My List of Delicious Things I Want To Eat In America

In no particular order:
bagels & cream cheese, English muffins, sharp cheddar, lox, miso soup, sushi, tofu, sliced bread, veggie sandwich with sliced bread, brie, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, apples, orange oranges, cherries, strawberries, wine, blueberries, cranberries, turkey, hamburger, beer, grilled veggies, trout, fennel, lettuces, angel food cake, salads, leeks, pot roast, baked potato's, McDonald's fries, Mexican- burritos, tacos, nachos, salsa, chips, guacamole, green chili,  milkshake, blizzard, Mexican pizza, red chili, pancakes, BLT on sliced bread, chicken soup, biscuits & gravy, grilled cheese & tomato soup, french toast, cream of mushroom soup, banana split, ice cream with chocolate syrup, poppers, cold milk, turkey sandwich, PBJ, ants on a log, Iced tea, quiche, pie, mashed potatoes, potato skins, sandwiches with pita, criossantwich, sweet potatoes, potato salad, Brussels sprouts, casseroles, corn dog, hot dog, turkey leg, steak, pork chops, fresh pasta, s'mores, chocolate cake, cookies, cobbler, fruit breads, cheesecake, grits, Denver omelet, breakfast burrito.

This is the list I created while observing daydreaming in the Nursery school class at Kanubeh. If anyone wants to cook these things for me, or take me to a restaurant that serves these things, please feel free and consider it your patriotic duty to re-integrate me into American culture.

Video From The Queen of Companies 2010 Pageant

Clervi's Pageant Footage
Check this out. I still can't believe that I was a part of it and now I'm heading back to my mud hut. The Gambia is transitioning into the modern world in interesting ways.  Thoughts?

Traveling is always an adventure. Here is a fun example.

Clervi, Tavi and I caught a set plus to Kombo. We were the last 3 passengers, so we got the very back seat. (We had already stayed up very late the night before, having a lot of fun, and it was very early.)

Immediately, one of the other passengers made friends with Clervi, and gave him a new name. Clervi was now Pateh, the same as his new friend (interesting coincidence?).

We could tell this would be a good trip. After waiting 2 hours for the Janjanbureh ferry (the one we have to pull ourselves across on) we continued down the North Bank Highway and Pateh (the Gambian) wanted to get to know us.

‘Where are you from Pateh (Clervi)?

‘I’m from Texas.’

‘Oh, Texas, that’s a nice place. What about you?’

‘I’m from Colorado.’

‘North Carolina?’

‘No, Co-lo-ra-do.’

‘Oh, Carolina. Very good.’

(sigh) ‘Yes, Carolina.’

‘And you?’

‘New York.’ (Tavi is really from Vermont, but she wisely decided that NY was close enough.)

‘Ah, the capital city!’

‘Uh, yeah, the capital city.’

‘And where are you from in the Gambia?’

‘I live in Kombo.’

Now Pateh was really excited- ‘Oh, a Capital Woman! You are from both capitals!’

Yes, Tavi is from both capitals. The capital of America and the Gambia.

Pateh was a good pal to have, better than someone being rude. And really, I bet a lot of Americans think New York is the capital of the US. And Colorado and Carolina sound really similar. There is a substantial population of Gambians in NC. So it really makes sense.

Sadly our relationship ended when we saw a Peace Corps car on the road in front of us. We called to find out who it was and Peter stopped to pick us up from the set plus. Free ride to the ferry! Woot. (Only 10 more miles…)

And that was my latest journey to Kombo.

Up Country Trekking

The whole time I’ve been here there’s been a rumor of  a forestry worker in the town 3k from me. 

I finally met that man when Chinese and I sold Fatou’s groundnuts in December.  Kemo Kinteh is the community forester in Bakadaji.  He’s been working in the area for the last three years, but we’ve never crossed paths.

When my schedule cleared up in February I got the opportunity to go on trek with a team from Forestry doing the national forestry assessment. The inventory is a legitimate study, with quantifiable results and gathers useful information about the natural resources and the human interactions of the country. The inventory team is made up of experienced foresters and natural resource specialists, and a driver; 5 men in all, including Kemo.  (and a few other foresters we picked up on the way)

It was a great experience. I got to visit the extreme east end of the country- Fatoto and Wuli district, east of Basse. I had never been there before and we crisscrossed the Gambia (admittedly only 20 k or so wide…) staying in villages every night with different families.

