Garden Friday - Bees - 205/365

It was family garden Friday again!

This week the topic was bees. I was a little afraid, since I got stung last year while at the garden. LOL!

We went down and they had lots of fun activities for the kids. They had a little bowling game where they made two liter bottles into bees and they were using a cabbage as a ball. Reagan loved it.

They, of course, planted their weekly flower to bring home. Reagan is loving filling the garden with her plants.

Finally, they made lovely bee craft. Reagan was so proud of hers! Nana and I were excited because they had samples of the honey that the garden's bees made. It was SO delicious!!! We had to go in the main building and buy some! It seriously was THAT good!

Bee Bowling

 Planting

 Bee project!

Attack of the Bees - 214/365

Today was buzzing with excitement! 

 Reagan started with Gymnastics. She used her "flying to Alaska" again, and was mad there was no popsicles. It was the third week in a row, she's asked for one. Poor thing...LOL! 

After Gymnastics, Nana, Reagan and I went back down to Fellows Riverside Garden, for family day. This week, the theme was spiders. She started out making a paper spider. She was so into it and pretty much did the whole thing herself. I was so proud of her! 

The kids also got to make a web for their spider. They put a black piece of paper in a Tupperware container. Then, squirted a little white paint on the paper. Next, they placed three little balls in there, rolled them all around, spreading the paint. It was so cute. 

After we did our craft, we hung it up to dry and headed into the garden. We saw two bee keepers near the bee hive so we walked over there to watch them. The hive is behind glass, so we felt pretty safe. We were watching them, when suddenly they were all around the garden. One kinda buzzed by my ear and felt like it got stuck in my hair. I instinctively swatted him away. I said, "OK, they seem pretty upset. I'm done with the bees" and started walking away toward another part of the garden. Didn't the damn bee follow me and kept dive bombing my head!!! I kept moving around and swatting, he would NOT go away. At this point, I'm doing quite the "jig" and wailing. It was horrible. It got stuck in my hair twice! Finally, I felt the "sting" and it was over. That little bastard got me right on my neck, under my ear! OUCH!! 

This nice lady, who goes every week, came flying over with an ice pack and put it right on my neck. She was like "Oh my god. Are you OK? That was crazy!" She happened to know a lot about bees, because her son does beekeeping for 4H. She said honeybees usually aren't that aggressive. We talked to her for a few minutes, when ANOTHER bee came dive bombing my head! This one got stuck in my hair, too! The same nice lady pulled it out. I finally said, "OK, I'm OUT of here all together" and hurried straight to the car.  By the time we were in the car, the bump was starting to form from the sting. OUCH! 

After we fled the scene, we decided to have lunch at LaRocca's in Poland. We were 1/2 way there when I realized my lens cap must have fallen out of my pocket while I was dancing with the bee. After lunch, we had to go back down to the garden to see if we could find it. The nice bee lady was still there, said she found it, and put it up in the main building. How sweet! We talked to her a few more minutes and she told us, the "queen bee" had died, so that can make the bees extra aggressive. Nice!

 I myself was curious about the bees, so I did a little reading when I got home. I read that when a bee stings it releases an "attack" pheromone which attracts other bees if the hive is threatened. The tend to go for dark colors, the head, and hair. Well, I was batting 1000 then. Those bees should know...I didn't kill the QUEEN! WTF! 

Before we left the garden, Reagan got to plant her spider plant, that she didn't get to do the first time around. She just loves growing things. This will be extra special for her, because it's an indoor plant she can watch all year. 

 All in all, I'm OK and it's my first sting since I was a teeny bopper. I hope I don't get another for awhile! 

This evening, Jim and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I also, made enchilada zucchini boats for dinner...YUM!   

The photo of the day is the bee hive and my sting site...

 The next is Reagan and her spider plant....

Family Fun Day - 206/365

We had family fun with Ed and Pam today!
First though, Reagan was thrilled because she got to see her friend Dexter! We picked him up from his beauty appointment and delivered him home. Reagan just loves that little guy! 

Anyway, we spent the day tooling around Mill Creek Park. We decided to stop down at the Lily Pond to see what was going on. We brought some bread to see if we could entice any fish that may have survived the devastation over the weekend. We walked around the entire pond and only saw one yellow fish. He was kind of far away, but you could definitely tell he was swimming around. Uncle Ed strolled down the path with us, and then took a break on a bench. Reagan hopped right up and just chatted with him. She just loves her Uncle Ed. When we headed back to the car, there was a gang of geese right near there. They were kind of being mean to a duck and it made Reagan mad. She even talked about it at bed time. :(

After the pond, we just drove around a little bit checking out the park. Ed and Pam hadn't been through there in awhile and it was a beautiful day for a drive. We drove by Lake Glacier where they were doing boat rides. We saw a pontoon boat and inquired, but couldn't get on today. Boo!

After driving around awhile, we decided we were hungry. We decided to have lunch at O'Charley's to visit our friend Cindi. We had a great lunch and a great chat with our friend! It was great to see her!

Our last stop was to Classic Bakery. I wanted to get a cake for the picnic this evening. Pam came in to get some cookies for the road. She was waited on by a crabby old lady. She asked Pam how many cookies she wanted and Pam said she wasn't sure. The lady just kind of grumbled and said, "well I guess I'll just start with this box, then if I need another..." I was already done, so I laughed and headed back out to the car. Pam came out and said the old lady kept up her grumbley attitude the whole time. She was even giving her a hard time about cream puffs...LOL! Chill out and have a cookie, old lady!

This evening, Jim, Reagan and I went to a Boardman Rotary Picnic at Boardman Park. They had it at one of the little pavilions in the back. They grilled hot dogs and everyone brought a side or a dessert. It was fun! Reagan made a little friend, too. They were running around picking up all the sticks in the field. LOL! Reagan even got to meet Boardman Rotary's most famous Rotarian, Mary Lou.

When we got home, Jim and Reagan ran back out to the store to pick up a few things I forgot to get today. What a great hubby! While they were gone, I noticed there were a couple honey bees on my black eyed susan's. I pulled out my macro lens and had some fun! Honey Bees are slowly disappearing, so I was excited to see one!

It was a perfect day! 

There are a couple photos for today... The first is Uncle Ed and Reagan chilling at the Lily Pond

The next is Reagan and Mary Lou at the Boardman Rotary Picnic...

And finally my honey bee picture...