Science (Dec 7) has a short piece on Hassan Mashriqui, whose calculations helped save lives from the recent cyclone, Sidr.

Mashriqui studies how hurricanes blow water onto the shore and has adapted his model for Bangladesh. So on 13 November, just 2 days before Sidr made landfall, Mashriqui requested super-computer time to run the model, which predicted storm surges as high as 3.7 meters. "We had to act fast," he says.

This is a fantastic example of fast global communications directly saving lives (much higher success ratio than the usual prayers :) ):

Mashriqui e-mailed the results to an official at the Bangladesh Ministry of Food and Disaster Management whose son is an LSU student. Evacuations of low-lying areas were already under way, but the predictions helped the government target its preparations for relief efforts. "They could see in detail where the storm was coming and what the surge would be," he says.

The cyclone still claimed more than 4000 lives. Mashriqui hopes that Bangladeshi researchers will be able to run the model themselves the next time a cyclone threatens their country.

Great job!
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Ellen still hasn't called, despite my daily entry to win her "12 Days of Christmas Giveaway." There's always tomorrow.

::

I wanted to share a little organizational tip that my friend uses and I've always admired but haven't yet gotten around to doing. She created a database with all the addresses of her friends and family. In the database are fields to include their birthday, anniversary, whether or not they are a Christmas card recipient, and on and on.

Every January, she filters the database for each month of the year, prints it, and files it by month. So for example, if her brother has a birthday and an anniversary in September, two labels print out for him on September's sheet. (I think she even has the cards picked out and filed with the labels, but I'm not sure. And besides, that might be borderline disordered--and we certainly don't want to promote any more compulsive tendencies than most of us already possess).

This might just be the year I give that little trick a shot.

::

Ava Francey pants is exerting independence every step of the way these days. Today, for instance, when we fetched my splurge (below) she let go of my hand and declared, "Up-a-stairs by self."

And up she went.

Splurge of the Day:

Large large large extra hot hot hot peppermint mint mint mocha.

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The Baghdad museum was open for a few hours yesterday to some journalists and local politicians, and there are plans to open two of its 16 galleries soon. From The New York Times:

The museum still houses hulking centuries-old statues and intricately patterned stone panels, items too heavy for plunderers to haul off. Its most valued items, including pieces of Assyrian gold known as the Nimrud treasures, were saved because they had been sealed in crates and locked in a bank vault.

Yet on Tuesday, much of the museum’s collection remained out of sight. Many of the ancient heavy stone statues were covered in plastic. Dozens of glass display cases sat empty but for thick layers of dust. Workers were mixing epoxy in one gallery, the Assyrian Hall, where walls were lined with great stone bas-relief and little else. The 4,000 pieces that have so far been recovered remained in the museum’s underground vaults.

Ms. Eidan, who had recently said that two halls of the museum would reopen this month, said Tuesday that even if the museum was fully restored, she was not certain that the city was stable enough to ensure a safe reopening. She also lamented the illegal digging that continues at Baghdad’s 12,000 largely unguarded archaeological sites. According to Abdul Zahra al-Taliqani, a spokesman for the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, thieves have stolen, and likely trafficked, 17,000 pieces from these sites so far.

The security issue is vital and not everybody is happy with its opening. From last week's Science:

But former director Donny George and other archaeologists oppose the reopening. "Opening any part of the museum is a dangerous move," says George. A U.S. officer in Baghdad recently told the American Forces Press Service that the military was eager to reopen the museum. "Can they really be sure that a suicide bomber does not go into the galleries?" asks Elizabeth Stone of Stony Brook University in New York state.

This is a tricky issue. Without opening the museum they will have trouble getting funds for restoration efforts, but opening it may be too much of a risk.
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Christmas Carols have been playing throughout our house for two weeks now, almost non-stop. In fact, Ava noticed this morning when they weren't on, requesting: "My dreams, mommy? Red-nose?" Translation: I'll Be Home For Christmas (if only in my dreams) and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer...can we listen to them, please?

Mistletoes and bright red bows are shaping up around here, though sloppily. We're out a kitchen table right now, waiting for a new one to arrive--which leaves me without some critical "pile" space. I'm on pace to tidy up shopping and cards by Thursday (tomorrow!) so that on Saturday we can focus on having some "little friends" over to make ornaments and the following week to bake cookies!

On my list of things to take care of in and out of those events:

• Visit the local Red Cross for a blood donation
• Drop off some toys and clothes to the Salvation Army
• Hang some garland up the stairwell
• Wrap presents!
• Finish my knitting project
• Print out some of these to color with Ava
  
• Pick up some fabric for my sew-off with friend Jenny
• Mail packages to far away friends and family
• Wander around the quaint shops of Fells Point with husband and daughter
• Walk around magical 34th Street of Baltimore

::

It's easy to feel overwhelmed and frantic in the days leading up to Christmas, "I haven't gotten enough" or, "I forgot to pick up something for...." But in those moments, try and resist the urge to react and instead, sit quietly and remember one thing or one person--past or present--that made this time of year so special for you. The frantic feeling will pass and the space in your mind and your heart will make room for other things special to come.

Splurge-away

We were talking about Christmas traditions with our favorite coffee shop friends, Howard and Monica. Monica asks her mom to make her Chex Mix every year for herChristmas present. It reminded me of how much I love my mom's Chex Mix (I can never get it quite right)--and so mom, if you're reading, that's what I'd like for Christmas, too.

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There has been an idiotic campaign against polio vaccination in some parts of the Muslim world, and against Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) in some developed countries. Here is an article in The Independent on the subject:

But today, some of the followers of faith-based thinking are waging a global war on vaccinations. At the turn of the 21st century, the WHO's vaccination programme was on the brink of sending polio to the graveyard of dead diseases. It had been chased down to a handful of remaining areas, which were being rapidly vaccinated. It was almost over, forever.

