homemade cupcakes

homemade cupcakes, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Snail

DSC_0238, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Sundial

DSC_0602, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

not much use with this much fog

Marching with Grandpa and the Golowan Band

DSC_0188, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Dangerous Cliffs

DSC_0576, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

The weather here in cornwall is amazing, we have only seen sun twice in two weeks. Upcountry it was a tad warmer (see stonehenge pic), but we are reveling in not being in an Austin heatwave (109F/43C a few days back!).

Stonehenge 2012

DSC_0471, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Watch Out for the Vampire Rabbits of Lands End

Hands up, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Shortly after a highly entertaining time with Grandma and Grandpa's friend Eddie the Priate. Zachary and I wandered over to the little petting farm next door. We saw all sorts of amazing chickens and some goats that looked like the were stuck on the side of a small cliff (but probably weren't) and then we went to feed the rabbits. DUHDUHDUH.....
Unfortunately the over enthuasastic beastie took a bite to hard and got Z's finger. Tears blood, and a short ride to the emergency room but all is well that ends well. Z has a awesome looking bandage and a new green teddy bear.

Grandma at Penzance folk club

Grandma at Penzance folk club, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Grandpa at Penzance folk club

Grandpa at Penzance folk club, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

austin drumline 2012 - battle

austin drumline 2012 - battle a video by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

For Junetheen we went to the Alvin Patterson battle of the (marching) bands.
At the end it all went a wee bit free form and two of the drumlines, went face to face, just like in the movie.
Zachary, was on my shoulders drumming along and enjoying every minute, almost as much as his parents.

Garden, by Zachary

First, awesome bee. Second, he wrote "garden".

Garden, by Z, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

every picture tells a story

Kissing, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

This is a picture Elizabeth drew for Zachary. It is a kissing picture. Zachary was quite matter of fact. She drew it because they're boyfriend and girlfriend. I asked what that meant? Apparently, it means they're getting married. I'll let you know when the registry is set up.  Zachary explained that little kids couldn't get married, that you had to be 7 or 8 or 9.  I told him I was pretty sure the rule in texas was 16 with parental consent. He sighed and said that would have to do.

helping with the hive inspection

helping, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Z was very excited to see Mary Harris our queen.

Swimming in the creek

IMAG0178, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Now he's taking a nap before the baseball game tonight, go isotopes! Also I'm excited about theis creek, because you can also climb. Someone even top roped me on a 5.10 while Z sat on the bank eating a late lunch.

Pool noodle guitar

He even went to get a pick, to play with!

Upside down? weird, sorry

scoot biking

VIDEO0015 a video by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Zachary really wanted to scoot to daycare, so he could practice. Then he informed me "I can go riding and keep up with Oliver (who also has a scoot bike)"

Bee watching

DSC_0075, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

The Texas sage is in bloom, and our new girls are all covered in pollen, and drinking up the nectar. We really couldn't have hoped for better timing. And with all the blossoms and buzzing, Zachary was transfixed.

Burr comb nectar

DSC_0049, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Sarah and Z tasting nectar from some burr comb.  The link shows a great example of comb similar to what we saw yesterday. This was drawn off of the queen cage that was hanging in the hive (to give the bees a few days to acclimate to the queen and release her).  When we went to check she had been released, and you can see eggs in the burr comb. We didn't spot the queen, but hopefully this weekend we'll manage to catch a glimpse (she is larger and also has a red dot of paint on her back, so here's hoping).  It is important that she gets established quickly. The worker bees have about a six week lifetime, so there need to be new workers being reared to take over responsibilities. Since the workers shift jobs based on age, it is important to have continuity of generations, otherwise the hive gets out of whack.

closing up the hive

Hiving the Bees