Every village we went to was amazingly kind and generous. They loved that I can speak Mandinka. If I had had this experience a year ago it would have been overwhelming and not very fun, but now that I can speak with people and understand the culture somewhat, it was fun and only a little overwhelming.  I spent two nights in Ceesay Kunda with a 16 year old in a bed, and the mom and 4 kids on the floor. Nene, the 16 year old, braided my hair after we got back from the field.  The forestry guys loved my new style. 

We stayed in a Fula village with electricity that had never had a white person visit.  (Too bad I don’t speak Fula)

During the mornings we headed out to the bush were our pre-determined points. The National Forest Inventory set out survey plots every 9 km across the entire country. Using a GPS receiver we locate the points and conduct a series of surveys, including tree species along a tract and land use and land cover changes.  (Hooray! Science! Quantifiable data! Meaningful results!) We also conducted household surveys within a 1km radius of the plot center.

We spent an entire afternoon trying to figure out if one of the plots was in Senegal or The Gambia. Turns out it was almost entirely in Senegal.

We picked up my friend Julia in Fatoto and she came on trek with us for a few days.

The team completed 5 plots over about 7 days and returned to Basse to complete paperwork and tie up lose ends.   

Which leads into the next story…

Get Excited to Visit Marnie!

For months Pabby has been asking to go visit PCV Marnie (Mahana) at her site in Bantanto.  Every time I come back from being gone or using my mobile, Pabby askes where Mahana is, and if she’s ok and when he’ll see her next.  They are clearly besties. Pabby is only three, but he’s my little buddy and Marnie and I thought it would be a great adventure to bring Pabby to her site for one night. Chinese and Fatou were agreeable, so we set a date.

We packed up and waited by the road for a car.

A man who works for a major road construction company picked us up.  We had a great time talking. He was from the UK and has spent several decades working around the world on construction projects (Hooray multicultural interaction!). Pabby fell asleep in the car for the hour ride.

Bill (the Brit) dropped us in Bantanto and Marnie was there to ecstatically greet us.  We got some juice and headed for the compound.

Soon after arrival things started to go downhill.

Pabby was not overjoyed to see Marnie. Instead, he wanted to go home. Oh brother.  We tried to put him down for a nap, but as soon as we left the hut, he made a beeline for the road.  A small girl came in and was like ‘That boy just left.’

‘What! Where?’

‘Down the road.’

Shoot. ‘Pabby! Come back! Where are you going!?’

Then he started to cry.

Marnie’s host brother tried to play with him and amuse him, but nothing worked. Pabby wanted to go home.  

He finally took a nap, but after he woke up and ate some lunch he started crying again.

Marnie and I decided that this was not fun, so I took him home.  The second I said ‘ok, we’re going home’ Pabby was fine.

I dropped him off at home and went back to Marnies.

We decided that’s the last time we trust a 3 year old. 

WrestleMania 2010

Here’s the story- villages hold tournaments for 3-5 consecutive nights. On the first night all the wrestlers arrive and there’s lots of drumming and wrestling, starting around midnight and it lasts until 3 or 4. It’s neat when you would rather sleep that watch, but whatever.

The second night (the night I attended) started around 6 pm, when it was starting to get dark (hence the low light pics…). We (Chinese and I) walked to Sare Sonkule with the hundreds of other people headed to the festivities. There were many, many teenage girls there to check out the strapping young wrestlers. Carloads, bike loads and donkey cart loads of people streamed passed us, eager to see the entire match.

The wrestling pit/arena/field is a giant dirt field. The wrestlers and drummers stand in the middle, with the various hangers on bustling about. The men do various kicks and jogs and stretches to warm up before a match. The uniform seems to be a variation of spandex (leotard, womens swimming suit, etc.) in the gaudiest pattern possible, (with or without shirt), spandex shorts and a strange skirt/apron thing made from local fabric that is adorned with tassels and puff balls. It ties in the front but is open, so it’s not really a skirt. Most of the men wrestled barefooted.

I didn’t really understand how the rules work, but 2 guys pair up, and wrestle until one wins. I’m not really sure how winning happens. I thought it was when one guy was pinned, but that didn’t really seem to be the case. Anyway, when a guy wins he takes a lap around the arena followed by a group of drummers. (There is constant drumming) He struts and dances and the people cheer as he goes by, and sometimes give him money or chewing gum.

This is repeated until somehow, someone is the ultimate champion for the night.

