Where Bees Come to Die...

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man," said Albert Einstein.

I was quite intrigued this summer by all of the attention the disappearing bees were getting. Apparently we are on the verge of a "bee apocalypse" as one journalist put it. I believe the correct name for the phenomenon is "colony collapse disorder." Honey bees everywhere are not returning there hives, threatening mankind's very survival cue to their vital contribution to plant pollination. I spent my summer captivated by subject. Trying to learn more as to where the bees were going and how this would impact my life. Would I need to start a more vigorous food storage plan? I spoke with my friend Kelly who has her own bee hive (yep, she has her own bees) and she said that Bill the beekeeper (yep, Bill the beekeeper) had lost many of his hives this last year as well. There was an international summit held so scientists could analyze the problem and find a solution. In fact, they believe that "colony collapse disorder" may be related to a virus or parasite. Research continues.
I almost feel the need to hold a news conference. Because I know what's happening to the bees.

It goes a little something like this:

Bees enter house through window (we think)

Bees have unfortunate encounter with grease splatter guard

Bees Die.

More Bees Die.

Notice in the last picture there are 12 dead bees. 12. (it may look like 13 but one bee was cut in half.) That's a small number, in 2 days Krystin and my combined efforts resulted in the death of more than 30 bees.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man," said Albert Einstein.

4 short years, my apologies world. But we can't have all these bees in our house, especially when Bobby is ridiculously afraid of them. Although it is entertaining to watch him hide under covers and cower on all fours, it's just not okay. At least now we know where all the bees are going. Don't turn me in.

A Big Favor

UPDATE: The transplant has been postponed until next week. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!


This post will be quick and to the point. Next week my uncle is scheduled to have a kidney transplant, he will be receiving the kidney from my other uncle. It is a high risk transplant and my uncle could use all of the prayers he can get. If you wouldn't mind keeping him in your prayers my family and I would greatly appreciate it.

Gotta Get Ahead

I have a problem. I have what some may call a competitive spirit. It doesn't always come out but when it does, watch out! This morning as I was getting off the tram I found myself practically racing a woman into the hospital. When I realized what I was doing, I took a big deep breath and then sped up even more. The best part about this was this woman was not someone I should feel the need to compete with. She was probably 60 or so with white hair and wearing a reflective vest and rain pants. But darn it, she was fast!!! I did claim victory however, well sort of, we were actually headed in opposite directions but I reached my turn first. Ridiculous behavior. Absolutely ridiculous.
I don't know why it happens and I can never predict when it will appear. Although I have noticed a trend when it comes to sports, board games, fast walking and anything else that could have a potential winner. What's my deal? I like to blame most of my negative character traits on the fact that I am a middle child. Not that I rely heavily on the analysis of birth order but I have to blame it on something and my birth order was completely out of my control.
So, I'm going to try to turn a new leaf. No more speedwalking with old ladies, and maybe I will let Bobby win at a game of Scattergories one of these days. I can't let him win at Scrabble but Scattergories I think I could do. maybe. and if not, please don't hold it against me.

Forecasts and wet dogs

I like to think of myself as an optimist. Maybe this is why I am unable to believe the weather forecast unless it is predicting a nice, sunny 75-80 degrees with little humidity (that's really not too much too ask.) So, last week as I was packing for my trip to Salt Lake for my cousin's wedding I did not believe that Saturday would be 52 degrees with possible rain showers. I mean really, Friday was 75 and Sunday was supposed to be 72. How could the day sandwiched in between be so different? Did I pack warm clothing? No. Did I pack an umbrella? No. I thought the fact that I was traveling for a wedding would assure good weather. How can you have an outdoor reception if it's raining or snowing for that matter?

But alas, it was not meant to be. The forecast was correct. Well actually, it was a little bit off. The temperature never reached 52 and the possible rain showers turned into torrential down pours with intermittent snow. Perfect for a wedding.

Clint and I at Devin's indoor reception.

The forecast in Oregon has not been much better. It looks something like this: Monday-rain, Tuesday-rain, Wednesday-rain, Thursday-rain. You get the picture. I've been trying to stay positive about the rain. I keep telling myself- I love the rain, i love the rain. I'm sure it's going to start working any day now. It really isn't that bad but I never really gave much thought to what it would be like to have a dog, in Portland, in the rain. It looks a little something like this:

This is after a short walk, for those of you dog owners out there, you know that when dogs are wet for some reason their energy level is exponentially increased. So not only are the dogs wet and smelly, they are real contenders for the Shih Tzu 500. (I'm sure there is one somewhere.)

So, let the forecasts continue, I can take it. Wet dogs and all. It's gonna be great!