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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

Bees, Bees and More Bees

I am seriously getting behind on photo editing. I will probably never catch up. So tonight I am combining two days of honeybee images into one blog post. Ken is the beekeeper, not me. I just really enjoy watching the process as it unfolds and I have to tell you, beekeeping is FULL of drama. There is always some new question and the answer is invariably ‘Well we don’t really know. What do you think?’

Last Monday, Memorial Day, Ken had enough time to open up all five of his hives to see how they were doing. A friend said the honey flow is early this year so a person needs to be ready to add supers to the hives and to watch out for swarms. Of the five hives only one is kind of behind and that is the one that was a swarm late last summer so its stocks were low and it was lucky just to get through the winter. If it survives this winter, it should do well next year. Of the other four, three are going along alright, not yet needing a new super but one of them was nearly full so he moved around some of the frames and put the new super (another box for the bees to store honey) on it and was pleased but still concerned that the bees could swarm. He had one extra hive so he set that up just in case.

Two days later while I was in town, he was playing ball with the dogs. At one point Luna refused to retrieve the ball so he went to see why and sure enough, there was a swarm of bees right above the ball. Smart Luna. She’s been stung and has a healthy respect for bees. So he suited up again, cut the pine branch full of bees, put it into the empty hive and closed it up. The next day he had to go on a road trip so before he left he wanted to get the branch out of there and replace it with frames for the bees to use for building comb. Suited up again, he picked up the branch and brushed the bees into the box with frames. If all went as planned and if the new queen was in there, the bees would stick around start making brood and gathering honey. I checked yesterday and the bees are still in there! Now he has six hives.

Perfect day for this kind of work
Sky keeps busy with her stick
A small gob of wax attracts bees to the honey
Firing up the smoker again
Smoking the bees makes them retreat into the hive and eat honey and leave the beekeeper alone. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.
The swarm of bees are all gathered around the queen on this pine branch
Ken brushes the bees into the hive
Going in and out is a good sign.

Fairy Slippers

I came across these two beautiful fairy slipper orchids (Calypso bulbosa) yesterday on a mosquito driven dog walk in the woods, not far from here. The skeeters were enough to keep us moving along and I did not spend very much time with these beautiful little orchids and my photos suffered.

According to the website, Native Orchids of Washington, there is only one species in the genus Calypso and within that species, there are four subspecies. I think this one is Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis – Pacific or western fairy slipper. I wonder what is the tiny green caterpillar on the flower on the right?

Can you imagine the little forest spirits wearing these slippers as they move about in the woods, slipping unnoticed among the trees and casually leaving the tiny footwear behind when people appear?

 

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Up, Up and Away

From black and white to so much color it could make your head spin!

Ken and I received a gift of a hot air balloon ride for a wedding present. Three years ago. We tried to schedule it but the weather would not cooperate or Ken’s job didn’t cooperate or something or other. This year, it all fell into place. On the day following our third anniversary, Kurt and Melinda of Morning Glory Balloon Tours took us on a beautiful airborne tour of the Methow Valley; this place we call home. It was peaceful and stunning. The weather was perfect. Blue skies, green hills, snow-capped mountains. Exactly what we had hoped for.

Kurt readying the balloon
Looking from the top to the bottom of the balloon ‘envelope’.
Ken and Kurt admire the colors
Melinda holds onto the bottom edge of the balloon envelope
Ready to fill it with hot air
up
up
Up it goes!
Inflated and ready for us
With little fanfare we were suddenly floating above the tree tops. Looking down valley.
Mount Gardner looming above Sun Mountain Lodge
The Methow River with the highway bridge at Winthrop near the top.
Winthrop looks bigger from up above.
The Sawtooth Mountains above the western edge of the valley
Did I mention snow-capped mountains and green hills?
Kurt Oakley, pilot and co-owner of Morning Glory Balloon Tours.
Ken enjoys the view
Tree shadows along the river
Shadows are really interesting from above
Looking up valley towards the North Cascades
Higher still above Winthrop
The North Cascades
The Sawtooth range above Twin Lakes
Just about all of the upper valley
Looking down valley towards Twisp
Above Harrier Hill. Studhorse Hill is in the background with Pearrygin Lake just to the right of it.
Our house! You can see the beehives on the right
Some steep hillsides
The chase crew waits for our landing. We ended up in a different field. There’s no steering up there.
Landing shadow!
Down it goes.
They are pretty quick deflating the envelope and getting it packed up for another day.
Kurt even has a matching shirt for the balloon!

Many thanks to our dear friends and this wonderful gift!

My World in Black and White

On May 31st there will be a reception for three featured artists at the Winthrop Gallery. Don McIvor‘s woodwork, Katie Swanson‘s textiles and my black and white photography will make up the exhibit. I am very excited to show my black and white images from near my home and in the beautiful Methow Valley where I live and play.

The show will run from May 28th through July 7th. The Winthrop Gallery is located at 237 Riverside Avenue in Winthrop Washington and is open from 10 am til 5 pm, seven days a week.

Spring Aspens

We hope to see you at the reception on May 31st from 5 til 7 pm or stop by during the day sometime while the show is up.

 

Lost Homing Pigeon

This bird arrived at our house last night and roosted in the darkness and is still here this morning. I wonder if it will remember where it belongs and head home or if it is hopelessly lost? It seems unafraid of me. The dogs make it nervous. The bird makes Sky nervous. Sky’s not used to birds that sit on the railing and stare at her. The pigeon is very pretty with the iridescence associated with these birds. Both of its legs have bands. I imagine I could catch the bird and read them but then what would I do? Is there an online registry for homing pigeons? And what does it eat? Would it enjoy some black oil sunflower seeds that I feed the wild birds? If I catch it, should I try to confine it til its owner is found?