THE WEEKENDER :) OF NATURE & HUMANS

ABOUT THIS THING OF 'NATURE'

AND PATHS TAKEN

    The WEEKENDER:) ponders the path we choose.  Given choices, we decide which way to go, or what to do.

   Here's an amusing example, forwarded by old pal and longtime social observer =w=.  He is a frequent contributor to our comments section.

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

FOR THE MORE ESOTERIC

     The recent posts regarding the bee hive and the status of the Queen, brought an interesting set of questions from a  friend, who has spent a career around power, politics and government.  His is the small print questions in white blocks.  The answers are from Michael Reddell, the beekeeper extraordinaire here on the Central Coast.

 Would like to know more about how Queens are "made"

When one of three things happen, the bees begin to produce queen cells in the brood nest. When worker eggs are laid, they are fed royal jelly for a couple of days. After that, workers are then fed honey and fermented pollen. When they decide it's time for a new queen, they choose up to a dozen normal worker eggs and feed them royal jelly exclusively for their entire development. This is the single factor that distinguishes infertile workers from fertile queens in their development. The three things that trigger queen-making are:

• Loss of the existing queen
• Infertility or drone-only egg production by the existing queen
• Over-crowding. This triggers the preparation for the division of the crowded hive into two hives. In order to have two hives there must be two queens, thus a new one is grown by the dietary change described above. This division process is known as swarming, and there's a whole separate discussion around that.

and how the hive knows to "kill" its queen -- who decides?  does she go gracefully -- Inca style.   Or kicking and screaming?

Anytime two queens encounter each other face to face, a deadly battle ensues. Usually the younger of the two prevails. In the case of overcrowding, about half the bees leave the hive with the old queen a few days before the new queens begin to hatch. If they stuck around, the new queen would kill the old queen and the swarm would not be able to leave.

In the cases where swarming is not the goal, the new queen kills the old queen. New virgin queens are relatively small and nimble compared to old laying queens and always prevail in battle. Also, the early age developmental task of a new-born queen is killing other queens. For the older queens that impulse is less intense, although always present to some degree.

Is there only ONE descendant candidate to replace the Q?

OR is their War of the Roses-style regicide in store for competing claimants?

Whenever the bees make a new queen, they grow around a dozen candidates. Usually, but not always, the first to hatch prevails, but when two or more hatch at about the same time, it's a bit like a wrestling match. The first to get an advantageous position in the struggle wins. Due to issues of anatomy, it's nearly impossible for two queens to sting each other simultaneously, meaning someone always prevails. Queens that are still in their queen cells are usually attacked and killed before they have a chance to get out of the cell.  After all this, the new queen settles in for around 5 days before going on mating flights. She mates with several drones high in the air, then returns to the hive, never to leave again unless with a swarm.

    So, is there something to take from this as regards
human behavior and motive?  The comments in response 
from my friend turn some difficult questions of their own.
That, in a future post.
     See you down the trail.

A BLAME GAME & ALIEN BLOOMS

A DAY FOR A SWEET AND SOUR POST
THE SWEET COMES LATER

THE "TOLD YOU SO" FACTOR?

      The AP's Washington Bureau is out with an analysis that underscores what we all know.  The recovery from the recession is weak.

       It was about 3 years ago when economists and politicians were fretting over ways to recover that a dividing line was drawn.  A group warned that plans on the table were inadequate, but others were screaming about the cost of the stimulus on top of bank and hustler bail outs.  There was also the odd hysteria over the deficit.  What came out of the political stew was a plan that seemed to the best informed (as I define them) a recovery plan that was bound to be weak and weaken even more, several quarters out.

       A glut of housing, because of the "real estate idiocy" scam and crash meant that a normal recession rebounder-homes and building-was out.  On top of that government spending at the federal, state and local level continued to be cut. It is lower now than it was 3 years ago.  In addition the government has cut jobs, which on top of the already tall unemployment numbers is more bad ju ju. Three strikes against a robust comeback.

