Last night, we got together with our foodie friends, Nicole and Lan, for an evening of Bees and Burgers. Campagnolo supplied the burgers while Nicole and Lan supplied the bees…
Apparently, they picked them up in Portland (or had them shipped from Portland. I’m not sure how it works). They keep them in the above-pictured box in their backyard (as opposed to their bedroom which would have showed TRUE devotion).
The bees gain access through a small hole. I stepped up to snap a close-up but was warned the bees were irritable and didn’t like people getting too close. Like Kanye. So I had to snap this one from a couple of feet away. Akemi, on the other hand, was taking no chances. Despite being outfitted in full beekeeping regalia, she steered well clear of any possible encounter.
A window in at the back of the box allows you to peep on the bees while they’re changing. And making honey.
I, for one, was looking forward to sampling the sweet stuff – but was informed I would have to wait until next year. Next year?! I thought bees were supposed to be industrious!
Anyway, in addition to checking out the bees, we also got to visit Nicole and Lan’s house which is a mere five minute walk from our house! Coincidentally (?), they will be moving at the end of the month, deterring any future we-were-strolling-by-and-thought-we’d=drop-in visits.
Having worked up an appetite checking out the bees, we headed over to Campagnolo on Main Street for their famed burger. They are served upstairs in the casual bar area (sssshhhhh. It’s a secret!).
Peter, the bartender, was our affable host and was kind enough to introduce me to a 12 year old Pappy Van Winkle – the smoothest bourbon I’ve ever had. I’d love to get my hands on a bottle but they always sell out the second they’re shelved. Anybody have friends/family in Kentucky who happen to be close personal friends of the Van Winkles?
Yes? No? Buzz off?
You look like the Juan Valdez – sans ‘stache – if Juan Valdez was an apiarist.
das
While I’m unfamiliar with bees, a former colleague of mine from the Saskatoon area was a beekeeper, his dad was a beekeeper, his grandfather was a beekeeper. He ended up working as a tech on a kimberlite drilling program, where he met and fell in love with an Australian geologist. He later sold all his bees so they could move down under. How romantic!
How were the burgers at Campagnolo? If this is the same Peter Van de Reep, he’s an acquaintance of Kathode and I; he was quite excited to end up looking after the upstairs bar there and did mention that the burgers were supposed to be absolutely fantastic. He’s invited us there once or twice so now’s your chance to tell us if the food is worth it. Peter if you’re listening I didn’t mean how that sounded. Of course the food is worth it. And the drinks too. Never got into bourbon but scotch, well that’s a completely different story.
Love your beekeeper stance. It looks rather … chipmunky? Did Akemi really look like a chipmunk? 😉
I’m not from THAT strata of Kentucky distillers. The closest any of mine got to being let out of the derby infield is that Italian tea totaler my grandma married who got himself a taste-testing job because they knew he wouldn’t drink it. He died of liver-something, but that was a Louisville distillery.
the chicken-fried beef ribs sound interesting. actually, i wouldn’t mind trying any of the food pictured.
@Katydid:
I was thinking prairie dog. 😀
@Joe:
The chicken-fried beef ribs looked sumptuous!
I was out shopping for Father’s Day today and picked up a beef-brisket, some country ribs, and a full chicken. It’s all going in the smoker on Sunday (yes, I cook for my own Father’s Day). I might see what I can do with chicken-frying part of the beef brisket too. It should all make for a nice Father’s Day..
Hi Joe… I do have family in KY, and I would consider it an honor to gift you the Bourbon but I looked it up and it would illegal for me to post it to Canada.. Per the Canada Post Code I paste from their website:
Intoxicating beverages can only be imported into Canada by mail when:
they are imported by or mailed to a licensed distiller or body authorized by the board, commission, officer or other governmental agency in the province of destination, and
the alcohol content is no greater than 24% alcohol by volume (e.g. 48 proof).
And that Bourbon is considerably more than 48 proof..
