Our family traditionally gathers together on New Year's Eve to share our resolutions and predictions for the upcoming year. We write our resolutions on index cards, which my Mom then tucks away for the year. On New Year's Eve 2012, I resolved to do five things that I'd never done before. It was such an excellent resolution, I thought, that I resolved it all over again on New Year's Eve 2013. Part of the draw is that while it sounds inspired, it's really one of those resolutions that take care of themselves. I live in a foreign country. Doing new things is simply a matter of accepting opportunities as they arise.
For instance, do I want to ski in the Austrian Alps?The appropriate response: Well, sure.
Do I want to test out a bionic hand?
The appropriate response: Might as well.
Do I want a piece of bacon apple strudel?
The appropriate response: Why, yes, I do.
One of my colleagues recently offered to give me a tour of his beehives. I like honey. I also like honeycomb, honey butter, honey yogurt, Honey Nut Cheerios, the colour yellow, and what bees do for the planet in general, so naturally I took him up on the offer.
I made my visit to the hives Sunday afternoon. Here I am holding one of the trays of wax, which is swarming with bees, and wearing an expression that suggests I wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation.
For instance, do I want to ski in the Austrian Alps?The appropriate response: Well, sure.
Do I want to test out a bionic hand?
The appropriate response: Might as well.
Do I want a piece of bacon apple strudel?
The appropriate response: Why, yes, I do.
One of my colleagues recently offered to give me a tour of his beehives. I like honey. I also like honeycomb, honey butter, honey yogurt, Honey Nut Cheerios, the colour yellow, and what bees do for the planet in general, so naturally I took him up on the offer.
I made my visit to the hives Sunday afternoon. Here I am holding one of the trays of wax, which is swarming with bees, and wearing an expression that suggests I wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation.
The trays are placed vertically in the hive boxes piled up at the right of the photo, nine or ten trays to a box. Sunday's tasks included checking the progress being made with the wax and looking for eggs.
We didn't see any eggs, but there were a couple tiny pockets of honey that you could stick your finger into. The bees didn't mind too much. They did take offense to being called 'lazy', though. Apparently they hadn't made as much progress with the wax as they should have. My colleague, the beekeeper, said he thinks they've lost their queen. He will have to try transplanting some eggs from his other hive. With any luck, some of the eggs will hatch and the 'lazy' bees will have a queen to raise.
They weren't particularly pleased with all the insults and manhandling, and by the time all the trays had been taken out and checked, what had been a dull buzz when we arrived had turned into a high-pitched roar. It was time to put the little heathens back to bed before they turned violent.
As I recall, another of my resolutions for this year was to add a few new foods to my diet. Do you think honey straight from the hive counts as a new food?