Bzzz, bzzz, bzzzz.
Our ears are still humming to the sound of honey bees. What a grand day. Bonnie and I got to spend the day at George Hansen's Foothills Honey, Colton, OR for the Bill Ruhl Memorial Bee Day event.
The Portland-Metro Beekeepers Association (PMBA) sponsors this gathering of multiple local bee clubs. The day started our with a twenty minute talk about equipment and a second presentation by Dr. Ramesh Sagili spoke on the life of the honey bee and current day developments and problems.
Then outside we went to five stations for live instruction varying from bee diseases, queen identification, three stages of bee development, what makes a strong hive, creating a new hive from nukes purchased or taking frames from a strong hive and inserting a new queen, and of course managing diseases.
Some individuals were interested in pollination, while others were desiring to collect honey for their use.
An event you should not miss next year if you have any interest in bee keeping.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Letting go is hard to do….
Every dog that has entered my life is special, but every once in a while there is one that tugs just a bit more at my heart, makes me smile a bit more when I see them wag their tails, comforts me when life seems overwhelming and they seem to know just when you need a bit more love.
Lacey was all that and more for me. When she was just a baby, Lacey (via my Mom) bought me a double chair for the dog shows so that she could sit on one side and me on the other. She was the only Saluki that I have ever shown that acted like a bucking bronco and insisted that I learn how to show her the way she wanted, rather than me training her to show the way I wanted. It took six months for me to be trained, but once that happened, we were a TEAM in the ring. She never let down, always moved beautifully around the ring and had beautiful flowing ears. At home she was the princess and let everyone know it. Lacey knew that I didn't like doggy kisses so we developed the air technique, she would lick both of my cheeks without actually kissing me, she would talk back to me with her mouth opening and closing but not a sound came out. Sounds wasn’t needed anyway as I knew what she was saying.
When we finally decided who to breed her to, she wasn't too thrilled with the process and when the puppies were do, she did everything she could to not go into labor, resulting in a c-section and a rough week for all involved, but when the two little girls were big enough, she loved to rough house and play with them.
Lacey and her two daughters became the three musketeers. There was only a time or two when Lacey had to stay home by herself and she was so sad that we didn't do that anymore, so they went everywhere together.
Lacey was all that and more for me. When she was just a baby, Lacey (via my Mom) bought me a double chair for the dog shows so that she could sit on one side and me on the other. She was the only Saluki that I have ever shown that acted like a bucking bronco and insisted that I learn how to show her the way she wanted, rather than me training her to show the way I wanted. It took six months for me to be trained, but once that happened, we were a TEAM in the ring. She never let down, always moved beautifully around the ring and had beautiful flowing ears. At home she was the princess and let everyone know it. Lacey knew that I didn't like doggy kisses so we developed the air technique, she would lick both of my cheeks without actually kissing me, she would talk back to me with her mouth opening and closing but not a sound came out. Sounds wasn’t needed anyway as I knew what she was saying.
When we finally decided who to breed her to, she wasn't too thrilled with the process and when the puppies were do, she did everything she could to not go into labor, resulting in a c-section and a rough week for all involved, but when the two little girls were big enough, she loved to rough house and play with them.
Lacey and her two daughters became the three musketeers. There was only a time or two when Lacey had to stay home by herself and she was so sad that we didn't do that anymore, so they went everywhere together.
Two years ago, she wasn't feeling very well. I just knew something was wrong as she had never missed a bit of food in her life. Our vet was closed so we went to a 24 hour clinic and something just didn't feel right about it so we ended up going to an emergency clinic that I had lots of faith in.
That weekend changed a lot of things for the next two years. Lacey had heart problems that we didn't know existed and needed a pacemaker immediately. The clinic kept her over the weekend and bundled us up and sent us down to the
It was quite an education learning all that we did about heart problems and pacemakers. Lacey was examined on a Monday, scheduled for surgery on Wednesday and came home on Thursday wrapped in blue vet wrap with a pink heart on it. We were told that was the traditional wrap for a heart patient. Her pink heart is still on the fridge.
30 days after her surgery she was given the OK to go back to her regular life. Lacey was a special gift that I received a second time in life. The air kisses were just a bit sweeter, the tail wags tugged a bit more at my heart and life was a bit more precious.
A year after Lacey's surgery she started to develop more heart issues requiring mediation. Life now revolved around her pill schedule of 5:30 am and 5:30 pm. Everything was adjusted to meet that schedule and it just because a part of life. She knew when pill time was and if I was late, I heard about it. She'd be standing there waiting for me to come around the corner of the house and gave me a "where have you been look". Lacey got extra pets, and every night before going to bed, I'd pet her and ask if she had a good day today. It was our little routine.
We always knew there would come a time in the future when things would change, we just never knew how unexpectedly and quickly it would happen. One Wednesday she was having some problems breathing so we dashed her over to the vet, and the next day she was gone.
Lacey will always be remembered….now with a tear but in the future with a smile.
12/22/1999 – 3/25/2010
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