I wish I could remember where I read that some beekeepers
“cull” their bees, possibly over winter.

Anyway, I’m a big fan of bees – good luck with your beekeeping! :)

Beekeepers prefer to combine weak hives rather than kill them.

In the fall I treat the hives with Thymol, which is oil of Thyme, the spice. It smells wonderful and drives out the mites that are the main reason for hive failure. Treating the hives with natural essential oils is the best way to save the hives. Most of what is called Colony Collapse Disorder is caused because the hive is weakened by mites.

The hive is the organism. Individual bees die when they sting me, an occasionally one manages to get squished when I am putting the top of the box back on, even when I am careful. This is like you losing skin cells when you scrape your knee. The true life form is the hive and it grows and reproduces. The individual bees are like cells in the organism. Hives reproduce by splitting themselves. They will make a new queen and the old queen will leave with half the bees to find a new home, and the new queen will start rebuilding the population. A beehive is like an amoeba, that reproduces by fission.

The bees are important to me, and I try to keep the individuals alive as best I can, but the true “being” is the hive.

Keith

What they ARE, officially, are these:
“White Indian Pipes” (Monotropa uniflora)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotropa_uniflora
(good pics)

http://friendsofsleepingbear.org/wildflower-database/white/indian-pipe/ (more good photos)

“Indian Pipe is a parasitic plant lacking chlorophyll, which is why it has no coloration. It turns black with age or if picked. It doesn’t make food for itself like other plants but gets its food from dead or decaying plant material through a mutually beneficial fungal relationship. It often grows in small clumps, but can grow alone.”

So pretty! :)

This has been my dilemma (as a vegan) when buying honey – I’ve heard that most (not all) beekeepers kill a certain number of their bees; I forget why, but it is a common practice.

The honey I bought this past winter (I had very bad bronchitis) was raw and organic (via Amazon) but there isn’t any way to tell if there are any bees killed.

I’m not judging; I’m just curious if you know why this is done. :)

I personally don’t like the idea of fixing cats, in that I feel that the cat has no say in the matter; I feel really guilty. However, the alternative is worse, so … that’s my rationale. I currently have two altered (by us) males – strays who decided to adopt me – but there have been many, many cats in our family history. You can usually get male cats ‘fixed’ fairly cheaply ($100 or less?) if your local SPCA has a spay/neuter clinic.

Good luck! Boots is adorable, and Hermie is quite regal-looking. :)

I am also trying to go completely organic, for many reasons, but there are times my budget simply will not allow. Right now, my local store has been out of organic potatoes for a couple months, due to some kind of company warehouse shake-up. So I am reluctantly buying non-organic potatoes at this time, but not feeling good about it. *sigh*

I don’t understand why everyone must be forced to conform to the same stupid standard. If I wanted a shaved lawn, I’d astro-turf it. I LIKE my tall weeds and wildflowers and dandelions and buckhorn plantains and clover. So do the bees and butterflies and field mice and all the insect critters that call it home. I love to see the tall grass and other stuff swaying gently when there’s a nice breeze. It’s indigenous foliage. It’s Nature. What’s the problem with that?

My lawn doesn’t commit any crimes. It’s quiet, and it minds its own business. I just wish the Lawn Gestapo would leave me alone to enjoy my own home and yard.

Anything in the “Closet of Lost Technology?”.