When it gets too dark to see, two bonfires are lit at either end of the field. It’s sweet to see the wrestlers silhouetted against the fire. (Pictures don’t turn out too well though) The wrestlers travel the country and Senegal going to different events for the two months of the season. As much fun as I had the first night, I decided not to go the second night.

Also: I posted a video on YouTube of the wrestling.

Making a Duck Pond

First of all, let me clear up a confusing issue. I know any ornithologist reading my blog have cringed every time I wrote the word ‘duck.’
It seems that my feathered friends are not ducks. They are geese. (Do geese see God? One may ask.)
According to the Gambia bird book, and other knowledgeable sources, the ducks are really geese. Nevertheless, they are tasty and like water.
Ever since I brought my three duck/geese (Henceforth referred to as ducks, or burro in Mandinka, even though yes, they are geese.) back to Hella Kunda they have been sadly with out a place to ‘take bath.’ I finally bought 2 bags of cement to make a duck pond with, and Chinese and I constructed a very fine pond for the ducks.
From tracing the pattern to actually digging out the pool and laying the concrete, I think it expanded about 3 or 4 inches on all sides from the original shape. It ended up about 1.2 m² and 1 foot deep.
Let me just tell you, that is a big pond when you are filling it bucket by bucket from a pump 3 compounds over.
I contracted an army of small boys, aka the Peace Corps Football team to fill the pond for a 100 dalasi contribution to their fund. (Peace Corps is the name chosen by the boys because I am helping sponsor the team. The boys all contribute 5 dalasis a week, and I match the funds once a month. They’ve been through 1 football so far, and bought another one with the funds they raised. Next they want to buy football jerseys with numbers. I’m trying to help them fundraise for that.) They boys hauled approx. 600 liters of water to fill the pond. It’s actually almost a swimming pool.
And the ducks really like it. Chinese and I also built a fence around it to keep various donkeys and goats from drinking from it. We also wanted to contain the ducks, but they don’t stay w/in the fence.
Right now there are 9 ducks, but I want to eat some soon…

Oh, this too? Sure, bring it on.

There are always insect bites and scratches covering my body. Mosquito’s and other bugs enjoy an Ashley snack all the time. I didn’t think much of the small bites on my thumb. I actually thought it was heat rash coming back.
As the week went on the bite became a line.
And the line moved along my thumb to the back of my hand.
Almost like there was a worm in my hand.
ACK!!! That’s gross!
It looked like a Mountain Pine Beetle under my skin. Which is bad.
By the end of the week the worm wiggled to and fro blazing a 4-inch line. Where There Is No Doctor had nothing to say about lines under the skin that itched and progressed.
Brendan’s travel book said I might have a dog or cat hookworm, but no worries, the worm can’t live in people, and would die eventually and fall out of my hand.
You may think I’d be freaking out, that I would be losing it. But when you get to the point where you have a worm in your hand and you’ve just cut your dog’s testicle out with a razorblade and the termites are taking over your house along with the mold, this is just another thing to deal with.
On Tuesday I went to the Med Unit and got formally diagnosed with a hookworm. I have a hookworm killing paste to apply twice a day until the track on my hand is gone.
In the meantime I get to show people my worm. (If you feel sorry for me, send me some lovin' through the mail!)

