A Week on the Lake

Pat Daddy • August 11, 2021

The simple relaxation of a week on a lake

Warm day, cold beer, pontoon boat and family that likes each other. What more do you need?

You don’t hear much today about people taking vacations where they stay in one spot. Often you get lots of pictures on Facebook posts with folks all over, seeing cool things. I’ve had a lot of fun on those vacations, but I’ll always appreciate a week on a lake. As I wrote last year in my blog entitled “Blue July” summer vacations when i was young meant a week on a lake, or two. So last year when the VRBO I had reserved contacted me and explained they were closing for the 2020 summer, my heart sank.

As a kid my family vacations were here in Chetek, WI until the last one in 1980, Our families have come back a few times. We came back in 1991 when Doc got out of Chiropractic School and then we returned in 2014 when I found Captain’s Cove on VRBO and we came out with the kids and Doc and Cindy. We had a great week, but I didn’t imagine we’d return soon especially due to the 1050 miles we have to drive to get here. As it turned out we returned in 2016 but had to settle on a cabin up Ten Mile Lake that was on a weedy, muddy part of the lake. Captains cove has a swim-able dock, and a sandy shallow area. It’s also close to town and a 25 minute walk will get you into town where you can stop by the bakery and have a guilt free donut, knowing you’ve walked a few miles.

We were able to return to Captains Cove this year and came out the last week of July. There were 7 of us, MLW and I, the Engineer and his wife the Norwegian Pescatarian, Smooch and his girlfriend Hot Dish and my brother Doc. We left Friday Morning July 23rd. Unfortunately E & NP had a bad cold so they had to travel behind us. We stopped in Urbandale, IA on Friday night and spent the evening with my cousin Leslie and her husband Brendan. They are wonderful hosts and we had a great evening. After delicious send off breakfast on Saturday we were headed north.

MLW had started a family grocery list the week before we left so we could make an order at Sam’s Club and do a curbside pickup as we drove through the twin cities. That was a great idea as we pulled up and were loaded up in a matter of minutes. It saved the time it would take to shop at the smaller grocery store in Chetek. We arrived in Chetek about 3:30 on Saturday, unloaded, made a quick trip to the grocery store to get those items we could not get at Sam’s and were “vacationing” by 5. At about 7 pm E & NP arrived after leaving Castle Rock at 1:30 that morning, they found us lounging in the lake and quickly jumped in themselves.

Sunday morning we picked up our rented pontoon boat and we loaded up the crew and did some fishing. The fishing was slow but we got enough fish to have fish tacos for dinner. Monday morning we walked into town to the bakery, poked around town a bit and returned for lunch. Then we boarded the pontoon. On lake Chetek, we stopped out from shore and Doc showed us a picture of Cindy he had taken years ago when they were dating and Cindy came along to the pastors cabin we used to rent. Near the spot of the picture we remembered our beloved and departed Cindy. Doc scattered a small portion of her ashes in the lake. We then proceeded on a ride around lake Pokegama, we stopped and swam for about an hour, loaded up and stopped at Gilligan’s for a beer and some cheese curds. Ending the outiing with a trip around ten mile and moose ear lake. There is something about the Monday of a week long vacation that makes it feel like you’ll never get to Friday.

E & NP enjoying the view

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The crew at Gilligan's

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Smooch Hammin' it up

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E driving the boat

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We all needed a bit of extra sleep on Tuesday, whether we got it or not. Wednesday the weather turned cool. We got a group of us out on the lake early; Doc, E, Smooch, HD and I and we finally found a bunch of bluegills near a submerged log across the lake from the cabin. We pulled in about 16 keepers that morning including some a couple of nice crappies. Finally some fish! Unfortunately that would be the most fish we caught all week.

We came in for a big breakfast and were off in the early afternoon to Chippewa Falls to the Leinenkugel Brewery. We had a tour and sampled some of their beer, bought some mementos and were off to Chetek to board the boat and go to Gilligan's for their wing night.

We arrived at Gilligan's on the boat at about 7. There was a little rain falling here and there but the dock was empty. We went in for dinner and got a few weird looks but thought nothing of it. About the time we were going to leave we started discussing the next stop, this was going to be a night we went to several bars on the pontoon. Suddenly the weather warnings started going across the screen of the TV’s; there was a severe storm coming. Our Phones did not make the storm look that daunting, but the TV warnings did.