I’m really sorry.
Well, Joe, your “hat” has a bit of a suavey (yes, pronounce as su-wavy) tilt.
Cool. But of course Akemi does it better….
Food looks fab…now to find something to chew on.
Here is a wholesaler in your area that carries the spirit, according to the Bourbon’s website:
Charton-Hobbs
7432 Fraser Park Dr.
Burnaby, Canada/BC V5J 5B9
Good luck!
The Savage Bees III
They are here and they are MAD!
The festive fun of the annual Blog celebration is brought to a halt when a swarm of African killer bees escape from a foreign freighter.
Director:
Andy Mikita
Writer:
Joe Mallozzi
Stars:
Akemi Aota as the resident Beeologist.
Bubba as the heroic Beeologist´s dog comrade.
with the whole blog crowd as victims of the killer bees.
Beeees! I have a love-hate relationship with them. They’re what make the world go round and they’re what make me run around flailing when I see them. I’ve been stung and it’s not something you forget. But I do love honey!
That dinner looks fantastic! Every bit (bite?) of it! 😀
I’m sure your foodie friends moving away has nothing to do with you. Unless Akemi has been putting pecans in their basement.
Pappy Van Winkle, eh? Hmmm.. I do love Bourbon. God bless Kentucky.
~Trish
My dad kept bees many years ago. I seem to be the only one in the family who has found a use for the honey. It adds a lovely character to my home made beer and mead. Two points, one bees do not bite, and two only the females sting.
I thought this story was quite interesting, the Sun has been quite active lately with reports suggesting 3 X class solar flares have been released by the sun.
http://www.space.com/26183-sun-unleashes-major-solar-flares-video.html
Supposedly quite big ones too. It won’t kill us all, but still if people live in areas with Aurora activity you’ll probably see something today or perhaps tomorrow. I bet it’ll be a great light show.
I’ll ask my hubby to look for a bottle next time he flies to Cincinnati. Cincinnati’s airport is in Kentucky, so he flies to Kentucky and then drives to Cincinnati. If he finds a bottle, we’ll figure out a way to get it to Vancouver…somehow.
Doctor Amanda Tapping convocation speech @University of Windsor 12.06.14
I’ve not had the opportunity to try the Pappy yet, although as a bourbon fan, I am aware of the mystique. Is it worthy of all the hubbub?
http://bourbonr.com/blog/pappy-van-winkle-retail-price/
I agree. They are some lazy-ass bees!
Your picture replicating Akemi’s beekeeper stance?
Needs more despair, with a little bit of “I think I have to pee”. 😉
-Mike A.
Lots of hype surrounding Sword Art Online 2 Joe, they’re doing a worldwide bus tour now, in places like America, Canada, UK, China, etc. A bit OTT for an anime in my opinion.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2014-06-12/sword-art-online-ii-bus-tour-hits-7-countries-worldwide/.75495
Then again the sales of the first season volumes in Japan dwarfed like 90 percent of shows lol
Randomness – I just finished watching that last night. It was n2b, a little bit weird with the sexual content of characters who resembled 14 year olds. Ugh. Attack on Titan is still my fave, with Blue Exorcist a close second.
I agree with Mike A. – Akemi definitely has a ‘gotta pee’ stance, while Joey…your stance is more akin to those old peeking over the wall ‘Kilroy was Here’ signs, sans wall. 🙂
das
PS: For some reason I’m really into the word ‘sans’ lately.
I love bees! But I also respect them. I do have a question – why do people freak out when one gets in the car, which could result in a horrible accident. Wouldn’t the remote possibility of a bee sting be less, I don’t know, dramatic? And deadly?
Anyway, I know where I’m going to eat the next time I’m in Vancouver! 🙂
skua2013, that is awesome that Amanda got that! Couldn’t happen to a nicer person (from what I’ve heard.)
Downloaded the pictures from my trip last night, finally. I think I got some pretty cool ones – I’ll post some when I get them edited.
