Sunday, December 21, 2008

George Bush's Last Stand Against Clean Air

W, The Doofus, George Bush, war criminal, duplicitous half-bright scammer, and the slimiest president to dirty the White House in over a hundred years has done it again. His EPA is allowing last minute approval of Coal Fired Electric Plants without consideration of carbon dioxide as a pollutant in spite of a recent Supreme Court ruling to the contrary. One can only wonder who or what entity has bribed Bush for this.

I know Jesus told him! Article.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Bees In Winter

MERRY CHRISTMAS
FROM THE BEES
WE'RE TIGHTLY CLUSTERED
SO WE WON'T FREEZE
NO HOLIDAY CHEER
OR YULE FOR US
QUITE FRANKLY, HUMANS
WHAT'S THE FUSS
An article from last january's New York Times

From Bees online




Saturday, December 6, 2008

We received this Holiday Guide from the NRDC. And don't forget Save The Bees Shirts for the holidays. A note Save The Bees has affiliated with a Florist so now those festive flowers, or flowers for any occasion are available at Save The Bees. Your friends get flowers and A student Receives money for college. A Win Win. Happy Holidays

Sunday, November 30, 2008

New Forms of Natural Gas

Here is a series, of articles from Science Daily, on new forms of natural gas, forms which may open the door for easier transportation of the fuel and possible use in automobiles.
Zoom Zoom

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Bush and Team Republican Rush To Enact New Rules Limiting Worker Safety

The Bush Bastards and the Republicans just will not let up....Mumbai them anyone?
Read article

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

My Wife Debra

Wearing her fine new Save The Bees Shirts Women's Fitted Vest.



See New Link

I have posted a new link on the left side of the page just below A Spring Without Bees.
The link concerns the Bayer drug company and its manufacture of pesticides which are decimating the Honeybee population. The prime reason for Colony Collapse Disorder, premised by Michael Schacker's excellent book. Again I highly recommend this book... It would make a fine Christmas Gift for a friend concerned for the environment.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Beautiful Late September Flowers


I just found this shot of late September flowers growing in our meadow. I hope it brightens up your day.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Solar-Wind Powered Sign to tower over Times Square

A new mega watt sign like so many in Times Square, but this one will be powered exclusively by the wind and sun.
Bill Board

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Renewable Energy World Report

Here is the link on Wind energy and the reduction of c02 emissions.
Wind Machine

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Gore's Green Goals

Hurrah for Obama. Well we will at least not be doing things like leasing uranium mines adjacent to the Grand Canyon. One of the Doofus's final assaults on the environment. However to the point. Here is an article from the daily green- with links

Sunday, November 2, 2008

More on George's Environmental Destruction.

The Bastard Bush, as previously noted, and in one final nasty, is losening environmental regulations to ruin the scenery, the planet, polute the waters and destroy the mountain tops, all this and more to benefit Big Business. What did you expect? Decency?
Article

Rust Belt Goes Green

Rust Belt towns from Toledo to the edges of Iowa are going green. Where they once made washing machines in Iowa they are now building blades for wind turbines. In Toledo, where they manufactured glass for the automobile industry, glass companies are going solar. New technology is starting to go and grow...hopefully it will not get stalled by the coming depression. Hopefully, Obama has the energy and will to drag the country into the future.

See Article

Friday, October 31, 2008

Bush Bent on Final Environmental Destruction

The Bush Admininstration is on a race against time to leave their final negative stamp on America. Hell bent to deregulate, in one last gasp of Bush Cronyism, W. Aka the Doofus will leave his mark on our nation whether we want it or not. Make sure you vote for Obama....Never Again!

See Article from the Washington Post.



Monday, October 27, 2008

Honey Bees in Fall and Winter-Spring

Seasonal Cycles of Activities in Honey Bee ColoniesBy: Norbert M. Kauffeld 1(From Beekeeping in the United States)
Spring ActivitySwarming
A colony of honey bees comprises a cluster of several to 60,000 workers (sexually immature females), a queen (a sexually developed female), and, depending on the colony population and season of year, a few to several hundred drones (sexually developed males). A colony normally has only one queen, whose sole function is egg laying. The bees cluster loosely over several wax combs, the cells of which are used to store honey (carbohydrate food) and pollen (protein food) and to rear young bees to replace old adults.

The activities of a colony vary with the seasons. The period from September to December might be considered the beginning of a new year for a colony of honey bees. The condition of the colony at this time of year greatly affects its prosperity for the next year.
1Research entomologist, Science and Education Administration, Carl Hayden Center for Bee Research, Tuscon, Ariz. 85719.