We got our tab and walked out just as the storm sirens started going off in Chetek. We jumped on the pontoon and to our north and west was the storm, a line of clouds that had a constant stream of lightning flashes. We got onto the lake for our 12 minute ride to the cabin and we were the only people on the lake. As we turned from Lake Chetek to Prairie lake where the cabin was, the storm was very obvious and on it’s way. We were the only boat on the lake and we all felt like anyone safe in their homes looked at us and thought we were idiots.

We got to the dock with about 10 minutes to spare. Lake toys were stowed, the boat was tied up extra tight, NP and Doc pulled their cars in the garage while I looked for a healthy tree to put mine under. We just got done when the storm hit. The lighting was like something we don’t see in Colorado, a constant strobe of lightning flashes and a constant thunder rumble that never stops, just changes pitch and volume. Knowing we might lose power, I filled a pitcher of water and suggested the others fill their water bottles. Before anyone could, out went the power.

The storm was not a long one, within 40 minutes the worst was by us and within 90 minutes the rain basically stopped. We played cards for a bit under flashlights but we all hit the bed about 10 that night. At three am I was woke up by the sound of chain saws and shortly thereafter the power came back on. In the morning we would find that the power went out when the next door neighbors tree to the north fell in the storm and took down the power lines.

Thursday dawned wet and cool and those of us who went out after fish did not have much luck. Remember how the on Monday the weekend seemed so far away? On Thursday morning it felt incredibly close. Smooch and E wanted to play Spike Ball in the water. There are a couple of big sand bars in the lakes, the largest being in lake Chetek. It juts out about 150 yards from shore and is a popular place for boaters to stop and swim. Ideas of how to get the spike ball game to float were the discussion at breakfast and when we went into town that day, a trip to the dollar store found water wings. 3 sets of water wings inflated fit perfectly on the 5 legs of the Spike Ball net and the problem was solved. That afternoon we took the boat over to Red's one of the other restaurants on the lake. We had a beer and took a look at their menu. Smooch decided we'd have his birthday dinner there the next day.

Friday morning I awoke with that little sadness in my stomach, it was our last day After a late breakfast we loaded up the pontoon with our floaties and headed to the sand bar. The day was little cool, but the guys set up the Spike Ball game and we had a lot of fun playing and floating by the sand bar. Later we went to Gilligan's and Lake side (formerly the Pokegama Inn) for a birthday drink for Smooch. Then it was time to head back, clean up and have a chance for Smooch to open his birthday gifts. Then we cleaned out the pontoon and we took it back to the marina, and headed off to Red's for Smooches birthday dinner.

We returned and E & NP and Doc all packed up. They were headed out about 6 am the next morning. I awoke early Saturday morning to make sure the coffee was on for our early risers. They were all on the road by 6:45. Here's where things were a little different. MLW, Smooch and Hot dish, and i were headed to meet Hot Dish's parents at their cabin on Myrick Lake near Danbury, WI. We packed up and left the cabin about 9:30. We have reservations for next year and the cabin is scheduled to have a complete remodel. We left remembering the fun, remembering the laughs, and the relaxation. All of us discussed that when we told our friends where we were going for vacation each of us had people who had no idea why we would go to to Northern Wisconsin. That's ok, Northern Wisconsin doesn't need to be one of the top 10 vacation destinations. Because it's the lack of people and the abundance of water that makes it the perfect place to refresh with your family.