“Peter the bartender”, a.k.a. Peter van de Reep, was my geology classmate and field school mapping partner. He worked in the oil and gas industry in Calgary for a while, until he decided to follow his passion. He moved back to Vancouver, got a restaurant job, and never looked back. So happy for him!
Ladies and Gentlemen , meine Damen und Herren , Señoras Y Señores ,
Mesdames et Messieurs, uvajaime dame I gaspadà , Signore e Signori,
Please Vote!
http://www.creationent.com/cal/sgchi.htm
Looks we have our first shock of the World Cup. Spain the number 1 ranked team in the world, and winners of the last World Cup in 2010 have just lost 5-1 to the Netherlands, ironically the team they beat 4 years ago in the final. I can’t imagine many people in Spain being too happy about this result.
And tomorrow will bring Group C and Ds games. I wonder how these will turn out.
@Katydid
Are you talking about Sword Art Online? Because there wasn’t much in the way of sexual content in it. Kirito and Asuna are 16 and 17 respectfully by the end of the Aincrad arc, any relationship they had together would be perfectly legal in most countries. This reflects in the shows Teen rating for content for this arc.
Bit confused where you’re coming from, I suspect you might mean the following arc Fairy Dance with Sugu keeping Asuna prisoner inside his game, the final scene was a bit much but it was brief. Also Kirito does respond by turning off the games pain sensors using Kayabas access code(So Sugu can feel the pain lol) and eviscerates him. The show took a pretty dark turn there lol.
Yep. Yes, I know that Kirito and Asuna are 16 and 17, however the way they are drawn – slight with the large eyes so typical of some anime – made them resemble younger teens or even preteens.
I was thinking of that final scene where Sugo attempts to rape Asuna in front of Kirito. That was a more than a little disturbing. But there was also the sexual innuendo related to the Suguha’s incestuous feelings for her “Older Brother”. The fact that they are actually first cousins instead of siblings doesn’t really make Suguha’s shower scene with lustful thoughts and barely-there concealing steam as she dries/washes herself less creepy.
Of course the overly young appearing characters and their implied if not overt sexuality is kind of standard for a lot of anime I’ve seen way back when – Ninja Scroll, Ghost in the Shell, maybe even Bleach – but I haven’t seen it in the more shows I’ve been watching: Attack on Titan and Blue Exorcist.
Hey have you heard anything another season of Attack on Titan?
@Katydid
Well I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on how old they looked, as to me they look their age as far as anime goes. Especially when you compare say Kirito to Silica, he has that maturity about him.
I do agree with the Sugo thing, it was un needed, even though it occurred in a game, it showed quite a possessive, if not disturbing side to his character, he was painted out to be pretty bad, especially as he was actively experimenting on people in his game too.
I don’t think Suguha intended to fall in love with Kirito, as far as she knew, he was just some random guy she had met in a virtual mmo, she had no idea initially that it was him, and when she did realize she was upset about it and acknowledged that her feelings were wrong, Kirito never returns her feelings but acknowledges that perhaps he should have said something sooner(I think he suspected it may have been her), it was a misunderstanding at most, especially as they both move on from it. She cares about him, but one unchanging thing throughout the series is that Kirito deeply loves Asuna.
As for any bathing stuff, that’s pretty common in a lot of anime, especially hot springs stuff. I tend to just look past it, it wasn’t graphic, at least in my opinion lol.
Anyway I heard that 2015 would be a more likely return date for Attack on Titan, there’s not enough material to do a full season and they would rather not have filler in there, it sold quite well in Japan so It’ll go on for longer.
Also if you liked Sword Art Online, asides from the things you mentioned, you might like Log Horizon, it’s quite good.
I’m with Akemi on the bee thing. I tested as allergic, but so far I have been fortunate to have avoided a sting my entire life. Not exactly sure WHAT would happen, but I’m not taking any chances.