Ark Encounter

Help Build Noah's Ark!

The Ark Encounter, powered by Answers In Genesis, will open in 2014. The site will include A Journey Through Biblical History, the Tower of Babel, a First-Century Village, a Children's Arena, an Aviary, the Walled City, Noah's Animals, and of course, a life-size replica of Noah's Ark, supposedly built identical to how Noah and his sons would have constructed it.
Partner with this amazing outreach by sponsoring a peg, plank or beam that will be used to build the ark.
Take a walk through the Ark Encounter on the following link to view what you will be sponsoring. Don't forget to catch the Ark Vision by Ken Ham on "The Ark" tab.
Spread the news for others to help out with this vision which will become a powerful outreach to teach the world about God's Word and the message of Salvation!

Visit Ark Encounter now by clicking the highlighted words!

Beehive

Our first beehive of the year has arrived!

The bee connoisseur, my mother, has done extensive research and has formerly worked with our first beehive living in the city. Thankful our neighbors are no longer five feet away, our bees have full roaming ability.
May is a late month to receive our bees. We'll have to make sure the hive has plenty of food in the colder months.

The beehives are shipped wrapped in clear plastic. You can either remove the plastic in the beginning, just before setting up, or do as we did, and arrange the hive in the proper order and then remove the plastic. It's a very easy and quick job, so it's best that you leave the plastic on the hive if you aren't going to assemble in the next couple of days.

Place your hive on something elevated and extremely sturdy. Be sure your hive has a clear path for flight. Once they find their flight path they will use this path from now on... so make sure you won't be disturbing or blocking this path. A bit of shade is also helpful, as you can see on the right side of the hive.

Leveling is a must! Make sure your hive is accurately leveled. This is a job to perform before you ever receive your bees, or at least before you place your bees in the hive.
The bees have arrived! This small wooden box contains around 9,000 bees. The only thing keeping the bees in is the surrounding fine, wire mesh... one of the reasons the mail-lady no longer delivers these bee-boxes by hand. My mom is all suited up, and ready to place these little insects in their new hive.

The removing of a couple of frames aids in getting the queen bee inside the hive. A typical hive consists of 10 frames, but it is said that honey production increases by a good rate if one frame is left out. We only have 9 frames in our hive.

Before opening the box, spray the wire mesh with sweetened water. This gives the bees something tasty to focus on, but more importantly, the sticky sugar wets their legs and wings so it's easier to get them in their new hive. You just about can't spray the bees with too much sweet water. It's time to open up the box and remove the canister filled with sweetened water (nectar), and to remove the queen bee from her "holding cell." So, begin by popping the wooden slat off.

The small wire mesh that sticks up from the canister is the flap hooked to the holding cell where the queen bee resides. It is ever so important to make sure the queen bee is among your shipped bees. It's time to lift the can from the box.

Only nectar is inside the canister, which fed the bees in their shipping process. But once the can has been removed the bees are free to fly, although the sweet, sticky water will prevent them from doing too much!

The beekeeper holds the small cell in which the queen bee resides. Many bees are still hanging from the cell, most likely protecting their beloved queen, and trying to lick the sweet water from their bodies.

The bees are dumped into the hive by shaking the box with the mouth facing down toward the frames, lightly banging the bottom of the box on the grass, shaking the leftover bees into the hive again, and so forth, until almost all of the bees are out of the shipping container and into the hive. The cell in which the queen is held is also placed inside the hive, between two frames. Typically, the bees will eat away at the candied cell to release their beloved queen. Ours however, did not (perhaps from so much sweet water that had been sprayed onto them), and so we simply popped the opening to release the queen.

Once the frames are in place the next section is positioned on top, the feeding container. Our buckets of nectar (sweetened water) are poured into both sides of the feeding compartment. Small, wire mesh (much like what was on the outside of the traveling box) is positioned in the middle, to separate the nectar into two containers. The bees fly up from their frames to the inside of the wire mesh to feed on the sweet water. The feeding compartments must stay full until the bees are making enough of their own honey to survive.

Some eager bees will accidentally get into the nectar, you can scoop them out with your tool, though the time spent getting them out may only prevent more free bees to land in the pool of nectar. Once all the sweet water is poured into the feeding troughs, it's time to place the top back onto the hive.

The task is complete, and the bees are happy in their new home. The entrance is the small green-looking wood. As seen in the picture, there is a small entrance and a large entrance. You can close one or the other, depending on how much action is going on in the front. The few bees remaining in the traveling box need to find their way to the hive. Just leave the box on the ground near the hive, with the mouth facing up, and all the bees will find their way to the new home.

The bees are happy, and so we leave them to explore their new home, and hunt for flowers and water on their own. The bee's feeding container is no longer needed now that their feeding trough is filled and so it's time to give Belle a special treat! The tiny hole in the nectar container lets out a small dribble of sweet water, which Belle consumes quickly. She too gets a treat, and one she couldn't keep her tongue from.

When in Rome... or Italy

All original pictures taken while on my senior trip to Europe!
Click on a picture to enlarge.

A Few Sights In London!

