Glacier County Honey - A Tour

Where we live, we have honey companies that drop off their bees in many of the fields around the county. Seeing the stacks of supers has made me want to see the harvesting process; I finally got my wish this past weekend. We visited the Glacier County Honey Company for their “Fill Your Own Bucket Day”. We bought 20 pounds of honey and sent some back home with my parents for them and for my brothers and sister.

I'm not a HUGE fan of bees! I guess after being stung over fifty times while cutting grass when I was young helped with that. But I do know without busy little honeybees there would be NO honey and we eat A LOT of honey as a family. My husband started me on it and after reading up on the medicinal usage of honey, I try to incorporate more of it in our diet. In fact, I try to eat a tablespoon of honey every day. I know a tablespoon sounds like a lot, but I normally spread three teaspoons throughout the day.

 

This year, Glacier County Honey is “water white” in color and has the most amazing taste. Honestly, it is the BEST honey I have ever tasted. It has the sweet honey taste without a strong overpowering taste like a lot of honey has. For my southern friends who eat Thistle Honey, it is way better than the thistle and we love thistle honey.

During our visit, we toured the process of extracting honey from the frames. I never thought about having to keep the honey in a very warm room to help with the flow when spinning the frames. In the warming room on Saturday, there was about 30,000 pounds of honey.

 The frames and honey comb were explained. and we even had a taste test of the honey right off the frame.

 

In the extracting room we watched frames being uncapped and readied for the spinner. Underneath the uncapping machine was a funnel that caught the wax and  honey to be separated and used. 

 Once the combs were uncapped, the frames were placed in the spinner for spinning the honey out.

 We watched two frames of bees work and I even snapped a picture of a new unused frame so you can see what they look like.

 

I'm sure you are probably wondering what 20 pounds of honey looks like. This is twenty pounds minus 1 cup.

You can read a more indepth EXPLANATION of the extracting of honey at the Glacier County Honey blog.

FREE Printables of Home Education Planning Pages

I have to tell ya, the summer months are quickly passing by if you haven't already noticed.  School is in session for some while many are getting ready to start back.  In honor of all things back to school, I'm giving you FREE PRINTABLES  of  Home Education Planning Pages.

Free Printable Home Education Planning Pages

I have shared BEFORE about why I don't  buy a planner when it comes to our home education. I even shared all my pages I use or have used in the past. I got a little creative and dressed them up a bit a few weeks ago for this school year. While I no longer use a book report form or a spelling sheet, I worked on those to be included in the group of free downloads.

Another thing I have done is rename our school. I decided since we are out in the open prairie and ranching land I would go with something that pertains to our area.

In the past, I used several different methods of assigning work. This year we went with a student assignment sheet for my son that I made. He is able to see everything that he will be working on for the week and knows when assignments are due and can check them when completed. Since he has to write everything down for the week, he can't say, "I didn't know I had to do that". He even has the incentive to work ahead in a subject if he chooses.

If you are like me and can't/don't/won't spend money on those pre-made planners because of all the extra fluff included, then make your own. I put everything in a three ring-binder during the school year and if I see something is not working well, I change it. At the end of the year, I take all those pages and have them bound for easy storage.

This download is no longer available; it and others are available for email subscribers. Not a subscriber? You can sign up below or in the sidebar.

Common Ingredient Substitute List - Free Printable

Since I'm enjoying my parent's visit and missing a lot of blogging time, I wanted to share with you my COMMON INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTE LIST -  A free printable just for you!  The ingredients on the list are items that I have personally used and had good results with, but please be aware, your results may differ from mine. One thing you will notice the list is for COMMON ingredients most of us have in our kitchens. I don't cook with funky food ingredients, so you will not find funky ingredients on the list.

 

The Free Printable is NO LONGER available. It is now offered as a subscriber freebie. You can subscribe in the sidebar or below this post.

Now, on to a little about my week.

My parents  made the trek across country for a visit. We have spent a lot of time visiting with each other and doing some sight-seeing. Before they left Georgia, my mom called and asked if there were some things I would like to have that I can not get here. Well... knowing that I am unable to get certain things, I made a list. Everything listed traveled right along with them 1700 miles. Last Sunday was like Christmas for me; having my parents visit and then bringing boxes and bags of wonderful things that are either sold only in the south, Georgia, or they don't sell in large quantities here. Wondering what they brought?

Twenty pounds of Corn Meal Mix-  I can only get two-pound containers of corn meal here. Ten pounds of grits - again, only two-pound containers are found here. Four jars of Duke's mayonnaise, it's a southern thing, y'all. Georgia cantaloupe - those things are HUGE compared to the ones out here. Sweet Georgia Vidalia onions - we do have Walla Walla onions, but they are not Vidalia. If you've eaten a Vidalia onion, then you will completely understand. Lastly, there were several bags of sweet, juicy Georgia peaches.  For those of you who know all the about the juice running down your chin when you bite into one of these things, you will understand why I asked for them.

I took my parents to see the Range Riders Museum in Miles City and we visited Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. We were able to see several hundred bison and really enjoyed the view of the badlands and canyons. I didn't take any pictures, so I could do the driving through the park for them to see everything.  My dad took a lot of pictures and he can't wait to show everyone back home. The day was long but perfect!

I've tried not to wear them out since they drove 1700 miles in a short amount of time and at their age. My dad is not one to just sit around, so he has found little things around here to keep him busy. My mom and I have done  A LOT of talking and reading.  I can't wait until next week to see their faces when they see Glacier National Park for the first time.


