The Bee, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

]]> http://bikinginla.wordpress.com/?p=98 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:54:36 +0000 bikinginla http://bikinginla.wordpress.com/?p=98

I’ve mentioned a few times on here that I’m focused on getting back into shape after a bad riding accident last year. So maybe it’s time I told you what happened.

It was one of those perfect L.A. days. The kind people back east think we have everyday, and we hardly ever get in real life. I was just relaxing with an easy spin along the coast, when something zipped past my face. Then another…and another.

And I realized it was the leading edge of the biggest swarm of bees I’d ever seen — at least 30 feet wide, with thousands, or even tens of thousands, of bees buzzing around in every possible direction. And I was already inside it.

I had no way of knowing if they were angry or docile, and to be honest, I have no idea if I’m allergic to bees or not. But I figured this wasn’t the time to find out. So I just put my head down and pedaled as if my life depended on it. Because for all I knew, it did.

Then just as fast, I came out on the other side, thinking that I’d made out okay, when I looked down and saw that I was literally crawling with bees everywhere I could see. And I could only imagine what there was where I couldn’t see.

And then, nothing.

The next thing I knew, a lifeguard was placing an oxygen mask over my face and asking if I knew where I was.

Fortunately, I’d picked a good place to land, just a few feet from the new county lifeguard headquarters next to Will Rogers State Beach, right where they used to film Baywatch. They’d found me unconscious, off my bike and laying flat on my face, and said I’d been out at least a couple minutes.

Of course, all I wanted to do was thank them for their time, get back on my bike and finish my ride. But by then, the paramedics were there, and I was on my way to the ER at St. Johns.

I still thought I was fine. The docs in the ER thought otherwise, though. That led to a couple nights in intensive care, as a result of A) a moderate concussion, B) a bulging disc in my neck, C) a massive hematoma on my right hip, literally the size of a football, and D) major blood loss due to the hematoma. In fact, my blood pressure crashed three times that first night, dropping as low as 56 over 38 before stabilizing at around 90 over 60 — still too low, but just enough to avoid a transfusion.

So if I had gotten back on my bike to ride home, chances are, I might not have survived the night. Even if, by some miracle, I actually managed to get there. And if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet, I wouldn’t be writing this now.

They sent me home with firm instructions not to leave the house for next two weeks, and no exercise — at all — for the remainder of the year. 

I remember reading in Bicycling that it takes about two weeks of rehab for every week you're off the bike due to an injury. By that standard, I should be back where I was by the end of this month. And yes, I'm close, but I'm not there yet. I still find myself struggling at times — though I often look down and see that at least I'm struggling in a higher gear now.

And I still have no idea what really happened, though. My injuries suggest that I must have fallen hard to one side, flipped or rolled over to hit the other side, and somehow ended up doing a face plant on the asphalt. But hey, your guess is as good as mine.

For all I know, Godzilla could have risen up out of the blue Pacific and slammed me down, before slinking off to ravage Tokyo once again. Though you’d think something like that would have made the local news, at least.

I keep trying to figure it out whenever I ride past that spot, but they tell me those memories are probably gone for good. Which, all things considered, could be a good thing.

Oh, and the bees? Not one sting.

Go figure, huh?

A big thank you to the L.A. County Lifeguards, the EMTs from L.A.F.D. Station 69 in Pacific Palisades, and the ER staff at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica — you guys are the best. Streetsblog reviews Dodger Stadium’s new combination bike rack and smoking lounge. The Times’ Joel Stein misses the good old days of bikers on dope. And finally, Councilmember Tom LaBonge is big on bikes, as long as their riders aren’t into holiday lights.

The owner directed me towards the gardens that were buzzing with bee activity. It wasn't at all disappointing. There were lots of tasty crops like sweet corn, watermelons, a variety of squashes and many many more. So I walked the gardens and snapped a few pictures of bees doing what they do best. Pollinate!

