Funny Honey

About a week ago I harvested our first honey crop. I was so excited about the gorgeous golden frames of comb I was sorting through and couldn't wait to divide it into jars and share it with our loved ones. Then I tried it. I didn't think there was anyway to really mess up honey. After all, the bees seem happy. They appear to be disease-free. They come and go every minute that the sun in above the horizon, but the honey turned out...funny.

The taste, to me, is a cross between mushrooms, cough syrup, and honey. Even when I put it on toast with butter the flavor still stands out. Mishka thought it had a smokey flavor, but I really didn't use that much smoke. I am a beginner and may not have a real understanding of what too much smoke looks like, but there were times when I didn't even use smoke when I was working with the hive. The nearby flora could also be the culprit and there's not much I can do about what the neighbors grow. It was suggested to me to just make mead out of it as the taste of the alcohol may mask the unusual/unappetizing flavor.

Above and below are a few pretty pictures of my hive gear. That's my smoker above - still having problems getting it going before harassing the bees. Below is more stuff, namely gloves that I accidentally covered in melted beeswax. A word tot he wise: don't cover you gloves in beeswax. It will transfer to EVERYTHING!

Harvest 2009 Begins

The other day I was pulling more of that blasted morning glory out of the raised beds when I noticed there were potatoes sticking out of the ground. I have to tell you, it was much like find gold. I had planted some reds last year, but they never grew as tall or as well as the russets. They are a whole different experience. Russets grow like gang busters. Here's a picture of some potatoes that just fell off the plant when I pulled it out of the ground. When all was said and done, we harvested about 35 pounds of potatoes out of the yard.

I've set aside some potatoes so that we keep a study stream coming in. Part of me still wonders if we're planting too much for only the two of us to eat. I guess our friends won't be buying potatoes for the next year either.

The corn stalks are growing little ears of corn now. Last year, we plants three plants and got two tiny ears. At this point, it looks like we'll get
about ten ears off the plants.

This year, The Mister built four raised beds and filled them with good soil and manuer. I'm not sure if the beds are retaining more moisture or if the the plants are doing so much better because of the soil quality. Either way, I'm pretty darn happy with The Mister's project. Thanks Baby!

Waiting for the Mail

Payday has inspired me to buy a new book: Simple Sewing. LG and I saw it at Presents of Mind last weekend, and I knew the book and I were destined for eachother. The main attractions were the patterns for a door stopper, a super-cute apron, and napkins. I think there may be a bitch 'n' stitch in my future.

Here a couple pictures for your viewing pleasure. The first one is of a Fernworks necklace, and the second one is a book that LG and I especially liked. Hehehehehe.

Terrarium

Home G and I are up to no good again. We spent the day driving around town and getting supplies to make terrariums. Yeah!
There many different ways to put your terrarium together. What I did is really a shot in the dark but seems to be loosely similar to articles I've read and video clips I've seen.













Supply List

*Glass container
-Candy jar
-Glass vase
-Glass bowl


*Activated charcoal - I used BBQ charcoal that doesn't have any added chemicals


*Pebbles/beach glass/marbles


*Potting soil


*Figurines


*Small plants - make sure they all have the same sun/water/drainage requirements








It's easy to put it together. Put down the pebbles first as they allow water to drain to the bottom of the container. The use of pebbles will keep the roots from rotting. Next, put down a very thin layer of charcoal. This is my first time making a terrarium so I decided to try out plain old charcoal that we had left over from the BBQ. Stay away from briquettes as they may have been soaked in lighter fluid or other nasty chemical. The reason I used charcoal is to keep the water clean. The charcoal adsorbs toxins and keeps your new terrarium healthy.
Lastly, add potting soil. I tried Black Gold just because that was what was on hand here at The Hut.
Situate your plants with the largest plant in the back. Try to make it look like a miniature landscape and then add you figurines. Viola!

1:39 a.m.

This is it: the maiden voyage of Hutty Hut. Welcome and enjoy my random thoughts.

Random thought #1: dining from the yard>>>>>