Another new year...another resolution!

Each year brings resolutions...and some (like weight loss) appear again and again!  So too, as I was telling a friend about this blog, I found one entry from last year, January 2nd.  Nothing added.  A passing thought as I fell into the pace of the year...  Working as a consultant for Infopeople, then escaping onto the road to visit friends and family, a new grandson, Cosmo was born on January 31st, a bad broken arm in April, and then finally working for Glendale College from July-December.  And now I am re-retired from Glendale with only Infopeople work to challenge me as "work."

So back to my physical bookshelf to reduce the book clutter and read what I selected to read, if from online store or physical one, or from a friend or garage sale!

So starts the year...

I met this woman at the Monrovia farmers' market and after discussing honeys and beekeeping, I decided to buy her book.  We were heading to Mammoth this weekend as I thought it would be a fun read for the car.  Erika is a former talent agent, graduate of UCLA, widow, artist, and adventurer. After the death of her husband, she ventures into the world of online dating and meets her soulmate, a Swiss tree-trimmer and beekeeper Klaus Koepfli,  And so their adventures begin.

I loved this book for the great information about beekeeping and it made me wonder why on earth I want to become a backyard beekeeper.  Bees are so fascinating and a culture unto themselves and Erika chronicles all the hard work involved in managing hundreds of hives and thousands of bees.  For me, this story is enough... it is fascinating to hear of their daily challenges and rituals, experiences with traveling to the almond and avocado groves, to Angeles Crest and to Lancaster and Palmdale.  

And I love hearing about their relationship as it develops but would have preferred she leave some of their lusty details of their lovemaking to my imagination.  It is a curious juxtaposition of reading about bees facts, and then abruptly jumping into bed with them.  

This self-published book is a good example of what can be done with a good editor and layout...often words are misspelled, sentences are orphaned, and the typography is inconsistent.  And the abrupt change from beelife to lovelife and then back to beelife. It is jarring...and funny.  

Still, their experiences with Africanized bees, tending the hives, protecting the ladies from disease and tending them in the non-flow months make it an informative read.

p.s.  I must try their Alfalfa honey!  http://www.klausesbees.com/