Salvation

-Posted by Isaac

Happy Easter!

The bees are home. 700 hives out in the field. Here’s a short video showing what they’re up to at the moment. I think Jayne had a more detailed blog planned, but she’s been busy running a business. I’ve been making videos lately. Last week I had a whole series for you, but instead of saving the world like I intended, they shined a light on some of my issues and the more eccentric aspects of my nature. So, sorry.

This one makes more sense for Honeyrun.

How to degranulate your raw honey

Raw honey will granulate over time, getting cloudy and thick. Not everyone loves this texture, so today I bring you a short video to show you how to bring the honey back to liquid using your crockpot. We get asked this question quite often via email so I thought having a video on hand would be helpful.

Check it out:

I also want to be sure to mention that there is nothing wrong with eating honey that is not raw (honey that has been heated over 130 degrees). I mention in the video that we always want to keep our honey raw to obtain all the micronutrients and enzymes in the honey. I realize this is confusing because at the same time, most people (including myself) enjoy heated honey every day in coffee, baked goods, and syrups. If you can keep the honey raw, then when you consume it in its raw state you will achieve more nutritional benefits. I eat both raw and heated honey, but I try to eat it raw whenever possible. I’m not a nutritionist or a food scientist… just a lady who has spent the past 18 years learning about bees and honey and this is information I’ve gathered over the years. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you find it informative and helpful.

Here comes the sun

-Posted by Isaac

Oops,

Last week’s post had to come down. I told my friend…. sometimes we step in landmines.

A bit too much objectifying…

I tend to focus on the blog for my very best landmines. You get to watch!

And, furthermore, let’s hold off on the nude pics for awhile.

Brian Steed, I did have a logical response to your swarm issues. (And it was up approximately 24 hours.) I’ll just summarize: Don’t worry about swarming. If it’s a big healthy hive, pull a split off of it in April, then let nature take its course. Sometime’s they build fast enough to make another split in May. And sometimes you miss it and they swarm. Either way, its good.

This week we finally got something done.

We got dirty.

Well, I’d call it an eclectic mix of dirt, greed, and enlightenment.

It was on account of the sun.

Solar panels!

It involved much work.

And we learned.

And we entertained.

Worth it, I think.

Soon we’ll be taking that sun and putting it in the grid.

In effect, selling that solar energy to you.

Eight years, in fact. I think that’s what they said… after only eight years, it has paid for itself. Wow!

(And that’s using figures from this cloudy state! Technology has improved!)

True capitalists— (Same as the honey bee model)— take something that Nature gives for 100% FREE, turn around, and sell it for top dollar.

Greedy bastards. Capitalist pigs.

I can’t believe this is even legal.

Shop Time

-Posted by Isaac

By far, the biggest news of the week— the sun came out.

It’s got me feeling so good. Energetic and forward thinking. Life is looking up again, and I can’t help but think a small bit of this happiness could be credited to the second biggest news of the week— we found a suitable replacement for our one term patron saint. (Our Father of Perpetual Embarrassment?)

We won’t dwell on this, lest I lose my blogging privileges. I’m one of the celebrators, but I understand there’s mixed feelings and some serious bouts of identity crisis going around. So let’s feel good about this sunshine, and leave it at that.

My brother must be feeling the same. He had a big dose of good old American gumption this week— He moved a barn. Not joking. I’ll show a clip at the end of this post.

But for now, I’d like to talk about Shop Time.

We’ve established a routine with the kids— Shop Time— every day. Mandatory.

The initial idea was to find some alternative, anything to get them off the devices. We did have rules in place, but somehow, almost daily those rules would get broken. You know how it is. Kids are sneaky.

But now we have this.

They actually seem to be enjoying it. Not that they still wouldn’t go off and sneak a video game if given the choice. But that’s just it— they’re not given the choice.

I’m right there, coaching, helping, sometimes finishing a project. I usually even have a few moments to work on my own projects.

The kids document what they’ve accomplished, and write out their big ideas for future projects. Suddenly I’m having big ideas. Or, at the very least I’ve got a little time to kick back and drink.

I mean, think. Kick back and think.

It’s awesome. I wish we had thought of this years ago.

I foresee great things coming from it. Far greater than bike baskets or Christmas ornaments. I’m talking about the kind of greatness that stretches for years and lifetimes.

After you have the right tools, after you develop the right skills…. you go on to accomplish great things. (Insert “That’s what she said.” joke here.)

No, haha, insert my brother— Justin. He and his wife/ business partner Adrienne, are in the business of moving and fixing up old barns. It’s the coolest thing.

It took him about a week to get it all jacked up and put on skis.

How did he learn all this?

Maybe the 40 years of Shop Time had something to do with it…

If you’ve got a notion to spend a country weekend in a plush old barn, here’s their business link on Facebook.

And if you take a further notion, come on over and visit. See what we’re doing in the shop.

I love you.

-Posted by Isaac

Thanks for the love on that last one. It was so nice to hear from a few of you. Regarding the farmstand. Regarding Darwin. And one or two, how do I say it… alternative Darwin?

Thanks for emailing. One of them was especially memorable. It had four sentences, two of which were, “I love you.” and “Merry Christmas!"

The “Merry Christmas!”, I knew exactly how to handle.

The other…. thrilled me. In a way I don’t even understand. On one hand, who did she think she was talking to? I am a midwestern farm boy. She’s got to know midwestern farm boys don’t go around shooting from the hip like that. Somebody’s apt to get hurt.

On the other hand… Here I am, two days later, still thinking about that email.

I grew up in a non-I-love-you family. We loved each other, but we didn’t say those words. I guess it was understood. Jayne grew up in an I-love-you family. When we were dating, I’m thankful that it didn’t take me very long to figure out, “I love you.” is something that deserves an immediate response.

She changed me.

I’ve got a song for you— me hacking through a very beautiful Gregory Alan Isakov. I threw it together with pictures, trying to think through this incredibly memorable year.

This is from the bottom of my blue ragged heart. It comes at the end of a year so full of the most intense feeling and heartache. For so many of us.

Are we wishing on broken bottles instead of stars? It doesn’t matter, does it? In the end, we’ve got each other. I love you.

Merry Christmas