And then the local mullahs heard about it. The Islamic clerical elite in northern Nigeria announced that God had revealed to them that the vaccine was "un-Islamic", part of an evil plot by the godless West to sterilise Muslim children. The local population, with no alternative sources of information, stopped sending their kids. Now polio is back with a vengeance, and we may never wipe it out. In a clash between reason and revelation, revelation won out .

Its not even revelation here...its just a claim of revelation. A similar campaign was also going on in the northern areas in Pakistan, and it has also setback eradication efforts. But the surprising part of the story is about MMR vaccinations in England:

But before we get too smug and conclude this is a cultural gap between us and Those Damn Muslims, remember – in Britain, over the past five years, there has been a smaller but strikingly similar home-grown jihad against a particular vaccination. It has been waged by none other than the Daily Mail.

In 2000, the paper decided – in the absence of any reliable scientific evidence whatsoever – to give wildly undue prominence to the idea that Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism. Every reputable scientist in the country explained, patiently, that the sole scientist making these claims – Dr Andrew Wakefield – didn't have any reliable evidence to back him up. He had looked at only 12 autistic children whose parents all fervently blamed MMR – thus skewing his results irreparably. Instead, Britain's scientific community pointed to reams of studies showing conclusively that MMR is not to blame: a study of 1.8 million randomly-chosen children in Finland (as opposed to Wakefield's hand-picked 12) found that autism rates remained the same after the introduction of MMR.

So why was the Mail promoting this view?

Was the Mail's campaign based on faith-based thinking, like the campaign in northern Nigeria? I think it can be shown that it was. Let's look at the figure within the newspaper who spearheaded the MMR campaign: Melanie Phillips. Despite having no scientific qualifications, and despite making the most elementary scientific howlers time and again in her articles, she feels free to announce that virtually all the world's scientists are wrong, on everything from global warming to MMR.

But why was she so certain the MMR campaign should be stopped? Phillips presented her argument as if she was simply siding with one scientist against another. But in reality, she disputes on religious grounds the very basis of vaccinations: evolution. She says that creationism should be taught in schools, and that evolution is "only a theory".

Read the full article here.

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I am pleased to report that we are into day four of "dinner is in the freezer (or the cupboard)"--and I'd say that a $25 grocery bill on Sunday screams, "Success!"

So, here's what I've come up with (I know the names are corny, but I had fun making them up):

• Popeye and Bocelli
• Turkey Burgers and Butternut Squash
  
• Green Beans and Goulash
  
• G-rice n' Garbanzo (pronounced G-reece)
  
• Chicken Spiedies with a side of Thai'd Broccoli
  
• Sucatosh Salad with Chicken

I've listed the directions here, if you want to give them a try. I didn't include exact measurements because I didn't really take any. If you have questions though, don't hesitate to ask.

Startin' off with a Splurge:

I started shopping for my daughter's Christmas presents online this morning at 6:30 am--and was finished by 7:15am. It's probably not a great idea to start off the week in a splurge-frenzy, but I feel a whole lot better now that I've done it.

Here's my favorite gift that we picked out for her even though she seems to make music out of most anything...

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Germany is planning to ban Scientology in the country because of its "cult-like" practices. From a BBC news story:

Germany's federal and state interior ministers have declared the Church of Scientology unconstitutional, clearing the way for a possible ban.

The ministers have asked Germany's domestic intelligence agency to examine whether the Church's legal status as an association could be challenged.

Scientology is not recognised as a religion in Germany.

I'm not clear how do they differentiate between cults and religions. Yes, Scientology is weird, but does it deserve to be banned? Some of it will indeed come out in the actual legal challenge, but I do feel that Scientology gets an unusually harsh treatment compared to other new religions. But the legal battle will be an interesting one to watch.

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So a biologist, who does not believe in evolution, was fired from a project that dealt directly with evolutionary biology. This should be a logical thing. However, now he has filed a lawsuit claiming that he was dismissed for his Christian beliefs. Details are below.

Nathaniel Abraham filed a lawsuit earlier this week in US District Court in Boston saying that the Cape Cod research center dismissed him in 2004 because of his Christian belief that the Bible presents a true account of human creation.

Abraham, who is seeking $500,000 in compensation for a violation of his civil rights, says in the suit that he lost his job as a postdoctoral researcher in a biology lab shortly after he told his superior that he did not accept evolution as scientific fact.

So can one work on something that he/she does not not believe in? Here is philosopher, Michael Ruse:

"I have a cleaning woman who is a Seventh-day Adventist and neither of us feel any tension," said Michael Ruse, a philosopher of science at Florida State University who has written extensively on creationism and evolutionary biology. "Yet, what is a person doing in an evolutionary lab when they don't believe in evolution . . . and didn't tell anybody they didn't believe in evolution?"

But an additional problem is that he did not want to work on the evolutionary project:

He has a master's degree in biology and a philosophy doctorate, both from St. John's University in New York, a university spokeswoman said. He was hired by Hahn's marine biology lab in March 2004 because of his expertise working with zebra fish and in toxicology and developmental biology, according to court documents. He did not tell anyone his creationist views before being hired. Hahn's lab, according to its website, studies how aquatic animals respond to chemical contaminants by examining ". . . mechanisms from a comparative/evolutionary perspective."

In October 2004, both agree, Abraham made a passing comment to Hahn saying he did not believe in evolution.

"My supervisor appeared angry and asked me what I meant," Abraham wrote in a 2005 complaint he filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. "My supervisor and I had a follow up meeting during which my supervisor informed me that if I do not believe in evolution, then he was paying me for only 7 to 10 percent of the work I was doing under the grant."

Abraham said he told Hahn he would do extra work to compensate and "was willing to discuss evolution as a theory."

But on Nov. 17, Hahn asked him to resign, pointing out in the letter that Abraham should have known of evolution's centrality to the project because it was evident from the job advertisement and grant proposal.

