TKG Archives: July 2011

Today is the first day of our deep dive into the archives. I remember the very real fear that I felt when I began posting. I thought how could I possibly have enough to write about! And who would read anyway?

Hah! Well that proved an unfounded fear.

It was high summer in 2011. My third or fourth summer here in central Illinois. I had said to my son, “I am lonely. It is so lonely out here. I hardly ever see anyone. The local people don’t come out of their houses and John works all the time”.

“And it is hot today,” I added, “really hot.”

“You could start a blog.” He said. “You are a good writer, plus you could post your pictures there.”

“What would I write about, though?” I asked.

After a time of thinking, he said, “You should follow your own advice – that you used to tell us when we were kids – write about what you know.”

“I know about gardening,” I said. “I have a big kitchens garden out here.”

“Write about that, then,” he said. “You could call it The Kitchens Garden,” he added. “And people will comment and you can talk to them.”

And so I did. And you did.

Here is the first post I ever made.

Sustainable chatter.

But not the first good post.

The first good post was this one👇 – the second post of all time. And it had nothing to do with gardens!

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‘It all started out so well’

July 07 2011

I woke up this morning to this gorgeous day. The dogs and I start at 5.30. Still, sunny and so lovely. After the walk around the fences,  I began to make Ricotta cheese with the whey from yesterdays cheddar and started the butter.  I took yesterdays cheddar out of the press and popped it into my cheese fridge (a converted wine fridge.. I never keep wine long enough to  even NEED a wine fridge!!) So I am toddling on with my day, happy as the proverbial lark, wander out to hang a load of washing on the clothesline and find this:

 ANOTHER SWARM!.( the soundtrack of the day hits the LOW notes.)  However  (deep breath) this time I am ready. I only panic in a very mild way. Then I make up the little cardboard super that I bought last summer  (when I remember where I got it I will tell you), it is called a Nuc.  ‘Course now I have to convince them to move out of the wee oak tree and  INTO their little mini home. First I will take the passive route and allow them to decide to go in. Evidently if you put the box on a white sheet they see the little dark hole and walk right in. So I will make the offer. Mm.  Well  my plan is that the little scout bees will be flying about, then they will look down and “Wow look at that piece of real estate, it even smells good and there is a feed waiting  woo hoo.” They  will fly back to Old Miss the Queen sat up there all Queenly like in her oak tree her bee minions fanning her to keep her cool. The Scouts will do the  Waggly – ‘Found us a new pad’  Jiggly dance, everyone will agree in record time and later this afternoon they will pick up their beds and walk right in. Single file would be pretty!?

Nothing happened for a long time. And then nothing happened again. Well I got bored waiting. I went out with my hoe, climbed up the wobbly yellow ladder and gave the branch a good hard wack, they dropped with a shush onto the white sheet like good little bees and Who Knew commenced to crawl right in. I was impressed –  I have to tell you that I was actually feeling rather smug!.   Well I sat down and watched them crawl in and then I watched them crawl BACK OUT! oops.

There now, well, that was earlier.  Now it is evening I am sitting in my study writing and waiting for the night to fall. We have eaten, pork soaked in home-made mint sauce, grilled onions in a herb vinaigrette and newly dug potatoes drenched in my own butter.  Our John the silent one who gets up for work at 4.am is snoring quietly in the West Wing. Dogs are walked. All I have to do is lock the chooks up and carry this box of bees to its new home.

And as you can see the bees have slowly slowly been absorbed by the little cardboard Nuc.

Tomorrow I will work out how and when to transfer them from their Nuc (fabulous name) to a proper hive but not yet.   Of course I don’t actually have another hive but I think I can cobble some bits and pieces together.  But tonight all I have to do is move them under the trees  to the bee garden. Soon.

Night is falling, the birds are changing guard and soon the fireflies will begin to dance up out of the cornfields.

Time for a wee wine on the verandah as I wait for the bees to drag their last few lazy bones inside the  refugee shelter. Then I will move them (actually I am not sure exactly how I will move them but I do not want to break the ambient tone we are developing here.) Then it is a swim, then a shower then bedtime for me.

Ni night,  (next time I promise I will begin the introductions!)

cecilia

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I have not edited this archive post. I won’t edit anything actually (it feels wrong somehow) but I will add that the cheese fridge was a terrible failure! Not enough humidity.

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Bedtime Stories has debuted: HERE. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter One. The chapters will come out on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 5pm. Though Australia is a day ahead so I will have to wrap my mind around that to get into you on the right day.

If you enjoy the bedtime stories initiative please consider sharing it. I love to bring people a little time out. A little peace. In these tumultuous times. Plus I really enjoy reading. Maybe someone will pay me to do it! So, let’s share.

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The Kitchens Garden blog will still be published in the morning from wherever I am at the time, as usual. You all have travelled with me so much!

And now we get to travel back in time as well!

See you Sunday with a very short newsletter, a walk-about of the Farmy and Chapter Two. I fly out Sunday!

Still cold but blissfully still today. Not a cloud in the sky.

Have a great day.

Celi