One of My Favorite Plants in the Garden

Is the Dwarf Red Powder Puff (Calliandra emarginata minima), I have the dwarf version which I keep potted on my patio. I keep it watered and fertilized frequently; it rewards me with hundreds of Red powderpuff blooms. It is a great attractant to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. In South Florida our Hummingbird season is opposite of the rest of the country. Our hummingbirds migrate here in the winter which is from October until May. I so look forward to the hummingbirds returning. This is one of their favorite plants. Since this is on my patio they are very trusting because they will come right up to these powderpuff flowers to sip nectar. You can almost see the nectar and pollen on the tip of each one of the flowers.



I also have this tree in Pink (Calliandra surinamensis). It is a much larger version of the dwarf variety. I have it planted in my yard and it is about 20 feet high, with beautiful pink powderpuff flowers, which the hummingbirds and hummingbird moths love. One evening I was outside watching my yard and enjoying all the different wild life and I looked up at the pink powderpuff to see if I saw any hummingbirds in the yard. To my surprise there were many small little hummingbirds helping themselves to the nectar of this lovely pink powderpuff. I was so excited that I called my son to come out and see what a wonderful site. We discovered that they were in fact not hummingbirds but a moth that looks very much likes a hummingbird. Although I have many hummingbirds in the garden these moths look very much like them and at first glance are very easy to mistake for a hummingbird. It is so amazing because the wings of these moths imitate the motion of the wings of the hummingbird. The reason I mention these little incognito moths is that it is the first National Moth Week from July 23-29th. I remember being so excited seeing so many hummingbirds all at the same time, then completely disappointed because they were moths. I have to admit these were amazing looking moths. Happy Moth Week everyone!

Simply an Update Week!!

Well it has been quite a week status post my anaphylactic reaction to my bees. My physical wounds are healing. Most of the bruising around my face is gone, my knees are still bruised and butt feels better. My bee stings are hardly swollen or itchy. It’s amazing how 40 mg/day of Prednisone will help alleviate most of the inflammation.



The emotional wounds are taking longer to heal. I had a really hard time in the beginning of the week trying to erase the pictures and vague memories of what I went through in the kitchen. It really is a blur, but what I keep playing in my head is the fact that I was not able to function to help myself. I am so grateful that I came through enough to call 911 and administer the epinephrine. I am in that strange emotional place where I am angry and scared all at the same time. I am not really willing to give up my bees. The thought of having to do this makes me very sad. Every medical person that I have spoken to this week, pretty much thinks I am crazy, and has advised me that I may need to give up my bees until I go through desensitization. I did speak to a few of my bee supply companies. I was advised to put several layers under my gloves instead of ordering new gloves. So I ordered some white cotton gloves as the first layer, then I will put on a pair of my Playtex Kitchen gloves, and then finally my bee gloves. I don’t think the bees can sting through all those layers but they might. It is the “might” that scares me. I also ordered a pair of the most adorable bee rubber boots. I was also advised to take my epi pen out to the bee yard.

According to government statistics, about 3.3 percent of adults will experience anaphylaxis after an insect sting and there are 40 to as many as 100 deaths annually from insect-sting-related anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe type I hypersensitivity allergic reaction in humans and other mammals. If you are known to be allergic to insect stings, then the next sting is 60% likely to be similar or worse than the previous sting.

I am still hoping that my friend will help me with the hives so it will decrease the chance of me getting stung. My other concern is the fact that my “bee yard” is my backyard and also my garden. I have been afraid to just go outside and walk around unprotected this week. Although I have butterfly plants scattered throughout my yard most of my pollination garden is on the west side of the yard where my bee hives are located. I need to get out there and garden but with the bees flying everywhere it makes me a little nervous. They have never stung me when I am out in the yard but they have chased me down a few times. I should have the results of my IgE immunoglobulin’s by Monday and then start desensitization. Hopefully the process will go quickly! I need to call my friend Kate in Albuquerque just to talk about my feelings and the process. One other note, I did go out and buy myself a Pandora “Queen Bee” charm. I think that is as close to a real bee as I am going to get for awhile!

On a happier update is my progress of my mango wine! It is doing exactly what is should be and has reached a specific gravity of about 1.010. I removed the mango fruit and I racked it into a secondary carboy on Tuesday evening. It went very smoothly. It is now settling nicely and I will be racking it off the lees every week for a couple of weeks and then eventually every month for at least 6 months. I will periodically give you some updates to show the process.



