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The Proposal

Category: Life As I Know It | Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:04 am

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On Valentines day, 1987, I proposed to my wife on the beach at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine, Florida. We're working on our 28th year together and still going strong. That's why we were both excited to help my son when he asked us to help him out with his plans to propose to his girlfriend on the same beach. It didn't actually start out to be on the beach in St. Augustine, but that's where he ended up asking her. Maybe I can write a full blown story soon, but here's the short version.

This past Saturday my wife and I set up a tent on the beach. We put up some curtains and made everything look real nice. We planned it so that my son could walk up the beach with his girlfriend and when he got to the tent he turned her around and told her to close her eyes. At that point he wrote something in the sand, got down on one knee and told her to turn around. The whole time we were hidden in the tent and my wife was taking pictures. Needless to say, his girlfriend was speechless. She was finally able to shake her head yes. After the proposal they walked up to the tent where we served them lunch (we had set up a little, wooden table and chairs).

There was much more to the story, but that will do for now. It was a special experience to be a part of their proposal and a memory that I will always cherish. I guess one of the most special things about it is that my son wanted us to help. It makes you feel good as a parent when your kids want you involved in their lives.

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Bee Decision

Category: Bees | Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 10:31 am

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Well, after having a little time to think about it I have decided that I enjoy the bees too much to give them up, despite the allergic reaction that I wrote about a couple of weeks back. I got my first opportunity to work in full gear yesterday. I split a hive earlier this year and moved one to my brother's house. Unfortunately, I lost a hive at my house, so I wanted to bring the hive from his house back to mine.

After it got dark my youngest son and I headed over there to bring it back. Ever since I moved that hive they have wanted to hang out on the outside of the box. I didn't think it was going to be a big deal, but after I got there and started looking I realized that if I moved it I was going to lose a lot of bees simply because there were so many on the outside of the box. So, I'm going to go back and add another super. Hopefully that will encourage them to move back in so I can bring them home. Even at night time I was sweating like crazy in the full gear. I'm not looking forward to working under the hot, Florida sun with all of that on.

Last edited: Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:11 pm

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Soil Experiment

Category: Gardening | Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 4:13 pm

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I'm always up to trying something new in the garden. The pictures below show the steps taken to hopefully improve the soil. Basically, I dug a trench, put in a good layer of dry cow manure, wet it, chopped it up, put in a good layer of grass clippings, wet it again, covered it up with dirt and then added a layer of oak leaves.

It was a lot of work, but I'm sure the hard work will pay off.


Trench ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






Cow Manure ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






Trench with dry cow manure. ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






Grass clippings in the trench. ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






Trench covered with dirt. ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






Trench finished off with oak leaves. ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )





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A Magical Place

Category: Gardening | Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:34 pm

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To me, gardens are a magical place. There is just something about walking through a garden that causes a part of me to come alive. I don't care if it is an elaborate botanical garden or simply a few potted plants on the porch. It doesn't matter what the location or what kind of garden it is my mind immediately goes to that magical place any time that I enter one.

I've often tried to figure out why I feel this way. What is it about growing things that brings about this twinge of excitement? I honestly believe that there is something spiritual about it. As a Christian I was taught that God created man from the dust of the earth. If you have ever read the Bible then you know that there are agricultural references throughout. Jesus himself spoke about plants and farming on multiple occasions. One of the most famous parables that Jesus gave was about the seed falling by the wayside. The seed that fell on the rocky soil didn't make it, but the seed that fell into the good soil did. There are too many more examples to give here. My point is that there are many.

Is it this deep connection to God that pulls me toward the garden? Am I drawn there because I believe that God is there? I would like to say yes, that I am such a spiritual man that I can work out in the garden and draw closer to God, but I don't think that is all there is to it. I also believe there is the human factor, that I just enjoy the hard work, that I like to see seeds planted in the ground and then grow to produce food for me and my family to eat. In effect, I like to see the beginning and ending of something.

Hmm... beginnings and endings. That kind of reminds me of the book of Genesis... In the beginning God... Perhaps it is more spiritual after all.

