WINDOW WENCH: Writer/photographer migrant janitor who prefers to camp without electricity near running water. Calusa and Penobscot wannabe. Currently summers near Frenchman's Bay and Acadia National Park. Seeks sustainable living in a consumer oriented materialistic society suffering from severe absence of presence caused by The Singularity. Mini gardener who plants seeds and expensive experiences in the souls of two grandchildren. Certified Florida Safe Boater with no boat.
Monday, August 29, 2016
It is clear I have not managed to keep up with this blog. No one is viewing it and there must be a way to attract attention to it but despite taking an actual workshop in blog writing I didn't learn much. The workshop was taught by a gay man who blogged about Christian chorus singing. It apparently is very popular.
Perhaps I have come to a point in time when the writing I have done needs to go somewhere. Perhaps I can make a living from what I write, photograph, video and enjoy from life and the many gifts given to me. Next to family, my daughter and her family, health is wealth, my vision and hearing, digestion, imagination, friendships and above all laughter are what mean the most to me.
This is a beeyard I saw near Lake O.
I wondered why each hive had a sugar bucket on top.
Then I passed through orange groves which were not in bloom.
I participated in the 2012 Sanibel Island Writer's Conference. My favorite author present who taught workshops was Andre Dubus III. He rocked.
Andre wrote his first best-selling novel in his car parked which he parked near a graveyard. It took him three years to complete and two years to sell it after 28 rejections. He delivers meaningful lectures, you need to take notes so you can remember ideas about writing which he has remembered and shares. He calls cellphones "crack pipes". He is very kind to people and is often surrounded by gushing female autograph hounds.
averyfineline.com
I took two blogging workshops with Doug Harrison. He began his blog years ago while working on his PhD and said it was not a good idea to begin then. Thousands of people read his blog and he no longer needs to post frequently. He places focus on content and avoids "The Museum of ME" which kills blogs. He illustrated good blogs by showing us more than his own blog but the blogs of others he follows and who produce worthwhile reading. He gave us "nuts and bolts" for blogging. The biggest difficulty with blogging is you must be both author AND editor. It is a new unique form of writing worth pursuing.
Last night I attended the November monthly meeting of the Beekeepers Association of South Florida and was fascinated by the guest speaker, Buddy Walker of Walker Farms, North Ft. Myers. At one time Buddy and his wife Joyce kept 1,500 beehives. He is now down to a mere 400. I find this number mind-boggling but mostly I am fascinated by the wealth of knowledge Buddy and other longtime beekeepers have in their brains. They are usually more than willing to share what they know and Buddy took many questions from the group. He answered every one and would have answered more. Beekeepers who have kept bees for as long as Mr. Walker has kept bees have seen just about everything so it is a good idea to pay attention to their words. I think beekeeping should be taught in public schools starting in the fourth grade. Beekeepers appreciate our natural world and respect it. Some of Buddy's hives were attacked by a bear recently but he was philosophical about it and said "If you have bears in your woods then you have healthy woods."
I have discovered a feral colony of bees near my tent. It is a weak colony and similar to a colony which is nearby in a birdhouse on the river on a post which has been bagged in a black plastic and zip-tied by a landscraper. At one point he sprayed the shebang with insecticide. It was a lame effort to exterminate them. The bees left temporarily but came back. I can do nothing to remove these bees and want to see them de-bagged and un-zip-tied. Florida laws about bee removal are not good. Regulations which went into being at the end of July succeed to prevent beekeepers from removing bees and condone extermination of them. Beekeepers in Florida are not allowed to remove bees from the property of others. Beekeepers in Florida are not allowed to remove bees without certification, credentials and a license. Beekeepers in Florida are not allowed to remove bees if they occupy any type of structure. Beekeepers in Florida who are certified etc. must remove bees alone, do the work solo without a helper unless the helper is also certified etc. In removals bees are not to be sprayed with insecticides. The last regulation is the only one which makes sense. The rest do not.
averyfineline.com
I took two blogging workshops with Doug Harrison. He began his blog years ago while working on his PhD and said it was not a good idea to begin then. Thousands of people read his blog and he no longer needs to post frequently. He places focus on content and avoids "The Museum of ME" which kills blogs. He illustrated good blogs by showing us more than his own blog but the blogs of others he follows and who produce worthwhile reading. He gave us "nuts and bolts" for blogging. The biggest difficulty with blogging is you must be both author AND editor. It is a new unique form of writing worth pursuing.
Last night I attended the November monthly meeting of the Beekeepers Association of South Florida and was fascinated by the guest speaker, Buddy Walker of Walker Farms, North Ft. Myers. At one time Buddy and his wife Joyce kept 1,500 beehives. He is now down to a mere 400. I find this number mind-boggling but mostly I am fascinated by the wealth of knowledge Buddy and other longtime beekeepers have in their brains. They are usually more than willing to share what they know and Buddy took many questions from the group. He answered every one and would have answered more. Beekeepers who have kept bees for as long as Mr. Walker has kept bees have seen just about everything so it is a good idea to pay attention to their words. I think beekeeping should be taught in public schools starting in the fourth grade. Beekeepers appreciate our natural world and respect it. Some of Buddy's hives were attacked by a bear recently but he was philosophical about it and said "If you have bears in your woods then you have healthy woods."
I have discovered a feral colony of bees near my tent. It is a weak colony and similar to a colony which is nearby in a birdhouse on the river on a post which has been bagged in a black plastic and zip-tied by a landscraper. At one point he sprayed the shebang with insecticide. It was a lame effort to exterminate them. The bees left temporarily but came back. I can do nothing to remove these bees and want to see them de-bagged and un-zip-tied. Florida laws about bee removal are not good. Regulations which went into being at the end of July succeed to prevent beekeepers from removing bees and condone extermination of them. Beekeepers in Florida are not allowed to remove bees from the property of others. Beekeepers in Florida are not allowed to remove bees without certification, credentials and a license. Beekeepers in Florida are not allowed to remove bees if they occupy any type of structure. Beekeepers in Florida who are certified etc. must remove bees alone, do the work solo without a helper unless the helper is also certified etc. In removals bees are not to be sprayed with insecticides. The last regulation is the only one which makes sense. The rest do not.
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