Brian Harper

We extracted our last frames and got several more quarts of honey. Check out the contrast in color depth. The late spring/early summer honey on the left is light and a mix of wildflowers, clover and blooming trees. The jar on the right is late summer honey. It's dark with a mineral rich taste of sunflowers, sumac, buckwheat and blackberry/elderberry juice. Very complex but both are delicious, just different ends of the seasons. #beekeeping #HarpHives #honey

This box has exceeded catpacity. #catsofmastodon #Caturday

The bees had a tuxedo cat visit last night. Hopefully that helps keep pests away. My buddy said it's a neighbor's and has roamed the area for years. #beekeeping #HarpHives #catsofmastodon #TuxedoTuesday

Elsa: May I rest my head against yours? Oreo: Of course you can! #Caturday #catsofmastodon

I posted a new PeerTube video about overwintering honeybees. It's really just me rambling for a minute or so about what I've done with my hives but I'm always open for a discussion if a viewer has questions. The process is different for each zone but there's overlap for us all. https://dudelike.wtf/w/67q8zCxzq9VfpYr2boqKtf #beekeeping #bees #HarpHives #peertube

It's a crowded Whiskers Wednesday here. Oreo, Mr Minx and Elsa are all hanging out with me at the bar. #WhiskersWednesday #catsofmastodon

A little bro time with Mr Minx and Oreo. #WhiskersWednesday #catsofmastodon #tuxedocat

This squirrel impressed me so much I let them eat for a while. They spent at least 15 minutes like that. #wildlife #nature #squirrel

We have figlets! #gardening #figs

Melissa's crazy Italian squash has claimed the entire side yard. It's now called New Squashland. #gardening

Well the tuxedo cats are having a meeting in my lap tonight. #catsofmastodon #tuxedocat

Instead of putting grandma's glassware back in boxes in the basement, I've decided to display the pieces I found. So this evening I cleaned out a space and mounted a light. The cadmium glass doesn't pop as much with the blacklight as a UV, but the uranium glass does. Can't win them all. I'm displaying all my antique glassware not just the uranium. It brings back memories. #today #uranium #uraniumglass

I left work early today and scared the hell out of my family. Apparently I'm something of a workaholic to them. I came in the door and Melissa literally puts a client on hold to run out and make sure nothing bad happened at work. She assumes I'm going to punch the owner's son one day. Then she goes to tell Ellie I'm home and her response is "What's wrong?". I need to spend more time with my family and less at work apparently... #today #work

Well I thought "The Odyssey" was fantastic! The scenery and storm sequences were phenomenal. I'm not going to talk about the story, a lot of us probably read it in school and know it for the most part. An added bonus was the nostalgia. This was real film with graininess and imperfections. The contrast and clarity incredible. I also booked tickets right by the projector booth, so we could hear it run at quiet moments. A friend's dad ran one when we were kids. #movies #film #theodyssey

I found some uranium glass in one box but not the decanter and glasses. Maybe I didn't grab it and I remembered wrong. I've got a few more boxes to go through. This is a sherbet dish and ringed glass, both from the Hocking Glass Company mid 1920s-30s. Grandma probably had sets and these are what's left. Sorry they're on the toilet lid. It's the only dark room I currently have. #uranium #antique #uraniumglass

Every time I listen to or look at the news, someone's AI has gone rogue and hacked into systems it shouldn't. I guess none of these tech bros have watched the Terminator series. #AI #Skynet

The cats are taking over! We're going to see "Stop! That! Train!" In an hour so they're going to have to relocate. #catsofmastodon #movies

#SilentSunday #nature #bumblebee #beebalm

Melissa is definitely inching closer to her 4ft Tromboncino squash. #gardening #squash

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing well. It was another hot day here in Wisconsin but we had a blast. We spent a few hours at the indoor/outdoor pools then cleaned up and drove into the Wisconsin Dells town. Our resort is actually in Lake Dalton. We walked main street and ended up getting some permanent jewelry done. Ellie a gold heart anklet and me a Cuban link bracelet in silver. Then another 3 hours in the pool. Pretty fun times but tiring. Have a good night! #today #GirlDad #vacation

Our bee balm bloomed for the 1st time. They have a neat flower IMO. #bloomscrolling #beebalm

We ended up harvesting 28 pounds of honey today. A respectable amount for an 8 frame medium super. The moisture content over several samples after spinning everything was closer to 15-16%. Much better for storage. Now to clean up and start passing it out to the circling vultures. Everyone wants some of my bees sweet honey. 🍯🐝 The girls did very good this box! #beekeeping #HarpHives #today

