Foxy is coming to St Michaels

This is a heads-up for Chesapeake Bay cruisers...a really rare opportunity.  At least I think so.  

FOXY FROM JOST VAN DYKE TO PERFORM AT

ST. MICHAELS, SEPT. 11 AND 12

Foxy Callwood, owner of the well-known "Foxy's Tarmarind Bar" on Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands, will perform his songs on September 11 and 12 in St. Michaels.  Foxy is a well-known to the sailing community worldwide and his bar and restaurant has been a must-stop in the islands for 50 years.

     The event is a fundraiser for the Jost Van Dyke Preservation Society to help restore the island which was reduced to rubble after the Category 5 Hurricane Irma last year.  

     "The Caribbean Nights" will be held on the two days for two sessions each: one at 3 pm and the other at 6 pm, at Foxy's Harbor Grille on Mullberry St.  Foxy and his bar on Jost Van Dyke was the inspiration for the Grille when it opened 20 years ago.  

      In addition to Foxy, the Trinidelphia Caribbean Band will be performing for two hours and a special Caribbean menu is being served.

     For tickets and more information, visit:  www.caribbeannightsshow.com

Contact: Will Workman, 410-829-0510

I went crazy and bought a whaler...

Gotta go out on the water and Balboita is in Florida as our marina queen.  So, an Annapolis neighbor put his Dauntless up for sale along with his lift in our marina.  I can't resist a turn-key situation at this stage in life.

So...…this is my summer boat.  This is also my "travel" budget, since I can't stand packing.  

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THE PAIN OF RAIN...

Annapolis partially underwater off and on for a week or so.  

Rained so much that the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River had to be opened, liberating gobs of logs, baby carriages, trash cans, and tires, making the Bay dangerous for boating this week.  

And then the sun came out.  This is the weekend view from the Eastport Yacht Club at the entrance of the Severn River.

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MARCH PHOTO SHOW IN VERO...

"Where There's Water" is the title of the exhibit of Vicki's and Barry's work and it includes a sampling of photos taken while cruising the Chesapeake, the Intracoastal Waterway and the Bahamas.  

Sunset over the Gulf Stream on the way to the Bahamas

Heron flying over Luce Creek, Severn River

Cruising the ICW

Atlantic Ocean off Abaco

Tiloo anchorage in Abacos

Dock happy hour in Marsh Harbour, Abacos

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THE BEES BE WELL...

Barry estimates that he has about 160,000 bees right now.  He counted them.  And they are happy bees, living the spa life with solar powered fans and Barry's homemade sugar syrup.  We expect honey in return.

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That's all folks...

100,000 strong

About once a week or so, Barry ventures into the unknown on Maryland's Eastern Shore to take care of the little buggers, which now number around 100,000, up from 40,000 beginning of May.

These bees are very lucky because Daddy Barry makes life so comfortable for them.  Here he is checking out his babies.

A smoker is supposed to calm them down so they don't sting you.

A thought has occurred.....

I'm beginning to wonder about this.  Sometimes, it seems like a bee spa more than a hive.  Barry brings them sugar water (8 pounds of sugar mixed in a big pot of water), installed a solar fan so they don't have to flutter their collective wings to cool the place down and Stan is planting a garden nearby so they can get nectar.  How is all this luxury helping the human race?  When are they going to get to work pollinating the local crops?  What incentive do they have if everything is brought to them?  

Just asking.

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Meanwhile, right in our back yard...

Patio pond

 Future beefsteaks

The little walking bush

Gratuitous beautiful flower photo

Another gratuitous beautiful flower photo

Das swamp after 10 inches of rain

Who needs Vero?

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Much anticipated review of "Adrift," the new movie about a sailing couple caught in a Category 5 hurricane.

It's good.

Postscript

Hungry Bee...


Barry came across a lonesome bee on the boat today.  Figuring she was hungry, he put honey on his finger to give her some energy to fly home.  

See short video:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQfXd3FeTUY

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Barry's birthday is today.  So, of course, his present is appropriate:

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Announcement.

Chesapeake Raft-Up by Barry Miller

We're happy to announce that our photos have been selected for a joint show at Artist Gallery Guild in Vero Beach next winter.  The exhibit is called "Where There's Water" and will include images of our travels up and down the Intracoastal Waterway, the Chesapeake Bay and the Bahamas.  -- Vicki and Barry

Please note: there will be no bee pictures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQfXd3FeTUY

Wrapup time.

