Before & After :: Back Patio Re-Do

We're hosting a patio party this weekend in honor of the hubs completing another trip around the sun, and under the magnifying glass of imminent company we came to notice that our back patio wasn't actually as finished as we'd thought.

We've already completed the flower bed at the top of the rock wall, and this past weekend we built a nice little fire pit...

...and we all remember that time we decided we should totally install pavers back there- in July- which is all fine and good. But the stuff that sits on the pavers, down below the wall (the stuff you see first when you look out the windows or step out the back door) was still hanging out in the worst of ways. Our 10+ year old upholstered patio furniture has been deteriorating before our eyes, and although it's all still structurally sound, the fabric on all the cushions had become no better than dust held together with a prayer.

There was still some re-doing to be done.

Thankfully my gal-pal Keri is a JoAnn Fabrics coupon voodoo priestess, and I was able to go get pretty much everything I needed to recover the cushions for both chairs, the couch, and the foot stools for less than the price of one set of cushion covers.

I'm finished with the chairs thus far, and I think I'll be able to get to the couch and foot stools tomorrow, leaving plenty of time to prep for the party itself (hopefully... we all know how I time-manage sometimes...)!

So far, I'm really digging this re-do project! In the better part of a single morning, I've finished four cushions by myself (if there's one thing I can sew, it's rectangles), and I just love how they've turned out. I'm by no means profesh, but I even got the corners to kinda round and the grain of the fabric to mostly all go in the same direction.

Yeah, I know!

So this weekend, when our friends arrive, there will be no shame in directing them out back with a little drinkie-poo for the evening (which was my ultimate goal... oh, and also for Kyle to have a happy birthday of course).

Bring on the patio guests!

Right Now

Right now, I'm...

...planning my fall garden! I'm so excited- I'm going to try growing collards and cabbages this season, first time evah! Plus elephant garlic and onions from seed... and, and, and...
...gearing up for a six-session landscaping course with my future front-yard water feature in mind. This I am also excited about, and my first class (of six) is tonight!
...feeding my bees like crazy. This is the first time Middle Hive has taken sugar syrup (if that's a good sign or a bad I'm not sure), and they're taking about a gallon of 1:1 syrup every 2-3 days. On Sunday morning, when I went to refill their feeders, I could see their tongues sticking out through the wire mesh in anticipation. It was really coooooooooooooool.
...smiling at the excitement of our Bubba this morning, who has earned not one but two pieces of bubble gum to be chewed at school today. He can't stop talking about it. Very exciting times I tell you.
...loving the chance we had this long weekend to go spend time with Nanny, and watch as my girl and her great-grandma bonded over their favorite instrument.

Right now we have a busy week ahead of us, including party prep and a birthday for a very special Daddy, outside work, and our usual errands (they never end!). Oh, and we finished the fire pit I started last Thursday, more on that later! But a pause in this space was at the top of my list this morning for a check-in and to wish everyone a happy September Monday Tuesday!

Another DIY-Something

Today I grabbed tape measure, shovel, level and string and headed out to a nice spot in the back yard to start working on... drum roll please... a fire pit!

I stumbled across this tutorial and chewed on the idea for a while, then finally decided that yeah, I think I can make this happen (the temps coming back down into the 80's played a big part in making that decision).

However as any project in my neck of the woods usually goes, there was of course an unforeseen catch- mainly the ridiculous amounts of rocks that lie just under the surface of our sandy soil pretty much anywhere you sink a shovel. Three hours of prying stones, rocks, and small boulders out of my 5' diameter space later and step one was finally completed...

...and tomorrow I think I'll be headed out to hunt and gather what I'll need for step two: the concrete footer!

Aaaaah, the starry-eyed beginning of a new project, where it's still fun and there's no regrets that we've gotten yet another DIY-something under way!

Refugees

We have several friends who either live in the Houston area or have family in the Houston area (or both) and like the rest of the nation we've been glued to all things Hurricane Harvey these past few days. When Harvey was gathering momentum at the end of last week, we put out an open invitation to our peeps in harm's way- if you want out, we'll take ya.

On Saturday, as the flood waters rose, one of our friends and her family took us up on our offer and headed our way.

We had a blast hosting them (as much as we could given the underlying reason why they were here), and our house is just a little too quiet now that they've moved on (they have other peeps in the Metroplex to visit).

