Switching of Outdoor Activities



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Well, with the warmer days, the itch to go and play on the snow begins to ebb.  just as that itch ebbs, it gets replaces with the itch to be out in the mountains.  the touch of rock, the kiss of sunshine, the brush of the breeze.  okay, let's get real here.  dirt, sun burn, and wind burn...all with some allergies added to that.

still it's good to get out for the afternoon....and have some fun at Washoe Boulders, a local bouldering area.  being the gimp (jacked shoulder...this totally blows)  in the group, i got to chill, hang out, and climb the V0---.


abby
carson city and the hills
sage
flowering sage
lichen
ed and the lichen
a hold


adrian
adrian
adrian
adrian
Come on gimpy shoulder, heal so we can go climbing for reals!  let's not let this summer be the summer of gimpiness!

Checking up on Ursula



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So, I've named our queen bee Ursula, a tribute to where the strain of bees are originally from...eastern europe.  part of the bee adventure is the weekly check up of the hive and it's royal.   we have to open the hive and inspect each frame (where the bees build their combs and do their thing) and feed.   so being the eager noobs, here's the first check up.

IMG_0821 f
the bulk of the hive

comb and baby making
bees, combs, and babies

first weekly check
good thing they are still around!

good news!  ed saw eggs, combs, honey, and lots of bees.  i just saw the combs and lots of bees.  that means ursula and her bees have their world order sorted and are being industrious!

PS...nobody got stung......yet.




Bees



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So, bees?  Yup, bees.

sometime last year (could be right around the time of the farmer's market here) we lamented about the fact that it's too pricy to make the crack granola that we enjoy so much because of the cost of non-commercialized honey.  i think the granola would seriously turn out to be around 15 bucks a pound if i used the farmer's market stuff.  well, ed got it into his head that we should keep bees.a relatively low maintenance pet (or pets if you count them individually) that will yield food.  i guess everything that we put in the yard has a dual use.  nothing ornamental.  waste a little as possible.

we had a little bee installation gathering.  a couple of families and their kids came to watch ed put the bees in their new home.  one little girl, amelia, was particularly excited about the whole event.  she's a gal that loves bugs!  any kind of bug!  she kept wanting to hang out with the bees.  it's really awesome to see such excitement from a child over nature and it's wonders!

at the end of the day, nobody got stung and everybody went home happy, humans included.


future entomologist or apiologist
Amelia, the future entomologist
the rest of the bees
installing the bees into their new home

same
the starter package of bees

the hive
ed and the fiefdom

And So the Season Turns



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With a super wimpy winter pretty much behind us, it's time to turn my attention to the summertime activities of climbing and gardening.  Well, with the shoulder a bit out of commission, the next logical thing to do is do stuff that's related to food.  That would be garderning, beeing, and kitchening.  Oh, and go on hikes and take pictures and lazin' about and grill just about anything i get from the farmers market (grilled peaches...yum!)

Starting the garden is no problem, especially if you have a big south facing window that becomes an temporary greenhouse!

starting the seeds
Das Seedlings in early march


one month later...
Das Seedlings on 4/18

same
same

grapes
mini-grapes

of course, none of the seedlings are out in the garden yet.  i'm waiting for mid may to put them in.  that's another two weeks.  we'll see.  hopefully we won't get another freak winter snow storm in late may like last year.

it is also strawberry season right now.  what do you do with pounds of strawberry?  eaten them until you feel sick and then jam the rest.  what if you have more?  make crisp!

strawberry + rhubarb = crisp
strawberry + rhubarb = crisp!

quick strawberry rhubarb crisp:

filling:
2 lb of strawberries (degreened and chopped)
3 med stalks of rhubarb (chopped)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 sugar
1/3 cup flour

crisp top:

1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup of flour
dash of cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
1 stick melted butter

directions:
1.  put the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350 deg


filling:
2. mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and then spread in a 9X9 pan.

crisp top:
3. mix the oats, flour, sugar, and cinnamon together.  then spread it on the strawberry mixture.
4.  melt the butter in a sauce pan.  once melted drizzle on the dry crisp topping.  make sure the entire top is wetted by the butter.

5.  Stick the whole thing in the oven on top of a piece of foil. and bake for 1 hour or until the filling is bubbling through the topping.

6.  cool for 1 hour

7.  serve with whip cream or ice cream.  yum!


oh...did i mention bees?

The Winter That Was Too Nice For It's Own Good



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It was a pretty mild winter this season.  Not at all like the last, when the Stark's word were realized.  This year, winter whimpered.  Nonetheless, snow was shredded, friends were met, new friends were made, and the hope for the next season has not been lost...

goofing
the tahoe bc : Julie, Kaichi, Mike, me

summit or plummet
skyward

clear weather
weather station at alpine meadows
where are we?
where are we?

hamish and the ladies...sparkle, ghengis, and lotus
the lucky guy with three lovely ladies.

Western Road Trip….from 2011



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All I can say is..I have no excuse, except I’m that lazy. Or I’m just that behind. Whichever way you want to look at it. I’m woefully behind on the posts. No, I didn’t make a new years resolution to be better at it. The motivating factor; I just went through a bunch of my photos that took since then and uploaded onto flickr…only because my mom asked if I had any photos that I had taken recently. Sad.
Anyway, here is a few from a road trip/honeymoon we took last july/august. we started out in Idaho’s city of rocks for a little exploration and climbing. then headed to the tetons and yellowstone for some climbing and animal watching. finally, we met up with aaron and amy out in the Wind River range for some climbing.

replica Pairie Schooners
Prairie Schooner
us
on top of a climb out in city of rocks, idaho

off to the tetons and jellystone!

Tetons pano
the grand tetons

Springs pano
Chromatic Spring, Yellowstone

the wildflowers were going off!

flowers



animals aplenty!

bison aka buffalo
bison, yup...there were lots...
we ran into a pack of wolf watchers/researchers the day we were driving through a known wolf hangout, lamar valley.  we got lucky, cuz they spotted the wolves.  the next day, we got up early and returned to the food source and saw this....

my food bitches!!! ahh our own nature show
yum...carcass, two wolves and a grizzly bear
stand-off
my food, B*tches!!  The stand off...

off to the wind river range!

deep lake pano, Wind river range
Deep Lake

ok..they are kinda creepy cool
kinda creepy in a blair witch way

IMG_0637
aaron and amy on pingora, a climb next to us.

IMG_0654
on the summit of pingora!

Good trip!  Haven't been on a longish (two weeks) road trip in awhile and it was long overdue. 
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