Author Archives: pete
Summit Fire
Five years ago today, I awoke to the ringing phone – “There is a fire in your area. CalFire recommends that you evacuate.” The sky was clear blue out two sets of windows and in almost every direction outside. But … Continue reading
Pinnacles National Monument
The Pinnacles formed as a volcano in southern California. Over millions of years, tectonic plate action along the San Andreas fault has moved it a few hundred miles north to its present location. Some of the last breeding pairs of … Continue reading
Visiting the Bees
April is often the busiest month of the year for honey bees. They have been building up population since the weather started to get warmer in the early spring, in order to have lots of foragers ready when the flowers … Continue reading
Solar Wax Melter
These are used to remove excess wax from the frames that fill honey bee hives. Most of the links to solar wax melters point to the same design, from some universtiy or Ag Extension. It’s large enough to hold a … Continue reading
Rain and Snow
It almost never rains here in the summer. When it does rain in the winter, we usually get a lot of it all at once. Everything that grows needs the water, so that’s good, but heavy rain also can cause … Continue reading
Signs of Spring
Spring doesn’t officially start until later in March, but I’ve already got things growing outside. My green house has a cover which keeps the hard rain at bay, but the ends aren’t covered, so it doesn’t really provide much heat … Continue reading
Dawn Foam Refill
Here’s a little trick I figured out. I really like Dawn(tm,c,r,etc) as it tackles grease very well. The normal concentrated stuff comes in big bottles and gets discounted at big stores. The “Direct Foam” type is quite handy but only … Continue reading
A Couple of Sunsets
The colors and dark silhouettes in one taken near home in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains: remind me of this old favorite, which I took a couple of years ago near Gila Bend in Arizona:
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
This was an interesting day trip in southern California last October. Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wooded wilderness on a mountain top 10,000 feet above the desert. It’s 20 degrees cooler in the summer and like Big Bear … Continue reading
A Sticky Situation
I got 6 frames of honey from a friendly beekeeper who has a few boxes left over from last season. My bees are not ready for harvest, even if this were the right time of year. They will have the … Continue reading