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Monday, April 13, 2015

Vogue 1315





I finally got a chance to wear my Vogue 1315 dress. I love it. It was super comfortable and I LOVE the pockets. I got lots of complements and the fabric was a hit as well. Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest but my photographer (husband) does not take instruction well! LOL

Monday, April 6, 2015

It's Spring - Bee Biology

This post is not sewing related at all. If you are squeamish leave NOW! You've been warned.

It's that time of year when insects will soon be upon us. I for one loathe insects especially bees. I'm allergic to bee stings and avoid them at all costs. We've had a bee problem for a few years now and it was not until all the leaves fell from that trees in that Fall that I understood why. There was a huge bee hive in a tree that was just a few yards away from the front of the house. I'm always armed with insect spray but I don't want to be bothered at all. After pleading with my husband several times to get rid of the hive so that the bees wouldn't come back (my pleadings fell on death ears) I used a 21ft golf ball retriever to knock the hive down.

I wouldn't say I'm adventurous as much as I am curious. I ripped the hive apart and imagine my shock when I realized the hive was full of bees and they were actually in some state of hibernation/cocoon. So...the bees don't come back every year...they never leave! YIKES!



This is what the hive looked like when I first knocked it down.



The solid white area is a fully "cocooned" bee. There's one bee per hexagonal cell. If you look closely you can see part of bees protruding from the individual cells.


This was a bee I pulled out of one of the finished "cocoons."


This is a bee I pulled from one of the unfinished "cocoons."



This is a cross-section of the hive. Full of bees in the "cocooning" process!

Are you wondering what happened to the hive after I dissected it? I put lighter fluid on and burned it and a small portion of the grass to a crisp! I think my bee problem is solved and I had a lesson in bee biology at the same time! I promise my next post will be sewing related. LOL