". . . You have indicated that you do not recognize the concept of biological evolution and you would not agree to include a full discussion of the evolutionary implications and interpretations of our research in any co-authored publications resulting from this work," Hahn wrote in the letter, which the commission provided to the Globe. "This position is incompatible with the work as proposed to NIH and with my own vision of how it should be carried out and interpreted."

Read the full story here.

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The clock reads 8pm but my body and my mind are screaming bedtime! I've got some water on the stove for tea, the Christmas lights are on, the TV is off, and I'm looking at a stack of books that are pleading, "pick me! pick me!"

I hope that you had a relaxing weekend and that you find a way to squeeze 10 more minutes out of it to do something that you don't often get the time to do.

Today's Splurge:

I didn't splurge on it (yet) but Pete and I have our eye on this cinnamon roll at our new coffee shop. It looks like cinnamon and lots of butter rolled up in pie crust. Some people crush on people, I crush on pastries. :)

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This is not directly related to science & religion, but the separation of church and state indeed impacts a number of issues at the intersection of science & religion. So here is Keith Olbermann's wonderful take on Mitt Romney's religion speech which included the claim that "freedom requires religion":



And here is New York Times editorial from yesterday on the subject: The Crisis of Faith.
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It seems that God (or gods) has more legal issues to worry about. In September a senator from Nebraska filed a lawsuit against God for making threats to people and causing earthquakes and floods. Now a judge in India has summoned two Hindu gods, Ram and Hanuman, to resolve a property dispute:

Judge Sunil Kumar Singh in the eastern state of Jharkhand has issued adverts in newspapers asking the gods to "appear before the court personally".

The gods have been asked to appear before the court on Tuesday, after the judge said that letters addressed to them had gone unanswered.

The letters were returned because the addresses were "incomplete". This prompted the judge to issue this statement:

"You failed to appear in court despite notices sent by a peon and later through registered post. You are herby directed to appear before the court personally", Judge Singh's notice said.

But this is all about a property dispute:

Judge Singh presides in a "fast track" court - designed to resolve disputes quickly - in the city of Dhanbad. The dispute is now 20 years old and revolves around the ownership of a 1.4 acre plot of land housing two temples.

The deities of Ram and Hanuman, the monkey god, are worshipped at the two temples on the land. Temple priest Manmohan Pathak claims the land belongs to him. Locals say it belongs to the two deities. The two sides first went to court in 1987. A few years ago, the dispute was settled in favour of the locals. Then Mr Pathak challenged the verdict in a fast track court.

Lets see what happens on Tuesday. With all these court cases, perhaps we are looking at a new Law & Order series devoted to various deities.

Read the full story here.

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I have been spending a lot of money at the grocery store lately. A lot.

And I could get away with using the "higher gas prices" excuse for a little while, but this has gone on for far too long. Especially since I really don't have much to show for it except overcrowded cabinets and refrigerator shelves.

So, I've extended my effort to simplify and surrender this Christmas season to the kitchen. For the next three weeks, I have challenged myself to resist a big grocery shop and instead, use every last frozen vegetable that is taking up space in my not-enough-space freezer and every canned good that has collected crumbs from the toaster that rests above them. That's right--let's see how creative this writing business has really made me.

I've dusted off this cookbook that I picked up for Pete years and years ago, and if you have any recipes to add, please send them along!

Splurge on RED:

I went to the store to buy my little girl some black patent leather shoes for her black and white Christmas dress.

They didn't have black in her size...

So I bought her red. Cherry red. They are adorable and besides, every little girl ought to have a pair of fancy red shoes. Actually, every big girl ought to as well!

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We are excited that our hives and beekeeping equipment are in such demand! Wow, and what excites us even more is that many of our new customers are new to beekeeping! Honeybees are going to make a come back as more and more people begin to keep bees!! Several of you have been sharing this blog with others...THANK YOU!! And, others have been sharing our prices with others, and sending more customers our way...THANK YOU!!

Today, my father-in-law broke his morning record and built 42 deep and medium supers. He hammered 1004 nails!

Sheri and I are ordinary folks, who started keeping bees as a hobby and eventually found it to be so enjoyable and rewarding that it turned into a business. However, to be honest with you, we are a mom and pop operation. So when you call in, you're either get mom or pop! We'll treat you like family and do our best to answer your questions and help you any way we can. If you ever stop by, you'll find me in a flannel shirt with old blue jeans spotted with wood glue and paint. We're just hard working folks. And we appreciate your business.

Although we are always learning more and more about beekeeping, we've learned a lot over the years. So, these lessons are FREE, a gift from us to you, so that you can avoid the mistakes that we made, and hopefully get off to a much easier start keeping bees. Back in 1994 when I started my first honeybee hive, I didn't know what I was doing and had no one to talk to much about it. I was lost and made huge mistakes. So, you've got a friend in us!

In today's lesson, we want to give you a yearly calendar of what we think you should be doing as a beekeeper each month and a summary of what your bees are doing. This may vary slightly due to the variation in climates, but you can make the adjustments accordingly.

January

JANUARY AND THE BEES: The bees are in a tight cluster staying warm and consuming very little food. On days when the wind is calm and the temperature rises above 40, you'll probably see a few bees flying out taking a cleansing flight. Since bees do not go to the bathroom inside their hive, they fly out on warm days and this is called a cleansing flight. Winter bees live a little longer than summer bees, but remember, bees live short lives. Many of your bees will die during the winter, just from old age. When bees die during the winter, they fall to the bottom of the hive. In the summer, die bees are immediately carried outside the hive by their sisters. But, in the winter, when the hive is clustered, the dead bees accumulate on the bottom board. On warm days, other bees might try and drag out their dead sisters. When snow covers the ground, you will noticed more dead bees around your hives. This is normal. Don't panic! It is a sign of a strong hive when they drags out dead bees. But, if you don't see anything don't panic either. It just means they will probably do this later on.

JANUARY AND THE BEEKEEPER: Monitor your hives to make sure winter winds have not disturbed the tops. Also, make sure that after it snows, that the openings are cleared of snow so that the bees can continue to get enough air, and move freely in and out of the entrance on warm days.

