Oh what day! The wind rustled the hickories, and fanned the sourwood ablaze on the mountain as the sun and clouds shared a fresh sky.
I trudged along through the hayfield, admiring the neon sassafras by the railroad track, and the dogwood leaves of such deep burgundy. Burgundy…Burgundy…
Which reminds me: where was that? Oh yes, working out at the gym, minding my own business, when I heard one girl growl to the other in that alpha-female way “burgundy is like, my favorite color.”
I didn’t drop the weights and say “Well alright Haleigh, hurry up, Hobby Lobby will be closing soon” with a snort. I minded my own business. I’m maturing. Besides, there were two of them, and it only takes one girl to beat me up, so…
Perhaps this newfound skill helped me with the mother of all “talk nicely to the ladies” test: working in the honeybee yard, where I was outnumbered approximately 175,000 - 1.
On this glorious day with the…burgundy…leaves, Season 2 of beekeeping drew to an uneventful close.
We checked the hives, making sure each one had enough honey to get through the winter. Things got a little stirred up when I had the brilliant idea to swap a few honey frames from one hive to the other, shaking off the bees first.
They swirled and bunched and buzzed and said “aiii! Basta!” (They’re Italian bees, and Google says that means “stop!” or “enough!” or possibly “hack! You should learn languages!” I hope my fluent readers will correct me if there’s a better phrase.)
But we got ‘em buttoned up and all situated, and they simmered on down.
Pine needle smoke wafted on a cool breeze, and five beehives stood admiring the fall view, ready for winter.
Soon the winds and rains will come roaring from the west, out of the blue ridge, over the lake, across the farms and blow the last of the neon sassafras leaves to the wayside.
The bees will be all snuggled up, waiting for spring, gathered around their queen, keeping her warm by dancing all through the cold. Wim Hof would be proud.
I’m already excited for spring.
And now, it’s off to talk meaning at a convention of activities directors, and then wind up into the mountains to tell stories of the stars. Hopefully we’ll have clear skies and can snag some ancient light, but even if not, the show on earth will be mighty fine.
Come to think of it…Burgundy is a darn good color.
Treasures from Earth
I care about what musicians sound like, not what they wear, but…
Nice color of those outfits. :)
I think I'll laugh now whenever I see the color burgundy ;)