It’s been a tough week! A good glass of wine is exactly what the doctor ordered!

Was this Beautiful Honey worth all the Stings?

The weather here in South Florida has been the rainiest that I can remember in many years. I know the rest of the country is experiencing the worst drought in centuries and that they would be grateful for some of this rain, but for me, enough is enough. In fact, as I am writing this blog it is pouring outside. There is a tropical wave south of us that is pushing moisture in our direction. It is one of those days that you just want to snuggle up in bed or on the couch and read a good book or watch a good movie. It is dark and there is a deluge of rain coming down. It has been a difficult summer as a relatively new beekeeper. First, it took some time to re-queen my hives after the splits. I feel this was mainly due to the weather. It has also made it very difficult to get into my hives on a regular basis. As a Top Bar Hive Beekeeper I like to go into my hives every 10- 14 days tops. The last two times I have gone in it has been more like 14 days, or just over. The last time I was in the hives the bees were crowded and I opened up the brood area for the queen to lay. Being crowded can make the bees very grumpy. Yesterday was mostly sunny; this was going to be my one opportunity to get into the hives. The first hive looked very good. It is a gentle hive, a pleasure to work. The bees are very small. The queen is laying well. There are still a few small hive beetles present but they look better and under control.

When I am inspecting the hive I am looking for many things: first, do I see the queen? What is her laying pattern like? How does the bee population look? Is there honey and nectar, and pollen present? How is the activity of the hive? I try to look at the combs and keep most of the honey comb towards the back of the hive with the brood nest all in one area up towards the front of the hive. Are there any pests present? Are the combs straight? Does the brood nest need to be opened up so the queen has room to lay? Are there brood, larvae, and eggs present? It is important to know the time frame for these different stages so that if there is a problem with the queen you are able to recognize it. I am telling you this because as I went into hive #2 yesterday, the bees were immediately defensive. I smoked the hive well to let them know of my arrival. There was a very heavy comb of honey that I had positioned as the last bar the last time I went into the hive. It still had just a small circular area of brood. I removed it while I worked the hives trying to decide whether I should sacrifice the small brood area for the nice capped honey. As soon as I reached for the second bar the bees came out and stung me on the hand. In fact they chased me for several feet. I gave them a chance to calm down smoked them a little more and discovered many queen cells present. Sometimes when a hive is queenless they can be very defensive. There were numerous capped queen cells present on many of the top bars. This was my opportunity to practice what I learned in Albuquerque, NM. I learned about a mixed origin divide. I left several bars with queen cells in hive #2 for them to make the queen. Then I started selecting out bars of brood, nectar and honey to make the mixed origin divide. This hive is the same hive that several months ago did the same thing as far as the queen cells. I had split this hive and it had made a new queen. She was laying nicely, but two weeks later she was gone and there were numerous queen cells present within the hive. I don’t know if this hive swarmed, or if they didn’t like their queen, or what exactly was happening. So I began examining my hives for the appropriate bars to make the divide. As my inspection continued I got little stings through my gloves. There must have been bees on the ground around hive #4 and I got stung for the first time on my ankle. I continued to select out bars for the divide and was putting them into the new hive that I had resting on the ground. I decided that I was going to take the honey and shook those bees off into the divide. As I did that they stung me in the other ankle. There were two bees stuck under the top of my shoe so I got stung there several times. I went back to hive #3, where I had separated out three bars of brood and nectar that I was going to move over to the divide. As I was doing that I started to feel a funny sensation in my hands. It felt like itching and swelling at the same time. I immediately knew something was wrong. I gathered the bar of honey and went inside. By the time I got inside I couldn’t function to turn my cell phone on to call 911. I was totally incapacitated. In hindsight it is amazing to me that I was unable to do a simple task like turning on my phone and dialing 911. I had gotten certified on the use of the epi pen when I attended Bee College, and because I have had some pretty severe local reactions my Doctor ordered the epi pens for me. Never did I think that I would need them.