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Showing Up

By Pat Daddy • May 1, 2026

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to show up. Showing up for someone is probably one of the most overlooked—and most important—things we can do for one another. This idea really came into focus a few months ago. A longtime friend found out that I was studying to become a Stephen Minister. He asked if there would be some kind of commissioning service. I told him yes—on the Sunday after Easter at 9:00 a.m. “I’ll be there,” he said. I must have looked a little surprised, because he added, “That’s something important in your life. It means a lot when people show up to experience it with you. I want to be there.” Before I could chalk that up as just one friend’s thoughtful quirk, our friends Michael and Angie heard about the commissioning and said the same thing: “We’ll be there.” I hadn’t thought much about it before, but knowing that friends were planning to attend made me unexpectedly happy. As we made final preparations for a brunch at our home afterward, my wife and I looked at each other and said, “Maybe we should invite a few more people.” Even with short notice, five more people came—beyond my immediate family. Then, just days before the commissioning, the idea of “showing up” took on even more meaning. That Friday, our youngest son, Smooch, was being sworn into the Colorado Air National Guard. The support he received from our friends Angie and Michael was incredible. When we learned that, as retired military, they could actually perform the swearing-in ceremony, it became yet another moment of people saying, “I’ll be there”—and meaning it. When we gathered at Buckley Space Force Base that day, there was his brother and sister-in-law and niece, who had taken time off work. My wife and I were there, of course, along with my brother, who came across town. And Angie and Michael had arranged their schedules not only to attend, but to play a meaningful role in marking the beginning of this new chapter in our son’s life. I’ll admit, I feel a little embarrassed. I’ve always tried to support people by attending important moments, but I never fully appreciated the power of simply showing up. But when I really think about it, giving someone your time and attention—especially when it costs you something, like rearranged schedules or time away from other responsibilities—is no small thing. The gift of presence may be one of the most meaningful gifts we can offer. I guess the best way to close this is with a thank you, to all of you who show up and support all the members of our family. You being there, your presence in our lives, makes us better,

1st Trip in the New Camper

By Pat Daddy • April 14, 2026

After three weeks of setting up the new camper we finally decided to go out and give it a try We left on Thursday afternoon and headed down to Pueblo State Park. The City of Pueblo is about 90 miles from our house and we were able to make the drive in the afternoon and get through Colorado Springs before rush hour. As we neared Colorado Springs, we saw what appeared to be a wildfire and as we looked it up it was a fire on Ft Carson. It didn't impact our trip but was a stark reminder that our warm dry winter had consequences. Once we arrived at the campground we took our time setting things up. I've seen too many people in a hurry break things on their camper because they were in a rush. Also it was near 90 degrees! Pretty hot for the first day of Spring. Even taking our time, we were set up in a short amount of time. There are a number of things that change when you get a new camper. First you clean out the former one and you are hit with memory after memory. We specifically saved things from our trips, so our 2002 trip to Southern Illinois for family reunion and the cups from Steak and Shake that were still in the camper. The black eyed Pea kids cup with a lid and straw. Games we only played in the camper. The memories were thick and in our minds our two little boys were giggling in their bed. Many of those same things made it in to the new camper, it made it feel like home even though we were still getting used to it. Chat GPT has been my best friend since we got the camper. Since we did not buy it from Jayco dealer, we didn't get the detailed walk-through and use lesson. So as we had questions like: how to turn on the oven, or how the get the air conditioner thermostat to run, we turned to ChatGPT. In each case a picture of what I was working on and a description to Chat GPT and I got my lesson on how to use this and that. On our first night we decided to see how we liked the recliners and the TV. We used the antenna for a bit but quickly switched over to Kay's phone's hotspot and we watched Paramount plus and started to catch up on some series we fell behind in. That was nice. The night had cooled off an a nice breeze was blowing through the camper as we sat in our recliners. Now we did play some cards that night which is a camping tradition, but MLW beat me terribly at a game of rummy, so the TV was a nice change. On Friday we both had to work. As anticipated, the dining table and the recliners with their lap desks were great places to work from. Having the ability to turn on the air conditioning as the heat got up into the 90's again was very nice. We both were quite comfortable and got quite a bit of work done. When we called it a day we were out on the lake while the other campers pulled in and set up. We had reservations until Sunday at noon, but home obligations called, so we played all day on Saturday and then at 5 we packed up, got on the road before 6 and were home by 7:30. But Saturday included a longer mountain bike ride than we'd had on Friday and some more fun in our kayaks on the lake. While we were on the lake we had some excitement as we got to watch the water tankers that were fighting the fire come across the lake picking up water. Once they came in and we were on the opposite side of the lake but in their path. MLW yelled, are we going to die, I responded I hope not and as soon the worry came, it dissipated as the water tankers pulled up and turned toward the fire. I all we had a great trip and can't wait until we get it out again in late April, when we'll return to Pueblo again, this time with our friends the Colonels.

