Desert Tobacco

Nicotiana obtusifolia,  Nicotiana trigonophylla

A native to Arizona the flowers are tubular, approx. 1" long, in cream to greenish white. Blooms thru the Spring, Summer, and Fall and can reach up to 3 feet tall. The stems and leaves are sticky and hairy.

Poisonous!  All parts of the plants are highly poisonous and contain the toxic pyridine alkaloids nicotine and anabasine.

New Honeybee Queens

My feet hit the ground running at 3:45 A.M. Well, okay, running to the bathroom that is. Here is a trick for ya: I always drink a bottle of water before bed, which in turn becomes my own natural alarm clock. I can always bet I'll be having to go around 3:45 to 4:15. Got the water boiling for my coffee as I took our house dog out to relieve herself.

It is so quite, it is so wonderful - I can literally hear myself thinking. HaHa No.....that's me talking to myself again........sssshhhh,......Dan's still sleeping.  Coffee in hand I head to my quiet place. This morning my coffee time project is to sort estate jewelry to put up for sale. The day is already planned: Arivaca Farmers Market, go pick up our mail, work a couple beehives, clean the house.

Arivaca was fun as always, a great little community. From their garden co-op I picked up eggs, tomatoes, and okra. 

A lady that sets up there is "Queen of Couponing", and I picked up 50 cans of Tuna at a great price from her.  An excuse to see my aunt, Christine, and cousin, Andi, whom sell their honey at the market.  I also take my garbage to the Arivaca/Sasabe Refuse station on market day. Plus get to take in the beautiful scenery on the drive. I was upset that someone mowed down many of the wild Sunflowers, but found a few to photograph.

I knew in advance that my parents were sending me a box with a couple of honeybee queens. I called the little local store where I get my mail delivered and asked if the box was in..........it was. Petal to the metal! vrrrrrooomm vvvrrrooom. Went straight to Three Points from Arivaca to pick up the mail. Time was like it was standing still, I wanted to be home so I could open my box. It was like Christmas! But I still had to get gas for the generator and some Mountain Dew for Dan (he is an addict, but he doesn't drink coffee, so I can't say anything). 

Without a smoker I donned my bee suit and jumped into the Cordovan and Italian hives and made single deep hive splits off of them. Put four frames of brood, two honey, and three empty combs in the box and gave them syrup and a pollen patty. Put the queen that was still in her cage with her attendants and added a piece of tape to the candy end so it takes longer for the bees to chew her out into the new boxes. Her scent should be in the hive well before she emerges from her cage, otherwise they might kill her. I get to check on them in 10 days to see how they are. Luckily, my mom, smart lady, put a blue mark on both queens so I can be certain it is the right queen and not an imposter when I open the boxes back up.

I was texting and talking on the phone with many members of my family with all the excitement of these two little queens. I off course thanked my mom & dad profusely, an my heart just melted when my daddy said "Thank you for trying beekeeping". Well, by the time I cleaned up from the day and unloaded the truck, it was too late to clean house. Dinner consisted of Javelina Hash. Something very simple. I had a can of Javelina meat, some potatoes, garlic, and since I was out of fresh onions, I used freeze-dried onions, fried it all up and viola!  Turned out great. Dan was exhausted from doing a bunch of chainsaw work and checking/repairing perimeter fence. We both sat down, feet up to watch the sunset. 

Fourwing Saltbush

Scientific Name: Atriplex canescens

The plant's pollen is a high allergen. It is a perennial shrub that is native to the desert, upland, and mountain regions. It flowers a very inconspicuous yellowish flower in summer. Goes by many names such as  Fourwing Saltbush, Four-wing Saltbush, Chamise, Chamiso, and Shadscale.

Edible, the ground seed and the raw or cooked leaves are edible. I've tried the leaves raw and they are okay, but Dan did not like them. 

Honeybees on Garlic Chives

Black Mission Fig Tree

Purchased this fig from David out of Arivaca, AZ. He is a Master Gardener with the University of Arizona and works with the Arivaca Community Gardens. What is absolutely awesome about this plant is that it comes from a cutting of a Father Kino variety called Black Mission Fig. It is a direct cutting off of a tree that is thriving on an old homestead near the Oro Blanco Mine. With it coming from such a strong stock line, a tree that has no human care (who knows when the last time it got any loving, fertilizer, watering, freeze protection, etc.), it should prosper. 

It was planted in the fall of 2014, just before the freezes hit and between our horse giving it a good pruning and the freezes it still prospered. It is fruiting in September, and with the help of my owl friend, we hope to get a taste of these before the birds get them.

Honeybees on Texas Rangers

  

Review: Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy

Light weight - the big plus on freeze dried food. Great for backpacking, hiking, camping, and bugging out............but in the Sonoran Desert, with the lack of water around every turn, you have to carry or store enough water to hydrate the food. Carrying a pre-made meal pack such as an MRE may be just as good in this situation. Plus, you don't have to boil water and wait for it to hydrate. Anyhoo, I like to have a variety to choose from and with my picky eater (yes Dan!) I try to do taste tests around the house prior to finding out he doesn't like it in the field. 

As always any "meal" packet is chock full of salt and carbs. Meant for someone on the move and using lots of energy, sweating it out and having a full body strain. Not for couch potatoes.

The ingredients.....

Great shelf life.

BLAH to look at - but it passed the "King" test, Dan liked it. 

The biscuits stayed slightly crunchy and the flavor was passable. 

As for me, well I eat (almost) anything.........so it's easier for me to give it a thumbs up.