Sky Watch

Well, I'm a little late on the Sky Watch for the week so sorry about that. Was feeling under the weather most of the week so I just didn't have the energy to post.

This is a view of the countryside where we're going to have bee yard #4 soon. I love this area and right now, the weather's been pretty perfect for south Texas. Not too hot yet and the flowers keep blooming like crazy. If I'm this happy, then I can't imagine how happy the bees must be.

Flower Explosion

This spring has been one of the best flowering springs I have experienced in my 15 years living here and I am happy I stayed here long enough to enjoy such a sight! Every time I drive somewhere, I am truly amazed at the new flowers that have appeared that weren't there a week ago. And many of these I haven't seen here before. It's wonderful!

Currently, it seems there are a lot of yellow and purple flowers of different varieties blooming. BUT...there are also these beautifully delicate white flowers (anyone know the name) along with the Indian Blanket shown below. By the way, the bees LOVE Indian Blankets. They were all over these as I was photographing at a friend's home out in the country this evening. We ate dinner before heading out to see Jim, who had contacted Mark about a swarm. I guess we took too long for they were gone when we got there though Mark said they were likely nearby as they were buzzing the flowers pretty well. Thanks for showing us around, Jim!

Spurs Fever in Seguin

It's playoffs and you know what that means! The noisy clappers and banging sticks come out as we support our awesome Spurs. Tonight's win puts us up on the Dallas Mavericks 3 games to 1. One more and we move to the next round. :-) GO SPURS GO!!!!!!!!

Gorgeous Day after a Cloudy Week

(These are tiny blooms from our bush but they are packed with sweet fragrance!)

Today was absolutely gorgeous here in Seguin after what seems like two weeks of mostly to all cloudy days, one after another. And there was a ton of activities in the community I noticed as I drove around on errands. We had a fundraising BBQ plate event at church and I know friends whose church is also having a festival this weekend. Then there was the Trade Days event along with Farmers' Market and we think an Earth Day event, too. All at one time. BUT...I still made time to enjoy sitting on the deck for a bit with Smokey, who was snoozing. It looked so comfortable I plopped down next to him but in the sun to soak it in. The breeze was PERFECT - no humidity. Gosh, if we had this sort of weather more often, then I'd never dream of another state with four seasons! :-)

Good Eats - Grain Bin on Hwy 123

On my way home from work, a friend called to say that there may be a swarm out in her area so we got our boots and gear together and headed out there to check out the area. While we did not see the swarm (too bad), we did enjoy the lovely evening out in the countryside. We also decided to stop at a restaurant called The Grain Bin on Highway 123, just past Geronimo. This is about 15 minutes from Seguin, headed north.

We had a burger and shared onion rings. And dessert. It's a treat since we've both been working out pretty regularly and dropping some pounds. The food was delicious, the staff wonderfully friendly and the environment clean. Can't ask for more. Oh wait! You can...there's a shop in the front area of the restaurant sort of like The Cracker Barrel. Nice! Check them out if you are traveling between Seguin and San Marcos.

Rain, Rain, Rain, Boots

Well, if you've been in the area, then you know exactly why I am posting these pictures. We have had rain, rain, and more rain. I'm not complaining because it means a lot of food for our bees which translates to happy bees and more honey for everyone! It also means rainboots are really needed if we want to check on the bees without worrying about our shoes getting muddied, which is what's happened in the past.

Two weeks ago, Academy stores had tons of rubber boots on their shelves. Now, however, the shelves were pretty picked over and we had difficulty finding what we liked in our sizes. After checking three different stores and Dick's (btw, they do NOT carry rubber boots other waders for fishing folks), we finally found some options! I love the patterns - very fun. But in the end, I went conservative. No leapard spots for me.



As a side note, I loaded these boot pictures on my Flickr and was then totally amazed at how my views spiked in one day. I think it was a record for me...something like 700+ total views in one day! The bottom picture has over 200 views. LOL...really? Who knew rubber boots drew such attention!?