In the fall a reduction in the amounts of nectar and pollen coming into the hive causes reduced brood rearing and diminishing population. Depending on the age and egg-laying condition of the queen, the proportion of old bees in the colony decreases. The young bees survive the winter, while the old ones gradually die. Propolis collected from the buds of trees is used to seal all cracks in the hive and reduce the size of the entrance to keep out cold air.
When nectar in the field becomes scarce, the workers drag the drones out of the hive and do not let them return, causing them to starve to death. Eliminating drones reduces the consumption of winter honey stores. When the temperature drops to 57° F, the bees begin to form a tight cluster. Within this cluster the brood (consisting of eggs, larvae, and pupae) is kept warm-about 93° F - with heat generated by the bees. The egg laying of the queen bee tapers off and may stop completely during October or November, even if pollen is stored in the combs. During cold winters, the colony is put to its severest test of endurance. Under subtropical, tropical, and mild winter conditions, egg laying and brood rearing usually never stop.

As temperatures drop, the bees draw closer together to conserve heat. The outer layer of bees is tightly compressed, insulating the bees within the cluster. As the temperature rises and falls, the cluster expands and contracts. The bees within the cluster have access to the food stores. During warm periods, the cluster shifts its position to cover new areas of comb containing honey. An extremely prolonged cold spell can prohibit cluster movement, and the bees may starve to death only inches away from honey.

The queen stays within the cluster and moves with it as it shifts position. Colonies that are well supplied with honey and pollen in the fall will begin to stimulatively feed the queen, and she begins egg laying during late December or early January-even in northern areas of the United States. This new brood aids in replacing the bees that have died during the winter. The extent of early brood rearing is determined by pollen stores gathered during the previous fall. In colonies with a lack of pollen, brood rearing is delayed until fresh pollen is collected from spring flowers, and these colonies usually emerge from winter with reduced populations. The colony population during the winter usually decreases because old bees continue to die; however, colonies with plenty of young bees produced during the fall and an ample supply of pollen and honey for winter usually have a strong population in the spring.

Top of pageSpring ActivityDuring early spring, the lengthening days and new sources of pollen and nectar stimulate brood rearing. The bees also gather water to regulate temperature and to liquefy thick or granulated honey in the preparation of brood food. Drones will be absent or scarce at this time of the year.

Later in the spring, the population of the colony expands rapidly and the proportion of young bees increases. As the population increases, the field-worker force also increases. Field bees may collect nectar and pollen in greater amounts than are needed to maintain brood rearing, and surpluses of honey or pollen may accumulate).

As the days lengthen and the temperature continues to increase, the cluster expands further and drones are produced. With an increase in brood rearing and the accompanymg increase in adult bees, the nest area of the colony becomes crowded. More bees are evident at the entrance of the nest. A telltale sign of overcrowding is to see the bees crawl out and hang in a cluster around the en trance on a warm afternoon.

Combined with crowded conditions, the queen also increases drone egg laying in preparing for the natural division of the colony by swarming. In addition to rearing workers and drones, the bees also prepare to rear a new queen. A few larvae that would normally develop into worker bees are fed a special gland food called royal jelly, their cells are reconstructed to accommodate the larger queen, and her rate of development is speeded up. The number of queen cells produced varies with races and strains of bees as well as individual colonies.

Regardless of its crowded condition, the colony will try to expand by building new combs if food and room are available. These new combs are generally used for the storage of honey, whereas the older combs are used for pollen storage and brood rearing.

Top of pageSwarmingWhen the first virgin queen is almost ready to emerge, and before the main nectar flow, the colony will swarm during the warmer hours of the day. The old queen and about half of the bees will rush en masse out the entrance. After flying around in the air for several minutes, they will cluster on the limb of a tree or similar object. This cluster usually remains for an hour or so, depending on the time taken to find a new home by scouting bees. When a location is found, the cluster breaks up and flies to it. On reaching the new location, combs are quickly constructed, brood rearing starts, and nectar and pollen are gathered. Swarming generally occurs in the Central, Southern, and Western States from March to June, although it can occur at almost any time from April to October.

After the swarm departs, the remaining bees in the parent colony continue their field work of collecting nectar, pollen, propolis, and water. They also care for the eggs, larvae, and food, guard the entrance, and build combs. Emerging drones are nurtured so that there will be a male population for mating the virgin queen. When she emerges from her cell, she eats honey, grooms herself for a short time, and then proceeds to look for rival queens within the colony. Mortal combat eliminates all queens except one. When the survivor is about a week old, she flies out to mate with one or more drones in the air. The drones die after mating, but the mated queen returns to the nest as the new queen mother. Nurse bees care for her, whereas prior to mating she was ignored. Within 3 or 4 days the mated queen begins egg laying.

During hot summer days, the colony temperature must be held down to about 93° F. The bees do this by gathering water and spreading it on the interior of the nest, thereby causing it to evaporate within the cluster by its exposure to air circulation.

During the early summer, the colony reaches its peak population and concentrates on the collection of nectar and pollen and the storage of honey for the coming winter. After reproduction, all colony activity is geared toward winter survival. Summer is the time for storage of surplus food supplies. The daylight period is then longest, permitting maximum foraging, although rain or drought may reduce flight and the supply of nectar and pollen available in flowers. It is during the summer that stores are accumulated for winter. If enough honey is stored, then the beekeeper can remove a portion and still leave ample for colony survival.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

And For The Cynical-There's Gold In Global Warming

Read this article from salon.

