Bee Biz Hits Groupon

Hi everyone. I am so excited I just had to share this - our little bee business has just hit Groupon! We are venturing into formally educating people about beekeeping, something we both enjoy a great deal and have been wanting to do on a larger scale and in a structured environment. This partnership with a honey company out of Round Rock will benefit both parties we believe. So far, we've had over 20 takers of the coupon. By the way, if you haven't checked out Groupon yet, give them a try. They showcase different coupons localized to your area or you can search by big city. Pretty neat and growing in popularity these days as we all try to stretch our money.

Hair Haus Revisited

I had the nicest visit to my favorite beauty shop in town! Recently I returned to get my hands and feet beautified with Katie at the Hair Haus and it was WONDERFUL. I'm just not a mani/pedi gal though I always enjoy it when I do have one (or both). I just don't have time for it and it's a luxury I don't often treat myself to for some reason. BUT...if a certain sweetie pie of mine gives me a gift certificate, well then, it's really a pleasure!

If you like having your hands and feet pampered and looking beautiful, visit the Hair Haus. I love that place because it's really beautiful inside. It's welcoming and calming and there is a lot of prettiness to look at - my eyes like it in there for the warm colors and the modern decor. I'm going back for a massage soon so I'll take my nice camera for a shot of the update shop. :-)

Texas Sky in June

Have you wondered how Texas has been weathering the drought? Here's a shot I snapped Friday when I went with Mark out to our Pizza Bee Yard, between Seguin and Gonzales. The sky is gorgeous, isn't it? Especially if you're at the beach! We sure could use some rain here - not just for us but for our bees as well. It sure has been dry this year. Last year was fabulous with all the rain that kept things blooming almost constantly. This year's a different story and while the bees are hanging in there, it does stress them a bit to not have a lot to live on right now. Notice how brown and dry the surrounding grass is around the yard. The tanks are drying out though fortunately there is still water in the tank at this yard so that our bees can water when they need to do so.

Peaches, Kitty & a Friend

Finally getting to enjoy a couple of the peaches from our tree. Nothing like last year but still adds a nice sweet and slightly tart flavor to our fruit salads. Doubt we'll get enough for any peach preserves this year, sadly.

I would like to send a shout-out to Donna P. who is still reading my blog AND following our Gretchen Bee Ranch blog as well. I ran into Donna at the vet's office when I went to pick up Smokey at the end of the day. It was his annual visit for shots and he got a nice little flea dip. Anyway, I want to say hi and thank you to Donna for her encouragement about the blogs. We met when I taught some computer classes here at the Seguin Library many years ago and it ALWAYS warms my heart to see students again. Especially when they remember me and let me know how we met. So, thank you, Donna. You made my whole week last week and I really appreciate your kind words and your continued support of the blogs! Hope you and your family have a great week!

Summer Sights

Here are some things happening in our yard so far this summer. It's been hot and dry though we did get a bit of rain a couple of weeks ago. In the above shot is borage - anyone use it for any cooking before? Someone gave it to us and we've never used it though I read you can use it in drinks and saute it as you would spinach. It's got a lot of white fuzz on the leaves and stems. Interesting and pretty plant.

Here's one of our little tomatoes - we got a late start on them so they are just now starting to bloom out a bit. We planted eight but only six are left with us and I'm working hard at keeping them well saturated to fight the extreme heat and sun. Our squash and zucchini didn't make it sadly. Asian Long Beans are doing fine though no white blooms on them just yet. I plant a LOT of them since we liked them so much last year. I also put some sunflowers in so hopefully they will continue to grow and then bloom for some photos. :-) Below are some of the peaches on our little tree out back. You may recall last year we had so many peaches we had to give a ton away because we couldn't eat them fast enough. They were delicious! This year, we have a decent number of fruit on the tree though nowhere near what we saw last year. I think they look lovely when they turn this beautiful blush color.

Finally, this morning I continue to try and keep our grass from drying up too much so I put the sprinkler out for a bit. I also like to do that for all the birds - they love to come to the water and get a bath in while they can. They fluff up and twirl all around - a lot of fun to watch. I especially love the red cardinals since they remind me of North Carolina.

Concrete Art

I loved the shapes and look of these! We passed this business as we went to one of our bee yards in Kingsbury. Technically I don't know if this is Seguin or Kingsbury and I don't even know the name of the business since there is no sign that we could see. Anyone know? It's no 90A. You see these at construction or staging sites for road and building projects. I bet they are heavy! And I think it'd be neat to do a photo shoot there among these things.

