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~ The Mountains Were Calling ~

September 12, 2013 by Patricia Fisher

…or maybe the lake! Whichever, it had been over a year since we had been to the lake (“our” lake in the mountains) camping and it was time, we needed a break. Funny when you live in the Catskill Mountains that your (our) idea of a peaceful getaway is to go deeper into bigger mountains, the Adirondack Mountains. But there’s the lake, ahh the wonderful, peaceful Sacandaga Lake (not the Great Sacandaga). This is where the Beekeeper proposed to me, and it holds very fond memories for us. So with much effort we prepared the truck and camper for the escape. The truck, the camper, the canoe, two kayaks, all the fishing gear, all the cooking gear, tarps, tools, bedding, clothes ( warm and cold weather, it is the Adirondacks after all, the weather is a little unpredictable), sun screen, bug spray, (we’ll buy food on the way), The Beekeeper, Riley (our Golden Retriever) and Me, my books, magazines, paints and camera in tow, bound for a good time! Now that’s called “laboring to rest”! I didn’t take a picture of the truck and camper loaded down, so you will have to use your imagination. But as for the rest…here’s a peek at our vacation.

The Beekeeper fixing the new shades we bought for the camper…he seems to have a project wherever we go!

Riley has to be on a leash when we go camping. The only time she ever is. She may look sad, but really she loves camping.

Fires in the morning with coffee….

fires at night with wine.

Great foggy mornings.

Beautiful evening sunsets!

The Beekeeper’s next project, building something to hold his trolling motor on his kayak.

Riley enjoying the lake.

Fishing brings a smile…or maybe it was something I said.

My hook didn’t see too much action…..but my camera lens did.

I love the sunsets!

Did I mention this trip was planned around our anniversary?

I have to admit this was a tricky feat to accomplish….making good use of the beaver’s hard work.

Cheers to “friendship in marriage”!

We had snack too, fresh salsa from our garden tomatoes, but we’ll talk about that in another post.

As a side note… this is the spot out on the lake where the Beekeeper proposed to me 7 years ago.

And the island that we like to fish around.

Sometimes with success!

And it’s a good day for me when I get a chance for a shot like this….I’m in love with the loons!

I don’t think the feeling is mutual!

My treat for this year’s trip…

a glimpse (and about 25 shots) of a young loon. Thanks to the Beekeeper for a keen eye, and a fast trip back to the campsite to get me and my Nikon!

“All good things must come to an end”….who came up with that!?!

Actually, it was Chaucer, but I don’t really like it.

Good things should go on and on!

Filed Under: Events, Nature, Photography Tagged With: Adirondack Mountains, Camping, fishing, Golden Retriever, Lake

~ The Beauty of This Place ~

August 23, 2013 by pafisher

I’m blessed to live in a very beautiful area, which I truly enjoy taking in. Two weeks ago while riding between jobs with my husband, this was the scene we came across….I just wanted to share the beauty.

Find the beauty in your place and enjoy your weekend!

Filed Under: Nature, Photography, The Catskills Tagged With: The Delaware River

~ Let’s Go To The Fair ~

August 13, 2013 by pafisher

The Beehive Shoppe took to the road. We were asked if we would like to set up a free display at the Delaware County Fair, to promote local small business….we decided to go for it. So here are a few shots ……

We are one of six 5×9 spots. That turned out to be a challenge to fit a store into.

Can you see why?

But we accomplished it!

Now we have 200 honey sticks to hand out on Children’s Day…..see you at the Fair!

Filed Under: Fishers Beehive Shoppe, Honey Bees

~ Let There Be Light ~

July 31, 2013 by pafisher

Getting the right lighting for pictures can be a challenge, especially inside. Our house tends to be a little dark, so I don’t take too many inside shots. That really has begun to be a problem having a blog to post on now. And winter in New York can be very long! I need more than outdoor “snow” shots from December to May. I was talking to my sister-in-law (fellow blogger) about this, and she came across a blog with some help with photo lighting. Check it out HERE. So we showed this to the Beekeeper and he made a list and worked his magic.

The first shot is with what natural light I had in my kitchen (notice the shadow). The second is with my new photo lights.

Here’s a close up shot.

This is what the shot looked like with the lights in place.

And these are the lights that my hubby/handiest man that I know/”The Beekeeper” made for me. He made them a little bit sturdier than the original one in the above post, ’cause that’s the kind of guy he is and I wanted to be able to move them around a lot without concern. Thank you to Bob and Carlene for a great idea.

P.S. The little vintage camera is the latest addition to my “pop out” camera collection, see the others HERE.

P.P.S. And the bracelet made with vintage brooches, I made to wear to a family wedding HERE.

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: Photo Lights

~ Bee Removal ~

July 9, 2013 by pafisher

As promised in my “~ Catchin’ Up ~ ” post….here is the bee removal post.

The Beekeeper uncovers the hive. At this point we aren’t sure how big.

So he vacuums and removes some comb.

And begins tying the comb into frames.

and places them into the hive box.

Then to cut into the next section of the house….

lots more comb and lots more bees!

A little smoke…

some more vacuuming.

Time for a lesson…

more tying in comb.

Queen cells

drone cells.

This is where the bees go when vacuumed.

A successful removal. There were so many bees ( four cages ), that we decided to divide them into two hives ( they already had lots of queen cells to make a second queen from).

Both hives are doing great!