At some point I must have passed out. I think I might have had a little seizure as I remember shaking violently before I lost consciousness. I don’t know how long I was out? I don’t know if it was a minute, or several minutes. I know that when I woke up I again tried to call 911. Somehow I had enough cognitive function to dial my phone. The 911 operator stayed on the phone with me. She was very good but I still could not figure out how to open the epi pens. I was telling her I couldn’t see because I had many spots in front of my eyes. Finally I was able to open the pen and administered the epinephrine to myself. I am a nurse so it is mind boggling to me how I struggled to do this simple task. By the time the paramedics arrived I was feeling slightly better. During that conversation with 911 I was nauseous, and felt like I was going to pass out again. I was relieved to see the paramedics. My blood pressure was extremely low 80/60. This was an awful experience. They ended up taking me to the hospital because of the syncope episode, and my B/P being extremely low.

As a beekeeper I cannot stress enough how important it is to be prepared. How many times have you heard of the 30 year beekeeper getting stung and having an anaphylactic reaction. I am a new beekeeper and my local reactions have been pretty severe. Never did I really think that I would have a systemic reaction, but I did. I am so glad that I had the epi pens available. I also want to stress how severe my reaction was, so severe that I did not have enough cognitive function to manipulate my phone or epi pen. That I think is the scariest part of this whole experience. I am very grateful that I am ok and I woke up off the floor. I do have numerous bruises on my knees and butt and I think I must have hit my nose on the way down. It is swollen and I probably will have two black eyes in a day or so. My feet and hands are also pretty swollen from the bee stings. I will survive, and I’m very grateful and very lucky that I am ok.

Again I will ask; was this honey worth all these stings?? Yes!!

Remember I am not necessarily doing this for the honey, although I enjoy all the byproducts of beekeeping. I am doing this for the bees. After my bees settle down I may have to reevaluate my queen situation. Maybe I need to re-queen all my hives with a gentler Italian Queen. I feel that when I am in the hives I am calm and Zen like. This makes me question whether I’m just a terrible beekeeper. As a beekeeper I need to be able to do certain things while I am in the hive. My bees definitely react aggressively. Yesterday when all this happened I was very saddened to think that I may not be able to keep on beekeeping. My long distance mentor Kate, apparently had a similar incident happen to her after getting several stings many years ago. She also lost consciousness. She went through immunization therapy and now has very little reaction to her bees. I am hoping that I will be able to do the same. I would be very sad to give up my bees at this point. I plan on calling my physician and the allergist first thing Monday morning, and start desensitization therapy for bee venom as soon as possible. I also am going to order more protective gloves and boots so the bees can’t sting me.

Now for a little humor around this terrible experience, I am now going to start calling myself the” Sexy Beekeeper”. I decided yesterday that I wouldn’t wear anything but my bra and panties under my bee suit. It is so hot and humid in Miami right now and I sweat through all my clothes. Unfortunately I was not anticipating paramedics entering my house and me not being fully clothed. Many of you probably don’t know that I have a lot of animals. I have several dogs and I am a breeder of sugar gliders. When the paramedics arrived the dogs were barking very loudly. They asked if I was able to move to a quieter area. When they entered my bedroom there are 8 sugar glider cages in my room. They asked me if I was a recue. I said, “ no I breed sugar gliders and those were all my dogs.” They were probably thinking I was some crazy animal hoarder!

I need to find some humor in this terrible experience and have a little laugh. Any sense of privacy was definitely gone as I the “naked beekeeper” had to undress in front of these paramedics. Since I had also left my hives in limbo I had to go back into the hives later that evening to finish closing them up and finish the divide. Talk about getting back on the horse! What a crazy day! I am grateful to have survived!

New Additions to the Garden

I bought some new plants for the garden to replace a few that needed some help. I had planted some Lavendula multifida canariense (California Lavendar) which is a type of lavender that grows here in Miami, that is until it just gets too hot and rainy for them to thrive. I love lavender so much that I will plant them for the few months that they can handle our climate just for the shear enjoyment of the plant. I know that they will not last long but I love their smell and beauty. I replaced them with a Florida Native Red Porter Weed. I saw some at Home Depot and I didn’t have any of the red variety so I thought it would be a great addition to my garden.



The second addition to the garden is a lovely Siam Tulip (Curcuma alismatifolia). It actually isn’t a tulip at all, but a ginger (Zingiberaceae). In addition to the lovely pink blooms if you look closely at the picture you will see that there is a lovely little violet that emerges from the bracts that adds so much charm to this flower. The Siam Tulip will go dormant in the winter. It will tolerate plenty of light but no direct sun. Without question it loves humidity and should be kept moist, perfect for our Miami environment.