I first have to say, this post is especially for Amy and Kimberlee (since they've been asking numerous times for pictures)! So, here you are!

Here is my first view of London! Foggy and absolutely beautiful! The temperature was 55 degrees with a 70% chance of rain. Very typical of London, eh? Our rest on the plane was one I'd like to forget. But at least the food was good! We stayed in a Holiday Inn that was set in this large, empty field, out in the middle of nowhere, it was great!






Here are the streets of London! I was afraid the real thing wouldn't be like the books you read about or the movies you watch. But truly, the streets and side-buildings were perfect! Notice how everything is crammed together with unique old-style architecture? As our missionary friend in Rome said, "people in Europe get to drive like men in America only wish they could drive!"







Westminster Abbey was gorgeous! Sadly, we weren't able to enter. I was hoping to take some pictures of some famous gravestones such as, Darwin, Cotton Mather, John Gill, etc. But the outside was inspiring and I was thankful we had a stop there!









The Changing of the guards at Buckingham palace was incredible! To bring in the new guards a large marching band made it's way down the streets. Thousands of spectators crowded the sidewalks and the large fountain we stood on to get a better view. The crowds were so packed that the warning, "watch out for pickpockets," was more than serious! Once the guards changed places the marching band would then accompany the exiting guards back out and the crowd's cameras would go crazy once again.







Big Ben is placed at the North-Eastern end of the palace of Westminster. Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock, and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. We weren't able to have a stop here so the pictures snapped fast as we passed it in the bus! It was really amazing, and the architecture along the the sides of it were very detailed!







Here I am standing on one of the large walkways of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, or more commonly known as the Tower of London! The Tower (historically called) had more turrets, towers, and rooms than I knew! Here we also saw Her Majesty's Crown Jewels. Though no pictures were allowed I saw a young man standing in the corner of the room snapping pictures pretty obviously (bobbies were standing in the opposite corner conversing, paying the least amount of attention). In the background I am holding my hand out to the London Bridge!







For now the pictures of London will have to suffice, Amy and Kimberlee! Sorry, but maybe later on I'll post more pictures of some of the other countries we visited. (By clicking on the pictures the image will enlarge.)

Destination: Europe

Wednesday, the second of September, my family and I leave for my senior trip to Europe! Getting up early (6:00) is not my favorite but to most people with a real life and a real job I'm sure they don't consider six as being termed "early."

On reaching the Birmingham airport we will board our airplane around 10:50 (of course with airlines I'm sure the time will not be precise). From there we fly to Detroit, Michigan. At 7:40 that night we jump on our next plane and head to Southamton London! Arriving in London early the next morning (yes, early, around 7) we will make our way to our hotel and then head for some sight-seeing.

We stay in London until Saturday, in which we depart on the Grand Princess cruise-line at 3:00 in the afternoon. Sunday we arrive in Holland. Monday we tour Belgium. Tuesday is France. Wednesday we get a relaxing sea day! Thursday we visit Ireland and kiss the Blarney stone. Friday is another relaxing sea day! Saturday we dock in Spain. Sunday is Portugal. Monday, the great rock of Gibrlater (can't wait for that!). Tuesday is another wonderful sea day. Wednesday is Spain once again. Thursday we visit France again. Friday we arrive in Pisa, Italy. And Saturday we dock in Rome, Italy. Here we exit our ship and go stay with a family who is from Madison Alabama. Our prayers are that Papa will be able to preach that next day. Monday we leave Rome at 10:20, fly to Atlanta, and arrive in Birmingham at 4:56 in the evening. Tuesday we'll have to get over jet lag! :D

I'll find out if Rome and Gibrlater really are my favorite after I visit! Please keep us all in your prayers as we head out tomorrow morning "bright and early!"

Local Attractions

“The economy is making it too difficult to do anything on family nights.”
“We used to have family nights all the time, but now everything is so expensive!”
“Are you kidding? You have to have money to have a family night!”
These are the type of answers I ran into after taking a poll at a local business. The question is obvious, “What do you do, or where do you go on family nights?” The usual answer I received was very similar to the three at the top. After asking the question and receiving the answer, I then asked what they had done in the past for family nights, or what they would do for family nights. I got a few Chuck-E-Cheese answers, but almost all answered out of the three below:
1. Bowling
2. Movies
3. Out to eat
All three of these cost money, and number two and three usually cost a pretty penny, mostly if you’re looking for a good restaurant such as Red Lobster or P.F. Changs.
I asked the question why it was that they didn’t do anything else… the answer was blunt, “What else is there to do around here?” Wow! That answer sounds like we’re living in the middle of nowhere!
To give a little encouragement and to help you out, let me give you a long list of ideas of new and exciting events and activities that are right in our area or just an hour or two drive away. True, many of these cost money, but they’re fresh ideas. Most of these ideas are priceless, in both ways, with the money and with the memories.