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Weeds and Manure

Category: Gardening | Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:28 pm

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It's amazing how the weeds will start to move in so quickly. With all the unsufferable heat, the $1000.00 nosebleed and last weekend's bee adventure I've somewhat neglected the garden... and the weeds took notice. Since Wednesday I've been cleaning things up and it definitely looks better.

I'm still planning to have a late summer/early fall garden so there's a lot to do. I'd like to try something that I haven't done before with the soil. I've got access to plenty of cow manure. I'm going to dig out my rows and put a layer of dry manure, follow that with a layer of grass clippings, cover it all up with a thick layer of dirt and then let it sit undisturbed for a good month before planting.

I'm interested to see if that gives everything enough time to break down.

Last edited: Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:33 pm

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How 'Bout Them Bees?

Category: Bees | Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 9:35 pm

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HOW 'BOUT THEM BEES? That was the subject line on the e-mail that I was looking at this past Thursday afternoon. It came from the young man who was so interested in my garden just a month ago. He knew that there was a bee club meeting on Friday and wanted to know the time and place. I sent him the information and shortly thereafter got a reply that he couldn't make it. I haven't forgotten what it's like to have two small children and a pregnant wife, so I let him know that I completely understood. Little did I know that subject line would define my weekend.

The meeting went well on Friday evening and I got a lot of good information so I decided to head into one of the hives on Sunday morning. I suited up like I normally do: long sleeve shirt, thin garden gloves (I have thicker gloves just for beekeepers, but find them bulky and restraining), hat, veil and shorts (it gets hot in Florida and I've never had an issue wearing shorts).

With the smoker going I pulled off the top cover. As has been the case many times before the bees were calm and allowed me to work without being too upset about it. I checked out the top super without incident, pulled it off and set it aside. Then, I started pulling frames out of the brood box. Now, I must say that the weather was perfect. It was hot and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. Up until this point the bees had been quite accommodating. That's why I was totally surprised when I suddenly found that about six of the little critters had attached themselves to my right hand and were stinging me through the thin gloves. I've been stung before and I know not to panic when it happens, but the stings felt different this time, more painful if that's possible. I managed to calmly set the frame down and back away from the hive. I pulled the glove off and looked to see if I could find any of the stingers to scratch them out. My hand was visibly shaking at this point and it was quite painful. Not wanting to experience getting stung in the hands again I made my way to the shed to put on my other gloves.

After putting on the thicker gloves I walked up to the hive and immediately got a sting on the back of my right leg. It was obvious that the bees were clearly agitated so I took the opportunity to close up the hive and leave them alone. I ended up with one more sting on my right ankle before it was over and, to be honest, I was glad it was over.

I put all of my equipment away and headed inside. I had been sweating quite a bit so I told my wife that I was going to jump in the shower. It was while I was in the shower that I realized that something was definitely wrong. The first thing I noticed was that my lips were starting to go numb. Then, I noticed that my upper torso had broken out in small hives. I looked at my arms and noticed that they were also broken out, but instead of the blotchy looking hives that I had on my torso they were just red pinpoints that went up and down both arms. Needless to say, I rinsed off and got out of the shower.

My wife knows that I am not a fan of going to the doctor, especially after the $1000.00 nose bleed that I recently posted about, so she immediately knew something was out of the ordinary when I rushed into the dining room wearing only a pair of shorts and told her that she needed to take me to the doctor right away. At this point my tongue had started to swell up and the words didn't come out quite right. After taking a look at the hives all over my body she jumped up and started looking for the car keys. I wouldn't say that I panicked, but I was definitely concerned at this point. I pushed away thoughts of my throat closing up and we both made a hasty trip to the car.

Thankfully, there is a critical care clinic only five miles away from my house. By the time we got there I was swelling up everywhere. I was only stung on the right side of my body, but even my left side was feeling the effects. I couldn't get my wedding ring off, my lips were completely numb, my tongue was visibly swollen and it was red all around my nose and up between my eyes. Even the top of my bald head was starting to show signs of swelling and my scalp was itching me to death.

