Blog of the Soap Pixie: May 2012

FIBER FINDS

May 23, 2012

I wanted to share some of the cool things I picked up at the Shepherds Harvest Fiber Festival. I haven't been motivated to use the weavette yet since I'm just getting over being sick but I couldn't resist spinning some new yarn. I spent hours wandering around the fiber festival looking for romney wool because I had read that it was the best fiber for new spinners but out of all the vendors only...

MINNESOTA SHEPHERDS HARVEST

May 14, 2012

We hit the great Shepherds Harvest Fiber Festival over Mother's Day weekend. Lots and lots of fun things too see; angora rabbits & goats, llama, alpaca, and sheep. We ate fried pickles dipped in horseraddish sauce and fried walleye. The Shepherds Harvest and the State Fair are the only two places I'll eat fried anything. LOL! Here is Aiyana learning how to spin. One of the...

Nature

MASON BEE?

May 13, 2012

I was so excited to find this itty bitty bee in my garden working really hard on one of my bamboo poles that I'm using to stake my raspberry bush. I immediately thought it was a mason bee. Some of the other bamboo poles in the raspberry patch have mud plugged holes already (possibly from last year). Anyway...I took some pix and a video to show my daughter Maya but when she saw the...

Beekeeping , Nature

MUST MAKE DO

May 9, 2012

I figured if I can't have honeybees right now it doesn't mean I can't have another type of bee. According to my beekeeping friend Dave it is a little late in the season to get going with Mason Bees so I'm going to give bumble bees a try. A while back, after my beekeeping course, my oldest daughter decided she wanted to try keeping bumble bees. She's always had a fascinating...

Beekeeping

BYE BYE HIVES

May 6, 2012

We said goodbye to our hives yesterday. It was actually pretty sad. I didn't care so much about the yellow hive but I was really attached to the pink one (the one you see being carried away). That was my very first hive after I took the U of M beekeeping course and we've managed to get it through two winters and this was our third spring having them, they...

family

TO PIERCE OR NOT TO PIERCE...THAT IS THE QUESTION

May 5, 2012

I recently took my 16 year old to get her nose pierced. The response to having actually allowed my teenage daughter to pierce any part of her face other than her ears is quite interesting. I'm the cool mother to my daughters friends and those working at the piercing shop but among other mothers whose teen daughters now want their noses pierced after seeing my daughter, I'm not so...