I asked Kiera O’hara, the composer and pianist of the background music, “Song for Earth Day.”
“I’ve got the melody replaying itself over and over again in my head. Since you wrote it can you describe the background of it? I’m always curious how a person comes up with music, probably because I’m so NOT musical.
There’s that little voice towards the end (at 3:10) that says to me, “But why can’t I?” or “but what about this?” It’s definitely a question. That’s how it sounds to me. :-)”
Her reply…
You’ve got it, exactly! That ending was meant to sound tentative–the vulnerability of the earth asking for help, and the question lingering for us humans, will we help?
In July I noticed honeybees were pollinating these bushes in the cemetery. I took photos so I could show them to knowledgeable people to ID them. I asked quite a few people who had no idea what those bushes were. Jim, the volunteer at the cemetery, said at first he thought they were planted, but later he realized the birds must have dropped seeds where the mower couldn’t reach and they just grew without being cut.
July 1, 2013 Bees love this bush. Circle shows the color of pollen.
October 26, 2013…we suddenly realize this is a cotoneaster bush. It’s just so obvious with the red berries. Thanks to the bees the birds will benefit.
Another blogger friend, Solarbeez, asked me if I had a honey recipe that could soothe Emily’s symptoms.
Of course I do!!
Here is my recipe for Cough and Sore Throat Soothing Honey Lollipops. They are easy to make and effective and taste wonderful as well.
Ingredients:
You will need at least a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of honey, a non stick surface, a candy thermometer and 10-12 sucker sticks. You can also add flavors such as lemon, lavender, or cinnamon if you desire. A 1/2 tsp. should do the trick.
Directions:
First lay out your sucker sticks, spaced apart, on your non stick surface. (You can make cough drops by omitting the sticks!)
This power pole has been deemed unsafe. The power company says it’s 50 to 60 years old. I’m wondering if it dates back to the Rural Electricification Administration (REA) created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. It’s possible because many rural areas were not served until the late 50’s.
To further complicate things, another power company has strung wires that criss cross these wires. To fix everything, the experts decide to go underground. That’s when the Horizontal Directional Drill Crew set up their equipment. Shortly after they drilled and buried the conduit, Hoss, from Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative, shows up in my driveway. I remember Hoss because he was involved in getting my 3-phase electricity to my shop for my big press back in 1987. “Which day is better for us to kill the electricity for a few hours,” he asks. “Well, Wednesday is better because Thursday is my biggest production day,” I reply. That’s how it all started. I was flattered the power company would ask.
Wednesday morning brought Randy to my driveway. Years ago when I first started my ‘at home’ print shop, I had a power outage. I called the power company to report the outage. The dispatcher took down the information and asked if this was the print shop. I replied “yes,” wondering how he would know that. “Well, we will get you back up because we know you have deadlines.” I was so surprised I didn’t think to tell him my deadlines weren’t all that important that I couldn’t wait it out. That was a good 25 years ago. The person who took that call was Randy. I found that out several years later.
Randy tells me what he’s planning to accomplish today.
Since the power is off, I get my camera out to document the project. One by one I ask the crew if they wouldn’t mind if I video them while they’re working. Everyone is okay with that. I’m impressed with their professionalism. It’s obvious they have trained for this. With very little conversation (except when they are answering my questions) they go about the business of getting the cables into the conduit, pulling out old wires, splicing in new ones. They work fast.
After a couple of days, the new pole is placed, wires hooked up, and potential problem is prevented.
Boulders protecting the junction box, grass growing already. Well done!
I want to thank Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative for maintaining the power, averting a possible dangerous problem, and letting me shoot the videos.
These bee-loving Vision Violet geraniums will bloom from early spring to late summer. Thanks to Bob and Carol Fischer for providing the starts for us.
Vision Violets attract bees. They bloom from early spring to late summer…The bees love them and so do I.
Want to see the bees on the flowers?
Daughter and son-in-law help us with firewood splitting and stacking every year.
After several hours of lifting, splitting, carrying, and stacking, we treat ourselves to a walk on the beach. We are greeted by the incoming tide washing in and over the mounds of seaweed.
Piles of seaweed get pummeled by the incoming tide.
Seastacks on a perfect sunny Sunday. Why don’t we walk on the beach more often?
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 