I hope this isn't the stupidest thing I've ever done

*Warning- This blog post is graphic and contains sensitive information! (But no pictures.) Read at your own risk!
Pondo got fixed last week in Basse.
“But I though there was no vet in Basse.”
Oh, there isn’t.
But there is a man who castrates dogs. He’s done several other PCVs dogs as well. Rachel and I brought our dogs in on a Thursday. We bought our own razor blades (for 50 bututs or about $0.02). Rachel and I were pretty nervous about the whole operation, and gave the dogs Benadryl to sedate them, and Ibuprofen for the pain and bleeding.
Around 5:00 pm Lamin came over with a small boy and a forked stick.
We decided that Pondo would go first. I was really nervous, but because Rachel was freaking out I tried to act calm and volunteered Pondo so Rachel would be sure Zion would be ok.
Out next to the house we turned Pondo onto his back. Lamin used the forked stick to hold Pondo’s neck to the ground. The small boy held his back legs, Alieu had the stick and I held his front legs and body.
Lamin stretched the skin of his testicles taut and made a 1.5 inch incision on the bottom. He quickly pulled out the testicle, cut all connective tissues and tubes, and threw it into the bushes over the fence. Pondo has only one testicle, and we felt around to make sure there wasn’t another one hidden inside him.
As this was going on Pondo wiggled once and tried to escape, but we held him tightly. He cried and whined but didn’t struggle during the actual cutting.
As soon as we let him go he sat up, dazed. He didn’t move immediately, but looked around and inspected his wound. Finally, he got up and started walking around, dripping blood, but otherwise ok.
Zion did not fare so well, and I had to hold him still by almost sitting on him. He yelped and cried and struggled through the whole operation. Pondo was barking furiously at us for hurting another dog. We released Zion and he immediately ran away from us, to Rachel who had been in the house, not watching.
We thanked Lamin and the small boy and he left us with our two sad dogs.
They dripped blood for the next several hours. As soon as a clot formed, Pondo licked it out and started bleeding again. We had to keep them outside so they wouldn’t make a mess. That night Rachel stayed outside and I tried to sleep and check on Pondo every few hours.
Around 11 pm it looked like the bleeding was getting worse, and I decided to apply pressure to the wound.
As I sat there, holding blood soaked bandages on my dog’s wound I laughed at how ridiculous the situation was. This is not something I ever thought I’d be doing in the Peace Corps. The thought never crossed my mind. Yet here I was, filthy, covered in dog blood and dirt, swatting at mosquitos and hopeing my dog wouldn't bleed to death.
This didn’t last too long because Pondo wouldn’t sit still. So I improvised a diaper/bandage with gauze and lots of packing tape. It kept pressure on the wound and Pondo wasn’t bleeding anywhere or licking. He did have some trouble walking! I said to Rachel, “I hope this isn’t the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
We made it through the night with both dogs. I took off the diaper the next day but Pondo continued to bleed for several days.
Over the next 4 days we stayed at the house waiting for the dogs to heal enough to travel back to village. It was nice to be able to keep them out of the dirt and contained in a compound. Pondo spent most of his time sleeping, but took breaks to fight with Zion.
Finally we were able to travel back to Hella Kunda, and Pondo settled back into life with no problems.
He is healing nicely and we expect a full recovery from both dogs.

So this is how it's gonna be huh?

After I got home from Kombo my house was moldy from being closed up all week and raining. While preparing to bleach the heck out of my roof and walls I tapped the wall with my knuckle and put a hole in the wall.
Uh oh. This is not good.

Inside the small hole is a termite nest. The termites came pouring out, and I ran out to find reinforcements.
Jamboye came in and looked at my wall. “I will go get mud to make mortar and we will fill the hole.” Ok. Thanks, but we have to get them out first.
Jamboye came back with a small mound of dirt and crushed shells to make the mud cement. Then he started to excavate the wall to remove the termites.
He just kept removing and I watched in horror as more and more of my wall became dirt on my floor, filled with thousands of termites and their nest!
We filled three buckets with wall and termite.
Jamboye decided the nest was cleared out enough (we didn’t find the queen though) and moved on to the other spot on my wall that I had removed a termite brain from in the morning.
He cleared out another 3 foot section of wall, termites and nest.
The mud from earlier was clearly not enough to fix these holes, and until it got too dark to see Jamboye worked to fill in my wall with bricks and mud cement.
He finished the next morning, and left my house a muddy mess!
We haven’t done anything about the termites since then. I’m pretty sure they are in most parts of my back wall and the roof, but until rainy season is over we can’t do much work on the house.

Also, after every rain the mold grows so thick in some places it looks like snow- until it turns black.
My fences in the backyard blew over while I was gone, and have been destroyed by termites.
The roof leaks when it rains really hard. Good thing rainy season is pretty much over.
It’s been a month… that’s for sure!

What to do with all your extra money!

I know you have lots of extra money just waiting to be spent. Here's how you can spend some of it- like $5. (or $100...) PC/TG is working with Against Malaria to raise money for treated bednets, and more importantly, develop and implement an education and awareness campaign to see that the nets are properly distributed and USED! (Crazy, I know) PC/TG has a goal of $40,000, all of which will go to purchase treated nets! (That's about 10,000 nets!)
So click on the link, give some money, and make sure you click the RED Sponsor Now! buttton, instead of the 'Donate' button!
Ashley vs. Malaria