Trade Days on the Square Saturday April 30

Quick post before bed. Gretchen Bee Ranch will be in booths 36 and 37 tomorrow; that's behind the courthouse on the square (near the gazebo). Come on down for Trade Days and visit us! Please. :-)

Gardening, Bees and Jets

Still no rain this month. I don't even remember the last time we got a decent rain. Please, please rain soon. In between everything else we've had going on in life, I did manage to clean up three sections of our garden. It had really gone to the weeds since we had no time for a garden last year, nor did we manage the space at all. Oh well, there are six tomato plants, a ton of Asian long beans, one surviving egg plant, two yellow squash and two zucchini plants - let's see who makes it this long hot season. I can tell it's going to be a tough summer because we are only in April and it's already been in the 90s. Not unbearably humid YET. But it's coming.

And here is a beautiful sky shot (missed my Sky Watch Friday post) from one of our bee yards which is now located where the Schulz Nursery on Highway 123 was, ever so briefly. Pedro, who owns My Father's Farm, relocated there and we moved our bees from his first farm location to this one. It's an organic farm operation. These jets flew by for a while. I think there were five or six fly-bys and I think they were all different planes but I could be wrong on that so don't quote me.

Butterflies and Thistle

This one if for Alan. :-) Thistle is here and so are the butterflies. We saw these along Big Oaks Road south of town a bit when we went to check on the bees out there. So many black butterflies everywhere - it was amazing! We had too many bee yards to check on so no time to get out of the truck. I got a few shots of the activity. We were wondering if these butterflies were competition for our bees as they all searched out nectar in this dry spring. The butterflies must be winning or the bees must not yet want thistle in their diet because we saw not one bee on the purple blooms.

Wildflowers in a Drought

This spring is nothing like last year's spring, that's for sure. Last year we had abundant rain. This year? Dry, dry, dry. And more dry. We need rain! And yet we still are able to see and enjoy some beautiful wildflowers. I know it's nothing like in the years we have rain, but I'd say we're lucky we have what we do! This is a variety that Mark picked from one of our bee yards for a photo shoot for our honey products. I just LOVE all the colors and how different each kind of flower is. The color, shape and scent of each is amazing. This is what goes into our honey that is being made by our bees. I love it.

Rain, Rain - Come Our Way

Warmer, dryer weather means it's time to get to watering of the plants and grass. This is one of Smokey's favorite pastimes - watching the watering of anything in the yard. He is fascinated with sprinklers and loves to be just out of reach of the water. Here he is watching as I prepare the tractor, which I love to watch also, as it winds its way around the yard, aided only by the water pressure.

On a less funny note, we went on record for one of the driest month of March in history. Not good. We sure need some rain!

Mom's Plumeria

When I miss my mom a lot, I like to look at things that are hers or remind me of her. There are special pictures I like to revisit of her garden, her flowers, her scrumptious, edible works of art.This Plumeria is so beautiful and she has several in her Florida yard. It's perfect weather there for these. She has yellow and pink and one visit, she sent home a couple of cuttings for us. They did well for a couple of years until a hard freeze killed them, sadly. Anyway, if I want to see the most beautiful ones, I know where to go.

My mom had a bit of a health scare this week and she's on my mind and in my heart. But I think of her and my dad constantly and I have them in my heart always.

Wildflowers & Artfest/Trade Days

Today's post is brought to you by some of the gorgeous yellow wildflowers currently in bloom in our lovely state. Hope you have been able to get out and see some of the blooms in the fields. This year we've not had the rain we needed, yet flowers are popping up all around. Perhaps the dry winter and spring gave these rare flowers an opportunity to pop up more noticeably. Not sure. All I know is that I've not seen these before so I thought I'd share here. Anyone have any idea what they are called?

It's been a crazy week for us so we haven't had a chance to share that Artfest is happening down on the square tomorrow from 9a to 5p. There's also a Trade Days and that's where Mark, Belinda and I will be all day - selling our delicious Gretchen Bee Ranch honeys and bees wax products. Hope you will stop by our booth near the gazebo if you are down there tomorrow. We'll have our first double booth with our big ole double canopy. We're big time now! :-) Mainly, just come by, say hi and sample some honey. We'd love to see you.