In other news, my sweet friend Tammy is celebrating her 700th post! That's right...700! She's one of the nicest people I have ever met and we'd both love it if you visit her site and check out a chance to win one of her paintings. :-)

Sky Watch Friday

Happy Friday, everyone. Today I was told that I seemed more invigorated, energized and happier. I think it had to do with the fact that I was at the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference yesterday with Mark. He's manning his publisher's booth this year at the Exhibits. It's so much fun! Especially since neither of us work in libraries any longer. Got to see friends and make new ones. Anyway, I am feeling very contented today and that makes me feel good.

Here's a happy sky watch shot for you - sunset sky with more Mesquite trees and a little bee. Do you see her? They've been enjoying the fair weather of recent weeks though the past couple of days have been rainy on and off. This will really give the trees, grass and flowers a real boost! The Mesquite trees should be blooming soon and the bees love that. You know what that means - good honey!

Have a great weekend! And for you San Antonians - HAPPY FIESTA!

Swarm Season

Normally this picture would likely go on our bee blog, but I felt you should know that we are expecting an active season of swarming this year. Mark has spoken with our fire chief and he is ready for it and so are we! The other day Mark got his first call to go out and see about a big swarm of bees at a local business. I was able to join him during lunch and I caught a few snaps of the swarm capture. Then I got a great lunch at Shrimp Barn on top of the excitment. It was so much fun to tag along for that!

Just so you know, most of the time during swarms, bees are actually pretty gentle. You should NOT panic and assume they're going to attack because more than likely they won't. Mark taught me that. If you want to see just how gentle they are, be sure to see the video we put on our bee blog where Mark's about a foot away from a big swarm out at one of our bee yards. Just call the authorities and if you're in town, they'll probably call Mark. Then we'll get to meet you!

Good night! :-)

Miniature Donkey & "Quotation Marks"

I didn't even know there were mini-donkeys!!! Poor little thing. If you can help them, please do so. Otherwise, isn't this just a great way to kick off the week? I love great signs. :-)

That reminds me, I need to check on one of my favorite blogs - the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks. If you have not read this and you want a GREAT laugh, then go there. It's hysterical!!!

Happy Friday

I hope you all have a really wonderful weekend! The past week has seen some cloud coverage but yesterday and today were fairly sunny and crisp. It's been wonderful to get out and see all that nature has to offer us lately. This is a shot of a tucked-away pond out at one of our bee yards. This was the first time I explored beyond the immediate area of the yard so it was a really sweet treat. The air was soft as it was dusk and I could hear the nearby buzz of the swarming bees we went to capture. It's nice to get away from work and man-made noise once in a while.

Mesquite at Dusk

Also enjoying the spring sunshine are the mesquite trees. Today Mark saw the first bloom coming out.

More Spring Blooms

Things continue to bloom all around town and out in the country. This is a yucca plant and when they are in bloom, they are so gorgeous - I just want to stop and stare at them. The blooms are huge and abundant as you can see but for some reason, the bees don't seem to be interested in them. Not sure why.

You'll also notice the mesquite are finally coming out now. Mark was a little worried about them since they seemed a little late but we're happy they are catching up just fine. The flowers are amazing around here - full of color and vibrancy. We went driving Sunday evening and I had a lovely time soaking in the variety of blooms in the countryside. Flowers make everything look beautiful...even a dirty ditch!

Hoppy Easter!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend with family and/or friends. I miss having little ones around so that I can make baskets for a hunt. The last time I did that was when nieces, nephews and sisters came to visit us several years ago. Those are very fond memories of a fun, fun time.

I am currently in love with Lily's Cookies. They are so yummy and so cute! Check them out if you are in SA. I'm glad some of the treats ended up in our baskets. :-)

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL week!

Good to be off on Good Friday

Looks like Caterpillar's new plant is coming along very nicely in town. I sure hope they give tours when it's done. I'd love to get an inside look. All along IH10 as well as in town, you can see plenty of construction happening which may surprise some of you. It surprises us quite frequently.