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Reconnect and All-Vol

July was a whirlwind month, to say the least! I spent only two days in Hella Kunda the whole month! Yikes!
At the end of June my group of Ag-Fo’s had our reconnect conference. For three days we talked about projects, the challenges and successes we’ve had, and our plans for going forward. At this point in our service we are done with Three Month Challenge and In Service Training. It’s the end of the hot season and the rains are fast approaching; upcountry they have already started!
Personally, I was at a low point on the roller coaster of service. My projects weren’t really projects, and I didn’t really feel like I was using anything I went to school for. Here I am, a forestry volunteer, not doing anything with a forest. What’s going on? I’ve promised myself that over the next year I’m going to find my sense of humor and joy again. I’m going to be an optimist and stop being so cynical. I’m surprised that my goals for the next year have so little to do with ‘work’ and my village, but living here has (at this point) made a negative impact on me, and who I want to be. So, if I can use work to regain these aspects of myself, all the better. It turns out I will not be saving the world as originally planned, but I think that’s ok.
Also at reconnect I took a language test. My current level is Advanced-Low. That means I can muddle through conversations and people can kind of understand what I’m saying, but I have a ways to go. It also means I’m improving (which I already knew) from my last test before swear in. I’m able to talk with my host family and joke with my host wife.

After reconnect I participated in the first Peace Corps/The Gambia Beer Pong Tournament. And lost in the first round.

Special Guest Appearance

For the last few months the baby, Amadou hasn’t been gaining weight. He is starting to eat solid food and breast milk just isn’t enough. This really concerns me; is it so important to maintain a healthy weight and proper nutrition for the first five years of a child’s life. Child mortality is a huge problem in the developing world. Children are more susceptible to malaria and other potentially dangerous diseases. So what can I, an Ag-Fo Volunteer do? Should I feed this child myself? Lecture my family on proper nutrition when I know that it’s a challenge to put rice in the bowl some month? Both those options didn’t really feel like options. In some cross-sectoral project work, I brought in my friend and local Health and Community Development Volunteer Marnie to assist me with a demonstration.
We coordinated with the village women’s group to pick an afternoon to gather at my family compound. Marnie and I demonstrated a version of Pap, which is baby gruel/porridge. The demonstration became a great social event, and over 20 women came with their children. Everyone loved Marnie, and joked with her in mandinka. Her presence made the demo more legitimate, since she works with the hospital. I’m sure the women were impressed that I brought in an expert.
As per usual, the women know how do make the pap, and what age to start feeding at. So why don’t they do it? I think the overarching reason is that it’s difficult to use a new method. At first it requires extra work to make pap, and the baby is the only person to eat the food, so it’s not very versatile. We discussed teaming up with another woman to trade off making pap everyday, to lighten the load. Also, the cost and availability of ingredients can be prohibitive. All the ingredients are usually available, and inexpensive, but it becomes another cost that a family may not have the budget for. At this point I am trying to really push my family to make and use pap, both to serve as an example for the village and, more importantly get Amadou healthy!

Reading Is FUNdamental!

The ‘library’ at the Hella Kunda Lower Basic School is an unused classroom. There are two bookcases. Only two shelves have books suitable for children. The other books are textbooks from the 70”s and 80’s, an incomplete set of encyclopedias, and assorted outdated curriculum from the Gambian school system. There is not much to work with. The teachers don’t really utilize the library as a library, and the students have no idea how.
(I think it’s a crime not to use a library, books have been my friends for years.)
As a ‘mini-project’ I talked to the school head mistress about working with the students and teachers to use the library. The teachers and school staff worked to clean the room and make it usable. There are several tables and chairs for student use. And it was my job to teach the kids how to use the library.
I interrupted the 5th and 6th graders lesson and instructed the students to line up. (Anyone who has been in an elementary school lately knows that lining up is not easy, in America and Africa.) In the library we discussed how to use a library, how to treat books (Don’t let your baby brother tear the pages, etc.) and formulated a list of Library Rules. The kids were very receptive and had a good idea of what to do; they just hadn’t had a chance to practice! Each student chose a book to check out and return the next week. I read some books out loud to finish the ‘lesson.’ Again, the students were very receptive, and enjoyed the simple picture books. Most don’t get exposed to books outside of school, and even in school they rarely use books other than the Gambian textbooks.
For the 3rd and 4th graders we discussed the library and the rules, but didn’t check out books. Most of the books were too complex for solo reading at the student’s current level of comprehension. I read aloud, and the favorite book was Dr. Seuss’ Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?.
The 1st and 2nd graders also learned the rules and I read to them. Their English comprehension is pretty low, and I’m not sure how much they actually understood. To me, that means reading aloud is even more important. Exposing them to English words and books will help them in a school system where they are expected to know English without ever being formally taught. Since the first lesson I returned once to read more books and help the 5th and 6th graders return their books. School went on summer vacation in mid June, so the library lessons stopped, but will resume once school starts back up in September. Eventually, I would like to see the teachers reading to the students, and integrating the library as part of the curriculum. Maybe we can even get the village to invest in buying some more books!

