More to talk about in a month I think…..

#buzz

MPB by Gold Panda

Just in case your not sold….

Lykke Li: Sadness Is A Blessing (Gold Panda Remix) by Gold Panda

I may or may not have a Queen Bee that is named, (in fact they are all possibly named) there may or may not be one named Lykke. Just sayin……

No more scoffing at these startups who announce “website coming soon!!” and then weeks later still have nothing to show. That being said I would add this: Shipwreck Honey website coming soon!!! No really!!! I mean it this time!! *sigh.

Actually it is finished, the code is wrapped up, the colors are right, theres a few things left to polish and some text to edit but otherwise its actually complete, UNPUBLISHED MIND YOU but complete. Im relieved….its been hell getting this thing seaworthy…..truly hell. I had all the original text done up but the other processes have taken so long that I ended up scrubbing it all down to nothing and starting over. I really want it to be good, I really want it to be right, I dont want to put anything out there that is garbage. Fair ’nuff then.

Look at this article, Al Quaeda got punked hard, cupcake style: “Make a bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom”. Thats the working title of the original piece, these guys are a bunch of homegrown bitches anyways, who builds a sentence like that?
Lets go get a drink in the van of your dad’s.
Losers I tell ya. Every bloody one of em. I think /b/ should take up the sword from here and go nuts on everything, they have the manpower.

What else is new? Lots…..with the website coming to a close I can finally focus on some other things that are coming up, there is a big time meeting later next week with some people who have the ability to very easily change the entire landscape of Shipwreck Honey, Im not going to mention who, but its a good crowd and this idea of ours has some teeth. Once again Im honored, humbled to even be invited to speak to them, more details later next weekend Im guessing. Speaking of change, Nature Sound dot org has asked for Hives as well, another process that has blown my mind. Granted, Ive known Martyn for many years now, but to collaborate with his land is a great honor for me. In my mind the man is a ecological warlord as he continues a lifetime of absolutely incredible achievements for the plant and animal kingdom.
Another big project is in the forge for next year, something really exciting that I cant announce until later this Summer lest I jinx the good fortune of my Honeybees who continue to be placed in more decadent and luxurious environs….
All this to confirm what Ive been mumbling about for the past month: Ive been BUSY making hay.
Check out this jam, its been in my skullcandys for over a week….I cant stop it!

Mr Little Jeans The Suburbs by timmytheterror

Another interview came out this week, it was slop, utterly unacceptable. The newspaper not only requested a second interview with me to get pics for the story, they never showed for the date they requested and when they released the article they attached a pic of of a zombie looking dude with dilapidated Hives and said it was me. I wasnt happy but I let it go because I got some very good insight in how to handle press interviews for now on. The public perception of the beekeeper is interesting, classic and understandably mellow. Im anything but mellow, the slaves in my brain row at ramming speed just about all the time. Ive been enjoying alot of folk music lately, trying to temper the pace but it doeesnt work. Finally I decided what I knew all along but questioned early on: fuckit, move as fast as I can and keep on keeping on the same way you have for the last 20 years. Anything impedes progress, throw it overboard.
Anyways, lets move away from the subject.

I listened to an interview this week via fm radio featuring Corky Luster, a local beekeeper who has been getting alot of press this Spring. Dollars and sense wise, he could be called an arch-nemesis but in the interview he disappointed me: he sounded like a cool guy who I could have a couple pops with at the local ginjoint and talk about anything. This goes back to my original thought: who are you going to let in your backyard to work the beehive you rented: a twinkly eyed, fast moving pirate or a kindly old man with soft, forested features? He probably goes by Cork too, increasing his like-ability.”Oh hey there’s Cork! lets get that guy a beer.”
It is what it is.