URGENT!! ORDER YOUR BEES AND EQUIPMENT IN JANUARY

Many bees suppliers will completely sell out of package bees by the end of January. You must call and place your bee order as soon as you can during the first week of January. Otherwise, you may not be able to secure your bee purchases for the 2008 year. Those of you who will be ordering your bees from us, Long Lane Honey Bee Farms, we will be prepared to take your orders for package bees and nucs beginning on Wednesday January 2nd and everyday thereafter until we run out. Call early!

Make sure you join and attend your local beekeeping club, read up on beekeeping, and clean up your smoker and hive tool.

FEBRUARY

FEBRUARY AND THE BEES: Sunlight is becoming slightly longer and a few more warm days triggers the queen to start laying a few more eggs. Their cluster has worked its way upward into the top deep brood chamber. They are basically behaving the same as it January.

FEBRUARY AND THE BEEKEEPER: On a warm day, 50 degrees or more, you can open the top briefly and look in on the hive. Do not remove any frames, as this will chill the bees and the brood. Upon inspection you can assess if the colony still has enough stored honey for food. If not, you may want to consider emergency feeding options.

Emergency feeding is just that...an emergency. So do whatever it takes to get some sugar in the hive. Dry sugar will work but only if the bees have warm enough days to fly out for water. There may not be many days warm enough in northern states for dry sugar feedings or hard candy feedings. Sometimes I have soaked sponges in heavy sugar water and jammed the sponge between the frames near the cluster. You can also place a plastic zip-lock bag full of sugar water directly over the cluster and poke a few holes on the top of the bag or make a slit in the bag. Do anything you can think of...after all it is better than letting the hive starve to death. Of course, if you have frames of honey available, that's the best way to feed them, but most of us have sold all our honey by now.

You might also consider placing a pollen patty on top of the upper deep box. This will really work well if the end of winter is extremely mild and there are many warm days. Pollen patties stimulate the laying of more eggs. However, if the weather turns cold again, then the bees may not be able to keep this early brood warm and fed. So it is a gamble this early for northern states.

Finally, if you did not order your package bees in January, you must do it now! And if you did not order your new equipment, hurry! You want all of your hive equipment ready by March.

MARCH
MARCH AND THE BEES: If the hive was low on honey going into winter, then March is the month they may starve out. They have probably moved all the way up in the hive and their overall population is very low due to normal die-outs throughout the winter. The bees are going to be flying more in March, and they will find pollen even in northern states. The queen will start laying much more in March. The entire hive will begin to return to an almost normal operation now that winter is almost over. There will be cold snaps, but the bees will do fine as they begin to expand.
MARCH AND THE BEEKEEPER: Continue emergency feeding if needed, and place entrance or top feeders on the hive and feed 1:1 sugar water, one part sugar and one part water. Continue with the pollen patty feedings.

Inspect your hive! March will provide you with a few days when the temperature will rise to 50 degrees or higher. At this temperature you can look in the hive and pull out a few frames. Keep in mind that since there is not a heavy nectar flow, and since it is cooler, the bees might be a bit more aggressive. I am stung more during these cold inspections than the rest of the year. So wear protective gear.
March is a great month to start feeding the pollen patties. If you don't make your own patties, we sell the pre-made pollen patties which can be placed right in the hive. Pollen patties truly do jump start the hive. I highly recommend that you place a pollen patties in your hives in March.
The bottom board will probably be filled with dead, winter bees. They did their job, so play "Taps", salute them, and toss them in the yard for the mice and birds to enjoy. Serve your mice an eviction notice.
You'll be able to assess how many of your colonies have died out over the winter. Clean out these boxes and freeze the comb if you can. This will prevent the spread of wax moths. This link provides information on how to freeze your combs and for how long.
March is our busiest month in hive equipment and bee sales. Everyone calls and wants their hive yesterday! Please do us a big favor and order your hives in January.

APRIL
APRIL AND THE BEES: Now the bees are almost fully operational. There will still be a few cold snaps, especially in early April, but by the last two weeks, the weather is good for bees to rapidly expand and to even start bringing in more and more nectar and pollen. The queen is laying well now. The hive is expanding.
APRIL AND THE BEEKEEPING: Keep feeding! Feeding helps the bees build up. No supers are on your hive yet, so their intake of sugar is not going into your honey product. You are just feeding to help the hive off to a great start. Keep the pollen patties on top too. Remove entrance reducers.
April can be cold and wet which means that your bees may have limited opportunities to fly out for food. So you must continue to inspect the hive to be sure they have enough food stores. Also, inspect your hive for any abnormalities. You want to see a solid brood laying pattern from your queen. If not, consider replacing her now!
Reverse your brood chambers! This is extremely important as it gives more space for the queen to lay. Simply take the top deep brood chamber and place it on the bottom board and place the one that was on the bottom on top.
If your bees are no longer taking the sugar feeding, discontinue, put supers on, as the bees will now begin to collect dandelion nectar and nectar from Maple trees, Locust trees and other early Spring flowering plants and trees.
This is a great time to equalize your hives. You may have to combine weak hives with strong ones. Even though I know better, every year I seem to become too compassionate toward a struggling hive, and try to nurse them back to health. Last year, I successfully did just that with one hive, but another hive bit the dust in September after I nursed them along all year. It is usually not worth it. It is costly to spend too much time on a struggling hive. It takes money and time to requeen the hive and to continue to work it. It would be far better to combine it to another hive if it is disease and pest free. After all, a weak hive is an invitation for pests and disease. Strong hives chase away pests and disease. So, your weak hive could spread disease to all your other hives. Don't take the chance. Keep your hives strong.