Hello everyone, Happy 4th of July if you're celebrating. All I'm doing to mark the day is watching the episode of The Simpsons where Homer buys illegal fireworks. (Clip below, Marge's comment is priceless) We're going to a BBQ at my SIL's house but I'm not celebrating anything special. I cut grass and Melissa moved a fence. Now we're cleaning up and getting ready. Storms are coming later and I'm ready for rain. Have a wonderful day! Stay safe and stay cool. https://share.google/NrYncONRMVo1p38u2 #today

The blue hive has quite the morning beard. This damn humidity is brutal! I'm now preparing for my 5-6 hour drive. Have a wonderful Sunday! #beekeeping #HarpHives

First fawn I've seen this season! Well, seen on camera. Hopefully I see them in person tonight. #nature #wildlife #fawn #deer

We ended up with an extra grape vine. One that we thought died came out of dormancy way late and now I need somewhere to put the other. Melissa and I can't agree on where to put it. We rarely disagree on much but this is proving to be a tougher decision between us. Our city lot is jam packed already. Silly as it sounds, this bonus grape vine is causing unnecessary friction. Hopefully we agree on something soon or I'm giving it away. #gardening #grapes

I'm considering a move to Peru to develop a habit. You can't beat free. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Liquid gold! The moisture content was 17-17.2% so perfectly shelf stable for years. #beekeeping #HarpHives #honey

Hello everyone. 👋🏼 How's it going? We're leaving for the Wisconsin Dells in 10 days and I get more anxious the closer it gets. I'm probably one of the rare few who hate going on vacation. Taking of work is great but I do not like traveling. Flying is not happening, I don't like it, so I drive. Driving is fine but I hate leaving my house, and our animals. I grew up on a farm, you didn't really take off on vacation. It's just not my thing. I go because it's expected. #vacation #travel

You can literally feel the air outside. It's thick and wet. It's going to get a few degrees hotter by mid afternoon. It's fucking miserable right now. We have the AC turned up to 78°F to conserve a little power while we're gone but all the fans are on moving air for pets so we're probably not saving much electricity. It's currently 95°F/35°C with a feels like with humidity temperature of 117°F/47°C. #today #weather #heatwave

Anyone in my area (St Louis, MO) in need of a friendly cat? This guy followed our daughter to the front door last night. I posted his info and have searched missing cats but haven't had any luck. I'll let the post stay up for a few days but I know how these things go. He's been living under cars as that's where he went last night. We already have 4 cats or I'd gladly give him a home. I'm not sure we'd be the right environment at this point. #catsofmastodon #Caturday #adoptnotshop

@minnanen@mastodontti.fi I'm on Doxycycline 100mg. The sun was starting to irritate me today, more my eyes though. I'm hoping I caught it early.

@moelassus@mastodon.social I started meds this morning.

@roytoo@mstdn.social You're welcome! I enjoy taking them. Plants and bees have become my life lately.

@Mrfunkedude@mastodon.social It's not an issue in our house. Melissa hates boats and water. I wouldn't get on a cruise ship for the same reason I avoid planes. I don't get to be in control of the vehicle and stop schedule. (Melissa and Ellie hate the last part, I can skip the bathroom for 5-6 hours easily.) 😄

@Mrfunkedude@mastodon.social It's not quite that way anymore but I drove 5.5 hours without stop coming back from Florida 10 years ago. A four hour stint from Colorado recently. I really wanted out of Kansas! Mind over bladder is the key. I usually have to go by hour two, I just ignore it.

@tc_morekindness@c.im Yeah, not the start to summer I was looking for. Thank you

@TalktoBeverley@mas.to Thank you

@SoftwareTheron@mas.to The suit does the heavy lifting. @mast0d0nphan@beige.party

@SoftwareTheron@mas.to Ironically I did have my pants bloused into my socks. Not because of ticks though, I was dealing with angry bees. Something else you don't want up your trousers. @mast0d0nphan@beige.party

@wyliecoyoteuk@mastodon.org.uk Start heavy antibiotics this morning.

@mast0d0nphan@beige.party I was working beehives when I picked them up I believe. I don't spray anything on myself. I'm looking into treating my clothing.

@nirak@carhenge.club Thanks. Another life challenge @maaikees@sw-development-is.social

@kateiacy@universeodon.com Thank you

@chuff Thank you. It's not ideal but I'll probably survive with the antibiotics.

@the_turtle@mastodon.sdf.org I've been bitten by most of the Missouri wildlife unfortunately. I was a curious kid on a farm. Mosquito don't seem to bother me either. We're having a high tick year.

@the_turtle@mastodon.sdf.org I've avoided it close to 50 years. Just bad luck really.