Poem in your Pocket Day

In celebration of National Poetry Month, we were encouraged to carry a poem in our pockets to share with friends and co-workers.  Thursday morning, April 26, I thumbed through poetry books looking for a poem with my name on it.  As I checked out Billy Collins poems, I looked in particular for The Lanyard.  This poem delights me and I am putting it in my "online pocket" to share with you. Alas, I didn't have enough time to find it and settled on two other poems instead; one for each pocket.  If I didn't get to share my poems with you on Thursday, I will take this brief opportunity to share with you on the blog.

Left pocket poem

Today

                        If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
                        so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze


                        that it made you want to throw
                        open all the windows in the house


                        and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
                        indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,


                        a day when the cool brick paths
                        and the garden bursting with peonies


                        seemed so etched in sunlight
                        that you felt like taking


                        a hammer to the glass paperweight
                        on the living room end table,


                        releasing the inhabitants
                        from their snow-covered cottage


                        so they could walk out,
                        holding hands and squinting
                        into this larger dome of blue and white
                        


                       well, today is just that kind of day. 

 Billy Collins

Right pocket poem

A. B. SEMIC

Death and Me

Death and me.

Death is not withour me.  She is within

from the very beginning:  she grows with me

every moment

                    One day

I stop

                    and she grows on with me

Until she completely outgrows me

reaching my borders.  My ending is

her real beginning:

                    Thenceforth she reigns alone.

Only a few more days to celebrate the poems and poets in our lives.  What is your favorite poem to share?

The Queen Comes to Visit

My Linus Quilt donation

Each year, members of the Ditch Stitchers make donation quilts.  Last year we blanketed the children of the deployed Dragonlords with quilts to comfort them while their mom, dad or both parents were serving in Afghanistan.  This year, we donated our time, talent and fabric to Project Linus.  As we worked on our quilts, we learned that Miss Teen Nevada, Bailey Gumm, set a goal to collect 100 quilts/afghans for Project Linus.  We invited her to our monthly meeting to gift her our quilts, share good food and conversation.  Good luck Miss Teen Nevada!

Members of the Ditch Stitchers

Soiled Doves in the Window

All it took was a quilt challenge and countless hours of my life to transform the paisley fabric into a wall hanging.  When I purchased the fat quarter from the Nevada State Quilt Guild, I immediately thought of brothels and knew my quilt would explore the impact Nevada brothels made in the early west and continue making today.

Seeking inspiration from the book, Soiled Doves by Anne Seagraves, I first contacted the author to seek permission to use prints from her book.  As we chatted I learned that the price of photos, many which she purchased for the one time use of publication, was far outside my budget. I already knew that I would piece the traditional quilt block, Dove-in-the-Window.  My son-in-law, Marcel suggested I showcase the Mudflap girls in the pattern so I contacted them and they offered permission as long as it was for personal use and would not be sold.  As I contemplated options, I decided I wanted to be subtle and rely on the eye of the beholder to see what s/he could see.  I would be brazen and bold in a very tasteful manner.  Soiled Doves in the Window began unfolding.

I selected a pink cotton floral print to use with the challenge fabric and then reached far outside the traditional quilting circle to select a fabric used for sari's, a 100% polyester blend.  It was horrible to work with and I decided to use interfacing on each piece to provide stability and control raveling.  It was even more challenging to quilt as I wanted to do very traditional quilting - feathers and cross hatching.  I had to quilt part of the wall hanging from the backside  because I couldn't see markings on the dark fabric.

There are eight rectangles that I used to sew the names of brothels, some which closed their doors and shut their lamps years ago while others are still operating under neon signage and providing room tax money to rural counties.  Their names are as colorful as the women working there - Red Rooster, The Kit Kat Ranch, Mustang Ranch, Love Ranch, Salt Wells Villa, Desert Dollhouse, Chicken Ranch, Cherry Patch Ranch and Old Bridge Ranch.  I don't know if these "Ladies of the Night" had much time for quilting but I would venture to guess that many offered comfort under bed quilts.