Marvelous Mangos

It is hard to believe but I am still enjoying Florida mangos. My favorite mango which is the Florida Red is now available. This weekend was the Mango Festival at Fairchild Gardens. I didn’t end up going because the weather was very rainy and I had to go up to West Palm Beach, Florida to see my family. My brother and his girlfriend, Rose, from Norway were visiting and I had never met her. I got to visit with my mom, and sister, and my niece and nephew. My little nephew is like a child prodigy on the electric guitar. He is really amazing and plays every Saturday night so we all stayed to watch him. My brother brought me two canaries to add to my animal menagerie. He also brought me a beautiful Sunflower full of seeds to add to my garden. I brought him some seeds from my Mexican Sunflower. I also made my delicious Mango Salsa for everyone to enjoy.



Mango Salsa Recipe

1-2 mangos diced Red onion diced Cilantro to taste Juice of lime 1 tsp Chile powder Serve with nachos

While I was up there I went to a brew and wine making store “Bx Beer Depot.” http://www.bxbeerdepot.com/. I needed to get several items before I started my mango wine. My local brew store in Miami doesn’t have the supplies stocked and I would have had to order them, so I thought while I was up seeing my mom I would check out this shop. It was really nice and well supplied.

My husband and I made the Mango Wine with very little difficulty. We started with 26 lbs of mangos, which I had frozen in the freezer for the last week. Freezing actually helps to break down the cell wall. The fruit produces more juice when frozen. I purchased a very large nylon straining bag to put all the mangos into. I added water and sugar until my specific gravity reached 1.085. I actually heated some of the water to dissolve the sugar and then poured that over the fruit in the primary fermentor. I added several chemicals to the “Must.” The Must is the solution of fruit and sugar and water which you then add your yeast to. I actually “pitched” my yeast this evening, 24 hours after I made the Must. That is because I added Campden which is used to make sure that there are no wild yeasties growing in the fruit that you add. When you “pitch” your yeast you sprinkle it into a small bowl with lukewarm water and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes then you stir it gently. Remember yeast is alive and it multiples very quickly so that when you add it to your Must it helps create a very active and rapid fermentation. Over the next 10-12 days or longer I will stir my Must several times a day until my specific gravity drops anywhere from 1.020-1.040. Eventually I will rack my Mango wine from the primary fermentor to the secondary fermentor. I will do this several times until I clarify the wine and possibly back sweeten it before bottling. This process of racking to bottling could take 6 months to a year before we have drinkable Mango Wine! What a process!! It is so much fun when it is complete and we finally get to drink some delicious Mango Wine!

Mango Wine (5 Gallons)

20-24 lbs of Mangos Approximately 9 lbs of granulated sugar or amount to get starting specific gravity to 1.085 5 tsp of yeast nutrient Pectic enzyme Acid Blend Tannin 5 Campden tablets Water to equal 5 gallons Montrachet yeast



I also decided to make some Afpelwein. It is a German Hard Cider. The recipe is very easy and it is a quick recipe meaning that I could be drinking this wine in a few months. It basically consists of 5 gallons of apple juice, 2 lbs of corn dextrose, Montrachet yeast. All these ingredients go inside a 5 gallon carboy. I made this last evening and today it was fermenting like crazy! I love Woodchuck cider so I am hoping I am going to love this lot. It ferments very dry!

This evening for dinner I made Mango/Pork kabobs on the grill. I used some of my mango chutney. I love the way the mangos taste when they are grilled. Grilling releases their sugars and they actually become crunchy when you eat them. The flavor of mango and pork is delicious.

As you can see the Mango Madness continues. I am so excited that I made Mango Wine again. It had been a very long time. I don’t think the last time I made wine I completely understood the process. I think we had beginners luck. This time I think I understand the process a little better. I still need to have a better understanding of adding sugar to my Must or” feeding my Must” to maintain a certain specific gravity. I am sure that if I continue making wine I will understand the process completely.

On my kitchen counter I have three different wines fermenting. I made Joe’s Ancient Orange Mead on 7/10, and now the Mango Wine, and Afpelwein on 7/15. I have my own little winery going on in my kitchen. Cheers!