An excerpt:

Take Pat Broe, a businessman from Denver, who bought the Canadian Hudson Bay port of the town of Churchill for $7 in 1997, back when it was nothing more than a chunk of tundra suspended in ice. Over the past decade, Broe has seen his investment appreciate in ways less cynical observers never dreamed it would. As the northern Canadian ice pack diminishes, a shortcut shipping lane that was once purely hypothetical -- the overseas passage from Churchill to Murmansk in Siberia -- inches closer to becoming one of the most important trade routes on the planet. Right now, the route is only in business from July until October. But if current warming trends continue, it should soon be open for most of the year. Canadian officials estimate the increased shipping traffic will net Churchill upward of $100 million a year, and Broe -- the first to see economic potential where once there was only permafrost -- will be the prime beneficiary. (The media-shy Broe did not respond to a request for comment.)

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Stumbled into this Penn State Magazine

Articles in 2008 winter-spring issue of Penn State Agriculture magazine on the missing bees. I stumbled into this on the net. Seems interesting.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The Arrogance of Man

Here is an excellent article discussing the impact of roads on the migration of wildlife. Man in his arrogance and hurry to divide the world and do the "no boundary" dance, filled swamps, hauled gravel, destroyed valleys, and wasted rivers just to get from A to B. Scientists today are re-examining, envisioning roads more eco-friendly.....highways that don't destroy the migration patterns of the animals which also live on our planet. Animals who, judging by the current state, and perpetual state of man, deserve more dignity than we do. See Article





Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Bush Administration Tells Americans-Drink Rocket Fuel

You'll be breathing fire like that fellow in the circus if you get a lighter to close to your mouth in certain states if Bush's EPA has its way. You will also get a thyroid condition, and possibly be sent on many other medical adventures. THANK YOU GOP-THANK YOU REPUBLICANS!!
See Salon article

Sunday, September 28, 2008

In Memory of Jeanne Heininger


I celebrate the DNA that is the best of me. It was my mother’s too. My thoughts of prose, my music, my creativity, this DNA came from my mother. I am writing now because she died today. A kind and stern and quiet, proud and private, joyful lady, who had many friends. She worked, she played, she sang, she read, she studied, she saw the world as it was and wished it better. She saw the human condition and she was saddened. She skiied and sailed and felt the essence of our planet without the need of the formal religion of her missionary parents, but with a deists perspective that we are all one and part of everything. I share the same beliefs and know she exists still in the air we breathe, in the trees that now will turn the bright colors of fall then shed their leaves and bloom again next spring. She has lost her self and in losing self she is now a part of everything. I will miss her.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

John McCain's Lies as dirty as his stand on the environment

Don't let this aging fraud fool you. McCain is as much for alterntive energy as a Polar Bear is for sunspots. Read the shabby truth about this most dishonest of candidates

Sarah Palin's Dead Lake

Yes, she turned her town into an armpit, stripmalls, big box stores and so much development that the lake she lives on is now essentially dead. Beware Sarah Palin

Thursday, September 18, 2008

German Coalition Sues Bayer Over Pesticide Honey Bee Death

Information and legal action continue to show that Bayer and Gaucho and IMD is likely the culprit in colony collapse disorder. This agrees with the conclusions in the excellent book by Michael Schacker (down the page on the left) A Spring without Bees. We again highly recommend the book, for its readability, research, and conclusions.
Click here

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Call Your Congressman: Please

Friends, neighbors, countrymen, please call your congressman and senator regarding the continued funding of clean electricity which is about to run out this week. Here is the link for We can solve it.org

Cell Phones Responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder ?

Nicole Barrett alerts us to this article in the English newspaper the Independent. Dr Ulrich Warnke, a lecturer at the University of Saarsbad in Germany believes that an unprecedented dense mesh of artificial electromagnetic fields is disrupting the bees natural system of information keeping them from navigating back to the hive. See article

Monday, September 8, 2008

Sarah Palin's Wolf Program

Here is a story from Salon which speaks to her environmental concerns or lack of them.
Shoot Fish in a barrel
Kill wolves from a plane

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Are You a Golfer-Worried About Pesticides

I know, it seems an odd combination, the sport of fat men riding about in carts, waddling from shot to shot and bashing their balls badly. And yes, of course, as Mark Twain said " a good walk spoiled". But I must admit it, I on occasion play golf, and the world is full of lawns and golf courses which fill the aquifers and streams and lakes, the tidal pools with pesticides. Here is a link to an article on pesticide free golf courses. click here

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Of Wind Interest

Wind Powered Vent Mobile places first in race. The first time vehicles were required to drive directly into the wind with no tacking. See article.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Wind Power-no grid to ride on

