Finally getting some rain. The good kind, that is steady and soaking. I went to the market anyway with my Mama. I stocked up on eggs and goat cheese and apples and squash. The goat cheese guy gave me a big handful of jalapenos. Apparently it was a good pepper year. I'll be making the last of the tomatillo sauce this weekend. I am also making granola (this time with pumpkin seeds) and some bread (with sunflower seeds) and some goat yogurt. I got all goat milk this week. The milk lady had her barn burn down a while back so the breeding schedule got off so the cows are a little behind, I guess. As my boss says, flexibility is the key to mental health. I'll let you know how the yogurt is. Plus, it never hurts to make life a little easier now on people who can help you in the future (clearly, the lady knows a little something about dairy goats).
Shortly I am going to meet my Papa for brunch and then we are going to see my nephew perform the part of a chicken in an opera. And later today it is a BBQ for a friends beau's birthday. Whatever happened to quiet weekends at home?
Do you remember the walnuts I am soaking? I almost forgot them, but the liquid is now VERY dark and the bag the walnuts are in is definitely changing color. I may soak my yarn tonight and put it in the "dye bath" tomorrow. Did I tell you I also added a few rusty nails to the bucket? No? Well, I did that last weekend at some point. I read that iron helps the color darken. Someone recommended the nails as I couldn't find any mordant without running all over town, which wasn't really reasonable given that I didn't have a car. Plus, who wants to buy that stuff when you have the same thing (essentially) sitting in a bucket to go to the scrap yard.
My bee mentor (who rocks) called me this week and gave me a wee bit of bee advice. Just a rearrangement of the available honey in the hive. He suggested moving some of the honey in the super down into the upper box, which I can do tomorrow as I expect the rain will stop by then. It will also give me a chance to check and be sure there is still syrup in the feeder. I also got a recipe for fondant from my baker friend. Fondant is supposed to be a good emergency feed, as it is a ton of sugar, somewhat hydrated, is stiff enough to put directly into the hive above the bees so they can get to it even when it is cold. It can be super expensive if you purchase it from your local bakery. BUT, if you have a cake baking friend like I do, she can give you the secrets and the shortcuts and you can (presumably) make it yourself. I'll let you know how THAT goes if I get to it.
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