From Texas with a Camper. Part II

By Pat Daddy • February 21, 2026

We awoke Monday morning and prepared to go see the camper. Freedom RV was 38 minutes from our hotel between the towns of Bonham and Dodd City. We got a little worried when Waze our direction app, took the last two miles of our trip and wove us through a quasi neighborhood of acreage properties, some pretty , some not. But we popped out onto another main road and there was Freedom RV. We pulled up and the owner was working on a small trailer and like everyone there, knew we were coming. We met Brenton our sales guy and while he showed us the trailer, the owner hooked up our weight distributing hitch. Brenton showed us around the camper, but they are not a Jayco dealer so there were a few things I taught him that I learned from my reading. But in all the trailer was in great shape. So after about an hour of poking around, we went inside and purchased it. At about 12:30 we pulled off their lot and headed to Amarillo where we's stay the night. Going from a 19' pop up that you can see over and tracks exactly with your vehicle and going to a 26' hard side was a big change. The Ford pulled it great. It has a towing setting that you put the info from the trailer into and then once you switch the transmission to heavy towing, it's amazing. The other thing the dealer got me ready for was the noise a weight distributing hitch makes. At slow speeds it pops and groan worse than aunt Betty getting out of bed at the home. About 39 miles down the road we stopped and got some lunch. The highway was more full than it had been on Sunday and to make matters a bit more challenging the wind started up. So down the road we went with a 30 mph+ cross wind. Even in these conditions the trailer pulled well, but there was a learning curve. Also where I usually drive about 5 mph over the limit, now I was driving 5 under the limit. The wind didn't let up and we finally got to Amarillo about and hour later than we anticipated. Our camping reservation was at the Big Texan RV park, just a mile away from the big Texan Steak House where you can try to eat their 72 oz steak. We pulled in and found our site. Hooking up was easy, but this was my first time unhooking a weight distributing hitch. The dealer explained what to do and after a try or two it actually worked! We had the trailer set up and we needed a quick run to Walmart and to get dinner. We decided instead of going to the Big Texan for dinner we'd eat in camper. So off we went. At Walmart I bought an extension mirror to make my rear view a bit better. We bought breakfast food for the morning and some beer to go with dinner. Then it was off to get dinner. At the urging of son #2, Smooch, who reasoned, you're in Texas, you have to eat at Buc-ee's! So 2 exits down I-40, gleaming in the glow of fluorescent light was Buc-ee's. It's 108 fuel pumps beckoning low gas tanks and it's brisket beckoning low stomachs. So in we went and we came out with our three-meat sandwiches, sides and some dessert. The back to the Big Texan to have dinner in our new camper. Colin was right, with a cold beer and a hot Buc-ee's sandwich, we were in camping red-neck heaven. In The morning we ate breakfast and packed up quickly. But the wind was already ramping up. As we drove toward the Texas/New Mexico border, the wind got stronger. A few times we would cross a semi coming the other direction and the wind wall it created was intense. One I hit I watched my hood almost ripple under the intense pressure of the wall of wind. It makes you start to appreciate what a trailer goes through in it's life. It's like a house that undergoes a several hour earthquake every time you use it. One we got onto highway 87 after the town of Hartley, we were on a 4 lane highway. The wind kept getting stronger but it seemed manageable, but as we closed in on the town of Texline, yes the town on the state line, we drove into a dust storm. Buffeted by the winds and the tumble weeds were now traveling in herds. At this point the wind reached a speed where it got scary. Plus you have to remember while we getting hit by winds of almost 50 mph, we're also traveling at 60-ish mph. so that earthquake your trailer is going through has now added at times, hurricane wind pressures with the two speeds of the wind and your traveling speed colliding. So in Texline we pulled over and snuggled up between two parked semis at the only truck stop in Texline. We pulled out our computers, moved into the camper and did some work. We sat in Texline for about 2.5 hours and the wind continued to buffet us and pelt the truck and camper with sand. Texline has little other commerce, so even though the wind was blowing hard, we pulled out of Texline to make the 18 miles to Clayton, NM a larger town. We white knuckled it to Clayton. There we found a nicer newer truck stop, some lunch and a place to park where we were still buffeted by wind but no sand. By this point I was watching the wind forecast for Clayton, Raton, NM and into Colorado. Earlier that day a dust storm in Pueblo, CO had a 30 car pileup with fatalities. The highway there was closed. I got mor work done as we waited, but it looked like at 5 pm the winds would be at 30 mph or lower, the gusts would be no higher than 40 mph and they were forecast to go down the rest of the evening. As planned we headed out at 5 pm, the winds were strong but not unmanageable. I drove about 10 miles under the 75mph speed limits ad as the time and miles ticked away, the drive got better. By Raton, the drive was pretty normal and the winds on the pass were manageable. An hour later we were detoured around the carnage that was the pile-up from earlier. There were still semis and cars piled in the highway and ditches. We couldn't help but think of the people who lost their lives just trying to get somewhere. While we were 7 hours behind schedule, we still had all our equipment in good order and we were fine. Our 775 mile 2 day trip to pulling the new trailer ended at 9:50 pm as we pulled into the driveway. I turned on the heat in the trailer as the temperature was supposed to dip below freezing. On Wednesday I'd winterize the water lines as colder weather was on it's way. Now we start making it our trailer. Packing, outfitting and prepping for our next trip is the fun and hopefully we'll get out in the second half of March. But when people ask "what did you do or Valentine's Weekend?" We can respond we made a great memory driving for 4 days and 1600 miles to bring home our new trailer.

