The Weekly Newsletter for July 4-8, 2011

NOW it's real!
Yee ha! 
 
I signed the contract for my book the other day.  My friend Marilynne came to take some pictures of me and my bees (which did not happen, as it started raining the moment she arrived) but she WAS able to capture this "historic" moment in my curious life.
 
I'm thrilled and excited.


Ready for more honey
We're in the in-between time right now, the time when the early summer "honey flow" is done and the mid-summer flow has not yet started.  But now is the time to make sure there is plenty of room for the girls to make and store honey, whenever that nectar starts flowing.
 
I'm set now. 


Dinners for the week
Give us a call (252-1500) by noon or so. Dinners are ready by 3 and can be picked up until we close at 7. If you'd like a salad (3.25) or bread (1.25) just let us know.
 
Here are this week's dinner to go options:
 
Monday, July 4
Closed for the day – go watch some fireworks!!!
 
Tuesday, July 5
Stuffed peppers with Local Braised Greens 6.95 (GF)
 
Wednesday, July 6
Honey-thyme Roast Pork with Potato Gratin 6.50
 
Thursday, July 7
Meatloaf with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes 7.50
 
Friday, July 8
Miso-glazed Tuna with Edamame Salad 11.50


Casseroles
Here is this week's casserole:
 
Wednesday, July 6
Local Beef and Vegetable Tortilla Pie
Whole: 59.95 Half: 30
 
And this week's Lasagna is:
 
Friday, July 8
Local Beef and Fresh Summer Peppers
Whole: 58 Half: 29
 
Call us by noon and we'll have yours ready to pick up by 3.


Henry is 3!
My favorite miracle boy turned 3 last week.  Wow!   He is my hero, surviving a huge life threat, soaring and glowing through it all.  His parents threw him a big party with lots of kids and lots of all the stuff you're supposed to have at parties. 


A firetruck cake for the birthday boy
Mr. Fireman was thrilled with this cake.  3 candles.  3 quick puffs to extinguish the flames.  Sweet.


Water fight
And in between there were runs through the sprinkler, rides on bikes and wagons and carts and all sorts of wheeled vehicles. 
 
AND bubbles and water-filled toys of all kinds, including super shooters and water pistols and all sorts of things that make people wet. 
 
Fun!


A note from Laurey
 
It's July. Zip zip zip. The days fly by. I’m torn between wanting them to get over with as fast as possible and with wanting to savor the sweetness in individual moments and in parts of days.
 
Last night, after taking my sweet pup for a nice walk, we came home and sat out on the front step and just sat and sat and watched as the fireflies lit up the lawn. Around my house, and around the fields near here, there are a whole lot of fireflies at this time of year. We had fireflies in Vermont, but not nearly as many as I have in my front yard. It’s a sweet thing to sit out there, doing nothing except for sitting and watching. Tye usually waits for me to get settled and then tucks herself into my feet. If I’m sitting, she’s sitting. Fine with me. Fine with her.
 
Things in my little bee yard progress. I have four hives now, three of which are cranking along. I visited them the other day and added some empty honey supers to the three strong hives. We’re in what is called the dearth right now – the time between when the flowing nectar of the tulip poplar stops and the flow of the sourwood starts. But the sourwood flow is due to start soon and it’s important to give the bees room to make and store honey. Hopefully, there’ll be enough of a flow that they will fill up those supers and I can add more. I’ll leave a whole super for them. Anything else I can take, extract, put in bottles and give away.
 
Poor struggling Hive # 1 is still limping along with no Queen. Somehow they made it through the winter with a fairly strong population. But when I looked in the early spring, I did not find a Queen. There are a few different ways to get a Queen into a hive. At this point, I’ve tried three times and these attempts have not worked. Right now I’m trying one more time and am on the verge of buying a Queen or looking into other solutions. It’s a tricky thing. A hive simply cannot function without a Queen and it is very disheartening to lose bees. Fortunately I have two smart mentors and they are involved.
 
But back to sitting. Earlier this spring my sister and I built two raised garden beds which we put right in the middle of my lawn. I divided them into one foot squares and have planted them with an assortment of vegetables. My lawn chairs, old-fashioned bouncy metal ones, fit nicely on the lawn right around the beds. I have had those chairs for years but have rarely sat in them. Now, however, I find myself happily tucked into them. I can survey the cucumbers and the progress of the tomatoes and the lettuce and the onions. But more than that, I can watch my bees as they rush in and out of their hives.
 
It’s a slow time for me. I’m a sixth of the way through my treatments. Still trying to figure out how it’s going for me. Still trying to juggle sitting quietly still and taking advantage of unexpected bursts of energy. I’m happy to have my garden and my bees and my dog and a lawn filled with fireflies. They just keep doing what they do. No rush, no worry. They are good teachers for me. And, I just signed the contract for my honey book which is a very cool thing. My bursts of energy will be captured and turned into stories and recipes and this book.
And in the meantime, sitting still is good too.


Hauling gear
My bee world is downstairs at my house.  The bees live on the upper level.  Fine with me.  I can stand in the driveway and have them fly right over my head.  But it does involve a lot of trips up and down the stairs. 


A good day
This is me at the door of bee world.   Here's where all my gear is stored, all the parts of hives that wait to be put to use. 
 
I'm lucky to have such a place. 
I'm lucky to have bees to help me along right now.
In so many ways I'm just plain lucky.

Laurey's Catering and gourmet to go • 67 Biltmore Avenue • Asheville • NC • 28801