The clinic took care of me and one shot of steroids seemed to calm everything down. Unfortunately, the doctor had to cut my wedding ring off. That really stinks. I've been wearing it for going on twenty-eight years now. My right hand swelled up so much that I could hardly use it most of the day, but other than that everything went back to normal pretty quickly. Now, only two days later, even my hand is back to normal.

Now I'm assessing the situation and trying to learn from it. The biggest takeaway is that I will be wearing full gear the next time I go into the hive. I have a full suit, but have stayed away from it because it can be so hot. Considering the alternative I think I'll take heat over a near death experience.

I can't explain why I never had a reaction before. I've been stung quite a few times while messing with the hives, although I've never gotten so many at once. Maybe it was because I got so many, or maybe because they were mostly concentrated in one location on my body. I just don't know.

I also need to step back and ask myself if I want to move away from this hobby all together. I'm sure there are other beekeepers who have had a reaction to bee stings. Maybe this will never happen again. Or maybe it will. It could be that I can handle one or two stings and not have any reaction at all. But do I really want to take that chance?

HOW 'BOUT THEM BEES? This one will take some thinking.

Last edited: Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:12 pm

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Nosebleed Update

Category: Life As I Know It | Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 9:40 am

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I appreciate all of the concerned comments on my last entry. However, I did want to clear a couple of things up.

1) I will still continue to go to the doctor. The fact that I went to two different doctors on the same day for the same thing should prove that I am not totally against it. My whole point of the story was that those kinds of experiences are what make men hesitant to go to the doctor.

2) I couldn't go to our regular family doctor because the nose bleed started on Friday, July 4th and of course continued into the holiday weekend. I had to either go to the Express Care or emergency room because no one else was open.

3) I am monitoring my blood pressure as a result of the costly weekend. Nose bleeds could indicate high blood pressure, so I want to make sure that is not the problem. The doctor at the Express Care didn't mention my blood pressure, but the ER doctor did. Thankfully I have a way to check it at home.

4) It's been three days and I haven't had another nosebleed.

5) Most importantly... now I'm ready to get back out in the garden.



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The $1000.00 Nose Bleed

Category: Life As I Know It | Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 12:05 am

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I wasn't feeling well when I got home from work Thursday evening. No fever, but my head was stopped up and my voice started sounding like a croaking frog. I could hardly wait to go to bed.

When I woke up in the morning I had a mouth full of blood. I spit it out in the sink, wondering what was going on. It didn't take long for me to realize that my nose was bleeding, but instead of coming out of my nose it was going down the back of my throat. My wife had been sick the week before so I asked her if she had spit up any blood. She said yes, so I passed it off.

The bleeding continued throughout the day and night. I wasn't able to lay down because it would settle in the back of my throat. So, I tried to sleep in the recliner. That kind of worked, but for the most part it was a sleepless night. I tried pressure, cold packs and anything else I could think of to stop the bleeding, but nothing seemed to help. Finally, around 8:00 am I got my wife up and told her that I was ready to go to the doctor.

Our insurance has a $30 co-pay for Express Care so we chose the closest one and headed in that direction. After a couple hour wait I finally got to see the doctor. He walked in nonchalantly and asked me what was wrong, despite the fact that I had already relayed that information to two other people. I told him that my nose was bleeding inside my mouth and had been doing so for a good twenty four hours. It was at this point that he took his little light, shined it inside my nostrils and said, "It looks a little inflamed."

Now, I am not a violent man and I don't use foul language, but at that point I just wanted to say, "No sh@*!" and punch him right in the face. A little inflamed? Seriously? But I restrained myself and listened to what he had to say. The next words that came out of his mouth left me speechless. "Do you have any Neosporin?"

My wife and I must have both looked dumbfounded because then he said, "You know what Neosporin is don't you?"

We shook our heads slowly, still speechless, and he proceeded, "I want to you go home and put some Neosporin inside your nose. I'm writing you a prescription for something to dry it up."

Then he was gone. I looked at my wife, "I paid thirty dollars and waited two hours for him to tell me to put Neosporin in my nose?"