I have lost two Hives this Spring, one due to my inability to manage a weakened colony better by not taking a weekend off of ski season last March and the other due to the incorrigible Steller Jays that have figured out how to slaughter a colony by picking them off the second they peek out of the Hive in the morning and afternoons. Its been rough watching the Jays feast on my girls, Ive tried everything I can think of to deter the bastards and my research online indicates im the only human in the PACNW who hates the beast.
There are two feral cats that share territory that includes my Apiary but they are lackluster at best and wont move for much more than the arching afternoon sun. The most viable option is to move the Hives next Winter to new grounds, what a nightmare for the bees and the beekeeper.
Time to cue folk music:
Fleet Foxes – Mykonos by cbmblogger

Wrapping up my weekly Hive Report to Salish Lodge….we never discussed it in the provided services negotiations but I knew I would do it and I figured they’d dig it, which they do. Listening to Vile, Pavement and National along the way…
Here’s a bit:

Hive 3:
Robust! is the first word I wrote in the Moleskine after wrapping up this hive check. The bees are out of control in the best way possible. Massive brood stores, some honey stores and the Queen, well she was there alright….it seemed to me a victory lap as she paraded the grounds, stopping now and then to be fed by her attendants who only just wanted to hurry her along for more egg drops. Seemed clear to me though she had other ideas, like showing off her insane efforts and massive hatchery to the beekeeper. She is huge, I buy all my Queens with a paintmark on the thorax so I can find them easily in the Hive, her size has increased so much that the paint is stretched off; I am pleased.

I miss the Mountains….
That up there is the island I camp at solo every Spring, kayak out for a few days to sleep under the stars and listen to the owls.

Im guessing this is Summer’s anthem for all the kids.
Late night swims and high noon cliff jumps into frigid rivers.
Could be fun…..

Helena Beat by Foster The People

Its been one year and 11 days since this bee-gan. Its been 4 months since my license has been issued to do business in the state of Wa.
Living fast doesnt mean you have to live hard; its been one hell of a year/month/week/day.
Today is about as American as it can possible get.
#Osamaisfinallydead
#ShipwreckHoney
#WINNING

Thanks to everyone for the support, we are just getting started though so keep it up! Gonna be a great time this year, I can feel it.

Ive a fire built, im listening to local boy Robin Pecknold and im nursing not just a cocktail but also numerous bee stings. Bee Week has come and while not yet gone, Ive decided its been a major success. There really isnt much that can properly explain that special thing that happens during Beeweek, its so cliche of me to even say this but what the hell, its the only way I can describe it: Magical. Really. Its like that, really really cool. I have a stunning beeyard here on Alki and another gorgeous spot in the Mountains @ Salish Lodge, seen below. Salish Lodge was kind enough to commission a fence to protect the bees from any sort of imaginable skullduggery and they furnished locks on all gates that serve as entrance to the Hives, its really a cool setup that Im going to enjoy all Summer. The bees in every Hive this year started off really well, I put 30k in each Hive, fora total of 10 new Hives this year and a dozen overall, they say its a big jump and maybe thats true but Ive got the speed and desire for it so I wont be complaining. Some people have been busting my agates about going so big so fast, misunderstanding my intent with something more Napoleonic, its just another example of whats been readily apparant and increasingly annoying from the beginning: everyone knows everything about beekeeping and there arent many who will just sit back and listen without constant injection of opinion. One of my favorite terms is tofu-toughtalk, reserved always for that one guy who never has the juice to back up his own words; im starting to use the term barstool beekeeper more and more. Not just for the bar rats but really everyone who knows more than you and wont listen to anyone tell them otherwise. Anways, this is a fools errand to cogitate upon so Im dropping it for now.
Now that things are quieter than before and everything is settled down, I have more time to man the Helm here, looking forward to blogging alot more than I have been. Right now though its time to refresh the vodka and enjoy the fire on the couch, in the semi darkness. Im alone, its absolutely quiet here besides the ubiquitous music and for the first time in months I have nothing to do. I just wrapped up a brief press release for Shipwreck Honey and once I hit send I realized I was caught up. What a feeling, I dont know how the hell I made it through the first quarter this year, its been insane for me.
Heres a few shots of the weekend and also a toast to you: S’lainte, friends.