Evening At The Bee Yard 10/23/16

Winter Hive Prep

This was my final hive configuration going into the winter.  I added a ventilated super with wood shavings and a breathable membrane made out of landscaping cloth to prevent condensation build up during the cold weather.  Also added a spacer between the second deep super and the ventilated super with a upper bee escape opening.  Later as the weather gets colder I will wrap the hive in a Bee Cozy.  All this was done back in October when the weather was still reasonably warm but could change at any time.

No bees, no food: John Miller at TEDxUNC

Hive Mind

I decided to get back into beekeeping.  As a kid I had a hive and for whatever reason I thought I would give it a try again.  We'll actually I do know.  I came across the documentary "More Than Honey" on Netflix.  The contrast between the folks in the film was a fascinating study of contemporary beekeeping's global realities.  I knew little about the changes in beekeeping since the 1960's and even less about the California almond orchards and what it takes to pollinate a market controlling crop.  Plus becoming aware of John Miller as a spokesperson for commercial beekeeping led to further study on this whole subject. I found a great Ted talk by Miller that further fills out his philosophy on this whole subject of how and why the bees of the world are declining.  For whatever the reason the going back and forth contrasts in the film between the incredible backdrop of the Alps and the commercial agribusiness of California's Central Valley sparked a long dormant desire to revisit all this and give it another try.  See where it leads this time. 

Cupping and Roastery Tour @ NOVO Coffee - 3008 Larimer Street, Denver

Attended my first coffee cupping at the roasting facility of NOVO Coffee in the RiNo Art District of Denver this past Friday.  My host was Erich Rosenberg, Head Roaster for NOVO Coffee with the rest or our tour group consisted of Robbie from Ritual Chocolate along with some of his employees.  Ritual Chocolate is a Craft Chocolate company also located in the RiNo District of Denver.  Erich walked us through the warehouse area where we looked at and smelled green coffees that had arrived from around the world.  Seeing these pre-roasted coffees in their jute 130lb bags gives you a real sense of how far this product has travelled before it gets to your morning cup and the amazing amount of work it takes to get a hold of this stuff.  Erich walked us through the roasting process and explained that with variations of time and temperature how the best flavor nuances of the worlds top quality coffees are brought out and presented for the brewing process.

We moved on to the tasting room where four small Pyrex bowels had been set out for each taster containing a measured quantity of different coffee from NOVO's stock.  I won't go into the whole cupping process because most of what I learned I got from watching and listening to Erich as he walked us through it.  I can only stress that to get a real feel for a cupping you have to take part in one and not just watch a video on it.  Everything depends on your ability to see, touch, smell and taste to get a real sense of all the wonderful things that are going on with the coffee.  This truly opened my senses up to a whole new world of coffee.  And to make it even better Robbie gave out samples of Ritual Chocolate made with NOVO's Anyestu Coffee and Ritual's Balao Chocolate.  Amazing.

I would recommend this tour to anyone interested in taking coffee to a higher level of appreciation and understanding of what top quality coffee can truly be.

Little Bighorn

Joining the thousands of Americans on the road this summer we are heading North by RV to visit family in Montana.  Our first stop along the way was one of my favorite sites.  The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.  Even after visiting the site a number of times over decades I'm always left with a haunted feeling because of the events that took place here in 1876 between the US Army under George Custer and the Lokota Warriors under the leadership of Sitting Bull.
Two great additions since my last visit is the Indian Memorial earthwork dedicated to their warriors.  Also red granite markers that have been placed where warriors were know to have fallen during the battle.  Amazing place.

                          Spirit Warrior Sculpture at the Indian Memorial

 

                                                    Red Granite Warrior Markers

Space & Time - Libeskind, Van Gogh and Doctor Who

 

Van Gogh, Self Portrait with Straw Hat 1887

 

This past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing "Becoming Van Gogh" at the Denver Art Museum.  The exhibition showed the evolution of the artist as he moved through his self training progressing from early monochromatic work with pencil and paint to his final works of brilliant color and amazing brush work.  The drawings and paintings in their chronological order gave a rare glimpse of time elapsed in his short and brilliant growth leading to the conclusion of his art and life.

The setting of the exhibition was equally as brilliant.  The Denver Art Museum designed by the Architect Daniel Libeskind is a wonder of sculptural space that allows you to wander through the asymmetrical galleries and passages in a state of continuous visual intrigue and surprise that seems beyond any specific time stamp.  With a snowstorm in progress muting the afternoon light the windows had a quiet beauty that added to atmosphere and mood of the exhibition.

                                         

                                                                                                                                                                        Denver Art Museum Window

 

In preparation for the showing and being a believer in diverse influences and interpretations I watched one of the best Doctor Who episodes on Vincent Van Gogh written by Richard Curtis and Jonny Campbell.  Amy and the Doctor travel in time to meet the artist in an attempt to help him deal with a particular tormentor only visible to Vincent but known of by the Doctor.  The best part of the episode is where the three characters are lying in a field viewing the night sky while Vincent explains what he sees and feels in nature and where Starry Night is beautifully rendered by the programs special effects.  Equally powerful is when the Doctor and Amy take Vincent through time to view his own exhibition in 2010 Paris where he sees and hears of his place in the history of art.  An amazing piece of programming that puts a very rare and graceful spin on beauty and timelessness.

 

 

Vincent Van Gogh played by Tony Curran on Dr. Who.