      Folks may not like to admit it, but government spending has always been a shot in the arm for recoveries from recession. Less spending, and well, you see where it is. Especially critical when real estate and credit quarters remain weak. The stimulus plan was too short and short sighted, but political realities being what they are, the better alternatives never flew. Austerity in the face of a staggering economy is silly.  We are seeing the effects of it now.

DAY FILE

SUCCULENTS

      A couple of my old broadcasting pals have chided me for including so many images of plants in these posts.  Before moving to the Central Coast, the only thing I knew about succulents was a cactus.

    Lana has loved them forever.  Her mother, a master gardener was into succulents.  This is a perfect climate for them, so I am gaining a rapid appreciation.  Their blooms, and some of the succulents themselves look other worldly.

    Lana was particularly excited about the frame below-a bloom on a burro's tale.  She says she's never seen one.

See you down the trail.

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN

QUEEN FOUND

MYSTERY SOLVED

     As you may recall when last we left our bee hive there

was concern that no Queen was in residence.  The colony appeared healthy and vibrant, but no queen even though there was evidence that larvae might be present.  "Odd" is how bee expert and advisor, Ian left things, "really odd."

     Well, Ian and his mentor, 30 year bee keeper Michael, paid a visit to look things over.  They even brought a Queen, in the carrier below.

   Michael confirmed Ian's assessment, there indeed had been a Queen's cell, now abandoned.  It is now useless.

    As they continued to study the hive, they saw more signs of a Queenly presence, but not until they were well into the 

hive did they make the great discovery.  

   There was Queenie-a nice sized and young queen. She is the large bee in the center of the frame.  Though partially covered by wings, you can see she is larger than the others.

   She is the large bee, again just below the middle of the frame. She is also more blond. 

  She's in the same relative location in both of the remaining frames.  

  Ian and Michael say she is "a good looking queen."   Further inspection found more evidence of larvae, so the colony should be fine.  But there is a fascinating back story.

  They speculate this hive just recently, in the last day or two, made this queen. On first inspection we could not find her, because she is brand new, just born.  

   One of two things probably happened, the old queen either died, or quit producing off spring and was killed, so a new fertile Queen could take over. Both experts say it is better for a hive to produce its own Queen rather than bring one in from the outside. That is true to a point.  After 3 or 4 generations, apparently the DNA or gene pool can be over drawn and you can begin to experience problems.  More Bee drama in that case.   

   As the distant observer, I'm waiting for this hive of Blond Italians  to start making enough honey that their documentarian can share the sweet goody.  

   BTW, I'm told they are a different group from our original Blond Italians who simply disappeared. They either were weakened from with in and were overpowered by marauders or simply swarmed away, for any number of reasons.  Who knew the Bees were so much like human Royalty.  Intrigue, inbreeding, palace coups, roaming bandits.

    The drama buzzes here on the ridge.

    See you down the trail. 
    HERE IS A LATE POST SCRIPT-NOTICE THE COMMENT BELOW FROM MICHAEL, WITH SOME CLARIFICATIONS.

THE BEE MYSTERY

WHAT'S WITH THE HIVE?

      Regular readers of Light/Breezes may recall earlier postings about our hive of Blond Italian Bees from Glenn California.  These are the same gentle bees that suddenly disappeared after apparently being attacked by interlopers. 
      All at once we had an empty hive, our Blond Italians no where to be found.  We waited a while, but the hive remained quiet.  Lana was tipped by George, a northern California bee keeper to put out a little lemon grass oil to see if it would attract a swarm.  It did indeed, some of these guys are included in that number.

    We asked Ian, a local bee keeper and expert to take a look at our new swarm and to check out conditions in our re-located hive.

     Ian found a full and productive hive. Evidence of honey being made, but mysteriously no sign of a queen.  He found
the beginnings of a queen's "condo", but no sign of a queen.

 In his Kiwi accent, he noted a couple of times that it was
"odd."  So now the mystery has taken another turn, an odd turn.  A busy and seemingly productive hive without a queen in command. What does that mean?  Stay tuned.

