Yesterday Papa Pea brought the deck furniture out of storage. I'm fantasizing about sunning my lily-white legs one of these afternoons soon when the sun's warmth is strong enough. But first I need to wash winter's grit and grime off the chairs and table. That would be after my dear husband moves the hive of bees off the deck however.
He had one weak hive that he gave extra protection to by situating it on the south facing deck up against the house these past winter months. At the warmest part of our day yesterday, I went out onto the deck to wash furniture and immediately stepped into a whirl of honey bees taking advantage of the good weather. This caused my hasty retreat back into the house as I'm allergic to bee stings.
"She's lovely to look at, delightful to see . . . "
I hit the kindling making job pretty hard yesterday and this morning my right wrist is well aware of the hour and fifteen minutes of constant thwack, thwack, thwacking. I thought I had only three bundles left to work my way through, but found six more which is all for the good because the kindling bin won't be totally full even when I'm finished.
Beans. 'Member I mentioned I still have lots of frozen green and yellow beans left from last season? There's no doubt the poultry would gobble them up (even without butter and salt) should I decide to give the excess to them. But my frugal nature won't allow that (quite yet) so I've been trying to use as many as I can (without causing out and out revolt) in the kitchen.
Last week I made Cream of Broccoli Soup except I substituted beans for the broccoli. As I was making it, it occurred to me that the left over wild rice in the refridge would go well in it. Then, how about some cooked turnkey meat I had in the freezer? The pot of "string bean soup" actually turned out to be very tasty. Just goes to show there's more than one way to snap a bean.
Yesterday I made a casserole using more of the green and yellow beans. (I'm on a mission here.) It's a recipe for Hot Dog and Green Bean Casserole I've been making forever. If you're interested, you can find it here.
Enough sitting at the computer. Main items on my list for today (along with the usual other 15 . . . or so) are going to the dairy for our resupply of milk products and more wood work.
Hope you have a great day doing whatever is on your agenda!
25 comments:
OMG. I thought you had gotten stung again! Geesh. And thank you for the green bean ideas - guess what I found under all the sweet corn that I'm trying to use up....yep. We got two whole days of sunishy kind of weather until the wee hours this morning. Now it's rain for five straight days. Just shoot me.
Oh wow...I'm so glad I don't have that kind of allergy, you look so miserable in that photo! But I'm still glad you got your deck furniture out!! I don't think my hands could handle all that wood splitting, but then, as you mentioned in a previous post, if you have the right tool, it makes for more productive work. Congrats on using up the beans! I still have some in the freezer, I have to go through and make a new inventory...I'm challenging myself to empty out most of the freezer in April and buy as little as possible for now since we bought our new breadboards. That ate into our food budget a little!
I can't get over that photo of you!
our bees are busy, I have one sting this year so far from a bumble bee, not nice, I keep adding beans to everything I am not growing many this year.
Sorry, I had to delete my coment...too many typos. HaHa! Let me try this again.....
Oh boy, your bee sting looks painful! I know you'll be so glad when the snow is gone and you can get out and work in your garden. It won't be long now. I'm ready to plant my summer vegetables, but we're expecting one last cold snap this weekend. I learned my lesson on planting early, last year. Can't wait to see your garden!
Oh my gosh, that has to be painful. You sound like you are getting a lot done despite. I'm cleaning the master bath floor tile this week. Fun, fun fun!
Don't forget the beans with onions and bacon.
And beens with potatoes and ham.
And beans with.............oh, you get the idea.
I never have a problem with leftover beans. I freeze 36 quarts and that's 36 weeks.
Now applesauce, on the other hand....I FINALLY used up my supply from TWO years ago.
(just had the awful thought that now watch there be no apples on my sauce tree this year!!!)
I love every kind of beans except for Lima & Garbanzo beans (their texture grosses me out. Spring is here in my part of Calif. I'm now prepping my raised beds for planting. Rosemary & Dandelions are blooming-good for the bees. I don't have green beans now but I've been eating asparagus to my heart's content ($1.48 lb!!!) I'm sore like everyone else--hadn't used a shovel in 2 yrs. Take care, Sandy
Laurie - But you know every season is different as far as what to plant when. I've been looking through pictures trying to find certain ones and I've noted that some years on this date we've had no snow and I've even planted an early bed or two under a cold frame. This year when we had relatively little snow, it's still on the ground and the soil in my raised beds is way too wet to work.