MAY
MAY AND THE BEES: Bees are in full operation now that it is May. You can stop feeding strong hives now because they are bringing in lots of nectar and pollen. The hive is expanding rapidly. The brood chambers are filling up fast and becoming crowded and congested.
MAY AND THE BEEKEEPER: RED ALERT!! BEES SWARM IN MAYYou will have to implement a swarm control strategy. Keep in mind that bees swarm as a way of multiplying. It is not a sign of being a poor beekeeper. However, there are some important steps to implement to try to prevent swarming. Review the link above. Keep in mind that you must provide room for your hive to expand. And, you should put on honey supers in May. Put on as many as you'd like. I think it is good practice to have a minimum of two honey supers on all hives during the nectar season. Three or four supers are even better. Don't wait to add your supers or you may miss particular nectar flows. Get all supers on by May 1st!
Consider having an extra, empty hive on hand so you'll be able to capture a swarm. You will want to capture your own swarms or you will probably receive phone calls once your neighbors learn you are a beekeeper. We receive several calls each week all Spring and Summer.

JUNE

JUNE AND THE BEES: The bees will be working hard filling supers. They can still swarm during June, so keep an eye out for swarms. There is no need to feed the bees. They are gathering plenty of nectar and pollen. You may see the bees hanging out on the front of the hive at night. This is normal. On hot and especially humid evenings, many bees will spend the night outside the hive, clinging to the front of the hive or they may form a beard on the ground in front of the hive. This phenomenon is called "bearding". This would be like you enjoying your cool porch on a hot evening.

Continue to monitor your hive. We suggest inspecting your hive every two weeks to ensure the queen is laying well. The bees will need water, so be sure to keep a water source near your hives. We fill bird baths with water so that our bees stay out of our dog's water bowl and our neighbor's pool.

Most beekeepers begin to consider the amount of mites within hives during June. Some even begin to treat. However, no treatments can be administered in a hive while supers are on. This could contaminate the honey with chemical residue. We do not use chemicals in our hives but we do treat for mites with powder sugar. However, we wait until the last summer nectar flow is over before treating with powder sugar. For Central Illinois, the summer nectar flow ends about the first week of August. If mites become a problem it will be during the summer and fall months. We do not like to disturb our bees during Summer nectar flows, nor do we want any traces of powder sugar to be added to the honey. So we wait until August or September to begin our powder sugar treatment program.

JULY

JULY AND THE BEES: The bees are behaving as they did in June.

JULY AND THE BEEKEEPER: Continue to check your supers! You'll now be removing and extracting your honey.

AUGUST

AUGUST AND THE BEES : Since the nectar flow will end this month, the bees will become much more flighty, searching for nectar which is now not as plentiful to find. The bees are making a final effort to store up for winter, searching for final nectar sources. Golden rod and Aster plants can provide an average nectar flow in the fall.

AUGUST AND THE BEEKEEPER: If you have multiple hives, you must be careful not to let a strong hive rob a weak hive. If nectar is still coming in, continue to place supers on the hive. Be careful not to open up the hive for extended periods as other hives may try and rob the hive while it is opened. I usually will place a 5 gallon bucket in my bee yards and fill it with 2:1 sugar water, 2 parts sugar and 1 part water. Then, I will fill it with clean sticks so the bees will not drown. After a few hours the bucket will be covered with thousands of bees. Don't put this close to your house. This is a great way to fed your bees and to prevent them from robbing other weaker hives. If you have just one or two hives, this will not be necessary.

September

SEPTEMBER AND THE BEES : The bees will still be working fall flowers but in most states, the amount of honey produced in September will be minimum. The days are still warm enough to allow the bees time to gather more last minute nectar prior to the first major hard freeze or frost which will kill the flowers.

SEPTEMBER AND THE BEEKEEPER: This is the start of the beekeeper's year! What you do in September will determine how well your bees do next year, and how well they overwinter. Here's your work list for September:

1) Consider requeening. You don't have to, if your queen has done well. But it is advisable to requeen in September. If you can afford to requeen your hive each year, it would be best to do so in September. A new queen means a much younger queen who has stronger pheromones and who will be more apt to lay eggs more efficiently in the Spring. In a future lesson I'll teach on how to requeen a hive.

2) Take off all your supers. There is no need for them now, and you will want to tighten up the hive by removing excess supers.

3) Weigh your hives. This is guess work unless you invest in a hive scale. Find something around the house that weighs around 70 pounds. Lift it up slightly with one hand. This will give you an idea what 70 pounds feels like. Now, go to your hives and with one hand, slightly lift the back. Only lift it an inch or two so that you can sense how heavy it feels. It needs to feel around 70 pounds. If not, you will want to start feeding the hive 2:1 sugar water.

Because robbing is a problem this time of the year, here's what I suggest. But first let me discuss my experience with feeders. My favorite feeder is the front feeder, the one that slips into the front of the hive opening at the bottom and a mason jar slips down into it. However, in the fall, bees from other hives can make their way to the front feeder, and eventually rob the hive. So I do not use this entrance feeders during the fall. By the way, this is called a Boardman feeder.

Top feeders are large resivors of sugar water above the hive, usually made of plastic and they have a small space where the bees can climb into a screened area and go down into the resivor to consume sugar water. Here's what I don't like about that. If the top cover does not cover it well, bees from other hives make their way into the top of the feeder and drown or rob the hive. If you make the top cover fit tight enough to keep robbing bees out, then the sugar water cab mildew and mold. And, once I had a top feeder break and leak 2 gallons of sugar water onto my hive, drowning and disrupting the hive for several days. There are some nice top feeders available, but I don't like to use top feeders.

Frame feeders are feeders that slip in between your frames, and actually take the place of a frame. Essentially it is a thin bucket that is about the size of a frame and the bees can eat from within their hive. These require going deep into the hive to load and they aren't perfect either.

So, what you should do duirng September is purchase our fall feeder system. Or you can make your own. Our system resembles a brood chamber size super but with a bottom. A round hole with a mason lid is placed in the bottom of the feeder. Now, you place your mason jar in the lid and place your inner cover and top cover on this feeder. These work great and the feeder winds up being right over the cluster, so you can even feed the bees long into the winter if needed.