They still don't feel safe heading back home (and it may be a while yet), but they were such good company that we left our door wide open to them if they need to swing back by while the waters recede (y'all, they cleaned my house before they left... vacuumed and everything... seriously).

It was a fun way to pass a very stressful time... and although they've left us for their next stop, our thoughts are still with them and everyone else faced with the impacts of Harvey.

Fluffy Butt Friday

My girls had a leftover cornbread luncheon today, and enjoyed it most heartily in their true fluffy-but fashion. My Queenie Girl, however, was too embarrassed to be photographed with her tail in the air, so I let her pose instead.

My good girls are slowly starting to perk back up now that it seems like- dare I say it?- the 100-degree temperatures are probably behind us... and that has meant that we're starting to get eggs!

Four today, and two of them almost "normal-"sized! That makes for one happy Fluffy Butt Friday!

Right Now

Right now, I'm...

...struggling to get my fingers to work on this keyboard... I worked all day Sunday on our new rock wall flower bed, and though I'd call it finished (for now), it really did take almost all day. And it was hot. And humid. And I'm getting old.
...feeling excited about today's historic solar eclipse, and wondering what my kiddos will get to do about it in school. Can't wait to hear.
...still in shock over last night's Game of Thrones episode! No spoilers, don't worry... but ugh.
...smiling at my girl, the eternal bookworm, who fell asleep holding a book with her flashlight on last night. She informed me this morning she only has three more pages to go, and that I need to make another library run happen soon please.
...looking at this awesome stuff, thanks to the inspiration in the Spain issue of Food & Wine that I got over the weekend. It's in my cart, I just have to push 'check out.'
...loving the new honeybee sidewalk chalk art I found on the front porch this morning (I think this one is by Audrey). They were sending good juju out to our girls after we had a long chat about the problems I found in the hives this past week. I love their concern and empathy for our creatures.

If I'm being honest, right now I'm a little discombobulated from the past week and weekend, and it's taking me forever to sort out all the chores and errands and projects for the week demanding my attention. A typical Monday, amirite? But we'll work through it, and it'll be the weekend again before we know it! (Self-pep-talk)

Happy Monday!

Hive Check & Varroa

 I got out into my hives again this week with high hopes- the last time I gave them a peek, it looked like I'd probably get at least a few frames of honey from both North Hive and South Hive, so I had my wheel barrow, clean sheet, and bee brush at the ready! Alas, I came away empty-handed and with significant concern weighing on my mind.

North Hive and Middle Hive were almost empty of stored nectar, and now need to be fed to prevent starvation. South Hive still has a bit of stored surplus nectar, however none of it has ever been capped and there is significantly less than when I took note of it last time.

I removed the honey super (and queen excluder) I had so optimistically placed on North Hive at the beginning of the honey flow, and replaced it with a feeder. Middle Hive retained it's feeder as well, though South Hive gets to keep their honey super... for now. I noticed eggs and brood in all three hives, as well as a decent array of pollen, though honey and nectar was shockingly absent. It's going to be feed feed feed for the rest of the month at least.

I had a sinking feeling that I might know why they were in such bad shape, so I slid my IPM "sticky boards" under all three hives and let them sit for 24 hours. What I found when I retrieved them confirmed everything- North Hive and Middle Hive are being smothered by varroa mites.

Ugh, I should have treated last winter, but I didn't. Now my girls are paying for my rookie mistake.

I pulled my sticky boards out from under my hives last night after just a little over 24 hours. At first glance, it was even easy to see that Middle Hive was the worst. I waited to count them until the morning when all the distractions were out of the house and my eyes were a little fresher.

South Hive

North Hive

Middle Hive

My final counts are a little bit of an estimate, because I'm sure it's possible I missed some, double-counted others, and mistook debris for a mite here and there... but South Hive (the hive with the highest population) had 47 mites on their sticky board after ~24 hours. North Hive had 90. Middle Hive had 209.

The hive with the lowest population had two hundred nine mites after 24 hours.

I can't even begin to explain how crappy it feels to realize you made a bad decision at the expense of thousands and thousands of creatures.

So I've ordered some Mite-Away Quick Strips (formic acid), and I've learned my lesson... I'll always treat at least once a year from now on...

...assuming I still have hives to treat, come spring.