To Texas for a Camper?

By Pat Daddy • February 16, 2026

We're sitting in a hotel in Denison, Texas as I write this. About a month ago, MLW and I went to a camper show, looking for our first hard side camper. With the kids grown, our 24 year old popup, while we love it, just isn’t as warm as we’d like it to be and that limits our ability to extend our camping season. When we replaced our old truck in ‘24, we did so expecting that we’d get a hard side trailer in the near future. As we were leaving the show, we found a trailer we really liked. It’s got a Murphy bed in it so you don’t lose all the space of the bed and you get a shorter camper. We liked the camper but they depreciate quickly, so we planned to buy a used one. The problem was this model has only been made since 2023. In 2024 they changed the styling to match the 2026 that we looked at. So I started a search for a 2024 model of this camper. Before we went to the show, I used Chat GPT to help me determine the best trailer weight and size for our truck. Not just weight, but driving it at altitude, what all we normally carry, etc. I got it set up so when I went to the show I just took a picture of the weight sticker and put it into Chat GPT and it would tell me how well my truck would pull the trailer. When I put in this one into Chat GPT, it said I’d pull it very well and why. Then I compared the answers with Ford’s info and confirmed it was correct. There were not any for sale near Colorado. I searched the national dealerships with little luck other than California and Georgia and other places on the east coast. In RV Trader I found one in Dodd City, TX. As I talked more with the dealer, I found that the trailer was lightly used by the one and only owner. The tires on it were made in 2023 and had only lost 1/32nd of tread. Everything I asked him for, proved his statement that it was used 4-5 times by the one owner was correct. I even pulled the VIN to make sure it had one owner and no listed accidents. The dry weight is correct as well. So we put down a deposit and yesterday we left home with the truck and headed to Texas. Our first day was down I-25 to Raton, NM and then south east to Amarillo. We got to Amarillo about 5pm, checked into our hotel and then went out for a Valentine's dinner. That is worth a story in itself, but it turned out well and we had a nice night. This morning we got up, had our very poor free breakfast at the hotel and headed out. First stop, the Cadillac Ranch to take pictures of the 10 Cadillacs half buried in the ground along 1-40 west of Amarillo. Then we headed east toward Denison. Lunch was in Wichita Falls and we got to Denison about 3:30. As we checked into the hotel, the realization that we were here with a check and the intent to buy a trailer, and then turn around and take it back home 600+ miles, I started to get a bit nervous. MLW and I took a nice walk around a lake in Denison and my anxiety dropped. We discussed the next day with our “what’s the worst thing that could happen” method we use often with decisions. And now I’m writing this. The plan is to be at the dealership tomorrow at 11 for our appointment, and inspect the heck out of the trailer, and if all is good, head back to Amarillo where we’ll sleep in it and then head for the final leg home on Tuesday. What will happen? You’ll have to come back and read this tomorrow or Wednesday.

