The day the bees swarmed.

Do you have any hobbies?  This year I decided that beekeeping was going to be my new hobby, and so far, I absolutely love it.  In the early spring, I attended an eight week course in beekeeping with the Worcester County Beekeeping Association (the oldest beekeeping club in America!)  I highly recommend that anyone interested in beekeeping take a course.  It's a lot to take on without any prior knowledge.  The minute you open your package, there are 10,000 little lives in your hands!!  I hope to be able to share a lot of info and insight into beekeeping as I go, but if you are interested in beekeeping yourself, PLEASE do other research as well.

Today, I'm sharing some photos of us capturing a swarm!  Now, what is a swarm?  I'll tell you!  When a hive feels crowded (basically the queen doesn't have enough space to lay more eggs), they will grow a new queen and that new queen along with half of the hive will leave to find another place to build a hive.  Once they leave the hive they all cluster around the queen high up and send out a handful of scouts to look for suitable hives.  It is when they are all clustered together in this swarm, that they are incredibly safe to handle because they no longer have a hive that they are protecting.  This is also when it is possible to capture an entire new hive of bees #FREEBEES!!  

There is so much more info, but I don't like to get too wordy in these blogposts.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  I'm hoping to be able to edit together some video I took as well, but for now enjoy the pictures from the day!

CONTINUE READING

Sometimes life can be perfect.

Life is stressful, and sometimes it mercilessly kicks you in the ass.   This is news to no one, I'm sure, but every once in a blue moon life sends us a ray of hope in the form of a single perfect day.  I enjoyed one of these days two weeks ago when me and a couple of friends traveled up to Maine to climb Katahdin.  It began with a foggy morning beach walk in Portland, and ended with us gawking at a gigantic moose in a pond at Baxter.   

I'm putting these photos into the world to share the bliss, and to remind myself  of it when things feel off kilter.  Do enjoy.

CONTINUE READING

Spring has sprung!

Hi friends (Mom)!  I'm here to tell you that I am alive and well.  I took quite the hiatus from this platform due to a pretty drastic life change.  I moved from Utah back east to Massachusetts!  I'm now living on a farm in central Mass where I'm working in the garden as well as the kitchen.  It's been bliss, but quite the adjustment.  Now that I feel more settled in my life here, I'm ready to get back on the blogging train.  So I just thought I'd check in and share some lovely pictures from my trip to the Tower Hill Botanical Gardens which fill me with so much anticipation for the growing season ahead...enjoy!!

CONTINUE READING

Avocado shakes are yummy.

Have you ever had an avocado shake?  Next time you're at an Indian restaurant or a Sri Lankan/Singaporean restaurant (I'm looking at you Banana Leaf in Provo), you need to order one.  Or you could always just make it at home and take advantage of another great winter fruit: kiwi!


For my version, you will need:

• 1 avocado (mine was frozen, that's optional)
• 1 kiwi
• 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup milk (give or take based on preferred consistency)
• 1 lime (optional, this is very creamy and you can temper that by adding a squeeze of lime)

All you need to do is blend until completely smooth.  Trust me, you don't want chunks of avocado.

This recipe will make two shakes, or one for the thirsty among us.  Enjoy!

CONTINUE READING

Burt saved my winter hands.

Here's a bit of information that you probably don't know about me.  I moisturize, like a lot.  The worst feeling in the world to me is being itchy from dry skin, and I go to great lengths to avoid that feeling.  I moisturize from head to toe upon leaving the shower, I carry lip balm and hand cream with me everywhere I go.  And most importantly, I apply a deep moisturizer to my hands when I wake up and when I go to sleep.  My routine keeps my skin exceptionally smooth and I can't count how many times people have commented on the softness of my hands.  But this winter, my routine was not cutting it.

I went about all my moisturizing like normal, but my skin started to appear dry and cracked around my cuticles and the sides of my nails.  No matter how much cream I put on, it didn't improve.  At the time, I was using The Body Shop's Almond Hand & Nail Butter as my deep treatment.  While I still love the line and carry the Hand & Nail Cream with me, I decided to look for a better night cream.  What I ended up with is a miracle product.  Immediately upon applying the salve, the cracks and dryness were gone.  And after using it for a couple weeks, I can confidently say that it has improved the health and look of my hands.  

Now, I will say that this is not a cream.  It has a waxy texture similar to a cleansing balm, and a little goes a LONG way.  Also, if you're opposed to strong scents, this might not be the product for you.  It is infused with rosemary and you can definitely tell.  The scent does go away after about 10-15 minutes and over time you get used to it, but I know some people are very particular about their scents.  If you can deal, and you're looking for something to beat the winter dryness, then this product is for you and you can find it here.

CONTINUE READING