This is one of the native bumblebees found in the Sonoran Desert (Bombus sonorus) pollinating a bean plant. Her weight pulls the flower open and the anther's (which contain pollen) will rub on her fuzzy body. When she visits another flower, the pollen will rub off onto the flowers stigma. That is how she pollinates this plant.

There were also lots of different squashes with many bright yellow flowers open and waiting for bees to visit them. Here is a squash bee inside one of these flowers...

I wasn't sure what kind of plant this is (below), but I saw a bumblebee (the same kind as the previous one) inside one of the flowers and just started snapping pictures. I hear them buzz and that sound draws me to them.

There were also other native bees doing their thing. Like this one below. It is an Agapostemon species.

One of the last pictures I took was of this carpenter bee pollinating a bean plant flower. That flower looks like it is holding on for it's dear life...

Your a GIANT! Hold on.

So in summary...I had a great morning, this organic farm is great, and bees are always cool.

]]> http://ranmon.wordpress.com/?p=1010 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:19:50 +0000 ranmon http://ranmon.wordpress.com/?p=1010 I am teaching our kids about the birds and bees using the song here:

I think I've mentioned in most of my blog entries about new products that I will be carrying. I finally have some of them listed! Yay!

My first line are Eternity Nursing Necklaces. They are a wonderful addition to the nursing necklaces that I currently hand make that are designed to be all about developing baby's senses. These are designed to be strong enough to use as a nursing necklace but to make mommy feel beautiful, and isn't that what most mommies need? Eternity necklaces can be worn with or without a baby on your hip and last long after the nursing relationship is done. But the best part is, they're not just for mommy, they're a perfect gift for any caretaker that spends their days surrounded by kiddies, grandma, auntie, your neighbor or that teen that seems to have EVERYTHING would love the Glow-in-the-dark Eternity Necklace!

My next new product are my Emergency Bracelets designed for all of the little people in your life. This is a great bracelet for mom & dad's peace of mind. When out and about, have your little guy wear this bracelet, which features YOUR cell phone number! Let's hope it never gets used but if your little guy somehow gets lost in the crowd at Disney or even at the mall, instead of relying on a store intercom, you can be called directly to know exactly where he is! I'M LOST! CALL MY MOMMY!

Similar concept to the Emergency Bracelets are my Allergy Bracelets.  Take off the phone number and add "NO NUTS" or "NO FLOUR" or whatever ails your monkey to the bracelet so when your little one is at school or a friend's birthday party, they wear a cool little gem that tells the world what could potentially harm them!

Having an allergy has never been so cool!

I have some currently listed in my Etsy store:  SnapdragonDesign.etsy.com but will be constantly listing new ones as I get them made so stay tuned or just send me an email (snapdragondesignhouse@yahoo.ca) if you had something in mind, I'd love to design it for you!

It is so exciting for me to see my tomato plants loaded with tomatoes and the zucchini and acorn loaded with squash. We have been eating the lettuce now for a week and I just pulled a few beets this week. Some veggies are not growing so well. The spinach never really produced edible leaves and it has already bolted. They should have been planted much earlier. While some plants are loaded with tiny veggies others are blooming but not producing fruit, such as my cantaloupes. The plants are producing tons of flowers, but I don't really see any fruit. I hand pollinated some of the blossoms the other day, but will see if anything happens.

I have also noticed a huge reduction in the bee population. Through my Internet research, I realized that creating my garden (clearing all the weeds) caused an interruption of the number of flowering plants available to bees, butterflies, etc. If you want to attract bees and butterflies, you need to have plants flowering consistently, otherwise they will leave to more abundant flowering locations. This is all speculation on my part when I realized that not all of my blossoms produce fruit or in the case of my cantaloupes, don't produce at all.

There is a real concern worldwide on the declining bee population. I watched a very interesting and disturbing documentary on this subject. Many scientists are investigating this issue and have decided the decline is a result of a virus. I talked with a local bee keeper recently and he said that the smaller bee farmers in this area have not been affected, but the large commercial bee farmers have a real problem and recently one of the larger bee farms in Pennsylvannia had gone out of business.

