Two in one

Dear reader,

the dandelions were blooming in the garden so vast that I only needed about a quarter of the flowers for the receipt doubled of the dandelion marmalade, which I made in april. But then came the gardener and mowed the lawn and then the dandelion blooming period was over. It seems like I won't be able to make any more dandelion marmalade this year. Not many people know that dandelion isn't weed, but can be used. The flowers can also be used for tea. I would like to taste dandelion tea. My first one definitely brewed for too long and was bitter tasting. Now I don't have the flowers. At least the leaves are still growing and I can use them for my guinea pigs.

In China the government permitted that the sparrows be shot. They eat up the crops for the people there. With the sparrows gone, the crops are infested by bugs. So pesticides are used to kill them off. The pesticides however don't just kill the bugs, they also kill the bees. As a result of that people have to pollinate the plants in China. Anyone care to guess who's better pollinating plants: bees or people?

So many could be used with a little bit more information and knowledge. Instead everything that's not wanted is destroyed. But, hey, maybe Mars will be habitable in a couple of decades! Since the Earth is not nice enough anymore, maybe we could move there instead. Wouldn't that be nice?

Until next blog,
sarah

To be or not to be a beekeper that is the question...

Dear reader,


usual is boring. So it would be interesting to keep bees. Unlike with other pets, which only cost money, you can use the honey and wax and even sell it. Also they're quite independent animals. Surely you've got to check if they've got enough food and water. But that's nothing compared to say guinea pigs with a cage, which needs to be cleaned weekly and is in need of hay, straw and litter by the kilo or like a cat with a cat toilet, which needs cleaning daily and it's not like a dog, which needs to go for a walk a couple of times a day either. In books I read that taking care of the bees takes time of about 10 hours over a year. If I compare that to my guinea pigs: cleaning the cage takes about 10 minutes, if I hurry, more often it's more like 20 minutes to half an hour once a week. Even with 10 minutes a week, if I add this up for a month, it's 40 minutes per month and that's just cleaning the cage.

There's a beekeeper there that offers what he's calling godparenting. The bees are in your garden and there's a godparent/experienced beekeeper coming over to take care of them. One can also be taught how to take care of the bees and the honey is definitely for you to keep.

It's of course also important to test for bee toxin allergy. I'm not allergic. So that's how far I am already now. And what now? Should I call the beekeeper or not? That phone call is the only thing standing between the bees and me. Okay and a visit from a beekeeper to check if the bees can be kept here and where. I'm not quite sure yet. I don't dare calling the beekeeper yet. Or maybe all I want is a bit of attention with an unusual hobby. The news alone of me maybe getting bees is quite exiting for a lot of people.

Until next blog,
sarah