Bees Harvesting

Yesterday morning I took an easy amble through Githen's Acres.  Along the western edge of the neighborhood, I encountered several stands of chicory that ranged between three and six feet in height.  Here, there were dozens of honeybees hard at work, gathering pollen.  I sat down on a nearby boulder and watched them.  It was amazing to watch the pollen build up on their legs as they went from flower to flower, harvesting the white gold.  They looked as if they had donned old fashioned pantaloons, and with each new harvest, the pantaloons ballooned out around their legs even more.  I had a very relaxing and enjoyable peek into their lives.  And we have 4 bee-keeping families that I know of in the neighborhood, so I have no idea if I was watching a group from one specific house, or if there were several different colonies visiting the pretty blue flowers.

My kits were ecstatic to see me again this morning, and my conscience is really beginning to bother me about being away for so long.  But I will be back, sleeping at home on August 29, unless something dire happens.  I'm looking forward to my own bed, shared with Lovey and Nedi. Poor, poor little Boo!   The illness and pain from her radiation treatment was supposed to be worse last weekend, after her treatments were ended.  She didn't seem to be any worse until Tuesday; and now the poor girl is plain old miserable.  And to top it all off, Jim kept her upstairs to keep her separate from the other dogs yesterday, and on her way down the stairs, her bad leg gave way and somehow got stuck in between the railings.  She pulled it out herself, but in doing so, removed all of the skin on her radiation site - so she has this exposed raw meat open to the air.  She has her cone on, to keep her from licking the leg, but will just lay the cone on top of the injury and lick the inside of the cone, which is almost as bad as licking the wound itself.  I'll be stopping by this afternoon and evening to sit with her and give her pain meds, since this is the Pike's Peak Double Marathon weekend, and Jim is running in it.  Mike will be at home over the weekend to care for all three of the dogs, but is going to a concert tonight.  Rosie and Remy and Cloudy and Shady are all well, and the Rs were on their best behaviour when we met a new Bernese Mountain dog this morning.  ....  Watched the Steelers beat Phillie last night - cheered the team on while still disliking Roethlisberger immensely.  Looking forward to a good game tonight, and Verne Lundquist will call the Broncos game Saturday.  -  Football!  I love football!!