So, it is finished and I turned in my quilt and entry form today.  It will be a long year before those soiled doves return.  I'll put a red bulb in my porch light when they come back....in celebration of course.

Beekeeping 101

We checked the hives and both queens found their way to freedom.  Now their work begins for they lay eggs, and lay eggs, and lay eggs....nearly 1,500 each day.  There are two types of bees in a colony; the females, divided into two castes - workers and the queen; and the male bees, or drones.  The most numerous are the sterile females, incapable of laying fertile eggs.  By midsummer, there will be about 40,000 worker bees thanks to the queen bee and her workers!

We checked the hives to locate the queens and we found them!  We also observed what action was taking place and discovered the honeycomb being developed.  I think I saw a larva but, not wanting to disturb the queen, put the frames back in place.

I started a bee journal and am enjoying spending time outdoors, sitting by the hives and watching them do their bee dance at the entrance.The area at the entrance is called the dance floor and scout bees perform dances to tell other bees where nectar, water and pollen sources are located.  I am finding the bees very calming and enjoy learning about their social structure.  The Beekeeper's Handbook by Sammataro and Avitabile is a great resource book for beginning beekeepers.  There is more to come!

The Flight of the Bumblebee

The plan was to meet Debbie and Andy in the Wal-Mart parking lot in north Carson to pick up our two orders of bees. When their email came, they said the bees were packaged on Thursday instead of Friday, so they should be placed in the hives this evening, which is now.  We started at 6 pm and finished shortly after 7, we're exhausted.  We had everything in place, hive tool, sugar syrup, mister to spray the bees with sugar water, marshmallows to replace the cork in the queen's box and, most significantly, white, spanking new bee suits, bonnets and gloves.  Bill decided to go first and in the process of uncorking his queen, managed to shove the cork into the box.  He went into the house to remove the wire mesh on the little box so he could remove the cork piece.  As I came into the house he announced, "She flew away!"  I was stunned....how could this happen?  Meanwhile, Bill located her on the front window and I went out to the shed and got a little aquarium net to catch her.  With a little teamwork, we got her back in her box and Bill stapled the wire in place, shoving the marshmallow in the end. Then he placed her between frames, shook bees on top of her and commenced to shake, shake shake his box of bees, trying to empty all of them in the hive body.  He ended up leaving the box at the entrance in hopes the remaining bees would figure out that this was their new home.

Then it was my turn.  Believe me, I learned from Bill and managed to remove the cork and replace it with the marshmallow with relative ease.  I decided, rather than shake out all the bees, to only shake a cup, or so, on the queen and place the bee package in the hive to let them come out on their own.  This means I only have five frames in my hive and will replace the remaining five tomorrow when I check on the sugar water.  So the adventure begins and we are bee-coming accidental beekeepers.  

Sustainability in Silver Springs

Sustaining anything in Silver Springs is a challenge, close to impossible. The summer is hot, the water sparse and the wind fierce.  The winter is cold, the water sparse and the wind fierce. The seasons in-between are fleeting at best. Despite all obstacles, pioneer spirit is alive and our community survives, often thriving.In March, our local library hosted a sustainability workshop and residents gathered to chat about chickens, bees and gardens; the room buzzing with interest. We took in all the info, paying special attention to the presentation by Debbie Gilmore, Yerington's third generation resident beekeeper and my sister-by-choice. After a failed attempt years ago, Bill and I decided to join the colony of backyard beekeepers and attend the monthly meetings in Yerington. Last Saturday, when we planned to set out the hives as our Italian bees arrive next Saturday, the wind was...yep! you got it...fierce. So much so that it was ripping roof tiles off the shed. So, I painted the hive feeders and assembled the hive bodies and frames in our living room. Andy, Debbie's honey, did an awesome job building two hive bodies and supers for our colonies, complete with a screened bottom board. Sunday is our target day, and out they'll go!