What you’re really interested in:

As per usual, I neglected to write about anything I took picture of. So here are pictures w/ a few words.

The ducks and a chicken hanging out by the combo duck/chicken house. The left side is for the chickens, the right side is for the ducks.


A shot of my backyard with my bed and my dog.

Pondo trying to stay cool during the afternoon heat.

Adrian at the Sarebojo Lumo 'Parking Lot.' The Sarebojo Lumo is like the Mall of America of Gambian Lumos.

The Gambia or New Mexico?

Pondo!



The boys sitting in the dog crate I got from Rachel. The must have sat in it for almost 1/2 hr!

The scorpion that live in my bathroom- but I only see it at night.

These Things Happen… Part 3: Conclusion

I had left for a meeting and returned to village the day before the President’s visit. I went to the skill center to help with the last minute cleaning and preparations. On my way, I passed a man who had been working long hours to prepare the village. I stopped to greet him:
-What’s happening tomorrow!?
-What?
-President Jammeh is visiting!
-Oh, you did not hear. He cannot come now.
-What?
-Yes, they inform us today that he will not be able to stop.
-Ok. What about the banner we made?
-Oh, they say we should wave it on the road as he drives by.
Am I surprised? No. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the Gambia is not to believe anything until I see it happen. And then it’s still questionable. Am I disappointed? Yes. The villagers really came together to present the best of themselves, to show how hard they’ve been working and were really proud of being noticed by the president and national staff. The result of their hard work: A black hummer driving by without slowing and throwing packages of biscuits.
In The Gambia, these things happen. The effect on village self-esteem is visible. Here it’s unsafe to get excited about sharing your accomplishments. It’s best to save that excitement for a package of 15 dalasi stale biscuits.
But, in The Gambia, these things happen, and my work continues. And I’m beginning to see why it’s so hard.

Mango Rain

I didn’t realize when people talk about ‘mango rain’ that they are literally talking about mangos raining! Or at least that’s what I’ve been experiencing…
The mango tree in my backyard has had mangos growing for months. But weren’t ripe!
Until now.
As they ripen, the mangos fall off the tree.
It started slowly. One or two a day. I was excited and eagerly ate them.
Then, the real rain started.
Mangos fell all the time. 10, 20 per day.
At night in my bed I would hear mangos falling, crashing through the leaves and dropping with a small ‘thud’ to the bare dirt.
My morning routine included picking up mangos, eating three or four, and sharing the rest with my family.
The rain continued.
Now they fall too fast to eat, too many to pick up!
I got hit by a falling mango sitting on my bed. It’s gotten out of control.
The fruit flies abound and rotting mangos fill my compost.
But perfect, ripe, sweet mangos still fall.I take the best, compost the rest, and enjoy my first mango rains.

IST

Here are pictures of beekeeping at our In Service Training Last Week!

Tammy and Suzanne in bee suits.

Smokin' out the bees: (The smoke induces the bees to gorge themselves on honey, to protect the stock in case there's a fire. This makes the bees lethargic and slow moving, so they don't get as aggressive and are easier to work with. And we work at night because that's when the bees are sleepy!)

It has to get really smokey:

Breaking into the hive to do some bee management:

This is where we check the combs looking for honey comb, brood comb and empty combs. We also look for things like cross combing, where the bees make combs across several top bars.

Tools of the trade: Knife, brush, gloves, bees

Honeycomb, Honeycom, Me want Honeycomb! This is a comb with about 1/2 capped delicious honey, and 1/2 uncapped nectar. The nectar will be evaporated by the bees until the moisture content is between 7 and 11%. Then it will be capped and become honey!

Annie displaying the comb.

Cutting the comb off.

Matt looks on.

Continuing to manage the hive by removing and manipulating combs and top bars.

Cutting off the comb.

Into the bucket with the delicious honey!

Annies head is covered with bees!

From the hive level, there are tons of bees!

At the end we got to eat honey right off the comb! (Actually we ate the comb!) It's super good! Now you know where your honey comes from!