The Vero Hillbillies leave town...

Boat goes to Ft. Pierce on Monday.  After stripping Balboita of canvas, cushions and other hurricane blow-away stuff, two humans and two dogs will pile into Beemer and head north.  First night we will stay at motel that will take dogs and isn't overrun with roaches.  After we land in Annapolis, we probably won't be able to find any of our stuff in boxes, but plan to settle in by fall.

Yeehaw.

Which is just a segue to this photo:

Yes, Virginia, there is a "Yeehaw."  However, I'm told it is really just a junction here in Florida and not a place.

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And here is a rare photo of Vicki working on the boat:

And another rare photo of a cat boat:

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Final thought.  At this age, there isn't a lot to look forward to.  So, here's a new goal: being featured on Smucker's jelly jars.

That's all folks.  See you in Annapolis

Save the Bees

Here's a petition to send to EPA to stop using a pesticide which is killing the bees:

petition

Birth of the Bees

All 40,000 of them...

Barry's two hives near Rock Hall in Maryland

Barry picked up the little buggers on Saturday, April 7, and  drove them to the their new home on the Eastern Shore near Rock Hall, Md. 

Barry says, they are beyond beautiful. (All parents think their children are beautiful.)

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OK, here's how it goes...

You show up on the designated day to get bees...

You get line to pick up bees...

You transport the hives in Barry's Smart car...

Across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to a 90-acre site on our friend Stan's farm....

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WHAT NOW?  The bees will do their thing, which is to lay eggs and give birth to new bees.  The process is rather complicated, but basically it goes like this:


There are three kinds of bees.

• Each colony (hive) has one queen, up to 60,000 workers in summer and maybe 25 drones.  
• The queen is much bigger, moves around the hive and lays up to 2,000 eggs a day.  
• The worker bees are the mainstay of the hive and have different jobs such as, taking care of the eggs until they become baby bees, cleaning up the nest, and foraging for pollen and nectar.  Workers also scout for new hive locations when things become overcrowded, guard against intruders like skunks and raccoons, and make honey.

Queen surrounded by her attendants

• The drones hang around reading Playboy magazines until it's time to fly out to a congregation area and wait for the queen's mating flight to arrive.  (Think Friday night at the Hot Shoppes.)

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The bee keeper's job...

• Sets up the hive boxes in a remote and safe location.
• Buys the bees, which come in frames in smaller boxes (called a "nuc" or nucleus), and inserts into the hives,
• Gives them some start-up food like sugar water and artificial pollen until they can forage for themselves.  Nectar comes from flowers is used to make the honey which they produce at the rate of  60 to 80 pounds per month.  (That's how Barry got two tons of honey from his 70 hives years ago in New Jersey.)
• Makes sure the hive is in a warm place, preferably facing south.  However, if the hive gets too warm, the workers will collectively fan their wings to cool things down.  Barry installed a solar panel to run a small fan to help then out.  
• Protects against skunks, raccoons and critters who love to raid the hive, so an electric fence may be necessary.  (No TV or WiFi though.)
• Watches out for mites, and pesticides and herbicides from other colonies or crops.  

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The amazing-ness of bees:

• They communicate with each other by dancing (buzzing around in one place) at various levels of intensity to show enthusiasm for how good a newly-scouted  location is.
• They know when things are overcrowded and about 60% leave in a swarm with a queen to set up another colony.  How they chose where to go and who goes and who stays, is a mystery.  The swarm looks like a swirling cloud of dots moving slowly in one direction.

• Finally, how they know which hive is their home is also a mystery. Nature's GPS?  Going into the wrong hive is not a good option since freeloaders are not welcome.

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Barry's "slow mo" video of his bees coming in and out of hive.  They often bang into the box because they are so heavy with pollen or nectar.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NeIEVYeQb0

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WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SAVE BEES:

• Provide water such as a bird bath.
• Plant flowers that they like, such as Verbena, English  Lavender, Hyssop, Borage, Hollyhocks and Bees Friend.
• 
• Bees' Friend flower

Save the bees video...Save the bees      (click on this)

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And finally, a incredible article about a marine disaster. 

The cargo ship El Faro sank off the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin in 2015.  This article shows how Mother Weather can do you in no matter how much you think you're prepared.  It especially shows the limits of professional weather tracking.

Illustration by Yuko Shimizu

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/04/inside-el-faro-the-worst-us-maritime-disaster-in-decades

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That's all folks...