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Homemade Refried Beans

Let's talk Refried Beans... I love these little guys because they are good either by themselves or mixed with other ingredients and scooped with a tortilla chip. I love them, my family loves them, but what I don't like about them coming from a can, is the flavor and added ingredients like soybean oil, and yeast extract which has been linked to MSG and added sodium. Funny, I can make HOMEMADE REFRIED BEANS and not have any oil, msg and very little salt added to them and they are full of fabulous flavor that you won't find in a can.

Homemade Refried Beans

 My friend Rhonda, shared her recipe for making refried beans a while back. When I finally decided to try my hand at making them, I only used a small amount of beans that were left over from supper one night. I only added the spices which were called for and mixed everything until super smooth, and I was blown away by how good they were.

The next time I made a larger batch and cooked the spices and onions with the beans. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING ~ these things were AMAZING! The full flavor came through and I was HOOKED! I made bean and cheese burritos for my men and they wondered about the "different" taste. They didn't know I whipped up the beans myself, so they were surprised at how good they were.

Making your own refried beans is EASY! All you need is a bag of dried pinto beans, water and time. I pick through the beans and rinse them off and put them in the crockpot full of water on low before I go to bed, and by midmorning the next day those beans are cooked. When I cook my beans, I don't add all the spices in because I'm usually cooking a huge pot full to be used for supper and refried beans.  I'll scoop out what I need for supper and then add the spices and the onion and let it cook for about an hour longer.

I mix my beans up in the mixer, because my husband likes the beans with a little chunkiness, then I'll take some and continue mixing them until smoother with my stick blender. I then mix both the chunky and smooth beans together. These freeze beautifully!

Homemade Refried Beans

Ingredients:

3 cups dried pinto beans
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspon garlic powder
1/4 cup diced onion
salt to taste
enough water to cover beans
3 Tablespoons butter

Directions:
Rinse the beans in cook water and place in your crock pot. Fill with enough water to cover the beans with a little extra water. Add the spices and the onions, cover and cook on low for about 5 hours, or overnight.

When the beans are cooked, scoop out the beans and place them in the mixer or food processor
with the butter and procss until smooth. Add a little of the bean juice while mixing to keep
your beans juicy without drying out. Serve or place in containers for freezing.

Reading List {9th Grade}

We started back to school on Monday. I had several friends and family members say, "Already?" when I mentioned it to them. Yes, it's July and Jamie makes sure he jokingly tells me that I am making him go to school in the middle of summer. Since we are now in the high school years, I wanted to start with a year round schedule so we could work without feeling rushed. The state of Montana has very relaxed laws that don’t require a set amount of days, but hours. If everything goes according to plan, there's a good possibility Jamie can graduate high school early.

Reading List {9th Grade 

 I wanted to share our reading list for this year and will warn you it's a doozy! Our literature books are all classics which I have read except for one. I decided since there will be A LOT of reading this year, to read aloud Uncle Tom's Cabin so I could enjoy the book also.  After five days of reading, we both are enjoying it. I'm really impressed with Lightning Literature after looking through the workbook, not only will there be a study over classic books, but there are also short stories and poetry.


                                 

For World Geography,the list is L-O-N-G! Several are children's books, but will bring something to the table about their subject. I love the option to  pick and choose which books to read. After seeing this list, I'm a little nervous, but if something doesn't go according to plan, there is enough here to fill in any gaps.

                             

As you can see, there are a couple of Netflix options sprinkled throughout. If time becomes a problem, then we will be using that option, so we can at least "cover" the book.

Three Lessons I Learned From a Robin's Nest

For the past several weeks, I have really enjoyed watching a robin's nest. From the building of the nest to the nesting and caring for the babies, it has been a really neat lesson learner. Sadly, this bird used her motherly instinct and built the nest about nine feet up in the tree outside my laundry room window.  FOUR FEET OUT OF MY REACH! My husband went out and snipped a few stray branches so I could get a better view of the family. I even learned some

LESSONS FROM A ROBIN'S NEST

.

Did you know a mother bird eats her young's poop? She does for just a little while and then she carries it off to dispose of it. I was curious about this process when I saw her eating something white from the nest and did a little research. The poop is in a fecal sac because the babies do not have enough bacteria in their system to digest their food. Before the bacteria kicks in, the poop has partially digested food that the mother can eat while giving more worms or bugs to their young.  As soon as the bacteria kicks in, the mother stops eating the sac and then removes it .

Three Lessons from a Robin's Nest

I was telling my sister about this and she said the same thing that crossed my mind. You NEVER find an empty bird's nest filled with poop, they  are almost always very clean.  

A lesson I learned from watching the nest...

A good mother will do what it takes to care for her young. She may take the child's leftovers for herself while her children are given the best.  No matter what, she works to provide for her family.

These little guys are very watchful when they know their mother is about to come in for a feeding. I noticed before their eyes were even open, they knew she was  about to perch on the limb.

A lesson I learned from watching the nest...

Whether they could see their mother or not, they always had their eyes focused on her. I need to keep my eyes focused on the Lord ALWAYS, even when I can't see Him working.

Even little robins have that one child! You know the one. The one who seems to push the envelope, the one who seems to be a little more daring. This little bird  is that one. I've been waiting to see if he would fall out of the nest or if he would knock one of the other birds out.  But, they all survived living in a one-room house because of a patient mother.  

A lesson I learned from watching the nest...

No matter what, family is it! There will  be times when things go wrong, but a family should stick together. There is no one else around who will love you as your family.

I guess yesterday afternoon must have been moving day for this family because after our trip to Miles City for groceries, they haven't been seen. I usually see the mother at the nest around 5:30 in the morning and she wasn't there this morning. I've been looking out the window with anticipation all morning, but no family to watch any longer and that is alright because I was reminded of  some lessons that I need to keep close to my heart.