Go, Mama, go! Bee worries, fishing, fish dinner

Mama is doing very well in her business. I am not sure what the payout will be, but the engagement has been far more than we anticipated. Mama is doing six individual, concurrent online parties. That is huge! Several of those parties have amassed an impressive volume in sales, placing Mama in the top ten in her group. Her sponsor is very impressed. Mama is still struggling with the online portion of the business, but her aptitude is growing daily as she helps others to do what she is doing. It is very encouraging to her. It takes a lot of time – which she has plenty of – but every contact seems to yield some encouragement and fosters a great relationship with her hostesses and those she is sponsoring. It is fun to watch.

Our hives are active but the syrup I have put out for the bees as a supplemental feed until the flowers are blooming in full force is not attracting them. I am not sure if I have done something wrong in making the syrup or making the feeder, but I am a little worried about weakening the hive by not giving them what they need to survive right now. When they came in the nucs there was a syrup feeder inside the nuc. I did not take it because I wanted to use the external feeder versus opening the hive to fill the internal feeder. Now, I am not sure I made the correct decision. We have ordered some feeders from Tractor Supply. Those feeders sit in the hive entrance so the bees cannot easily avoid them. Hopefully, I will be able to pick those up today. We will eventually figure this out, but for now I am working within a very narrow time frame to make sure the bees we purchased stay strong and healthy.

We had quite a day fishing yesterday evening. Pastor came over as well as Alex and Leslie. While pastor and I fished from the boat, they fished from the bank. Pastor did very well in the two hours we were on the lake. He caught seven large crappie and three very large bass. I caught two bass and tow crappie. On one of the poles I was using, the line broke twice. The bass I hooked each time was huge and the 6-pound line could not handle the load. I am replacing the line on that reel. For some reason, the lures I had chosen for that trip were not attracting the fish while the lures pastor was using worked very well. Pastor’s line broke twice as well, but we still managed to get a good mess of fish. I will be reoutfitting my rods reverting to the lures I had used successfully on the past two trips.

Alex and Leslie did not do as well this time as they did last time. They caught only four fish. They were all good sized, but they were little disappointed so, I gave them my catch. They were thrilled by that. The last time they had about twelve or thirteen large fish to share with friends and family. Alex told me they had a large group over – about ten people – and had a feast with the fresh fish. Something they are not able to get at the Chinese Market right now. They will do so again with this catch. Just with a smaller group. They ended up with ten good sized bass and crappie. Still not a bad evening on the lake.

As Alex and Leslie pulled into the drive, Pastor and I were leaving the farm with the boat in the back of his truck. Alex had prepared a fish for Mama to cook and brought all the necessary flavorings to use in preparing that fish. Mama started cooking the fresh fish when Pastor and I were back and unloading the boat. It was so good. Mama and I ate that as a very late dinner. Late for our culture. It was about 8 pm when we sat down with the fish and a salad but it was a healthy meal.

Just before Mama and I ate, Ricky called to ask Mama to have the “teenagers” that were still fishing to lock the gate when they came out. He was referring to Alex and Leslie. When Mama told him they were or Chinese friends, he asked that she not tell them he had called them teenagers. I think they would be happy for the mischaracterization. From the distance, I guess they look like teenagers. Anyway, he told Mama we need to try the “upper lake”. Ricky said it had lots more fish and some of the bass are huge in that lake. Another lake to fish. This just keeps getting better and better. Pastor will be thrilled. Mama and I will explore the lake this evening. First, we have to find the road to the lake through the maze of gravel piles on the property. It will be another fun little adventure. If true, it will allow us to share the lake we are now fishing with others without worrying about overfishing it.

Praise the Lord!