Squirrel Family Love

These two were sooooo cute yesterday over by the honey house in our backyard. I came home to grab lunch and Mark told me they had been hanging out in that tree for some time already and at first he thought they were yelling at him to go away. Our squirrels are like that in the backyard. They think they own the great outdoors and they will let you know when they want you to leave their area. :-) Anyway, Mark watched for a while and he said the Mama had been trying to Baby to follow her and for some reason he would not. Maybe he was scared. Maybe he was hurt. We're not sure. At one point, she had a hold of his little paw and was tugging at him. CUTE! I wish I had caught that. By the time I was snapping pictures, she was showing him how to jump from the tree to the top of the honey house. That's probably about three feet but the drop to the ground is a lot farther, maybe ten feet. Poor thing. When I got home after 5p, they were gone. I guess she finally got him to follow her. Good for them. I'm not a huge squirrel fan but they were cute.

Don't forget today is Spring Fling at Maldonado Nursery on Highway 90. It looks like the perfect day to stroll around for great deals on plants and other products. We're headed over there after lunch. Hope to see ya!

More Springy Signs

Nothing says spring like flowers blooming everywhere - in fields, on trees, on fences, in flower pots and in gardens. It's everywhere and I have spring fever. I need to get out and dig into the flower beds and our little garden. I just need about 20 more hours added to my weekend to get it all done. :-)

The above picture is from a trip we took to one of our local bee yards. This year there is an abundance of these wild berry plants growing all over pretty much everything. Good news for us and the bees. Last year Mark and I sampled a few berries we found and they were very tasty. Maybe we'll have even more to sample this year.

Below is a shot of a Bluebonnet I checked out in the same field as the berry blooms. I like pulling down the petals and looking at the bright pollen and the cat-claw inside. It is such an intriguing flower and it lifts my heart each time I see it; whether it's one bloom or an entire blue sea of it. It's one of the most beautiful wildflowers I've ever seen and it's one of the best things I love about coming to Texas so long ago.

Maldonado Nursery

I am sorry it's been so crazy busy, friends! I haven't forgotten about you, I promise! Today I got to visit this awesome nursery in town for a few shots of our honey going into the shop! Exciting news for us!! What I really like is the shot below. Have a great week, everyone!

Peaceful Sleep of a Kitty

Ah, to be this chilled out, right? I came home yesterday to this sight and it brought a smile to my face, which I sure needed; rough day at work, friends. Smokey is capable of falling asleep almost anywhere, at anytime and at any moment. And when he sleeps, he is OUT to the world. Plus he has interesting positions, like this one. I think it's adorable. He is like our kid - mischievous, loving, chatty, demanding, hilarious and almost bringing home a friend. Last night I couldn't stop laughing because he has a new "friend" who hangs out with him and even follows him up to the back door! Before I went to bed, I looked out the front door and who's sitting in the middle of the street but Smokey and friend. Just sitting, staring at each other, wagging tails...crazy cats. I wish I knew what they were doing out there. Speak of the devil, here he is sitting next to me. Probably means he wants me to go hang out with him. Or snuggle time. Or food. He's a simple cat. Y'all have a great day today!

Lights, Camera, Honey!

Today was dreary pretty much most of the day but we got ourselves to the gym early, had a nice mid-morning snack and then got to work on photographing our company products in the light tent we just got. Developing and building a new company website takes a lot of work and we're still working on several components, one of which is product shots for the online store. That in itself has been a real learning process and challenge for both of us but we are happy to learn. Back to editing. :-) Hope y'all are having a good weekend. We are suppose to have a few great, gorgeous days next week! Yay!

Spring is Springing!

Once I see these two sights, I KNOW spring is right around the corner for sure. The Redbud is about to burst with blooms this week and the mockingbirds have returned to their nest in the Crepe Myrtle. Plus I saw our third sign though I couldn't get a photograph - our woodpecker is back and digging out treats from our pecan tree. He typically arrives when fall gets here and then again when spring is hitting us. Though I have enjoyed some cold weather (and snow even though I had to see that out of state, I count it), I do enjoy wearing short sleeves and shorts and sitting outside on the back deck. I have to enjoy this before the 95 degree weather comes along, right??

Still Dry Out There

On our way to the Capote bee yard today, we were worried to see what looked like a big fire. Later we learned that it was about one hundred acres and something like seven fire departments worked together to get it under control. I hope they did and that everyone was okay. This winter has not seen as much rain as last year and things are still a little bit "crunchy" out there. Pretty easy to toss a cigarette or something out the window and cause some trouble. I see burnt patches of grass and field here and there as I drive about my business so I try to be conscious of the hazard.

Besides that bad news, we did manage to have a great day with our bees. Hope you got out there and enjoyed the warm weather a bit. So nice for a bit of glorious sun, right? The bees loved it and so did I. Here's hoping tomorrow will be just as lovely. :)