While expanding wind power across the nation is a realty, most of the turbines sit distant from their markets. And the grid is inadequate. To quote former Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. "we have a third world grid". Fragmented and misaligned like a bunch of rambling country roads, there is no super highway for new Solar and Wind generated electricity to travel. With out congress acting to establish an updated national power grid, wind and solar alternatives to oil cannot remotely meet their full potential. See Article.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Florida Citrus Industry in Peril

In this case green is not good, because the the distructive insect driven phenomena of dying trees and lopsided fruit has been, perhaps, misapropriately named Greening.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

The Last Flight Of The Honey Bee

This article from the English newspaper the Guardian is worth the time

EPA REFUSES TO DISCLOSE NEONICOTINOID INFORMATION

We read in the San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/19/MNKR12DBPO.DTL&hw=Colony+Collapse+disorder+of+the+

(08-18) 18:37 PDT -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is refusing to disclose records about a new class of pesticides that could be playing a role in the disappearance of millions of honeybees in the United States, a lawsuit filed Monday charges. "

There has been a muddying of the waters about Colony Collapse disorder. The government and the large chemical companies and the endowed chairs of the Universities of our nation have been trying to obscure and hide this information. See other posts on this subject in the blog. We first became aware of this pesticide by reading the excellent book A Spring Without Bees by Michael Schacker. See the link on the left side of the page. We highly recommend this book, and in light of this lawsuit and the EPA's response, anyone, and this means everyone, who is concerned about our existence on the planet, should read his research and narrative on this subject.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Sunflowers and Bees


The Moon and The Meadow


Here is an updated photo of our wildflower meadow. Our flowers have succeeded in attracting bees all summer and now the sunflowers are beginning to blossom and entice dozens of bees.
There are no pesticides here, and perhaps this is the reason we are bounteous with bees.


Saturday, August 16, 2008

Britain's Honeybees Suffer Catastrophic Loss

" Britain's honeybees have suffered catastrophic losses this year, according to a survey of the nation's beekeepers, contributing to a shortage of honey and putting at risk the pollination of fruits and vegetables.
The survey by the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) revealed that nearly one in three of the UK's 240,000 honeybee hives did not survive this winter and spring "
See the Article from the Guardian

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A Parable For Our Times

THE DESTRUCTION OF BEAUTY

Once upon a time in a far away land
There lived a little old lady
And a little old man

One day it was spring
The trees filling with sap
When out in the forest
They heard tap tap, tap tap

What could it be,
This hammering sound
They looked up and then down
Then everywhere round.

And then up high they saw it
A magnificent bird

A head red as a Cardinal
And a beak long-absurd

It was a Pilated wood pecker
Large as a cat, a buzz saw of activity
A rat a tat tat.

The woods chips descended
From high in the tree
Falling, descending like
So much confetti

What ho said the man
See that bright bird
With plumage bright Red
Let’s shoot and kill it
I’ll fill it with lead

But wait, said the lady
You silly old fool
To kill that bright bird
Would be stupid and cruel

So the little old man
He marched out the door
He took his long gun
His bullets and more

He stalked through the forest
With nary a sound
Until right before him
There was game all around

He shot at the lion
He shot at the deer
He shot at the rabbit
Until the coast was clear

But when he finished

His shooting
There was no game about
It all had escaped him
The man started to pout

And then he went homeward
Where he saw the bright bird
He shot it and killed it
With not even a word

And when he opened the door
And the lady found out
She said, I will not eat it
You stupid old lout

You’ve killed off the beauty
Get out, out, out...out!


j matson heininger

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

A New Way of Thinking of Trees

Trees, their individual eco-systems.. their medicinal qualities, their symbiotic relationship whith insects and fauna. Read this interesting article about Diana Beresford Kroeger

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Pesticide Failure not the Cure

In a different switch to my view of the bee problem. Bee researchers in Canada who have observed the declining bee population believe it is the result of mites growing resistance to pesticides designed to protect the bees. OK -perhaps but at odds with the view from the book reviewed-recommended and included on our site ( see it just down the page) A Spring Without Bees. Canadian researchers say they have not yet seen any colony collapse disorder, the major problem with bee populations in the United States and Europe.
Click here for the article

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Trees in blossom- originally posted May 15

Apple Trees...Formations of white




Sweet Cherry Trees with Lake Michigan in the background





Today, walking about King orchards , a mile or so from my door, taking photos and watching the light rebound from the distant lake, I found it easy to put the silliness of man aside. Our crazy President, the Democratic campaign, the economy... For the moment; how could one care with these scenes before me?... But beauty is everywhere this time of year. If you look for it... There it is...in the smallest flower, the tiniest bud. And on and about Blue View Lane....what can one say... magnificent, soothing. I suggest you take the time to pause and smell the blossoms.


Thursday, August 7, 2008

A German Town Mandates Solar Energy

Marburg, a fairy tale city with a Gothic castle, and solar panels and wind vanes, and home of the brothers Grimm has mandate solar panels on all new buildings. The Green Green Greenies against the Green Greenies.

click here

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

MIT Announces major breakthrough in solar energy.