Apparently there are places in China where the bee population no longer exists (pesticide use mainly). Pear farmers must hand pollinate each and every bloom and once the fruit gets to a certain size, they wrap each pear in paper to protect them from insects, birds, etc.  I probably wouldn't even think about this much if it wasn't for my own garden. Growing a garden doesn't happen on auto-pilot.

Besides constantly weeding, I am now picking Japanese beetles off the plants. I have chosen not to use pesticides at all. Pesticides kill not only insects who damage the leaves and fruits, but also the beneficial insects as well. I use an empty detergent bottle with soapy water and drop the insects into the bottle. Laborious for sure, but there really isn't a better way for such a small garden. Apparently beetle traps can cause an increase in beetles to your gardens. The beetles produce a pheromone that lets other beetles know where they are (obviously for finding a mate). When you trap lots of beetles, you are also inadvertantly attracting more beetles and thus have more beetles than normal who will also find your garden, etc. So the traps must be set up far from your garden.

So many issues to consider when growing a garden!

The third picture is of one of the frames.  It is not yet full of honey. The bees are on the comb  and still working to fill it with honey.  You can see the bees on the frame  and also on the sides of the frame.

The second picture is the beekeeper displaying  a frame with a honey comb within that frame.  Notice he didn't get right up close to the observer.  However the honey bees are very gentle and they only want to do their work.  They do protect their hive so it's important to be careful.  For instance, I was told to not stand in the 'flight path' of the bees returning  and leaving  the hive.  So I stayed clear of that path. I could see them coming and going.

The first picture is of a group of 'busy bees'

You can see more beehive,beekeeper pictures here.

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Bursting from the seams!

What do you think--is the lavender taking over? And maybe the sage, too? Pretty soon the mint will also be competing for space! We had no idea!!

The bees love our garden.

Matt is training the grape vine to wrap its cute little tentacles around horizontal pieces of twine:

And in the back we have a tropical jungle:

My favorite part--the mint I use for my minty ice water!

Why Are Bees Disappearing?

By Julie Redstone

In 2007, reports began to surface within the United States and in Europe regarding the collapse of commercial bee colonies everywhere. This mysterious collapse and disappearance of bees has reduced hives in the Eastern portion of the U.S. by as much as 70% by some estimates, and in the West by 50-60%. In Europe, the percentages are somewhat less. What has come to be known as Bee “Colony Collapse Disorder” has been attributed to various possible causes, though the true and ultimate cause remains unknown. Some of these possible causes listed by askquestions include:

- Cell phone transmissions, as reported in the UK

- Pesticides, as reported in the Palm Beach Post

- Viral infections or Fungus, as reported in the Great Falls Tribune

- Genetically Modified Plants, as reported to a recent Congressional hearing

- Magnetic Pole Reversal, as described at Wikipedia and on the science program Nova

The disappearance of the bees is affecting not only the present cost of honey, but the future of all agricultural products that depend on bees for pollinating their plants. Thus, much of commercial agriculture in the U.S. and in Europe is concerned by this unexplained bee disappearance.

Sudden changes in the balance of nature have been anticipated by the public to some degree as global warming has intruded its effects into the habitats of both artic and coastal animal and human populations. We have seen these effects related to polar bears, to coral reefs, to sea life in general, and to plant life in both forested and mountainous regions. But despite our increasing knowledge, we are not globally prepared for alterations to our diet in which basic food elements suddenly disappear.

One of the mysteries of “Colony Collapse Disorder” is that the bodies of dead bees are never found. When a hive collapses, the bees disappear forever, thought to die singly in far off places, their well-known ‘homing-instinct’ which keeps them associated with hives, disrupted. How can we look at this, then, and see in it a possible message for our time?

While the cause for CCD is unknown, it is likely that it is based on an interactive effect of several variables, human interaction playing a part in this as well. For a public that continues to feel separate in many ways from the physical life of the earth, it may be that the message of the bees is to let us know that we are not separate, and that our attribution of causes to agents entirely outside of ourselves may not be a correct perception.

