What is Killing the Bees?

August 5, 2013

...s resistance to a common parasite Nosema ceranae. Bees exposed to a widely used agricultural fungicide, chlorothonatil, were more likely to succumb to nosema. The most provocative result for me was that bees exposed to fluvalinate, a miticide used by beekeepers on their own bees, were also likely to get nosema. Perhaps the villain in CCD is the beekepers themselves. Don’t get me wrong, pesticides probably play a role in CCD. But we must also remem...

Read…

Stencils as Garden Art

Mr. Homegrown

August 7, 2013

Garden Design, Gardening

10 Comments

...l “edge” that Mark Lakeman of Portland City Repair talks about. So let’s make some stencils! Here’s how I do it: Image processing First step is to find a suitable image. This tutorial shows you how to use Photoshop to make your stencil. Materials and tools I used acetate, but it’s expensive. Bruce used old manilla folders. A cheaper alternative is freezer paper. I cut my stencil using an exacto knife. Painting First I spray the surface I’m stencil...

Read…

How to Remove Bees from a Wall

Mr. Homegrown

October 5, 2015

Animals, Bees

4 Comments

.... Rounding up the stragglers Next comes the tedious task of convincing confused bees–who will insist on hanging out in cavity where the comb used to be–to go into the box. To do this we sprayed the bees with a sugar syrup made with a 50/50 mix of water and white sugar. This keeps the bees busy cleaning themselves so that you can gently brush them into a dust pan and transfer them into their new bee box. Some people use specially adapted vacuums to...

Read…

In Praise of Beaters

Mr. Homegrown

September 22, 2020

Thoughtstylings

30 Comments

...ing, not even a right side view mirror. One of Kelly’s relatives, a former used car salesman, told me that in the biz they refer to such cars as a “heater and keys.” What you’ll also discover is that the dealership really does not want you to buy this car. You will spend hours while they attempt to up-sell you on features and/or switch you over to a different car. I even had to fend off multiple sales people who came to outright resent my cheap-as...

Read…

Seaweed Foraging

Mr. Homegrown

January 6, 2022

Food, Foraging

1 Comment

...of people if possible. Our choice of footwear, loose fitting rubber boots used in construction work, was not up to the task. The best option would probably be a wetsuit. The water is cold, the rocks jagged, and you’ll want to also step around carefully so as not to kill starfish, anemone or one of the many other lifeforms that inhabit the shore. In addition to Kombu we also encountered Bladderwrack Fucus distichus, the tips of which can be used i...

Read…