Also, stay out of your hive as soon as you finish your hive work. Propolis is the glue that holds all the pieces of the hive together. Every time you open your hive, you break the propolis seal. If you do this late in the year, when warm days are over the propolis will never seal again, and your hives can be blown a part in the winter by bad winds. So plan to get out of your hives early enough so the proplois can reseal on a warm day.

October

OCTOBER AND THE BEES: There are less reasons for the bees to leave the hive. Flying is cut way down. The queen is laying very few eggs. They are now shifting to winter mode.

OCTOBER AND THE BEEKEEPER: Prepare your hives for winter. A wind break should be considered. Entrance cleats should be placed in the front opening to restrict mice from entering the hive. A word about bees and winter. A large hive will not die from cold weather. They stay warm by clustering in the hive. They keep each other warm. The temperature in the hive is only warm within the cluster. They do not warm the entire inside of their hive, only the cluster. They can survive extreme cold weather. But, moisture can develop within the hive as bees do give off moisture like we do. If this moisture gathers above them, it can drip onto the cluster. This is what can kill bees during the winter. They are much like us. We can be cold and get by. But, we cannot stay alive long if we become wet and cold. Bees can get wet in the summer and it is not a problem. But you must prevent your hive from becoming cold and wet from condesation developing within the hive.

Here's how we do it. We use screen bottom boards, fully opened. We do not restrict or cover our bottom boards for winter. Nor do we place any gaps near the top cover. The open screen bottom board allows enough ventilation within the hive to aleviate moisture build up. We do not wrap for winter, although many do. It has been shown to slightly help. Black roofing paper works great. We have too many hives to wrap. Keep in mind that by wrapping your hive, you might be increasing the chance for condensation to collect within the hive.

Winter winds can be strong, so place a heavy concrete blocks on your hives.

November

NOVEMBER AND THE BEES: The bees continue to cluster for winter. They may not yet go into a full winter cluster, and may actually develop two clusters. They may break cluster frequently on warm days and recluster at night. But they will begin to cluster for the winter.

NOVEMBER AND THE BEEKEEPER: Feed your light hives as long as the sugar water doesn't freeze. Finish up all winterization of your hives. On a cold day when the bees are all inside, weed-eat around your hives. Enjoy Thanksgiving! Start purchasing next year's equipment.

December

DECEMBER AND THE BEES : The bees are happily clustered in the hive keeping warm having fond memories of how well you took care of them during the season. They will only leave the hive to take cleansing flights on warm, sunny days. Naturally dieing bees will pile up at the door of your hive or in front of the hive if it warms up enough for other living bees to carry them outside.

DECEMBER AND THE BEEKEEPER: Relax and review our bee lessons for Spring! Order your equipment so that you can have it ready. Enjoy celebrating Christmas. Stay warm and keep the snow away from your hive entrance. Consider expanding your apiary.

Thanks again, everyone, for your compliments and phone calls about these beekeeping lessons. It's great to talk with you and we do appreciate your business! Even our youngest son and sixth child sends his greeting to you too! His name is Christian, and he was born September 13 and weighed 10 lbs and 1 oz.

Be sure and give us a call to order your bees and hive equipment. We'll help you get set up to keep bees, even if you don't have the slightest idea on what to do. That's why we are here. Our number is: 217-427-2678 or visit our website at: honeybeesonline.com.

In our next lesson, we'll look at how to requeen the hive.

Remember...BEE-HAVE yourself!

David & Sheri Burns

Long Lane Honey Bee Farms

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December only made us wait five days for its first snowfall here in Maryland.

It started falling at about 8am...just before Ava woke up. When I pulled her shades to show her the snow she said, "Claus?" I guess she's hoping for a white Christmas too.

We had some fun out in it and jingled all the way to the mailbox.


Then we tried to catch some flakes with our tongue.



We took advantage of other people's snow fears and got most of our errands accomplished in record time. We even stopped at a "Shebop" for a coffee and a "treat" and watched the snow fall a while. On those kinds of days, all you should have is time.



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Today's Splurge:

I've written about magazines in the past and the gobs and gobs that I receive in the mail. But there was a time when receiving a magazine in the mail was a really special thing. The New York State Conservationist is my earliest memory --my dear Uncle Owen gifted a subscription to my dad every year for Christmas until he passed.

And then there were the "puts you right there" photos in the National Geographic that we'd spend hours pouring over--when your imagination was still yours and not infiltrated by computers or television and at-your-finger-tips news and information.

Those two magazines, together with the compassion for people and animals instilled in me through nature and nurture, makes me someone who can open my heart and my wallet without pause when their health or safety is compromised through no doing of their own.

My splurge of the day is supporting the African Wildlife Foundation's Elephant Conservation Research Project. There you will also find lots of information about just how special these animals are--and just how endangered.

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Not just good...but excellent! However, only astronomers will be able to appreciate the true geekiness of this. I've had my share of cloudy/rainy/snowy observing runs at telescopes, but now I know how to spend that time constructively - make a video and upload it on Youtube. This is a job very well done! Enjoy Hotel Mauna Kea. (tip from Dynamics of Cats)



Not just bad...but dumb. Now this is the same Sherri Shepherd who had never thought about the shape of the Earth. This time, we are getting a history lesson from her (tip from Bad Astronomer).



