Monday           June 2              Lemon Rosemary Chicken Florentine 9.95

Tuesday           June 3              Shrimp and Scallop Crepes with Saffron Sauce 14.25

Wednesday      June 4              Stuffed Local Pork Chops with Rosemary Potatoes 13.25

Thursday          June 5              Elsie’s Chicken Baked in Wine 10.75

Friday              June 6              Spicy Roast Salmon with Coconut Rice 14.25

Wednesday,  June 4

Greek-style Seafood with Lemon, Olives, and Orzo

Full: 49.75

Half: 25.00

Blissful rain today as I write.  I wondered if that would mean a quiet shop but – nope – we’re pleasantly full.  Lots of talkers here, lots of business being done, lots of energy and activity and buzz.  A little earlier I was showing someone around and remembered when we first moved into this space.  Our employee break area was then at the back of our café.  Soon we had more and more customers and had to move the staff back into our downstairs area.  This building was built in 1902 and the original stone walls are visible in that room’s foundation.  We used to have our office there and I still like going downstairs, soaking into the cool and the quiet. 

I’ve been thinking about place these days.  Still looking at the bees as my chief teachers.  I might have told you that I only attended half of bee school.  I’m missing some key pieces of information but, in an uncharacteristic manner, I leaped in, bought the parts to make my hives, found someone to sell me some bees, and am off and running.  In a way its not too different from the evolution of this place of my work.

At a certain point a beekeeper has to provide more space for the bees to work.  The bottom most box or two are for baby raising.  Later, when both of those nursery boxes are filled with bees, tucked into their little honeycomb chambers, more boxes are piled on, one at a time.  Those boxes are where the bees make and store their winter’s supply of honey.  Called “supers” the first box is for the bees.  Additional boxes are for me (and, when and if there is a lot, you.)

I’m still right at the beginning of this, you know.  I am at the point where I check and see if the bees have “drawn out” enough of the frames in the first box to warrant adding a second one.  The bees build honeycomb on a wax sheet, their foundation.  Each box hold ten frames.  When seven of them have comb and baby bees, the second gets added.

The other day I donned my bee clothes and examined my little colonies.  The first hive had bees but it was hard to see if there was a queen or eggs or any developing babies.  I’m so new I don’t know exactly what to look for, but, though there were bees, I didn’t see obvious signs of more.  The second hive was a completely different story.  Almost all the frames were filled with activity: honeycomb with honey, babies, activity.  Big difference!!  I did not find the queen but her presence was clear.

I added a second box to that hive.  I will check the first hive again in a few days.  I might need to figure out how to give those bees a new queen.  This is a whole new challenge for me.  I’m not positive that I don’t have a queen.  And if I put in another one, will the new one kill the old one?  There’s more to it.  It’s complicated.  There is a lot to learn.  

I chose to do this bee thing so I could provide a good, safe place for these endangered creatures.  I’m interested in tasting the honey that they make from the flowers in my neighborhood.  I’m intrigued with this project, this figuring out of when to do what.   I already love my little bees and am awed by them and by the complexity of this venture.  I’m just on step one.  So far, so good.  I’ll figure it out.  Somehow.  Just like we did here.