Part of the interactive effect, the one described here, has to do with our own consuming patterns, and our still indiscriminate pollution of the natural environment with radiation from the various gadgets, devices, and machinery that we have grown accustomed to using. Another part has to do with the continuing use of substances toxic to the environment - substances that affect not only bees who lose their homing-instinct, but also whales, sea turtles, and other sea creatures who, in recent years, due to changed ocean conditions, have followed paths well outside of their natural habitats.

In the present case, both radiation of electromagnetic fields, whether by cell phones, power lines, or the use of electronic devices in general, and atmospheric pollution by toxic substances, have a profound effect on all animal populations requiring a high degree of sensitivity to internal navigational signals in order to perform basic life functions. Animals with strong homing-instincts and those that cluster at various birthing places or dying places are responding to internal messages that tell them where and when to go. It is these signals that may be interrupted by electromagnetic radiation or atmospheric pollutants which, when interacting with the body, disturb the clarity or strength of the internal signal.

We have yet to understand the true cause of “Colony Collapse Disorder,” but even prior to this, can receive the message of the disappearing bees as yet another wake-up call to humanity, to recognize its effect on the environment and to take seriously the possibility that those aspects of life that we take for granted, may no longer be available to us.

The message of the bees is to let us know that we can no longer regard ourselves as separate from the natural world, but are instrumental in fostering or detracting from the future life of that world. The present demise of bee colonies, everywhere, may be telling us that there is nothing independent of anything else on the planet, and that just as we care for our relationship with our own children, we must care for our relationship with the earth’s children as well.

Julie Redstone is a teacher, writer, and founder of Light Omega, a center for spiritual teaching and healing in Western Massachusetts. The purpose of Light Omega is to create an understanding of the sacred transition into light that the earth is presently going through and the changes this will bring to individual and planetary consciousness.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Redstone
http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Are-Bees-Disappearing?&id=1157197

Taking out the frames and cleaning off excess comb.

Looking for the queen so we can mark her.

Found the queen!  Now to trap her.

Trying to put the queen in the little holding tube to mark her.

Oh crap, we lost her!

YOU try finding the queen!

Opening a new hive - all those bees were on the underside of the lid.

Smoking them to calm them down.

Bzzzzzz

Cut comb being used on new frames for the new boxes. 
Keeping this old comb in the new boxes helps the bees identify their new hive
by smell.  You can see the pollen (yellow) and eggs (white) around the edges.

Attaching the old comb to the new frame.

Workers swarm around the trapped queen about to be released into the new box.

We found the queen "cage" at the bottom of the old box - this is used
by beekeepers to transport queens.

Classic beekeeper shot for the record.

Help the Honeybees!!!

If you don't know, the bees are dying and it is the only cause I care about.  So save the freakin bees.  Spread the word, cause we did already, all through brooklyn.

A light rain fell, bees buzzed between our newly blooming sunflowers, and one of New Jersey's most influential women shared stories about her grandfather's farm in Georgia and her late husband's legendary garden here in Newark. Always committed to the issues of hunger, Ms. Crump spoke with us about how churches and governments, local and national, have helped and at times hurt the cause of food security over the years. She enthusiastically welcomed us to the community, describing our work as, "fabulous!" Stay tuned for Ms. Crump's favorite eggplant recipe.

Heres some photos:

Click images to make them bigger

All windows are closed, im going to bake in this house.

When the trays are completely covered then the honey can be harvested. The beekeeper  takes the surplus and leaves enough  trays for the bees' needs.  The beekeeping inspects the trays for certain insects that invade the hive. He has to monitor it often inorder to keep it going. The bees are immaculate and it's a very interesting study of a very organized society.

The Beekeeper told me that he has read many books about beekeeping and the best one he thinks is

'Beekeeping for Dummies' .

Also, notice in the second picture that the bee has stored the pollen in his leg pouch. It stores it and when he's loaded with it he returns to the hive and deposits it.  Then he takes off again to do his job. They fly many miles each day.