Not just ugly...but also full of hubris. Yes, Biblical prophecies must be talking about an interstate highway in middle-America in the 21st century. It makes total sense. Yikes!! (tip from Pharyngula)


And thats it for today's video-roundup.
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Decisive Proofs of the Finality of Prophethood an Answer to the Kafir Qadiani Cult by Mas'ud Ahmed Khan (Taken from http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/finality_mas.htm) Written in response to Qadiani propaganda on the newsgroup soc.religion.islam Dear brothers and sisters know that it is incumbent upon Muslims to believe that Prophethood has
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Yes, Texas is finally on the proper ID-evolution controversy map. Yesterday, NYT reported on the firing of Texas Education Agency's director of science, Christine Comer. And the grounds for her dismissal? Forwarding an e-mail to the local community about a talk by Barabara Forrest, a philosopher and a leading critic of Intelligent Design. And kudos to NYT for a prompt editorial, Evolution and Texas, in today's paper:

As Ralph Blumenthal reported in The Times yesterday, Ms. Comer forwarded to a local online community an e-mail message from a pro-evolution group announcing a talk by Barbara Forrest, a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University. Professor Forrest testified as an expert witness in a 2005 Dover, Pa., case that found intelligent design supernatural and theological and definitely not part of a scientific education.

An hour later, Ms. Comer was called in by superiors, pressured to send out a retraction and ultimately forced to resign. Her departure was instigated by a new deputy commissioner who had served as an adviser to George Bush when he was governor of Texas and more recently worked in the federal Department of Education.

It was especially disturbing that the agency accused Ms. Comer — by forwarding the e-mail message — of taking a position on “a subject on which the agency must remain neutral.” Surely the agency should not remain neutral on the central struggle between science and religion in the public schools. It should take a stand in favor of evolution as a central theory in modern biology. Texas’s own education standards require the teaching of evolution.

And here is the reason Texas may be gearing up for an ID controversy:

Those standards are scheduled to be reviewed next year. Ms. Comer’s dismissal and comments in favor of intelligent design by the chairman of the state board of education do not augur well for that review. We can only hope that adherents of a sound science education can save Texas from a retreat into the darker ages.

And while at it, if you are still in a good mood, try out this NYT Magazine article about professional young-earth geologists (yes, 8000 year old earth) and about big crowds going to the Creationism museum in Kentucky. Yikes!!

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I would never have recognized the relationship between two events I recently attended had they not occurred just days apart and had I not written about them independently. (And for the record, I think I might have stumbled upon the next big thing.)

Event #1: Open house at The White House

Event #2: Bringing Ava to the mall's new indoor playground (still gaygound to her)

If you're jumping ahead and figuring that the relationship has something to do with people, possibly even crowds, you're right--but that's about where the obvious nature of it ends.

Looking back, I am certain that Event #1, the open house at The White House, was attended by well-dressed but very discreet agents whose job it was to protect important people or places from harm or ill-will. To do so, they mingled amongst the rest of us, unknowingly, unobtrusively, uneverything. They are, afterall, the SECRET service. The point is, I am certain they were there not because I saw them but because I watch television programs, like Chuck.

Skip ahead to today, inside the mall but outside the entrance to JC Penny's, where a new we'll-give-your-kid-every-chance-to-break-her-neck playground was constructed just in time for this joyous shopping season--a favor, they claim, to parents. You know, a "break"...because letting your toddler stumble loose among a million other "let's see how many times I can make my mom's heart stop" toddlers is so relaxing.

On the drive home from Event #2 I was reflecting on how OBVIOUS (okay, ridiculous) my presence at the playground must have looked. If I wasn't tripping over my own feet trying to "protect" my daughter chances are I was tripping over a two-year olds feet or possibly his dad's. The more I tried not to hover, the more I hovered. The more I tried to get out of the way, the more I got in the way. I could not figure out where to stand, when to sit, where to look, when to act. To the trained eye, I was a train wreck.

And there were at least 20 more of me (maybe even 30, I'm horrible at gauging)--which almost makes the train wreck national, maybe international news.

I would pay good money for an hour of Secret Service agent training--and I bet there are a hundred more mom's and dad's who would join me. Imagine, not just feeling but BEING discreet, at peace, (at home!?) at the next playground experience, the next library story time, the next two-year old birthday party, the next...

That's it. I'm starting this business. Are you in?

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Considering I've invested a small fortune in lotions and creams that do everything from helping you shave less to creating a natural glisten on your skin, you'd think I'd have found "the one" or at least "the combination of ones" that would alleviate cracked, dry, and so sore hands (mostly knuckles and in-between fingers skin) and hold up against at least one (two would be great) washings. If you have any suggestions, please pass them along.

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There's a new poll today. This one is on gift cards, with all the attention they seem to be receiving this year, I thought I'd conduct a splash and splurge investigation of my own.

By the way, 50 percent of respondents (six) in the last poll indicated that they'd rather hang by their toenails than shop on Black Friday.

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Splurge-a-la-la-la-La-la-la-la

I'm going to lay off the mint for tonight, but not the soy. This is so close to the real thing, especially with a little shake of nutmeg on top, that I'm pretty sure it would be bad for you not to try it.

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If you want a good thoughtful debate over evolution and science & religion, then check out this conversation between biologist (and curator of the Museum of Paleontology) Kevin Padian and Reverend Alan Jones at FORAtv.


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This is a wise move:

The universities of the Arab world will receive a thorough check-up by education specialists from the United Nations Development Programme in a joint venture with the largest private foundation in the Arab world.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and the UNDP will spend US$20 million over the next five years on the project. A note from the UN agency said it would undertake "a quality assessment of higher education in the Arab World".

And it will result in the publication of Arab Knowledge Report:

The Arab Knowledge Report will present new data and studies on recent trends in regional higher education and training. The UNDP said it would "identify lessons for the flourishing of an Arab knowledge society marked by high levels of quality education and a productive, diversified engagement with the global knowledge economy".

Chairman of the Al Maktoum Foundation, Mohammed Al Gergawi, said: "Our partnership with UNDP will help us impact a positive environment, offering equal opportunities that nurture the region's youth and create a promising generation of future leaders."

His foundation was launched at this year's World Economic Forum in Jordan, with a personal endowment of US$10 billion from Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Prime Minister and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai.

Read the full story here.
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On Friday morning I was feeling a little bit preoccupied by the stragglers--the little things near and far that needed some attention--without a clear sense of exactly what they were and in what order to attend to them. These stragglers ranged from housekeeping tasks (spices that need structure, holes that need spackle) to Christmas decisions (cards? no cards? if cards, pictures? no pictures?) to work-related must-do's to I'm not sure what.

