Re: Letter 21 of 3
Dear Riley:
Well, it’s official. I’m a bee keeper and I’m fascinated with them already. I installed my 3 pound bee package on Thursday which I did without a bee suit or any stings. They’re fairly docile at this point and I didn’t see the need. However, once they had spread throughout the hive the following day I didn’t have the nerve to remove the bee package box without full protection. They weren’t aggressive, just a little agitated as I removed the queen cage to set her free in the hive. The noise was deafening and I felt grateful to have some level of security. They seem happy with their new home and are already busy gathering nectar and pollen, and building out new comb. I’ll check the hive in a week or two to make sure the queen is laying eggs and that there is brood in various stages of development. I’m not planning on harvesting any honey this year, as this will ensure a higher likelihood of survival through winter. This will likely enable me to collect honey next spring with my flow hive honey on tap.
We just had the first real rain in weeks. It was a two part storm with a 9 hour interval in between. The first dropped up to ¾” and the second dropped nearly as much. This made it difficult to accomplish some of the essential chores around the yard. I can’t complain though. Everything has been so dry that we desperately need the precipitation. It’s the tail end of the low pressure and today is still quite cold, but we are supposed to be in the 90’s by the end of the week. This week I plan on loading garden boxes with dirt and setting up the drip irrigation. Tomorrow morning I spray my apples. Funny, now I’m worried about hurting my bees and find myself strategizing on how to minimize any risk to them.
Well, Cambry leaves for London tomorrow and there’s a lot of excitement in the air. We plan on going to the Payson Temple open house tomorrow morning. Now we’ll have two of our kids a great distance away, at least for a couple months. I’m getting a feel for what it’s like to have kids start leaving the nest and I have mixed emotions about the whole thing.
The business is busy. This has required some long days, short nights, and early mornings. Thursday started at 4:30 AM and Friday at 3:30 AM, both nights having gone to bed around midnight. Friday was an accident because I inadvertently set the clock ahead one hour while setting the alarm. I didn’t realize until halfway to work that it was actually 3:30 AM. This whole thing caused a bit of chaos back home which we had a good laugh over later. The price for keeping these hours was exhaustion, and I was nearly sleeping standing up by Friday evening.
This morning dawned early again as I did some final preparation for the lesson in the Elder’s quorum. I’ve felt driven to encourage the priesthood in the ward to step things up a notch and exercise priesthood worthily and more frequently. I think it went well and hope it makes some difference. Anyway, I’m quite tired now and would likely be sleeping if my evening was done. As it stands, I have a 7:00 appointment.
Well, I suppose I should wish you a happy birthday and best wishes for your success and happiness. I hope you receive your package by the 27th. I look forward to your letter, and can hardly wait for you to see the family picture. I think this is my favorite! We love you and pray for you numerous times daily.
Love,
Dad
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