A Trip to Italy, Venice day 2

By Patdaddy • October 29, 2025

We awoke Friday at 7 am. Our bodies tried to convince us it was actually 11 pm, but we fought through the fog and had a cup of coffee. Once dressed the four of us were off on the search for breakfast. Our first choice was a coffee shop that was full of locals. The dizzying pace at which the Italians got their espressos and pastries, stood and ate them and then paid and left, was intimidating. We were a bit timid and really did not get enough to eat as we enjoyed or coffees and MLW and I shared a chocolate croissant, and then we were off. Our next step was to get our 2 day vaporetto tickets, the ticket to the water bus. Getting the tickets was reasonably easy and then it was time to figure out how to get on the correct vaporetto that would correspond with Rick Steve’s Venice tour that uses the vaporetto. After almost getting on two other vaporetto lines, we finally found the correct one and we were off. He comical part was that as soon as we’d realize we were on the wrong platform Angie who is, uhm, height challenged, compact, not tall, you get the picture, would just walk under the gate and go to the next platform, while the rest of us, awkwardly had to bend over, climb over or some unflattering movement to get on the other side of the gates. The vaporetto was quite busy with Venetians going to work, tourists riding it and other tourists listening to the same Rick Steves tour we were listening to. We had a great overview of the grand canal and a quick history lesson. When we were at the other end of the line, we got off at St. Mark’s Square. We had our tickets to the Doge’s palace and decided to start the tour right then. The Doge’s palace was the palace of the Doge, the leader of Venice when it was a trading stronghold 600 years ago. As we walked through the tour listening to the prerecorded tour guide, the once wealth of Venice was overwhelming as you looked at antiquity after antiquity. What I found extremely interesting was the number of times the tour mentioned that a certain piece of artwork was now in the Louvre in France because Napoleon stole it. The tour ended by going over the bridge of sighs and through the prisons. By this point, 90 minutes or so since we started the tour, we were getting antiquity saturation and a bit hangry since we didn’t have much for breakfast. We grabbed a bit of lunch and checked in for an island tour of Murano, Burano and Torcello. Once on the boat our first stop was Murano, the Venetian island known for glass blowing. Here we had about a 20 minute grass blowing demonstration. First the glass blower made a beautiful pitcher. It had a swirl design to the glass and an elegant handle. He held it up to his audience and after a clapping approval, the glass blower took the vase still attached to his blowing rod and smacked it in the oven dropping the glass back into the molten glass in the furnace. I guess they had enough pitchers! Next he made a horse. Again, in minutes, and again the glass was returned to the molten glass in the furnace. After the demo we were escorted into their showroom. We purchased a few gifts and had just enough time to walk a bit down the waterfront and it was time to get back on the boat. Our next stop was Torcello. Torcello was the first inhabited island of the Venetian islands. It’s claim to fame was a very old church. It had few inhabitants and the stop was basically a long walk to the church and a long walk back. Not much to see in Torcello. Our final island was Burano, the island known for lace making. This island was known to MLW and I because it was featured in the Hallmark “The Veil” series. It’s famous for its brightly colored shops and buildings and of course the women who patiently make beautiful lace. We walked around and I ate my first gelato. Oh my gosh! now I know why everyone told me to eat gelato in Italy. We walked a bit more and then it was time to get back on the boat and return to Venice.

A Trip to Italy

By Patrick Jones • October 13, 2025

Part 1. The Trip Begins

Living for the Exhale

By Pat Daddy • December 30, 2024

If you attend enough of my companies meetings, you’ll be shown the scene from City Slickers where Billy Crystal’s character (Mitch) and Jack Palance’s character (Curley) have a discussion where Curley explains that the secret to a happy life is figuring out your 1 thing. This movie and the concept of "your 1 thing" was a favorite of our founder Pete Harman. If you want to refresh your memory, here’s a clip of that scene, I tried shorter versions, but you really need the three minutes:

What's up with the Bees?