I'm eager to see your garden again this year, too!
Kristina - The picture of my swollen eye isn't a current one but from a couple of years ago. I managed to go all last year without getting stung and I'm hoping for a repeat this year! Cleaning the bath floor tile? Ugh. I'll take my wood working over that any day! ;o)
Sue - Papa Pea decreed I can't plant so many beans this year. But that's exactly what I told him . . . what you just intimated. What if my beans get a blight this season and produce only half as many as usual??
Now I need to go open a jar of applesauce . . . from 2015. :o)
Sandy - Yay for spring time in your part of California! Boy, would our bees like to work some of your rosemary and dandelions! Although they are actually bringing in pollen. We can see the yellow stuff as they return to the hives.
Oh, asparagus! Be still my heart. This will be the third year for our bed and both of us are salivating waiting for a good crop.
I know what you mean about lima beans but I put enough butter and salt on them that they're tolerable! Garbanzo beans I like.
Take it easy on that shoveling. You don't want to injure any muscles!
Susan - Nope, I didn't get stung last year either. And I'm hoping for another sting-less year coming up!
How I wish we had corn left in the freezer to work through. We'd have to drive over a hundred miles to get organically raised corn to freeze.
Rain for five days coming? At least it's not that S-word.
Rain - That one actually didn't hurt as much as one I got after that. It was on the back of my head and the swelling went all the way down the back of my neck. I could hardly turn my head and lying down to sleep was agony. (Don't I know how to have fun?)
I think if I emptied out our freezer(s) I would go straight into panic mode. What? No food?! We'll starve and die! ;o]
Dawn - Oooh, those bumble bee stings hurt! Good to hear someone else is on bean-overload!
Yikes, that's a nasty reaction! I swell up pretty badly with blackfly bites. It's funny what we end up with in our freezers. For me it's rhubarb and pumpkin. Your soup sounds great! -Jenn
You look a bit like a prize fighter who was on the loosing end. Ouch! I am very sympathetic to your cause.In the summer of '12 I got stung by meat bees so many times that I began having an allergic reaction to them. The last time I got stung the buzzard flew up the leg of my shorts and the resulting effect looked like a saddle bag so large I should have been carrying mail for the Pony Express. My reaction I hope was self limiting yours is one scary issue. Do you carry an epi pen?
Goodness me, that was a bad reaction in the old photo, glad you managed to get away without getting stung this time and fingers crossed for no stings again! Love the beans comments, we're growing loads again and I know I will regret it, I just can't help it!
Forgot to say that I LOVE your new header collage! Beautiful!
Thank you, ma'am! Kudos to my talented daughter for putting it together. A couple of photos of hers, a couple of mine. Snow, ice, wood, a little sunshine . . . spring time in the northland!
Jenn - Ha! I have too much rhubarb and pumpkin, too! The soup was very tasty. I haven't written down what I did . . . hope I can remember next time I have a hankering to make it. :o)
Goatldi - Just call me Rocky. Yep, I have an epi pen, but I've never had any of the anaphylactic symptoms. So far. Luckily. My dad was severely affected by any bite or sting, but never went into shock so I think I'm just following in his foot steps. That bee up your shorts must have made you drop your drawers pretty quickly! I had a pine beetle (they are big and black and have an ugly set of pinchers) crawl up the leg of my jeans once and I shed my pants right in front of a whole wood working crew. (I don't know if everyone has recovered yet.)
Tracy - I'm putting in my regular foot rows of beans again this year, too. But don't tell my husband.
Been reading your blog a while. It looks like you shouldn't be around bees at all. Be careful!. that green bean soup sounds really good.
Theresa - Thank you for commenting! Believe you me, I'm cautious under any circumstances when the bees are in a nasty mood! I know when to avoid being in their vicinity.
Hope I can remember how I made the green bean soup next time I attempt it. It's usually those "throw together" ones that you can never duplicate! :o)
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