Two quick updates, since giving up wheat and gluten a few months ago I have to confess that I’ve been feeling a lot better. I’ve lost about 10 kg, most of my hayfever symptoms have disappeared, the tightness in my tummy is gone and frankly I feel MUCH better. I wonder if its a gentic thing (IAN) and thought I’d pass on my sucess. The only time I find it a pain is lunch. Try it for six weeks ……..
It seems that the varroa mite has won. Over the summer break two things happened, outbreaks of the mite were discovered outside the containment line (in fact close to me) and the maker of the best posion refused to pay to have their chemical registered as a bee-cide. They didn;t wat to be associated with killing honey bees. Finally the decision was made last night to “control” the spread rather than go for erradication. What does this mean for me? Well it means that I’ll have to monitor the hives more closely (doing the sugar roll), treat the hives twice a year with a miticide strip (small extra cost) , and be prepared to lose 10-20% of my hives every year. Thats not so bad. The plus side is that with no wild hives there is no competition for nectar so bigger honey crops and that people will want managed hives for pollenation so fewer niggles from neighbours.
Ladies and gentlemen, last night we cracked open a unit of the first vintage of Maple Hill mead. Yes, a good nine months ago I ran a little experiment to see what a basic mead might taste like and yesterday we found out. Stunning is the only word that can describe it. So while you huddle under a blanket of snow and cold, we sat, mead in hand admiring the evening sun whilst sitting on the deck. Jealous, I should think so.
Yesterday, I spent the day at a “Habitat for Humanity” site, installing doors, and, while the thought of me performing manual labour IS would constitute “an odd happening”, it’s not what I’m writing about. It was when I was coming home it got strange.
Shelley phoned me and said there were police cars cruising up and down our street. Remember, we live in a cul-de-sac, so we don’t generally see a LOT of the police. Then she phoned and said they had our entire street closed off from both ends. They weren’t letting anyone in! Bizaar! By the time I got there, there were police cars completely blocking the street, the SWAT team was there toting their M16s (or whatever they were — big guns), the Canine Unit was there too. Probably 20 cops standing around.
The only thing they told me was that they were “checking on the welfare of an individual” and that I would not be allowed in “for some time”. They assured me that my family was perfectly safe “in the zone”, but that they wouldn’t let me in to be “another person in harm’s way”. So what could I do!? Shelley was trapped in the house with 4 kids (Quinn had two friends over), and I couldn’t get there. So, I went over to a friend’s house and watched the news to see what was going on. Apparently NOTHING. No mention on the news at all.
After about an hour and a half, they seemed to just pack up and leave. Maybe they took someone out, maybe not — no one I know saw what ended it. And there has bot been a hint of what had happened. Nothing in the paper, nothing on web sites. I can’t find out anything.
Truly weird. If I do find out what happened, I’ll post it in a comment, but I don’t hold out a lot of hope.
So, I was calmly minding my own business in traffic (HA!) on the way home from work tonight, when I looked at the mountains. It was a crystal clear twilight, as it can only be when it’s -20C, so I looked to the silhouette of the mountains which was clear and sharp…and what was there? THIS COMET!(McNaught) I honestly couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t heard anything in a long time about any astronomical events, and I haven’t been following the “scene” for a while either, but there it was! The picture I linked to is almost exactly what I saw. You too might me able to see it for another night or two. Right after sunset, look to the horizon near where the sun just went down. Too cool.
Thanks to Sky and Telescope!