Plainwell, Michigan: a very small, quiet town near Pine
Lake. My parents have a beautiful lake cottage up here at which they spend half
the year living. The other half is spent living on the east coast of Florida,
near the Indian River and the awesome beaches. They’ve got a great life – one
they have both worked hard for and greatly appreciate. I can’t believe it’s been 3
or 4 years since I have visited last. Upon my arrival a few days ago, it didn’t
take long for me to realize that I wanted to spend a bit more time up here than
initially planned. So I am!
My brothers and sister in-law made the trip up here as well
so it’s nice to have all the family together again. Our aunt and uncle also have
rented a cottage on Pine Lake for the week; they just threw a “Trifecta” party
for a couple of family events: our uncle’s 75th birthday, my dad’s
retirement, and for the 100 year celebration of part of our family living in
the US for 100 years (from England).
One thing I love about this place is my dad’s garden. It’s
about 20x20 and just bursting with vegetables! Tomatoes, pole beans, potatoes,
asparagus, cucumbers, carrots, beets, peppers, and onions. He’s also got some
fruit trees (apple and pear), which sadly, didn’t do too well this year due to
the frost. And lastly, grapes! I’m not too sure which varieties, but both red
and white are growing. There’s truly nothing better than picking something
fresh and eating it right then and there – peak nutrition, peak taste.
 |
| Carrot top |
 |
| asparagus takes a couple years before you can harvest. Just snip off stalks when ready, and they will continue to grow back for years.
|
 |
| the lone pear that could! |
 |
| Dad and I |
My parents are also keeping their own bees for honey production
and plant pollination purposes. I was able to experience a little bee-keeping
myself the other day and learned quite a bit. Suiting up allowed me to get an
up close and personal look into life of honey bees without worrying about the possibility
of being stung. It was amazing. Honey bees sting only
when they feel threatened; one sting and they die, so they must use it wisely.
Whenever new slats of the hive were removed to view the honeycombs, the buzzing
of the swarm got louder and you could tell they were a bit angry. But how can we blame them? We were disrupting their home and they didn't like it.
 |
| This box was so heavy from all of the honey inside |
 |
| Frames inside the super box (part of the hive that holds the honey) |
A friend of the family has been keeping bees for several
years now, and so he comes to the cottage about once a week for maintenance and
to collect the honey. If too many bees are present in one hive, the overcrowding
causes them to flee in search of a less crowded area. According to the USDA,
bee losses of 30-90% from hives have occurred since 2006 with unknown causes (though
etiological theories exist, of course). This is otherwise known as the Colony Collapse
Disorder, where “no or a low number of adult honey bees are present with a live
queen. Often there is still honey in the hive, and immature bees (brood) are
present.” Bee pollination is needed for 80% of crops grown in the US, making
this quite an important issue for all who like to eat. The theories about these
losses are rather interesting, but I think I’ll save them for another day.
 |
Yellow area - brood (larvae)
White area - capped honeycomb ready for honey harvesting |
Varroa mites are a major pest of honey bees. Just before we
were done, powdered sugar was sprayed among the bees. While each bee would eat
this sugar off of one another, they would also eat the mites – a simple form of
pest control. Once we were done playing
with the bees and trying to gather honey, we took a walk away from the hive to
get away and unsafely remove our bee suits. It wasn’t easy – they kept
following us around for a good 20 minutes. Apparently they were still upset at
us for disturbing the peace. I fared pretty well, leaving the scene un-stung.
But my teacher wasn’t so lucky. Several bees found their way into his suit and
stung the back of his neck and his lip! One bee sting leaves behind a pheromone
on the skin, attracting additional bees to that very spot.
Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to help process the
honey sometime later this week. If so, I will definitely share!
 |
| BEETS! |
