Storm

Hard boiled eggs and bacon. Throw in some muffins and make sure that the coffee pot is full.

That is the foundation of my storm preparedness.

Sand and shovels obviously. Due to ice melt's tendency to disintegrate my front steps, we avoid that.

One of the things I worry about the most for storm preparedness is a source for cooking and heating water. I firmly believe that if you are able to boil water during the apocalypse, then the dying desiccated world full of raving hordes is your oyster.

 I also hate storing propane tanks and whatnot.

I found this really cool thing on a beekeeping page called a Kelly Kettle. You can boil water, cook simple meals, etc. on a small fire base with paper, dried leaves, twigs or whatever you may have handy. The ultimate set comes with with all of the attachments that neatly stack together to be placed in a carry bag.

Perfect.

I asked for it for Christmas, but since B doesn't buy anything on the internet I had to get it for myself. For unknown reasons, he wanted nothing to do with my present, so I also had to receive the package and because I didn't want to look at it until Christmas day, tie the box it was delivered in, with a seasonally appropriate bow.

My friend Emily and I took it for a test spin the other afternoon. It worked great, although it is important to have a good supply of twigs, pinecones etc. to keep it going. I hoard bags of such things for my smoker (for the bees) so it's definitely not a problem.

If the power goes out, which Kelly Kettle or no, I definitely hope it does NOT, I will have no shame in delivering B's steaming hot mug of coffee with a big, shit eating, "I told you so!" grin on my face.

                                                              

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We finished wrapping beehives yesterday, in the hopes that the extra bit of insulation will help them get through the cold thats coming after this storm. Sadly, due to time constraints we were unable to take the Kettle out for a second run...

I love Winter and have no problem with a snow storm. I'm ok with the cold personally. But I'm worried for the bees. It's already been a hard winter and we have just started. I've done all I can without disturbing them. I'll make some corrections when warmer weather arrives next week and hope for the best.

My favorite thing in The Last Jedi was when Yoda told Luke "The greatest teacher failure is." This whole previous season for me was filled with lesson after lesson. Totally sucked, but I learned. Learning.

This is the worst season for beekeeping. You basically wallow in dread and second guess everything you did to prepare the colonies for winter until spring arrives. Then you assess the damage and start all over again. Sometimes from scratch.

I guess we will have to see what lessons this storm, as well as the rest of the winter, has in store.

Stay well and warm if you are in New England. I'm off to pick up dog doo before it gets covered in snow, study, shovel and look up how to heat a room with a clay pot and a votive candle.

Thanks for coming by!

If you want to check out the Kelly Kettle, the link is here:
https://www.kellykettleusa.com