Work ahead, Grandma

During my lunch break yesterday, I added sugar water to the feeders in the hives. As I was looking into the hives, I discovered that I have some work ahead of me to make the hives ready for winter. In one hive the bees have built comb that takes up the void between two frames instead of building the comb on the foundation in either of the two frames. That is an issue as far as raising brood is concerned. The void will also cause a cold spot in the hive when the colder months come. So, I will go back when I have the time and cut out the misaligned comb. That will not be to the bees liking, but in the long run, it will serve them well.

In the second hive, I broke a frame when I was trying to raise it out of the hive. That has happened a couple times before, but not too often. Sometimes the propolis used by the bees to glue the hive together and seal any drafts is stronger that the glue I originally used to assemble the frames. That frame will need to be extracted from the hive and replaced with a new frame. Any work the bees have done on that frame will be lost to them, but they will quickly replace the loss. I am constantly amazed at how quickly the bees can fill the hive even when there are very limited materials available to the bees naturally right now.

The heat is abating somewhat. As the temperatures begin to drift down from the triple digits to peak in the high nineties, we are seeing some relief in our animals. It is still very hot and will remain so through this month, but the nights are cooler, the breezes are more noticeable, and the temperatures are under the 100° mark for the most part. As a result, we are getting more eggs each evening and the goats spend more time grazing on the dried stems of the long dormant grasses in their paddocks.

In building the larger duck area, I had to move a fence to give us access to that enclosure. I could not budge the one T post that had supported the fence where I needed access. The ground is like iron right now so there was no hope of getting the post out without some preparation. To soften the ground, I wiggled the post to create a little trough between the hard ground and the post. I carefully filled that with water so I could begin loosening the dirt around the post. Over the past couple days as the ground yielded to the influence of the water, I wiggled the post even more to enlarge the hole I could put the water in.

Yesterday evening, as I went to do a few things to the enclosure, I found a young rabbit nestling in the wet spot I had created on the ground. It was stretched out over the small damp area to get as much of the “coolness” as was possible. It was extremely hesitant to move away from the cool ground even as I approached it. Slowly and sadly, it hopped away. That is how dry the ground is right now. After a couple more times wiggling the post and some more water being applied, I was able to get the post out of the ground.

Grandma insisted on Mama taking her and Grandpa today to the storage unit where Norman has placed all the items from the RV when it was emptied. When I went there last with Mama, I took some time to rearrange some of the many items deposited haphazardly on the floor of the unit. All I was able to do in my organization was to make a small opening just inside the roll up door so if we went to look through the unit while it was raining, we would not have to stand at the doorway in the rain. That is how disorganized and overstuffed the unit currently is. Whether or not Mama will be able to help Grandpa locate what Grandma is looking for remains to be seen. But Grandma is not to be put off when she has a specific thought her on mind.

To that point, Grandma asked me point blank last night if she could use Victoria’s to run some errands. The thought of her driving scares me and Mama almost as much as it scares Grandpa. My answer was a little to quick and perhaps too blunt, but I basically said No. I used the excuse that Grandma is not on our insurance policy, and it would be very concerning if anything happened. Realistically, I do not even know if Grandma could find her way around the area if needed. She has not driven in over two years. She has not been in this area for over a year. Before they moved to Florida, Grandpa greatly limited her driving even to Bowie and back from their home just a few miles out of town. I am sure she will bring up the question to Victoria when Victoria is back home, but I think we are largely in agreement to restrict Grandma in that particular activity.

Mama was likewise a little emphatic. She told Grandma to remember that she had not driven a vehicle in over a year, and it would be prudent for her (Mama) to make some short excursions with Grandma driving just to test her ability to handle the task on her own – and only if Grandpa approves. Since Grandma’s mental capacity is not at its best, it will take some convincing to keep her from behind the wheel. I did not see, but Grandpa must have given her a look to halt the conversation because it abruptly ended.

Unfortunately, I feel that the discussion is far from over in Grandma’s mind.