1. Hiking/Parks (Always good for the families health, and Spring Park now has lots of exciting attractions!)
A short list of parks around this area:
· Spring Park
· Veteran’s Park
· Diebert Park
· Davy Crocket State Park
· Joe Wheeler State Park
· Shiloh National Park
· Wilson Park
· Florence Water Park
2. Library/Bookstores (Always good for the families mental health)
3. Plays (The Zodiac, the Ritz or Gingerbread players are always putting on some fun play in this area)
4. Horseback Riding (Areas around here give half-day to all-day trail rides, especially in the summer)
5. Zoo (Only a couple hours away, the Zoo is a super place for varying ages and it’s very entertaining. Check for days of the month that the zoo is open free, to all visitors)
6. Badminton/Tennis (Hey, it’s free, and we have plenty of nice tennis courts in our picturesque town)
7. U.S. Space & Rocket Center (Very educational and lots of excitement. Going with a group can lower the price-rates as well)
8. Chuck-E-Cheese (Fun for Birthday parties or just meeting-up with friends)
9. Visit Friends (How often do we neglect that? Visiting friends can prove more fun than a movie or a game of bowling many times!)
10. Ice Skating (Ice Skating is great for all ages; even Mom and Dad can get out on the ice and have a blast. And most rinks have monthly group events, with great rates; sometimes they even include lunch)
11. Mini Golf/Glow Golf (The mall now has a large Glow Golf area, and this too can give you better rates with a group. There are always advertisements of Mini Golf set-up in this area)
12. Golf (If your kids are into learning how to golf this is the perfect activity for a lovely day. This activity is great with Grandparents or friends who willingly give up some time to teach the younger generation in an area they have mastered)
13. Fishing/River (This is one of the wonderful things about where we live. We are close to the water and we have some great parks and picnic areas right by the beautiful scenery of rock cliffs and the river. Check-out the Pier at the end of McFarland. Nice!)
14. Caves/Caverns/Hiking Trails (We’re getting close to that time of year that makes it perfect for these types of activities. Caves, caverns, and hiking trails can be found all around this area. Some of the caves and caverns offer group tours; there is even one about 45 minutes away that offers bat viewing. Alabama Outdoors offers classes and events on spelunking)
15. Shiloh (Not too far away is Shiloh. This National Park has events that involve our historic past. They offer a Living History in April. They have a museum, video presentation and gift shop. Shiloh is well worth the drive.)
16. Downtown Florence (Every first Friday of the month Downtown Florence is buzzing with stores, vendors, live music, art and it’s located right by Wilson Park.)
17. Noccalula Falls (The falls of Noccalula cascades 90 ft. over Lookout Mountain ledge into a lush ravine. Home to Gilliland-Reese Covered Bridge, park features botanical garden, pioneer homestead, nature trails, picnic areas, year-round campground, train ride, and a petting zoo.)
18. Alabama State Capital (For a great educational time with your kids, Alabama State Capital is perfect. After the tour, enjoy a picnic outside)
19. Indoor Game Day (What about those days with rain or when it’s just too cold? Planning an indoor game day can be almost as much fun as having one. Ask the kids ideas for games they would enjoy and then go online or flip through magazines such as, Cookie or Family Fun for more great ideas)
20. Visit Relatives (Grandkids are always welcome at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and on visiting Uncles and Aunts the kids love to play with their cousins. This can be a great time for the whole family)
21. Bicycling/Flying Kites/Canoeing (These are all great outdoor activities that include the whole family; any age. There are fabulous bike trails, open fields, creeks to dip our toes in and canoe runs situated all around our picturesque area)
22. Go Carts/Bumper boats ( Funland or Winkle World can give a whole day of fun)
23. Bowling (Always enjoyable for the whole family and fairly cheap. The game room inside is also a great idea for afterwards. Check-out various deals they offer for different times of the month)
24. Natchez Trace (Natchez Trace offers many areas for hiking, picnics, swimming, fishing, and much more. Bring the family dog along, load up the roller blades, or pack the kites and be prepared for some enjoyment. The Natchez Trace also hosts many events throughout the year; such as, Craft Shows, Historic Live events, Indian lore and other captivating activities )
25. David Crocket State Park (This State Park is filled with enjoyment. Unique playgrounds, hiking trails, wading streams, flat-bottom and paddle boats, tennis courts, camping areas dot the landscape of this great park. The family can spend all day or a month here, camping, enjoying the park and visiting the nearby towns; including Amish wagon rides to see sorghum produced, buying Amish-made baskets, produce and honey)
26. Planetarium (The Planetarium can be a grand time of instruction and pleasure wrapped into one event. The Planetarium in Florence offers seasonal showings and you also have the opportunity to view the heavenly sky through their telescope)
27. Natural Bridge (Natural Bridge Park is an all-day event of pleasure. Don’t forget to bring the camera!)
28. Scavenger Hunts (It’s great fun to plan a scavenger hunt for your kids, especially if you have one or two older children who can help in the planning. At a park, in your backyard or at a friend’s house is a wonderful place to plan this activity)
Now we don’t have to wait for the once a year theme-park vacation on steroids. Each week can have a little dash of fun for the whole family. With just a bit of creativity and a little research on entertainment or activities in our area you can begin planning to have family nights all over again!