I desired a quiet place--somewhere to write down the "stragglers" and see exactly whether the urgency that had taken up residence in my brain was justified or undue. But I also wanted to make sure that the desire to escape wasn't a symptom of the Avoidance Disorder that I had recently managed to manage.

After a little bit of contemplation (but not too much) I went with what "felt right" and ended up at an empty table with a full cup of coffee looking out upon books upon books upon books.

Ahhh. The bookstore.

When I uncapped my pen and started to write, I didn't go straight for the stragglers. I took a different approach. I went for the completers. Those things I had done that week--big and small, personal and professional. It only took me four minutes to get it down, but...

Turns out, I did quite a lot.

And I bet, if we took a few more minutes at the end of a day or, maybe more realistically, at the end of a week, to jot down what we accomplished, we'd surprise ourselves each and every time.

I don't think we need to pat ourselves on the back for being productive, maybe just get off our back a time or two when we think we aren't.

After all, the best productions were once just stragglers in someone's quiet mind.

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My discovery on Friday left me pretty peaceful with many of the stragglers...but the magazine thing is definitely out of control.

After the bookstore, I stopped at Target to pick up a $3 egg timer to set for 20 minutes every day while I sorted through those glossy paper traps. I have decided, with the help of an article by Peter something (a professional "organizer" though not to be confused with Peter my husband who is not a professional organizer but maybe a pathological one) that when we hold onto stuff we aren't making room (in our minds or our homes) for the future. Since I'm planning on a whole lot of future, I've got some things to get rid of.

Starting with magazines and catalogs.

Anyway, I had the egg timer in my hand when I realized what a wasteful purchase it would be. Afterall, I have a timer on my phone, a timer on my stove, I have playlists with Christmas music that are 20 minutes long! I don't need to "buy more"--that kind of defeats the purpose. I need to figure out how to use what I've got!

So, the iPod is queued up. Tomorrow from 1:15-1:35, I'll be sorting and singing.

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The last splash of the night: we went in search of our Christmas tree today. Despite the cold (though still no snow) we scrutinized every tree, every pine cone, and especially Santa Claus before making any decisions.

I've posted a couple of pictures from last year (Ava's first Christmas tree outing) also. "Year-to-year" now fills up quickly with so much change and a mountain of meaning , that's for sure.

Splurge in the Season

I never get tired of hearing old songs in old ways and new ways. Even better when new ways and old ways collide.

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As part of Science & Religion lecture series at Hampshire College, Jennifer Michael Hecht gave a lecture on Doubt - Where you'd least expect it on October 25, 2007. Here is the abstract for her talk and below you will find the full video of her lecture:

Abstract

The recent "God wars" hide how long these issues have been around. On both the religious and the atheist side, no one seems to know the history of religious and philosophical doubt. Indeed, they think it doesn't exist. But in fact, there has been doubt throughout history. There are instances of complete and lasting rejection of the idea of God or an afterlife in the Hebrew Bible, in the medieval Moslem world, among Western scholars during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The idea of a past wherein people could not imagine a world without God is essentially wrong, a 20th century misunderstanding of the contribution of the Enlightenment. Doubt is older than most faiths and full of paragons of bravery, intellect, and character. Also, in history, doubters have a much better sense of humor than do today's famous atheists. Hecht will get us thinking, talking, and especially, laughing.

Jennifer Michael Hecht is a fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities and teaches in the Graduate Creative Writing Program at The New School, New York. She is the author of Doubt: A History, The End of Soul, and The Happiness Myth along with her poetry books, The Next Ancient World and Funny


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It's been a busy weekend and there is still one whole day left!

We decorated our tree today.


Just kidding. This is actually a picture of Pete in front of "The" White House tree. Friends of ours invited us as their guests to a holiday open house in its East Wing today. The history and significance conceived, maintained, and preserved in that house (in sight and in sense) was as manifest as the light that poured through the glass of its windows--you felt its presence but could not touch it. I've posted some additional pictures, which I hope are scrolling along the left hand-side of this blog.

By the way, the white chocolate replica of The White House was made with three hundred pounds of white chocolate. Everything that isn't white was made with marzipan.

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We made our Advent Calendar last night. You can see some of the latter stages of its development--the camera was charging for the first few stages. We haven't quite completed the bell yet, but the chain is made and it works very well as a scarf, by the way. We like to "fly" it through the air, too.



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Daily Splurge

Today I almost spent about $25 on something for someone that I knew they'd probably never use. So instead, I spent $25 at www.mytwofrontteeth.org on something I knew a little someone would love.

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Sometimes the original is so perfect that there is really no room for a parody. Here is a video about brushing teeth on Shabbat.

And now that you know, you can get this Shabbos toothbrush with an instruction manual (pdf file).
(thanks to Olga for pointing out the video).

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This certainly comes as a surprise. The Catholic church in not only supporting stem cells research, but it is also now funding it (at least one project). From Science (Nov 23, 2007):

With the support of the pope and the Italian Episcopal Conference, which represents all the bishops of Italy, Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni announced last week that he has provided University of Milan-Bicocca researcher Angelo Vescovi with €380,000 to isolate stem cells from naturally miscarried fetuses and test whether the cells can help people afflicted with multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

I don't know if there are any additional challenges with this compared to regular embryonic stem cell research. But considering the past opposition of the Church, this is indeed a positive development:

It's the first time Italy's Catholic Church, which has strongly opposed embryonic stem cell work and all in vitro fertilization practices, has funded any stem cell research, says Vescovi, who openly sided against ES cell research in a 2005 referendum in Italy. The overall project will cost about €2 million, and Vescovi says the remaining funds have been pledged by private and public sources. He now seeks regulatory approval in Europe or the United States to start clinical testing of his fetal stem cells in the next few months.

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