Luke’s wife Jan and I went to the Kangaroo Creek Farm in Winfield.  It’s about 12 acres of wallabies, emus, capybaras, goats and exotic foul.  The ducks are from Indonesia and have adorable punk rocker-style tufts of feathers on the tops of their heads.  A beautiful chicken with a crest on its head had two fluffy chicks, one day old, racing about.

Jan loves animals as much as I do so we petted as many of them as we could.  We snuck up to some albino wallabies snoozing in the shade of a wagon and scratched their little backs.  All of the animals are just too full to accept any treats so you’re just lucky if one deigns to come over and lets you pet it.

On the way home I gave Jan a tour of the development around Quail’s Gate golf course, and then ran around UBCO as well.  A trip wouldn’t be complete without stops at Asian Market and Super Store.

It was a brief respite from the to do lists that always await.  I’ve gotten a fair bit of things done, but my God, have they ever cost a lot of money.  I had the entire yard pruned and I nearly choked when handed a bill for $1453.  However they arrived at 8:00 and worked non-stop until 3:00 so perhaps that’s just how much it costs.

And notice how I said “I’ve gotten things done” which should be interpreted as “I phoned people and made them do things.”  But then the bill comes and one weeps a bit.  But I have enough to do to finish shovelling out a yard of pebbles onto my xeriscape garden’s pathway.

Lorraine my beekeeper friend came to help me and she was thrilled to see my new hive.  She said my original hive already needed the queen excluder and honey super put on top, so I should soon have 40 pounds of honey from that hive.

And Lorraine’s so funny because as we were fooling around with the bees and putting the hive back together she asked, “Are you happy with that table, then?”  I had no idea what she was alluding to, so replied happily “well, I was, but shouldn’t I be?”

It’s one of those metal café tables, but once all three hive boxes are full, that would be 40 pounds times 3, or 120 pounds on the table by fall.  I said I hadn’t even thought of that, and so now I need to look for a sturdy bottom.

Lorraine said why not get a pallet, and I said but that’s ghastly, as then you have to bend right down to the ground.  The way I have this set up I’m eye-level with the top and so can easily work without a backache.  But whatever, as she said you really don’t want to come out one morning with the whole hive smashed, do you?

No, Lorraine, I do not.  So will add that to my list, as I always enjoy a shopping mission.  I’m quite happy to be assigned something to shop for as then I come home with surprises.