In the first picture you're looking at the 'queen excluder'.  That keeps the queen away from the rest of the hive.

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You might not realize that not only are honeybees managed by humans, but so are bumble bees:

"Worldwide, five species of bumble bees are reared commercially for the pollination of at least 20 different crops. The sale of commercial Bombus has an estimated value of €55 million annually; crops pollinated by bumble bees have a value of at least €12 billion per year.

Peppers and tomatoes are the crops commonly grown in greenhouses that use captive bumble bees as pollinators.

The concern addressed in this paper is that commercially reared bumblebees in greenhouses could spread a potential pathogen to native bees.  They  created a model to describe how a pathogen might spread, and watched actual bumble bees foraging in and out of greenhouses to set the parameters on their model.

Half of bumble bees they captured outside a commercial greenhouse were the commercial bees! Clearly a potential for mixing with native populations exists.  This is the scary part:

"we investigated the prevalence of the pathogen C. bombi among bumble bees at varying distances to three industrial-scale greenhouse operations. At our two field sites where greenhouses were actively using commercial bumble bees, C. bombi infected, on average, 15% ...and 23% .... of foraging workers. Near an industrial greenhouse that had stopped using commercial bumble bees, and away from greenhouses of any kind, wild Bombus were entirely free of C. bombi (site effect, G = 26.9, d.f. = 3, P<0.001).

....Bees foraging immediately adjacent to greenhouses also harboured significantly more intense infections, i.e., they carried more pathogen cells in their gut tracts, than bees collected further away (Z = −2.0, P = 0.04, n = 67)."

I could go on quoting their stats, but I think you get the picture.  Not only is the infection of wild bees possible, it's already happening.  From their conclusion:

"Here, we use a combination of mathematical modeling and field data to show that spillover from commercially reared bumble bees has introduced the contagious pathogen Crithidia bombi into wild bumble bee populations. During two years, and across nine sites in southern Ontario including our previous work: [35], we have found C. bombi infecting up to 75% of wild bumble bees, depending on the time of year and the host species, near industrial greenhouses that use commercial Bombus for pollination."

Sigh. A nice piece of work, but quite depressing.

Full Reference

Otterstatter, M.C., Thomson, J.D., Adler, F.R. (2008). Does Pathogen Spillover from Commercially Reared Bumble Bees Threaten Wild Pollinators?. PLoS ONE, 3(7), e2771. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002771

I love Readercon, but it's still too many people, too many ideas, too much information in too little space. No wonder it doesn't take long for me to go into buffer overflow. What? A writer who needs a little alone time? Never heard of such a thing. This year it was even hotter than usual and thunderstorms every afternoon or evening. None of that matters. I always go for a walk.

Out back there's some flowering shrubs with honeybees buried in the flowers. You can sit in the gazebo. But if you go a little further, there's uncultivated spaces with a smattering of wildflowers.

Milkweed.

Marguerite or ox-eye daisy.

Butter-and-eggs or yellow toadflax.

There's even a bit of a pond, complete with ducks and red-winged blackbirds. It's not much, but I'll take my nature where I can find it.

Honey & Pollen contain only slight traces of residues from industrial emissions, car exhaust and agricultural chemicals, general pesticides and water contaminants, because bees act as a biological filter: They die if they come into contact with toxins and thus do not bring pollutants into the hives. They are selective about their pollen!

Bee are smarter than many of us about food and pollution control. -Mother Nature

Nature's Crusaders First Annual Bees n Tees Student Designer Contest

Bees are at the heart of our environmental crisis.
Strengthening the bees’ health
For a healthier and greener environment.

Join us in helping solve the bee crisis.

Honeybee collect pollen hopefully from organic flowers. This pollen is a rich source of energy, vitamins and minerals, proteins, enzymes and coenzymes, fatty acids, and carbohydrates. It is a gift from the bees to help us keep our bodies in balance.
No one has been able to make pollen like the bees do. If eaten in the whole grain form natural straight from the bee form. Caution if you have allergies eat only after getting your doctor's permission.