Filed Under: Honey Bees

~ Time To “Jam” It Up ~

July 1, 2013 by pafisher

Berry season is upon us, so I started with strawberries.

Then moved on to currants ( these I actually had in the freezer, mine are just starting to ripen now, so I’ll be picking those soon).

I have to cook these some first and then strain through a berry bag to get the juice.

I do end up with a lot of scraps for my compost pile.

Then back in the pot to cook with the sugar and pectin.

Strawberry jam and currant jelly….time to get the store stocked back up!

Filed Under: Fishers Beehive Shoppe, My Potager Tagged With: currant jelly, strawberry jam

~ A Stroll Through My Garden ~

June 26, 2013 by pafisher

clematis coleus

garden shots

Now to recap…first we have one of my three Clematis’, then coleus which is planted in a mixed pot on my deck, a blue Hydrangea, Achillea (I call this Yarrow), another Chematis, Astilbe, Sweet William, one of my many Hosta (not sure but maybe September Sun), I think this next one is in the Iris family (I have three colors, I’ve had them for years so I can’t remember the name), then pansy, an Iris bud and the same Iris open, Coral Bells and Blue Spruce, Stella de Oro Daylily, AnnaBelle Hydrangea, and Elderberry. Whew….that made me have to think! Hope I got them right, or at least close. I’ll do some more another day. I have a separate Hosta garden that I try to hide from the deer (Not always with great success, sadly!). If you’re a Hosta lover like me, check out this great book my sister gave me after I did some gardening at her house for my niece’s graduation party, The Color Encyclopedia of Hostas.
Happy gardening!

Filed Under: My Potager, The Catskills Tagged With: flowers, garden

~ Catchin’ Up ~

June 14, 2013 by pafisher

WOW! I can’t believe I let so much time go by since my last post….never again! (I hope!) A lot has been going on. I’ll back-pedal a little. Our sister did come to Florida (see last post), our brother went to Germany with their oldest son for the Nurburgring race, so that left us 3 girls (or We Three Graces) on our own. We ate out, we went to the beach (of course at Pass-A-Grille), we had mimosas on the dock and we talked girl/mom stuff. It was great…much needed “sister time”.

Then it was time to come home…

which wasn’t too difficult since we were all heading back to NY, and because the Beekeeper and I were patiently awaiting the arrival of our little “Brit”. We call her Spice Girl (because she’s spice orange, not at all a reflection of our musical taste, just thought I’d make that clear) and you can’t help but smile when you drive her. I’m sure you’ll be seeing her in future posts.

My youngest daughter and her little family came to NY for a visit. This meant that I finally got my two granddaughters together. I’ve realized how difficult it is to get 2 babies looking and smiling at the same time, but you get it …they’re both the most beautiful little girls ever! At least through Nana’s eyes. Lots of holding and kisses, and a big family dinner.

Then it was time for gardening, which is still going on. We’ve had quite a bit of rain this spring, so it isn’t going fast.

Now that we have our Mini Cooper we’ve found ourselves part of a fun group.

Can you find “Spice Girl”?

Yep, there she is!!! Little cutie!

And there’s the Beekeeper on the “big screen”.

It was a fun night. The best part was after they fed us all barbecue at the dealership, we caravaned over some hilly back roads to the drive in. Picture dozens of Minis lined up and racing over the countryside at sunset….FUN!

Then a family wedding on the hubby’s side at an old country inn.

Here we are..Woo Hoo!

And lastly, the Country Living Fair has finely come to NY!

And we went, and I loved it!

It was just like the pictures in the magazine, only more fun.

We shopped….

and wandered…

and ate

and brought home a few treasures.

We met a great couple from the area that just happened to have honeybees living in the back of their house. So we ended up going back a few days later for a bee removal. But I’ll save that for another post.

They did point us in the direction of Walkway Over the Hudson, which we did. Here are a few pictures…

… they also suggested this restaurant, which we also did. Great day, and long ride back home…but we drove Spice Girl so that was fun too!

Filed Under: Events, Grandchildren, We Three Graces Tagged With: Country Living Fair, Hudson River, Mini Cooper, Nürburgring, Walkway Over the Hudson

~ Florida Fun ~

May 14, 2013 by pafisher

Back in Florida….My sister-in-law picked me up at the airport and drove me to downtown St. Pete for a surprise….my brother and their wonderful neighbors had a place reserved for us at the park for movie night. Chairs, snacks, wine, the trees lit up with little white lights and Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in “Sleepless in Seattle”. What a great, “welcome to town”!

Next morning I get to see my granddaughter, who’s now almost 3 months old!

Bob and Pat (the neighbors), took us out on their boat for a great tour of Pass-a-Grille (my favorite) and back up to Treasure Island for lunch. It was a beautiful sunshiny day, perfect for a boat ride….we were even entertained by some dolphins who decided to follow the boat for awhile….it was so awesome to see them up close! We’ve had dock time and yummy dinners, great conversation, lots of baby cuddling and still days left to enjoy with our sister, who arrives tomorrow night. What fun things will we find to do next?

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: Florida, grandchildren, Pass-A-Grille, St.Petersburgh

~ Photo a Day ~

May 4, 2013 by pafisher

We’ve (my sisters and myself) have taken on the challenge from “Fat Mum Slim“…..May Photo a Day. We’ve even started a new blog for the occasion…check it out WeThreeGraces.

Filed Under: We Three Graces