When I feel cool

I generally think of myself as kind of dorking along. I run sort of cloddily, I run into things, I wave my hands around a lot when I talk, and I just kind of blunder my way through many things I do.

Take beekeeping. I can't keep my smoker lit, not to save my life. So I do the bees, but I'm not great at them. A lot of the time I open a hive, and think, "What is this?"

But I did something very cool today. After watching them zoom in just loaded with pollen (the eucalypts are blooming in the hills), I wondered how the hives were doing since the look-see I did the other day. Generally, I suit up completely when I play beekeeper. But I just wanted a little peek.

Soooooo, I just tiptoed over behind the first hive, and lifted the top up barehanded about 2-3 inches. Just enough to see the girls on the top of the frames. Not enough bees to put a super on top -- they're just starting to move up there -- but they're in both boxes. Next hive didn't look so fantastic, so I will go in more fully in a week or so to evaluate. But no stings, no fuss. I felt kinda like a rock star.

And the kids and I started our Trails Challenge today, with a short lakeside hike, which also was pretty cool. We'll see if my enthusiasm holds all year 'long.