Needles to say, I was not impressed. We filled the prescription, thinking maybe it was something that would help, only to find out that it was just a version of Claritin. My wife wanted to take me to the emergency room. Totally aggravated, I refused to go so we headed back home. Even though I wasn't convinced it would do anything I still tried the Neosporin and took the medicine. The only thing it really did was make me sleepy. So, I figured out a way to prop myself up and somehow managed to get to sleep.

My wife woke me up later that afternoon and informed me that she had called the hospital and the nurse informed her that I needed to get to the emergency room right away. I got up, spit out a mouthful of blood and begrudgingly agreed.

When I got to the hospital the blood started coming out the front of my nose. My wife had to finish the registration while a nurse took care of helping me with the bleeding. We got into a room quickly, but it took a good three hours for the doctor to see me. When he did finally arrive I was reclining on the uncomfortable examination table with a spit tub full of gauze and blood by my side.

I am still at a loss to explain this, but when he examined me he could not find any blood flowing. He had me gargle with hydrogen peroxide and spit into a container, but there was no blood in my throat. He had me lean forward, but the blood didn't come out of my nostrils like it had been only an hour earlier.

"Well, I don't find anything wrong."

I pointed to the bloody spit tub, obviously with a confused look on my face.

"I don't doubt that it was bleeding, but it has stopped now."

He explained what he would have done if it hadn't stopped bleeding. Basically he would have shoved two tampon looking things up my nose. He stressed how painful it would have been and told me that he didn't want to do it unless it was absolutely necessary. He showed them to me and I suddenly found myself thankful for the miraculous healing that had taken place. Then, he said something that made me shake my head in disbelief, "Do you have any Claritin at home?"

"What?"

"You'll need to take something like Claritin to help dry all that up."

My eyelids started rapidly fluttering as images of deja vu flashed through my brain. I somehow managed to whisper, "Yes, I've got something like it at home."

Then, I almost fell off the table when he said, "Good, it's going to dry out your nasal passages so if you have any Neosporin I want to you use it to keep the area inside your nose moist."

So, that's how I found myself sitting in front of the hospital's account representative about thirty minutes later. "It looks like the total for your visit is going to be $650.00. How much can you pay on that today?"

And that is only for the emergency room visit. I'll still get a bill from the physician and for the blood work (at least they did check at the hospital to make sure my hemoglobin levels were OK). By the time it's said and done I'm expecting the total to be closer to $1000.00.

In effect, it cost me $1000.00 for the doctor to tell me the same thing that I had already paid $30.00 to hear earlier in the same day. And women wonder why men are so hesitant to go to the doctor?


Last edited: Fri Apr 08, 2016 10:12 pm

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September Garden

Category: Gardening | Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 12:34 am

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It has been extremely hot in my part of Florida. The garden has been paying the price too. The squash and cucumbers are done. In fact, the plants are already on the compost pile. My tomatoes were a bust. The amaranth came and went and I'm pretty certain I just picked the last of the beans. The okra Is on its last leg too. Now I'm cleaning up the garden so I can be ready to plant again in September. It"s great to live in a place that you can plant twice in the same year.

Last edited: Thu Jul 03, 2014 2:24 am

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Missing My Phone

Category: Life As I Know It | Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 12:20 pm

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Last weekend my 22 year old son dropped his phone in the toilet. We tried to submerge it in rice for a couple of days, but it wouldn't turn on. He immediately wanted to rush out and get another phone, but I told him to use mine and take some time to find the right deal.

He's had it a week now. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I really miss my phone. It's stupid how dependent our society has beccome on cell phones. I honestly feel like I forgot to dress properly when I'm not wearing it on my side. It's like not wearing a belt or socks.

I've got a couple of apps that I use a lot that I haven"t been able to access, but what I really miss is the camera. I never realized how much I used it. For example, we put up almost two dozen jars of tomatoes yesterday. I'd love to take a couple pictures and share them on Gardenstew.

The good thing is that he's found a good, refurbished phone at a decent price so I should be getting mine back soon. He had let the insurance lapse on the last phone and now he's having to pay for it, literally. I have to say I'm proud of him for taking care of his own bills. I have a feeling he won't let the insurance lapse again though.

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