Author: Inga Smith

I'm a nature artist and community educator....this is a scrapbook of my life’s explorations.💜💛💚

Harvesting bees wax

2017 was the first year I was able to play with wax. I had just a very small batch, but I was able to pull enough to at least begin the  process. After final cleaning I still don’t have enough for a candle. But, I’ll keep this stash for this year and hope for more…

Read More

Hops

We planted 4 varieties of hops in the early spring 2014. The first two years…well, let’s just say we were not very elegant hosts…The hops were draped over the fences and didn’t really fruit. In 2017, the new hops growing system was installed and we were able to enjoy seeing the hops tower to over…

Read More

Greenhouse

There were so many treasures found on our 2013 trip to Iceland. One little treat included delicate salad, served on the side of a large portion of a gratin-fish-potato-dinner. The salad portions were small and included simple green lettuce with radish sprouts and a vinaigrette. The greens were tender, “spicy,” and delicious and very much…

Read More

Raspberry Pi Hack: FAQ

Q: How do I reformat and load NOOBs on the RPI SD Card? A: Sometimes reformatting is required. Follow these steps: Get NOOBS: Using your Windows PC or laptop, go here and download the ZIP NOOBS file. This can take a while to download so be patient. Extract NOOBS: Using your Windows PC or laptop,…

Read More

Day 2: Moving Bees to Their Home

I’ll have to say, I was a bit stressed, getting started on this project. But, the temp hit 60-degrees, and I needed to move the bees from their temporary nuc/cardboard travel boxes to their new hives. Process: Working quickly, the process took about 5 minutes each hive. Per guidance, I didn’t take the time to…

Read More

Day 1. We have bees!! 4/15/16

I purchased 2 nucs to start. The bees came from Oregon, I picked them up from Bees in the Burbs in Maple Valley on 4/15 10am. When I drove them home to Bellevue it was about 55-degrees outside. To try to keep them cool while driving home I opened the sunroof and back windows and…

Read More