See you down the trail.

THE WEEKENDER :) ENJOY THE GAMES

IT'S ONLY EVERY FOUR YEARS

     Late the other night, or early one morning as it was, I headed off to bed, wondering why I had stayed so late at the party, watching BMX racing.  I don't usually watch BMX racing, but this was of the Olympic variety, and well, a gold medal was on the line.  And it was fascinating, maybe because of the newness.

     The Olympics do this sort of thing to me.  Maybe it is the pre-event hype and background, but I get kind of addicted to the games.  I find myself suddenly in possession of knowledge about lives and histories of athletes that a few weeks ago I didn't know existed. 

     I do marvel at the talent, skill and power of the competitors.  I'm particularly keen on track, since that was my best high school sport. I was even captain of the team, but when I see how quickly Husain Bolt covered the 100 and compare it to my best speed and wonder if we were on the track at the same time, well, the best I can say is that we started at the same time.  
     Anyway, we head into the last weekend of the extravaganza and I leave you with a sport and young sportsman that you'll likely never see on an Olympic medal stand, but I suspect you'll find this amazing.  It's all in the spirit of the Weekender :).  Have fun with this.

See you down the trail.

WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?

FEELING THEIR PAIN

     From what some of them are saying, the skies are less 
than blue for Young Republicans.  I've read a few pieces over the last week that hint some of the junior members of the GOP are doing what their moderate seniors have been unable to do, put some distance between them and the far right tea party mind set that has taken over the steering wheel of the Republican party.

     Many of the young politicians have different views on social issues and believe the party elders have acquiesced or become strident.  In an article written by Susan Saluny of the New York Times a young GOP member is quoted as saying "when it comes to what you do in your bedroom, or where you go to church or where you put your tattoo, we just couldn't care less."

      I have long time friends in both major parties as well as long time relationships with political operatives on both sides.  Democrats are delighted that fewer young Americans want to associate with the Republican party.  A Republican friend says it is no wonder when the current crop of house and senate republicans have become so ideologically "narrow" (his word).  

      Women's health and rights has become a huge dividing line for young women. Young Americans, according to polls, are more accepting of gay rights and same sex marriage. Any organization that seems to balk at, contend or challenge on those issues stands to loose millennials as well.

       It's a bit like the old Kermit song..."It hard to be green"

or a young republican.  As a long time political junkie it is

weird to see sitting republicans bad mouth policies that were once put forward by "radicals" like Bob Dole, Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, and even the old Gipper.

    DAY FILE

COOL SCENES

HERE'S AN EXERCISE IN PATIENCE

SUN SET TO FULL MOON RISE

See you down the trail.

NORAH JONES & PLUM CRAZY

NORAH ROCKED

     Norah Jones, under the stars, at the Santa Barbara Bowl was a kind of celestial event of its own.  

      She is an extraordinary singer, with a unique blend of power, earthiness, mellow soul and plaintive phrasing. On this tour she is backed by a band of exquisite players who can easily slide from driving rock, bluesy funk and beyond. There were moments when the band wandered into a kind of exploratory atmosphere of high energy improvisation, where Norah's rich voice was the grounding and tether that made it work. It was, to my amateur ears, contrapuntal.  This is a different Norah than some of her earlier, softer work, but it is thrilling and superb.

      Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons who opened were a special treat with a country and folk lilt. He's a great lyricist and I hope we see and hear more from him.

      A quick observation-too many people seem increasingly self absorbed and rude.  There were entirely too many people texting during the concert and too many of the crowd from the upfront and center seats thought nothing of entering, after Norah had begun.  Rude behavior on both counts!    

     The drive down the coast and back was vacation land beautiful and stunning. 

DAY FILE

PLUM CRAZY

     Local Plums, growing wild, have yielded a beautiful bounty.  They will be eaten fresh, dehydrated, or cooked into jam.

See you down the trail.