Daniel G Nocera from MIT has announced a major discovery primed to unleash an energy revolution. Scientists have discovered how to mimic the essence of plants' energy storage systems, photosynthesis,and by doing so have opened the door for a different type of storage system for solar energy and wind power.

Fuel cells which operate on hydrogen and oxygen produced from the insertion of electrodes into common water. Nocera says his discovery will make the average home's connection to electric lines a thing of the past with in ten years. Click below for a full description from the MIT sites.



Click here for the MIT news and video

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Jellyfish- The Canary of the Seas?

This article from today's New York Times, addresses the spreading Jellyfish, the closed beaches and the greater problem. Yes my friends ( as john mccaine would say, has anyone ever met the man) once more, man seems to be screwing things up.

Click Here

Friday, August 1, 2008

The Twilight of the Bats

This article from Salon suggests that similar problems are assaulting the bats as they are the bees, with Colony Collapse Disorder. Our use of chemicals, pesticides, and their introduction into our environment my yet prove to be mankind's greatest folly. And that is a big statement, considering the parade of follies which tumble and march through our specie's history.
See Article




Thursday, July 31, 2008

Save The Honey Bees

We need to save the honey bee
A friend to you
A friend to me

Without their buzzing
Pollinating path
The fruits the flowers
Just do the math

Many of these
Will not produce

No Fruit
Or nuts and
No more juice.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

WWF info on Tiger Preservation

Here is current info on the WWF efforts to save the Tigers. Informative with pictures.
Magnificent Cats

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

NBC STORY ON THE VANISHING BEES

Tonight, NBC did a story on the vanishing bees. The story ignored the evidence from France and Germany, as have most stories carried in our mainstream media, that pesticides are the culprit, while suggesting, instead, the reasons for the vanishing bees may be a virus or mites.

Well surprise, surprise. The problem is likely not mites, or viruses, but pesticides. Specifically IMD and neonicotinoids and a product called Gaucho produced by the German drug company Bayer. These pesticides sprayed on almond groves and sunflowers as well as many other crops, attack the bees nervous systems killing them with large exposure and in smaller amounts causing the bees too lose their way and leave their hives while behaving like a bunch of aimless, hapless drunks. Think whisky in the watercoolers of the major corporations of America, daily and for months at a time, and imagine the possible mess.

Only in America, would major evidence from beekeepers in this country as well as French bee keepers and the French courts, which lays the blame on these pesticides, be ignored because of interests of big business. Big business which funds our research, and funds chairs in our universities. The same tentacled Octopus which challenges global warming and skews the results on that major problem.

It is possible the bee departure is not a chemical problem. It is possible it is mites or viruses.... It is possible. But if you read the book A Spring Without Bees by Michael Schacker, (see link partway down the left side of the page) you cannot help wonder if this is yet one more story where the people are not being told the truth. Iraq War anyone!

Save The Bees.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Congress listens to Plight of Bees

Yes, they listened but will they hear. Money has been set aside for research but it still needs to be voted on by the complete house. Call your representative...this game is not tiddlywinks... and Colony Collapse Disorder may lead to greater problems than higher food prices until we place some regulations on IMD and other neonicotinoid pesticides. The good news is Colony Collapse Disorder is reversible... the bad news is, well just another piece of bad economic news.... but only peripherally... Well maybe not (George Bush loves big business). Can we blame this on the worst president our nation has ever known. In part, certainly!

See Cnn

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

An Important New Book On Colony Collapse Disorder



A Spring Without Bees, by Michael Schacker, and The Lyons Press:

Is an important new book. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to learn the history of the honey bee and understand the problem of the disappearing bees. This well written narrative describes the problem, and the science while tracing man and the bees intertwined history. After reading it those of us at Save the Bees were even more worried for the bee and mankind. You will find a picture of the book on the left hand side of the blog...just click on it.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

One week later up pop the yellows


To Mow Or Not To Mow

A Study In Contrast
Save The Bees --Save the Gas
Quit Polluting ---Stop Cutting the Grass.



Sunday, June 22, 2008

A Special Garden For The Honey Bees




Hi folks. Are you tired of your lawn... all that mowing... that fertilizing... all that combustion, all that boring green order? Well, here is an answer. Do like we did at Blue View lane with our Wildflower meadow.

Here we have ferns and flowers, Rye grass and playground mix, Daisies, Lupine, and multi colored Phlox.... all wild and wondrous. And we have tossed away the lawn mower, that polluter of air and sky, that noisy bane of sensibility. And while it pollutes a bit and makes some noise (but nothing like a mower) our landscaping tool of choice is a Huskvarna string trimmer. We use this to sculpt the grasses, to slash the ferns, and judiciously preserve our myriad wildflowers. A push here, a high slash there, and voila we sculpt our hillside into a giant undulating bouquet. With this device you become a sculptor of the fern and fauna. Much more fun, and way more creative....
So, go out and get those Wild flower seeds from Zeeland Michigan, toss them about, then watch as your yard turns into a wild garden that will stretch through the summer. First blues, then pinks, then reds, oranges and yellows until late summer when you will see the wild Cosmos and Gloriousa Daisy.Your lawn will become history. Hopefully the bees will come, and you will enjoy a benign wild garden just outside your window.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Save The Bees: Raise Money for Your Cause.

Here is an excellent program designed to Save the Bees and support your environmental cause and organization. See The Information Page

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Our Beautiful Wild Flowers







We have planted these wildflowers to attract the bees, to observe and wonder, measure their number study and, as the blog says, Save The Bees. And with every passing day the Lupine spreads and grows larger, along with daisies and flowers too myriad for me to name. What can I say, our wildflowers are coming up this year better than I ever would have imagined.

This is in large measure because of the excellent advice we received from Stacey Konant of Grulers Pet and Farm Supply- Charlevoix Michigan. 231-237-0893. She told us it would take a few years, but even the first year by August we had a sea of wildflowers, reds and golds and yellows so dense that we could not walk the two acres we seeded without floating on flowers.

You have only to look at these pictures of our hillside seeded with Debruyn seed company of Zeeland Michigan's wild flower mix to understand how easy it is to have a wild and varied garden.

So all you gardeners out there who wish to attract the bees, and or measure their survival. Plant a field as we did... You too can make your evening walks a balance of the flowers.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Pictures from Blue View Lane

We planted wildflowers at the edge of the meadow four years ago. Hurrah with summer...Soomer is a coomin in loude Sing Cuckoo. First the Lupine, the blues, then the Daisies will arrive and later in August
this hillside turns to yellow gold...Flowers so deep and wide... walking
the hillside becomes a balance of color.


Wednesday, May 14, 2008

To Buzz or Not To Buzz

To Buzz or not to Buzz
That is the question
Whether ti's nobler
To pollinate
Than to rum amuck
With bee mischief

To seek the flower
And yet, buzz by
Or bring fruits and
Vegetables to you
And I

To seek the harvest
From spring to fall
To feed the earth
Those large and small.

Yes, yes,
So thinks my little brain
But, I'm a bee
Going quick...insane.

The Universe in Vivid 3D

I just downloaded the free software. Microsoft worldwide telescope... worth looking at and here it is DOWNLOAD

Monday, May 12, 2008

A Great Issue of Mother Jones

Save the bees. Yes we need to Save the Bees and the ecosystem and the planet needs some attention too along with people in Myanmar and so many unhappy places on our planet. So where to start?...It seems almost overwhelming doesn't it. Well, don't despair.

The best thing to do on these and any issuues is to try to stay informed. This months May/June issue of Mother Jones magazine is a good place to start. The issue is devoted to the Future of Energy...Highly Recommended Reading.




Sunday, May 11, 2008

Save The Bees Blossoms

As the fields around our forest finally burst into brilliance (I know I said two weeks ago, but there was the cold spell, and the cold spell) so finally does the product line of Save The Bees on Blue View Lane. If not this evening, then tomorrow... the new logo and products will be available summoning you to Select a Shirt, Support A Student, and yes Save the Bees...which means your sweat rolls, your ice cream, your jams and jellies and your planet-think big...think small.

The bees are big
The bees are small
They exist for one and all.
In saving them you save yourself
You preserve our planets
Looks and health.

And with expectation, wait, because if it is sunny tomorrow morning; as I dash about my day, I promise. I will stop for a moment and send some beautiful pictures your direction. And don't
forget to go to http://www.deeplyimbedded.com/ and join in singing The Save The Bees Song
with Deeply...Look for the lyrics on your left and partway down this page.
When the bees start leavin
Then you'll start believin......

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Monday, May 5, 2008

Seismic Activity in Yellowstone

Poking about on the net I ran into this site on Volcanic activity in Yellowstone. In case you did not know, Yellowstone is another of those disasters waiting to happen...the sort that make one wonder at our hubris to think we can do anything to the planet. Well, we can, but only as it effects ourselves, otherwise we are merely lint on the sleeves of time. Have a look.

Friday, May 2, 2008

In Passing-Albert Hofmann Dies

Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered LSD in 1938, died Tuesday. He was 102. Hoffman became a chemist because of his love of the natural world and a desire to seek the essence of nature. He likened his first accidental 'trip' on LSD to the Epiphany he had experienced as a young boy becoming one with natural world in the forests near Baden.

“It shone with the most beautiful radiance, speaking to the heart, as though it wanted to encompass me in its majesty. I was filled with an indescribable sensation of joy, oneness and blissful security.” ....." Yet despite his involvement with psychoactive compounds, Dr. Hofmann remained moored in his Swiss chemist identity. He stayed with Sandoz as head of the research department for natural medicines until his retirement in 1971. He wrote more than 100 scientific articles and was the author or co-author of a number of books" NYT

Hoffman believed LSD to to be a powerful drug to be treated with respect, but one capable of aiding the participant in an understanding of the wonder of nature.

" He said LSD had not affected his understanding of death. In death, he said, “I go back to where I came from, to where I was before I was born, that’s all.” See New York Times Article


Monday, April 28, 2008

Shading and contrast-On Blue View Lane

Shading and contrasts- On Blue View Lane

Spring is full upon us now. The leaves grow hour by hour, like butterflies emerging from their chrysalis with their many shapes. In the north when spring shouts it shouts loud and quick.
The contrast overnight has been astounding. Trees that were bare are filling to full. Those that were budding have grown inches of green. The world is closing in, my views of water to the south obscured by a hundred poplars. The birch and maple are halfway full, and the earliest fruit trees down the road, some ancient cherries, are now in full bloom. Others, cherries both tart and sweet, apples, apples, apples, and peach and apricot will begin to blossom in a few more days.
Sun or cloud. It should be a week of beauty...A week of change and constancy

And a progress report: we planted 8 fruit trees in front of our building on Saturday and Sunday. Small ones, their branches trimmed, cherry-Mount Morency Red tart, and Regina sweet, Blazing Star Peach, and Honey Crisp apple. I hope by next year they have blossoms.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Trillium Rising

I sing a song to Trillium
A flower so sublime
It likes the light
A bit of shade
And not too much
Sunshine.

Friday, April 25, 2008

It is Arbor Day

Arbor Day

At the Blue View Lane Center for Pollen Research we celebrate Arbor day during the same week as earth day. In Michigan it is the final Friday in April...Today....Whoop-ee.

It has been one beautiful week here at Blue View Lane, slightly north of the 44th parallel, overlooking Torch lake and lake Michigan. The blues of the water against the white birch, the reddish maple buds, the darker cherry have combined for magnificent vistas. What a spot.

Arbor Day, Earth week, why do we celebrate, why do we notice, why do we worry, why do we observe? The Answer is we cannot help it. Even of we do not set a date we notice. It is impossible not to sense the spring. Mankind takes note because we are as natural as the trees, the sky, the wind and rain. We grow and wither like the forests. Our essence comes from the natural world. It is when we lose track of this that we have problems. We celebrate so we don’t forget, especially in springtime when the animal portions of our DNA just cannot not notice. Sap runs in humans too.

Man’s finest creativity, his art, his buildings, his sculpture, fiction and music all come from the natural world. Rodin with his sculptures, his people with their lengthy limbs- roots into the earth. Mahler with his moody reverent nature (listen to the third, the sixth sympony) Van Gogh with his sunflowers, Monet-his water lilies, Aron Copeland and his Appalachian Spring, Stravinsky’s Sacre du Printemps.

And fiction.... It is everywhere from Moby Dick, the struggle ... Ahab’s demonic Great White Whale. To this random and hastily selected bit of boat and sky from my second novel, 'A Builder's Tale'.

‘The glorious blue North of earlier in the day had retreated from the sky and with the winds shift East arrived greater humidity and clouds. The horizon going a flat bruised yellow-gray, and the water, no longer the azure of the morning, now turned a forceful stormy tarnished silver. The wind continued to build as he spun the Anomie bow first to the waves. The halyard clanged as he raised the mainsail, flapping snapping to the winds whistling increased howl. Wilson shut off the diesel and let the Anomie slide off the wind, due North, into a quartering, building, white clotting sea... the little sloop turning from form to function.... Becoming alive.’ See http://www.jmatsonheininger.com/

To this perfect opening passage of Ken Kesey’s magnificent second novel ‘Sometimes a Great Notion’, which says it all.

"Along the western slopes of the Oregon Coastal Range....come look: the hysterical crashing of tributeries as they merge into the Wakonda Auga River....
The first little washes flashing like thick rushing winds through sheep sorrel and clover, ghost fern and nettle, sheering, cutting....forming branches. Then through bearberry and salmonberry, blueberry and blackberry, the branches crashing into creeks, into streams. Finally, in the foothills, through tamarack and sugar pine, shittim bark and silver spruce- and the green and blue mosaic of Douglas fir- the actual river falls five hundred feet....and look: opens out upon the fields.Metallic at first, seen from the highway, down through the trees, like an aluminum rainbow, like a slice of alloy moon.............."

WOW!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Europe is moving back into coal

The high price of oil, the regulation on new nuclear plants, and the world's abundance of coal, is causing the countries of Europe to back away from their commitment to clean energy. Europe needs electricity and it is choosing coal. While the new coal plants are excellent against pollutants, and particulates, the technology does not currently exist to capture co2 which is the bane of the planet when it comes to global warming. This is causing alarm in green circles. The new plants are designed to last fifty years, possibly severely adding to global warming unles carbon capture technology evolves. This is discussed further in this article from the New York Times







Tuesday, April 22, 2008

THINK GREEN IN PENNSYLVANIA

Save the nation
Save a bee
And please
Get Rid of Hillary

Monday, April 21, 2008

SAVE THE BEES IS OFF AND RUNNING

During the last week, we have put our scholarship program in motion, and contacted Michigan State University about our research site. Our spring is unusually warm. The trees: birch, beech, ash and maple, which along with conifers make our forest, are in a race to meet the summer.

Soon, we will be displaying photos of the miles of orchards which fill the land around us, set as foreground to the deep blues of Torch Lake and Lake Michigan. Every day for the past week has been a 'belle jolie'.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Politics meet the Bees

Or should I say Politics meets the environment. Or oops it doesn't. The environment is an important issue to voters. Things are heating up. The water's rising, the cities will be sweltering soon, and part of the reason food prices have been going up is the Ethanol boondoggle...or is it.

These are all issues which should be in discussion in the Presidential debates. However; on Thursday, Sephanopolouse (the spelling is on purpose) questioned no one, not a bit. Now this gets back to Deeply Imbedded's post today, which you can get to by just clicking down the page to your left. Big business ( no surprise here) seems to be in charge and they do not like the losing money to the environment any more than they liked Edwards or than they like Obama. Read article with graph.

And just a reminder Haagen Dazs may love the bees, but they love money more.





http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/opinion/19blow.html?hp

Friday, April 11, 2008

BUSY AS A BEE

There once was a bee
From Botswana
Where the climate is
Much like a sauna

Work made him dizzy
He was not very busy
He spent his days
Saying manyana

Green Gadget Page

Good Morning and Alert-Alert. I plan to set up a Green Gadget page and link, for, you guessed it, cool green gadgets, whatever I find, and if you like them and we get feed back we may include them as products available at SaveTheBeesShirts.com-to be up and running yet this weekend. Do they make Green Golf Clubs, Green Tassle Toed Weasle Shoes...NO... but they do make green Zappos. Check them out I have red ones.

Also the Center for Pollen Research Moves forward...Tree planting the end of the month.

Meanwhile, here is a link to a national geographic site about Green Buildings.

Be Green-Be Great

Save the Earth
Before

It becomes
Too Late

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Plastic Containers and your health.

Hi ho and a happy green spring to you, and a pleasant morning as well. The last few days there has been conversation in the news of the safety of plastic containers. This seems to come and go, they're safe, they're not...they're-hell we don't really no. They may give you cancer like everything else...Silent Spring...thank you Rachael Carson.

Well to set your mind at ease about this issue go to this swell site. And then go fill up that plastic water bottle with beer and go for a long bike ride. Just kidding. We recommend stillsuits a la Dune, or one of those multi-port personal hydration systems... or a stream where you may get ghiardia...live dangerously!




Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Mystery of the Anasazi

Twenty two years ago I took some French folks , who had entertained me in Chamonix, on a tour of the Southwest. Utah, Colorado, Arizona. All Europeans want to see the Grand Canyon. The Mafiols, I had skied the extremes of Chamonix with their son, were astounded by the lack of wine in Utah, kept repeating Tres Vast, Tres Vast in amazement at the expansive vistas of our beautiful country, and were dumbfounded as I explained to them the departure of the Anasazi from Mesa Verde (of course this might have been my imperfect French).

Today, there is an article of the whys and perhapses in the New York Times. Scientists are still speculating, drought, alienation, wars...a new God... We will never know. However this Photo Album tells a story.







Monday, April 7, 2008

Green Buildings

Yes we will be talking to you about more than bees here. And, as I continue to finish my simple cottage, the most modest and most environmentally aware building I have ever designed or built. A structure of glass, foam concrete walls, great insulation....a hybrid of a simple cottage and Phillip Johnson's glass house. I will, on occasion, burden you my reader with my choices to save big and little bucks, build simple and save the environment too.

Win-win... I us to say no way but sometimes it is true.

So, here is a link and here are pictures of designs and homes And now the purpose of this post, a link to a whole house electric water heater. I chose Stiebel Eltron. There are others. There are gas ones too. The gas needs a vent and that is why I did not use one. The electric: it might as well be a toaster, albeit a much more complicated one, but almost just as easy to install. ( If you want advice on this contact me through my profile page) Fast as an electron in heat: I will get back to you.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Haagen Dazs-fun bee site

Yes folks, we are all about bees these days and Haagen Dazs has a fun site.
My New Blog
Hi folks, inspired by my continued research into the declining bee population, along with my purchase of Peach, Apple, and Cherry trees, both tart and sweet, to be planted this spring on my Michigan property. I have started this new blog SAVE THE BEES. Soon you will be able to puruse articles on this site about the environment, the bee population, green building, and global warming. Save the planet, and feel swell doing it. Also, you will find links to the website Save The Bees Shirts.com... Here, you will find shirts and caps and other assorted envirocentric products to be worn as you wish, and just in time for your spring and summer wardrobes. Purchase a hat a shirt. Support research and the Scholarship we are establishing to send a local student, or students, (it depends how much you want the products) to Michigan State University.

Remember to sing the save the bees song ( see the left side of the page) every morning.

Honey Bees Vanishing at an Alarming Rate

See article