible damaging agents?"

Their present loss in vitality and reduced capability of survival is not only caused by conventional agricultural practices with their monocultures and poisons, but also by our attempt of making beekeeping as profitable as possible which has driven and shaped our practices for over 100 years.

Here’s the site if you want to explore further:

http://www.spikenardfarm.org/honeybeesanctuary.html

And here are some of the most amazing pictures from their gallery:

http://www.spikenardfarm.org/gallery.html

I made a donation using PayPal on this page:

http://www.spikenardfarm.org/beeinvolved.html

I hope you’ll consider doing the same.

BEEattitude for Day #454:

Blessed are those who let bees be, for they shall hear our song and be comforted.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

my books: http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart