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The Bees May Have Found Me

March 12, 2016

Bishop Beekeeping, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle , 4 Comments

I was sitting on my patio today as I was prepping one of my swarm boxes when I had visitors. The box had recently held five full frames of bees that I had been trapping out of a tree. The top was off and I had some old comb in frames and a few bare frames in the box when the visitors arrived. 

Four or five bees were checking out the box so I secured the top and set the box up on a ladder near the patio. The bees left and another five or six returned and checked out the box. Several kept trying to enter along the gaps around the top. FYI – the box was hastily constructed so the fit was approximate!  

 
One looking and one arriving. 

  
Hmmmmm- what’s in here. A pheromone scent and a little dab of lemon grass oil. I love the wing shadows. 

  
Ok – I’ll check it out! 

  
Can’t fit! 

Eventually they found the “real” opening and checked out the inside. They would hang around then leave – gone about 15 or 20 minutes and then return. My fingers are crossed that they were all scouts and they are inviting the rest of the swarm to a party in my yard! 

This is as close to free bees as it gets and hopefully they have truly found me. I may wind up with a box full of bees for my birthday tomorrow! Happy Birthday Bishop! 
TTFN

Bishop

Bees and Bananas

February 17, 2016

Bishop bananas, Beekeeping, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, honey, pollination , , , 9 Comments

Witnessed some local bees burrowing their way deep into the recently uncovered hand of bananas and blossoms. The sweet nectar is deep in amongst the blossom petals.

JBD_8778

Looking around for a path to the nectar.

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Ready to dig in for a tasty treat.

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It doesn’t take long and the bee is out of sight.

I am looking forward to some great bananas this year and maybe…..just maybe the visitors are from my hive less than a mile from my yard.

All photos are copyright protected. Please contact me for permission to use.

TTFN

Bishop

Way too Early for Bananas

February 2, 2016

Bishop bananas, Beekeeping, Gardening, Optimism, pollination , , 8 Comments

I stepped out into the garden this afternoon and discovered the surprise. My banana plant has opened up the female flowering portion of the plant, the inflorescence. This variety produced a very nice bunch of at least 40 big bananas last SUMMER! This is February FIRST! I am praying that we don’t have one of those February hard freezes that will wipe out the bananas.

On a side note, my bees have been hauling in pollen big way for over a month! The bees have found the banana nectar. Hope they are my bees.

DSC_9884 L

DSC_9882 L

TTFN

Bishop

The Orange Blossom Special

January 26, 2016

Bishop Beekeeping, citrus blossoms, Gardening, Spring , , 1 Comment

Not the Johnny Cash version but my backyard version. It is also not a true orange but rather it is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin or common orange, native to China, a Meyer Lemon. Today is January 26th and my tree is blooming.

If you are not familiar with Meyer Lemons, buy a few and enjoy the difference. I saw a phrase recently that said, ” If life gives you Meyer Lemons, life is sweet.” Very true. The scent from the blossoms are truly intoxicating.

Case in point, last week I met with a couple that will be hosting a couple of my beehives. While waiting for the husband to arrive I was offered a glass of iced tea with a slice of lemon. As soon as my nose moved over the glass I knew it was a Meyer Lemon. The scent is sweet and unique!

Once the husband arrived we wandered his garden area to select a good hive site. He has several citrus trees, including a very nice sized Meyer Lemon. His tree was showing buds and we both agreed that it is a bit early. I shared with him my memories of late night motorcycle rides down Sunset Blvd. from UCLA to the beach. The early spring night air was filled filled with a heavenly citrus blossom scent! He keeps a chair in the garden for those early spring evenings to sit and take in the incredible citrus scents! We seem to be kindred spirits!


Even a single blossom sends out and amazing scent! Photo with my iPhone 6S.

TTFN

Bishop

Where is our Winter? 

December 30, 2015

Bishop Berry Preserves, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, jam and jelly, Tomato Growing, Vegetables 8 Comments

Took a tour through the garden today, December 30th. In the northern hemisphere it should be winter! Apparently not! 

Asparagus should be sleeping, not! I found 3 lovely stalks poking up through the cover of leaf mulch. They are so sweet and tender.  

  Those young purple stalks are amazing! 

Tomatoes – the variety that hasn’t succumbed to our “winter” is Matt’s Wild Cherry. Picked a couple of handfuls and noticed that there are still blossoms forming! 

  
  
I thought the green beans were done but I am finding new blossoms. I have a number of very mature pods that I left on the vines for seed but tucked away in the foliage are new blossoms and some developing pods. 

  
My sugar snap peas are behaving as if we have the cool spring weather that they thrive in. It is not a surprise to see them doing well at this time of year. 

  

All photos today from my iPhone. Handy and they do make a decent image. 

Lemons are ready to pick, beets are very slowly gaining ground and the strawberries are blossoming in earnest! The yellow onion sets are looking great. I don’t have high hopes for my blackberries, may have to rely on the wild ones – the wild ones are small, have too many thorns, scratch the heck out your hands but make great jam! 

Last note; my “Garden Hives” are nearly ready. I have put the natural finish on two of the four and then the weather changed. Next week we should be above 60 degrees F, so I can finish the last two. 
Unfinished and then finished. 

  
  
TTFN

Bishop

Backyard Blackberry Honey Pepper Sauce

December 24, 2015

Bishop Beekeeping, berrries, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle , , , 10 Comments

This is a sauce that has four ingredients and  75% can be sourced from your backyard. 1. Blackberries, yes I do have blackberry vines in my backyard. 2. L Honey, well I had a hive in my backyard but a neighbor complained and I moved it to a yard nearby. 3. Peppers, I used a poblano pepper from my yard. 4. The tablespoon of sugar – well, it is store bought.

Simple, 16 ounces of blackberries but raspberries would work too. If frozen thaw before cooking.

1/4 to 1/3 cup of local raw honey. I used a 1/4 cup.

Pepper. I used a medium poblano that was from my garden. You can used black pepper, 1 tbsp, or any other peppers depending on your taste and desire for heat.

1 tbsp of sugar

Medium heat and stir often. To speed up the fruit breakdown I use a potato masher.

Run through a strainer once the consistency you want is reached. I am using mine for a pork loin glaze so I will let it thicken. Should also  be good on Blue Bell Vanilla ice cream!

Recipe lifted from;

Blackberry-Honey Pepper Sauce

Simmering on the stove

Simmering on the stove

Added a bit of the pulp and seed back into the sauce for texture. I put it back onto the stove to simmer until it thickened to my liking. The taste and aroma are amazing. I think the pork loin will be a real treat.

TTFN

Bishop

Thanksgiving Day Strawberries

November 26, 2015

Bishop berrries, Berry Preserves, California, Gardening, jam and jelly, Strawberries , 5 Comments

It is November 27th in the northern hemisphere and I am picking strawberries. Not many but they taste yummy. 

   

  

 Normally I don’t have strawberries until late February or early March here in Houston. I am not complaining – I love ripe strawberries from my garden any time! Fingers crossed that my early spring crop will be abundant! 

I took my sons dog for a run today at the soccer fields nearby. The eastern edge backs up to the woods and has been home to a prolific dewberry patch – wild blackberries. A few days ago while letting the dog run I noticed that the grounds keeper had severely cut back the eastern perimeter and nearly wiped out the blackberries. So, today I carried a bucket, trowel and clippers to the fields. I rescued a dozen root cuttings for my garden. Fingers crossed that they will thrive in a “managed” garden. 

I do love my berries! Jams, preserves and eating them fresh. Next trip to see my mom in Los Osos, CA, I will abscond with some root cuttings from the wild blackberries near her house. They tend to be a bit larger and a bit sweeter than our Texas dewberries. Hmmmm, I really think I need more land! Let’s see what 2016 brings me! 

TTFN

Bishop

Cool Weather and Bananas 

November 12, 2015

Bishop bananas, Beekeeping, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle , Leave a comment

The weather has finally cooled enough that I had to cut the stalk. When I inspected the bananas this morning I noticed that the ripening process has sped up. Our friends and neighbors will receive some treats.  

  

 The bunch includes a cluster that never matured. I hope next year I will manage to get both varieties to produce. 

I hope to finish up the bee rescue today. I have developed a more simple option that could have been completed on the original rescue day. Rookie mistake and hindsight is always 20/20! 

Breaking news- part two of the bee rescue has been postponed until tomorrow. Details following the fishing report. 

TTFN

Bishop

 

Culinary Experiment – Making a Vinegar

November 10, 2015

Bishop bananas, Beekeeping, Gardening Leave a comment

Phase 1 of my learnings is a vinegar from one of my beers.  My ultimate goal is to use my backyard local honey to make a Honey Wine Vinegar after making a mead using my honey. If you are familiar with my blog here you may have seen references to my Beer Log at;

http://bishopsbeerblog.com/

This is a crossover blog, phase 1 uses my Oak and Bourbon aged Imperial Stout. After much searching I found that home brewers also have experimented converting beer to vinegar. I drink my Imperial Stout’s slowly so I figured I could afford to experiment. 

The start, a bottle of Bragg Organic Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar – the key ingredient – this vinegar contains the “Mother”. The Mother is the source of the bacteria that converts the alcohol to vinegar. 

  
I am using a half gallon jar for phase 1. 16 ounces of vinegar and several bottles of my stout. Dang it, I had just a little too much beer so I had to sit back and enjoy it while waiting for Monday Night Football. 

  
The half gallon jar in the background and my sample in the foreground. This may produce a tasty and inky dark vinegar…. Fingers crossed. 

Next steps – shake it to aerate the mix, cover with cheesecloth, as it needs oxygen to complete the process, hide in a dark and 70-80 degree location for a couple of months and then sample.

Side note; the Slide Ridge Honey Wine vinegar I bought is wonderful. I have some toasted bourbon soaked chunks sitting in the bottle to see if it becomes more than wonderful. I will give it a few months. 

From the garden today? A handful of green beans that went into today’s chicken vegetable soup. Houston has almost cooled off enough for soup. I have another 15+ bananas hanging, the sugar snap peas are climbing and some confused strawberries are blossoming and producing. 

  
These are in one of my strawberry towers. They look like they will be yummy. 

TTFN

Bishop

14.68 Inches in 12 Days

November 2, 2015

Bishop bananas, Beans, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Tomato Growing , , , Leave a comment

It is actually a little more impressive than that. It was pretty much all concentrated during the past two weekends! The garden is very soggy. The beet seedlings have been beat down but I think they will survive.

I took a cruise through the garden around 7:45 this morning after meeting my daughter at the gym….. She ran a 5 mile race in the rain yesterday morning, I drank coffee and tried to stay dry.  The green bean vines are healthy and green but not much to pick. I snacked on the few pods ready to pick while checking things out – they were sweet, if that makes sense for green bean pods!

There are stil over 20 full sized green bananas hanging on the plant, waiting to be cut off and ripened inside. The miniature, teeny, tiny Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes are still setting and producing. I brought in a handful to have with my morning eggs.

Cherry tomatoes and a few ripened bananas. Time to cut a few more! Very sweet and very tiny.

Cherry tomatoes and a few ripened bananas. Time to cut a few more bananas today! Very sweet and very tiny tomatoes and sweet and creamy bananas!

TTFN

Bishop

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