Bee Pollen is a complete food.  It has 96 active nutrients, including 22 amino acids, 27 mineral salts, 16 vitamins even B-12, trace elements, fatty acids, hormones and enzymes.

One pound of pollen is comparable to 15 pounds of fruits and veggies. This very complex substance contains factors science has not yet been able to identify, and cannot synthesize.

It started maybe 2 weeks ago when I caught Chena playing with a yellowjacket in the kitchen.  I killed it and thought nothing else about it figuring it must have just flown in the door when someone was on their way in or out.  The second one I found in the living room and still didn't cry "NEST!"  The third one is when I started to get suspicious.  My parents were visiting last week and as we were getting ready to leave the house, I heard a lot of commotion upstairs.  I called up and asked if they were ready to go and my mom yelled down, "Hang on!  We're killing a bee!"  The fourth I found when I got home late last Saturday night.  I came into the house and was walking upstairs when I noticed something rather large on the wall.  Yellowjacket...again.  Hm.

I talked to my uncle about it last night who said that yes, it did sound like I might have a nest somewhere.  In the attic, perhaps?  Or maybe by the dryer duct?  I had decided to wait until this weekend and have a look around to see if I could spot any massive bee comings and goings around the outside of my house, but then I found the fifth bee who was also the last straw.

This morning I got up, let Chena out, showered, dressed, and headed into the kitchen as per usual to make some coffee and breakfast when I nearly stepped on a yellowjacket on the floor of the kitchen...in bare feet, I might add.  Can anyone think of a nicer way to start the day?

That did it for me.

I called Terminix when I got to the office and they came out this afternoon to do a sweep of the house and, low-and-behold, found two yellowjacket nests.  One is strategically placed just to the right of my front door, and the other is conveniently in the attic.  And for the bottom basement price of just $440, they will rid my home of the nests, the bees, and any other creepy-crawleys (read: spiders, ants, fleas, silverfish) for a whole year.  Hm.

It's not that $440 is necessarily a bad price - in fact I think getting rid of the bees alone, not to mention the ants, is a huge help and certainly worth it, I just don't understand why this had to happen NOW.  I mean, I've been in this house almost 3 years and it's not until the year I start my new financial plan that I get nasty yellowjacket squatters.  What's up with that?

Thankfully, I have my emergency fund and, well, I know that's what it's there for, but I do feel like every time I get finished replenishing it, something else happens forcing me to dip into it again.  I guess it's true what Dave says about the emergency fund being "Murphy repellent" insomuch that it takes the crisis out of the financial aspect of minor emergencies, but what it doesn't do is keep him away completely.  Sigh.

Why can't Terminix exterminate against Murphy?  Now THAT would be worth $440.

Bales of Hay in the Meadow

This morning I went to the pasture where the hay has been baled, to get a photograph of the big round bales resting in the already-greening meadow. It's always such a welcome and pleasant sight. I parked my car at the gate and walked in.

I was agitated this morning, for some reason - perhaps the result of a series of days with a series of unexpected events that have kept me from my morning routine of spending time alone (sort of) in nature.

Focused on photographing the hale bales, I was surprised by the wonders there in the pasture.

A dragonfly perched on a dried weed stalk.

The first sunflowers of the season; this one of interest to bees.

And a young meadowlark, perched on a weed with purple blossoms.

A morning walk in the pasture: the perfect antidote for an anxious time.

A friend took a jar back to Britain recently. The first place we looked was at the Parador shop in Teide’s crater; the price? A hefty €8.25. Believe me, this is a serious mark-up, but not the worst offender. The price for the same jar at the North Airport was an incredible €12+!
Just as well then that she’d bought her jar at the Al Campo supermarket in La Orotava where she’d paid a much more reasonable and purse friendly €4.75.

Most pictures were taken with the Nikon D2X DSLR camera and the Nikon 105mm F2.8 VR lens.  I used the Nikon D200 DSLR camera and the 18-200VR lens for some of the pictures.

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