By Pat Daddy • November 4, 2024

The more posts I write, the more I learn the most popular posts are about my bees. I’m fine with that because I love my bees. They spent another summer teaching me how to coexist with them and how we can help each other. As our communication improves so does their health and honey production. How did the summer go? You’ll remember I had to start from scratch this spring with 4 packages of bees that I bought as 2 pairs a week apart from two different companies. My luck with the bee packages did not go as planned. I got two “dud” queens and within two weeks they were both missing from the hive, maybe killed by her own subjects. Thankfully in May I captured my first swarm. Capturing my first swarm was a beekeeper's dream come true. My friend and neighbor Steve was telling me there was this big clump of wasps on their tree near their horses and his wife was concerned for their horses. Well I knew something was wrong because wasps all die in the winter but the queen, who has to emerge in the spring and start building a nest. So in the Spring there just aren’t big clumps of wasps. I asked if he'd show it to me and sure enough, it was a swarm of honeybees looking for a new home. To me the swarm was $150 just hanging in a tree waiting for me to give them a lovely hive to live in. I captured them and they happily accepted their new hive as their new home and then a week or so later I merged the frisbee hive with them who no longer had a queen. This hive did very well over the summer. The hive I call the Newbees also had a dud queen and they too were later joined into the hive that I captured. My most incredible hive was the Frisbees who produced two supers of honey that I could harvest. That’s 20 frames of honey. The Air BnBees produced about 12 frames and the Gumbees about 5 frames. In total my three hives produced 95 lbs. of honey or just a bit over 8 gallons. What am I going to do with all that honey? Sell it of course. Interested? You can purchase my honey at the bottom of the blog. I’m going into winter with three hives I feel really good about. In the Spring between buying bees and splitting hives I hope to have 8 hives running next summer. That is too many to have on just our property so I’ve secured a couple of locations to put hives. That of course will mean more capital investment into my bees, much of which I hope will come from honey sales. This was a fun year. I tried a number of new things. I learned how to move hives and how not too. I merged more hives and felt much more confident in the things I did. Of course the more new things I tried, I also got stung more. Some of that was because I thought I had on enough protection and then I did something stupid that made the bees agitated.. It’s funny, ”how many times have you been stung?” is a question I often get asked. Even funnier I can tell you how often I got stung. My first year, zero, my second year, 3 times, this year so far I’m pretty sure it’s been 7 times. Yes it hurts, but not as bad as I remembered and it goes away for me quickly. Unlike yellow jacket stings that just seem to burn and burn, most stings on my hands just hurt for 10 minutes and then go away. We had a very long fall, I could have had another honey harvest had I known we weren’t going to get a freeze in September or October. But it did allow my bees to store a lot of honey for the winter. So as long as mother nature cooperates, I’ll hopefully have 3 hives in the Spring. Here's that link:

Pat Daddy's Sedalia Honey is now for sale!

By Pat Daddy • October 30, 2024

Hello Everyone. As my third year of beekeeping is coming to a close, I finally have enough honey that I can offer it for sale. I ended the season with three hives that all appear to be healthy and ready to make it through the winter. Our honey harvest came in at just over 8 gallons or 95 pounds of honey. My 2025 goal is to expand to 8 hives which means I'm going to be doubling the amount of hive equipment I have and that is going to be a reasonably significant expense. I am selling my standard unfiltered raw honey in two sizes this year, 12 oz. and 10 oz. That measurement is by weight. For a volume comparison 12 oz. of honey is about 8 liquid ounces. Honey weighs about 1.5 ounces per liquid ounce. I am also excited to announce I am selling whipped cinnamon honey this year. This is made with pure raw honey, ground cinnamon and cinnamon oil. Then it is whipped to a consistency that reminds me of marshmallow cream. It's great to spread on muffins and toast or melted and poured over pancakes and waffles. It's absolutely delicious. And it has all the health benefits of my regular raw honey. 2024 prices pictures will change or you can slide them manually using the arrows on the side

