A quick follow-up link to an interesting Salon article on the bees and the colony collapse disorder.  It doesn’t address the differences between traditional and natural/organic bee keeping that I’ve read - but is an interesting coverage of the entire issue.

via Amy.

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Maybe because it’s late, but this made me smirk and giggle! Ping me if you decide to play… I’d love to see what you come up with!

• I was a competitive swimmer from age 8 through high school. My best stroke: butterfly.
• I’m an only child.
• I flunked out of college.
• I was a pyro as a kid. My high (or low points) were setting my Grandma’s bed on fire (it was an accident! Honest!) and lighting the grass along the road next to our house (not an accident). Mom & Dad were worried…
• I don’t like being ordinary (which I am). I’d rather be quirky, alternative, artsy/hip.
• When I was little, I wanted to be a marine biologist or zoologist.
• I love writer/director Joss Whedon. Loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly/Serenity.
• Flannery O’Connor stories haunted my dreams in high school for months after reading her stories one after the other. (I bought the book: The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor.)

Have you heard about the honeybee problem?  They are disappearing.  Scientists are trying to figure out why because it’s a serious problem.  It’s a problem because of the work bees do for us — specifically pollination.  They don’t just make honey, they pollinate everything from apples, avocados, soybeans, broccoli, berries, oranges, melons and more.  One article I read said that 1/3rd of our diet comes from pollinated plants and the bee is responsible for 80% of the pollination.  (Another example, cows feed on alfalfa… which depends on bees.)

It’s kind of creepy reading about it — stories about our food supply dwindling and disappearing.  Bees are so important that the USDA spends about $9 million/yr on bee research.  In fact, I have a friend on the east coast who does just that.  I haven’t talked to him about this, although I know he has been interviewed on NPR and other places about this situation.
Why the bees are disappearing is up for debate.  Everything from pesticides, mites, fungus infections, to cell phones are being blamed as the possible cause for the bee plight.

Interesting new piece of the puzzle was reported this past week by Organic Consumers Association.  Organic bees are thriving even while the mainstream conventional bee hive colonies are dying.  Experts are looking at GMOs and pesticides as an explanation.

By the end of this summer, we will know exactly how bad off we are from this bee colony collapse…

…anyone know our secret!

Good.

Paul’s back!

A face-to-face friend who is also an online friend of mine at Flickr was surprised to find out that I’m a fan of Enimem’s music. (with caveats, of course). It got me to thinking about other things that my real and online friends might not know. So, I’m going to add random things periodically as I think of them. For the first entry…

• I once went on a lunch break at work and never went back.
• I love graphic novels. Sandman, Lucifer, Fables, Preacher (not for the faint of heart), Y: The Last Man, Death Jr., Hellboy and others I know I’m not thinking of right now.
• I’m somewhere between 130 and 145 lbs overweight.
• I’m 5′8″.
• Strictly speaking, I proposed to Paul.
• Paul & I will be married for 14 years on September 25th.
• I’m beyond terrible at finishing things I’ve started.
• I care too much about what people think about me.

Amira and the yellow slide, originally uploaded by janece.

… so happy together!

Paul and Amira (2 of 4), originally uploaded by janece.

We spent the afternoon at the park today. Playing on swings, climbing jungle gyms, zooming down slides… and hiking through forested trails.

I had fun taking pictures of Paul & Amira and capturing their Daddy-Daughterness… (if that makes any sense!).

Our little creek, originally uploaded by janece.

In our backyard, we are host to Swamp Creek. Not a very elegant name for a sweet little creek that I have fallen in love with over the 5 years that we’ve lived here.

There are times, when the rains have been low, that a small portion of rocky earth is exposed and you can step out onto it and look up and down the creek. That’s where this shot came from. The environmental services portion of the Dept of Transportation is going to be increasing the water flow through our creek. This is to allow the salmon easier passage in the fall when they spawn. This is great — but I’m going to miss being able to step out onto my little creek island. I’m going to have to get fishing boots or something that will allow me to see this view.

08.25.05 - Paul & Amira, originally uploaded by janece.

I won’t upload everything in my history from Flickr — but I will with this one and couple others I’m really fond of and would like to share.

Natalie left me a comment that said this:

I had no idea I was missing so much by not visitng Flicker. Why Flicker and not on your blog? I am curious, because I see so many people who blog, also use Flicker. Gee, I thought you weren’t sharing much lately… I was just not looking in the right places. Your photographs are beautiful.

First, thanks for the compliment on my photographs, Natalie.  And second, I don’t know why not my blog.  I got into the habit of posting to Flickr and there is a community out there too.  I didn’t want to miss out on them and their interactions, but forgot about my blog community (which is awesome - I have to say!).  So, I’ll post here.  It’s silly to make you check in at two places.    Thanks Natalie for the comment.  (Welcome home, by the way, it’s good to have you back!)

Stare. It is the only way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.

- Walker Evans

( via paper_wings_butterfly)