Day #502 Driving Home Safely Today

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 #485 It's That Time of Year

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

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 #329 Water - Saving

Bees are very aware of water.

·         They need to drink a lot of it

·         They have to evaporate a great deal of it from the nectar to form honey

·         They have to avoid flying in it

I’m aware of water, too. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about my new bathroom faucet. The good folks at Keep Smiling Plumbing put it in several weeks ago to replace a leaky, yucky iron-deposit-laden mess.

My new faucet even has a name. “Eva.” I didn’t name it. I think I mentioned a while back that the people who manufacture these Moen faucets name all their plumbing fixtures.

  

Well, why not? I named my car EllieBug, and the faucet is about the same color as the car (although without the yellow polka dots).

It was hard to turn the old faucet on, and even harder to turn it off. In the middle of this drought that Georgia is experiencing, a leaky faucet is downright irresponsible. Of course, most Americans use WAY too much water. Think about it next time you’re getting ready to turn in for the night.

·         Why do we leave the water running (down the drain and into the sewer or septic tank) while we’re brushing our teeth?

·         Sometimes it’s because the doggone faucet is too hard to turn off. But now, I don’t ever have to worry about that again.

And all because of Eva . . . They oughta write a song . . .

BEEattitude for Day # 329:

       Blessed are those who use water wisely and who make sure we bees have some to drink, for they shall eventually get lots of honey.

_______________________________

Get Your Dog in My Next Book!

From now through the end of September, anyone who donates $10 to WAG, also known as the Walton Animal Guild, will be automatically entered in a raffle.

If you win, your dog will be in my next Biscuit McKee mystery!

http://www.wagwalton.com

The donate button is right on their home page

Every $10 donation is automatically entered in the drawing

See Blog #324 for the details.

Forward the link to your friends who have dogs!

Day #271 EllieBug and the Birds

I finally got a clear picture (well, relatively clear, considering it’s my little Nokia phone) of the goldfinches. You'll have to believe me -- they are BRIGHT yellow.

I got home yesterday after 3 p.m., so I couldn’t put the car in the garage—remember, I told you about the Jackson Electric time of Use Program, where any electricity I use between 3 and 8 p.m. during the summer is outrageously expensive. So, I didn’t want to use the garage door opener.

Ellie Bug with her yellow spots in the background here (seen through a screen of foliage) sort of mirrors the bright yellow of the goldfinches.


BEEattitude for Day # 271:
       Blessed are those who  match their cars to their birds (and to us, the golden honeybees), for they shall always be color-coordinated.

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:
my books:  http://www.franstewart.com
my eBooks on Amazon for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart
my eBooks on Smashwords (for all other formats):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Fran+Stewart

Day #187 Today's the Day!

It’s gonna happen, finally, after all this waiting and hoping and studying and dreaming and planning and building and staining and setting up.

Once my 42,000 new friends are installed in their new home, I’ll let you know how it went. Please send encouraging thoughts to all the bees who’ve spent the night cooped up in a box, waiting for me to arrive, to transport them, and eventually to release them.

BEEattitude for Day # 187:

       Blessed are you, and blessed is this day, and all is well in this hive.

One thing Fran is grateful for right now:

       EllieBug (my car), who has never before carried 42,001 passengers. She’s pretty strong, isn’t she?   

http://www.franstewart.com