Construction

One of my last projects for the summer was the construction of this solar melter. As bee keepers, we end up with a LOT of wax cappings from the supers. When bees have collected the nectar and put the resultant honey in the comb, they fan it with their wings until the water content is Just Right. How they do this is a mystery (isn't it wonderful?), but once it reaches that magic number, they seal it right up and move on. To "spin" the honey, which means to extract it from the foundation, we have to first crack the cap on the cell. All those little bits of wax have precious honey on them which we don't want to waste. We put some back out for the girls, but the rest we have saved with plans to put in the solar melter, thus separating the wax bits from the honey.

 The solar melter is just what it sounds like -- a passive solar collector which heats up the wax to melting, allowing the honey to run right off while the wax is caught in a netting, dried, and then used for making candles or even right back to the girls to recycle into their new foundation.

I have been longing for a solar oven, too, but they are just out of my reach. Then, I realized -- this guy has a tin insert, a glass cover, and, by all rights, should operate the same way! I am so excited to see if this will substitute for the oven! I plan on painting it black tomorrow when I get home from my first day of work (only 187 more to go!) and then, over Labor Day, give it a try out. I'll be sure to share my results!

And, just for the record: I did all the construction. I love building and using power tools, so this was an easy, quick, and very fun project. Anyone, I am convinced, could build this guy! Just do an Internet search for "solar melters" and see what pops up. Let me know if you build one, won't you? 

This little bit of sunshine was coming through the front door early this morning, creating a beautiful shadow on the floor. I was enchanted by the detail and play of light and dark and just wanted to share it.

Beauty is everywhere, isn't it? We just need eyes to see it... Have a wonderful week!

Tranquility

November Twilight. The world's most perfect light...

 "Make you the world a bit better or more

beautiful because you have lived in it."

Edward Bok 

Bok Tower, Lake Wales, Florida

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps... just perhaps... we should focus on this?

First Day Musings: Finding Beauty

Whitetop Mountain

We live where it is beautiful all year round. Spring. Summer. Fall. Winter. Every season has something terrific to offer and dazzle the hungry eye and heart.

Creek apples we discovered on the far side of our creek. 

They make delicious applesauce.

Beauty surrounds us; however, isn't it so easy to overlook it? We see it every day. It grows familiar and, before we know it, we no longer see the beauty around us.

Coming home from Los Angeles, January 2,

after attending the Tournament of Roses Parade. 

It only takes leaving home, though, to bring that beauty fresh to our minds when we return to the place where we are loved. We are home.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. -- Confucious

Look for beauty this week!

First Day Musings --- Beauty

Margaret Tarrant Post Card



Margaret Tarrant has been one of my favorite illustators for years. Her work is tender and soft, with light that makes me think of Turner. Her children are my especial delight -- along with her goats... of course. She has a way of capturing the innocent and the pure. It is the perfect world.

Have you ever found an artist that you drew inspiration from? Someone whose work made you realize that life could be different?

Many of us instantly think of Tasha Tudor. Her work and life were inspiring and made us think, for a minute or two, that we could live like that. We could find simple joy in the day-to-day. Life had possiblities when we considered her work. We saw beauty.

So much of life is spent missing the beauty around us. Crystal snowflakes slipping through the frigid air. The smell of a doe coming in to feed from the brisk air. The nuzzle of a little nose in the palm of one's hand as it looks for One More Cookie. The dusky smell of a narcissus as it blooms in the house, bringing in a touch of spring on a very cold winter day.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the saying goes. Yet, we must have the eye to see. I once read that a way to keep one's mind sharp is to watch for one special colour as one walks or travels through a day. It is an interesting theory and one that is challenging and, frankly, rather fun.

This week, I challenge you to do one thing: create something beautiful in your life. It doesn't have to be a big thing -- for me this week it was purchasing a small $3 cluster of miniature tea roses (white with a green edge), breaking up the cluster into three little nosegays and placing them in unexpected places -- the bathroom, foyer, and kitchen counter.

Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a beautiful week!

Simple Things

One of the things that summer brings which is so much joy is the ability to gather flowers at will.

Using whatever I have for vases makes the arrangements all the more interesting.

I have added red and blue food colouring to this vase so the hydrangeas will turn purple. Of course!

I love yellow and blue together. It is so crisp!

These are from my Grandmother's flower garden, transplanted when she died ten years ago.

She called them "Goldenrods."

Can you see the extra little treat in the bouquets?

Mint.

I read on Susan Branch's blog that she did that and loved the idea.

They smell wonderful!

Do you keep flowers in the house?