Rudy's Run-in

By Pat Daddy • October 28, 2024

Most hunters don’t like the messages sent by the movie Bambi. If you remember the movie, the hunters burn down the forest, hunt at night, and are otherwise horrible people. Most hunters I know love the wilderness and fight to protect it. They don’t hunt at night. It’s illegal for one thing and extremely dangerous. But the message sent in Bambi that is the most incorrect is that deer are just defenseless animals. I would argue that to anyone. Now if my dog Rudy could talk, he would too. Saturday morning dawned sunny and beautiful. It was a lovely morning as I sat in the kitchen looking out the window at the changing colors of the leaves, sipping my warm coffee and making plans for the future week. Shortly after, MLW got up and started a little laundry when our dog Rudy started to bark. I asked MLW what Rudy was barking at and she said oh we have a yard full of deer again. With as dry as it has been and the fact that I have been watering the lawn the deer have been very attracted to the green grass in our front yard. I had just fertilized the lawn the night before so I was about to scare the deer off of the lawn because I didn't want any of them to get sick. Before I could do anything Rudy did what he always does, which is run out his back door and goes out and barks at the deer. Normally the deer would all run away but as we are presently in the beginning of the deer rut, the does are acting much more aggressive. MLW and I have noticed the aggressive does before. We've had issues with them normally in the spring but sometimes in the fall when they get extremely protective of their yearlings or themselves. In the past couple of weeks I've had one doe that has been quite aggressive as we have been on our walk and I normally just do not make eye contact with the does and continue to walk but the fact that she does not retreat is by all means intimidating. On Saturday morning when Rudy went to scare the deer off the lawn, one of the does was not about to have it. Instead of running with the rest of the deer she stood her ground and then attacked Rudy. if you wonder how a female deer attacks what it views as a predator you need only go to youtube where there are many videos. They do it by either kicking or stomping on the animal. I was not able to see the attack. I simply heard my dog barking and then suddenly yelping from extreme pain. I ran out of the house in my pajamas looking for Rudy. Unfortunately I found him by following a blood trail that led from the front of my house across the back deck and into the kitchen itself. I found Rudy in the kitchen bleeding quite heavily. He had a v-shaped almost 90° laceration over his rib cage, each line of the v that hung open and I could see the muscles and fat below it. he also had a puncture wound and his leg that was doing most of the bleeding as well as various cuts and scratches. We immediately took him out to the deck and wrapped him in a towel while we took turns changing clothes as fast as we possibly could. He was then put in the car and taken to the emergency veterinarian hospital in Castle Rock. At the hospital they examined Rudy and found that the cut on his chest wasn't simply just a cut, it was a puncture wound where it appears that the deer's hoof actually went into the muscle space between his skin and his ribs. Only by the grace of God did he not break a rib or puncture his lung sack. After being evaluated for about an hour we got to see Rudy who had been put on a painkiller which while taking the pain away made him very disoriented and anxious. He was left at the hospital to get cleaned up and ready for surgery. It was about 7:00 p.m. when it was time to pick up Rudy. We picked him up and he looked as if he was ready for Halloween with numerous stitches holding his skin back together on his chest. The puncture wound on his leg had a bandage on it that was stapled to his leg and will need professional cleaning for the next few days. Because of the damage up in between his ribs and his skin he has a drain placed in the damaged area to allow the excess fluids to be expelled. With much of his chest shaved, both front legs shaved and other spots you can see the extent of the bruising to his poor little body. His chest gets more and more purple everyday and he is extremely sore. The vet told us that he was the third deer versus dog attack they had treated in the last 10 days. They also said he was extremely lucky, a sentiment we can appreciate but I'm not sure he feels very lucky with how uncomfortable he is. His daily long walks with MLW are done for the next two weeks until he has complete healing of his sutures. He was stitched both internally and externally due to the injuries. I was quite amazed at how they treated his puncture wound in his leg. They could not stitch it so they left it open but put Manuka honey in it. If you look up Manuka honey it comes from New Zealand and has an amazing amount of antibacterial qualities stronger than any other honey. One of the reasons it needs to be redressed by either the hospital that put it on or his veterinarian. This is because the old honey must be cleaned out. How funny a coincidence that once again I'm talking about bees and or honey on my blog. Going back to Bambi, I do always like to point out that while we often use Bambi for a female name, the deer Bambi grew up to be a male. After seeing what an antlerless deer can do to another animal, I have a new respect for deer especially around dogs. They are beautiful creatures that have amazing survival skills and are anything but defenseless. While I understand the deer was simply responding to her survival instincts; the love of my dog and the pain he’s in along with the amount of the vet bills so far and the ones to come. I suppose it’s human nature that when I go afield this year to harvest a deer, it’s probably going to be a bit more personal.