Chpa'aqn

For some time now, every morning when I go to work and every evening when I come home, I look to the north east to see the tall and pointed mountain, and  the phrase, “talk to the mountain”, pops into my head. I do talk to her from time to time; I suppose to find answers, guidance, comfort and peace. She is always there, never fading, never judging; a solid and stoic figure, like a guardian over the valley, and it always makes me happy to see her. For years I knew her as Squaw Peak.

While the mountain may have been called different names by different tribes, she was originally known as "Chpa'aqn" by the local tribes. When the French trappers began to hunt and trap this area, they called it “Squaw’s Tit”. 

As early as 1863, Captain John Mullan referred to it as “Skiotah Peak”, and in 1918 that name was made official by the Board of Geographic Names. One year later, the name was overturned and the mountain was officially named “Squaw Peak”, and the name Squaw Peak has appeared on Federal maps since 1959 and on County maps since 1958.  

Native Americans all across the country have long tried to change the names of many locations throughout the U.S. with the name “squaw”, as to them it is a very derogatory word (basically meaning “vagina”, which was basically all the Indian women were to the French trappers). Somewhere between 1999 and 2002, after a long and arduous campaign, the the native people won their battle, and the name of the mountain was changed to Chpa'aqn.

 

Bees

Took a walk around the neighborhood this evening, and someone has a flowering crabapple tree in their yard that was FULL of bees, and it makes me happy to see them.

I think I need one of these trees in my yard! They get bigger than I thought, so maybe in front of my office window; far enough away from the house to let it grow, but close enough to provide shade in the summer.

There are bees in the backyard as well, loving the dandelions. Makes me sad to have to mow them down, but the grass is getting WAY too high… 

I got curious about how long it takes bees to make honey and did a little online research. Here’s what I found:

            On average, it takes one worker bee to produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey.

            So it takes 12 bees to produce one teaspoon of honey. In order to produce one

            tablespoon of honey it takes 36 bees. In order to produce a gallon of honey, it

            takes 9,216 bees! Taking that further, to produce ½ pound of honey it takes

            about 30,000 bees traveling 27,500 miles and visiting more than a million flowers

            to gather the nectar required.

WOW! No wonder they are called “busy bees”!

There are **15** types of bees in Montana! 

Bumblebees: Scientifically, Bumblebees should not be able to fly. Their body mass and weight are greater than their wing size and wingspan. They are theoretically to heavy to fly. Thankfully, the bees don’t know how to read. Even though “bumbles” do not produce honey, they are essential pollinators for fruit and vegetable crops, feeding on nectar of the flowers, and collecting pollen to feed their young. They can sting more than once because they don’t lose their stingers, but are typically very docile and will only sting if they feel threatened.

European (western) Honey Bees:- these are the only group of bees that produce honey!  In each hive there is only one breeding female (the queen), whose sole purpose is to lay eggs. The drones are males whose job it to fertilize the queen’s eggs. The worker bees are all females who do not mate, but build and maintain the nest and feed all of the young. The worker bees also gather pollen, so all of the bees you see around your garden and fruit trees are female!

 

 

Moody Weather

The mountain is moody today, wrapping itself in a thick blanket of dark and restless clouds. I know how it feels…

The seagulls were restless today too. One began circling overhead, then two, then four, then nine, then 25 and more! They circled low, flapping their wings slowly to keep themselves afloat. Then they seemed to catch a wave of warmer air and soared, climbing higher and higher, surfing on the thermal, until they were almost out of sight.

I wish I could join them. How wonderful it must feel to be so free!

 

Habitat House

Today I helped on a Habitat House! One of my co-workers qualified and on Friday she put a notice out on FB for helpers, because the entire crew cancelled. I was the only one who showed up. That’s disgusting.

The foundation was poured last Thursday, and they used the Styrofoam forms. Those are very cool! Not only sturdy enough for the concrete, but excellent insulation as well.

I got there around 9:30, and Kelly (crew chief and mentor), had already scored a line about four inches from the top of the foundation, where we had to use a small hand saw and pry bars to remove the entire top four inches of the Styrofoam blocks. Once the floor is poured, it will adhere to the exposed section of the wall and make a very solid foundation for the house. They will back fill the “pit” where we had been working on Tuesday, and the plumbers will then get the pipes and hoses set where they need to be and then the floor will be poured. Once that is all done and set, they can start building the walls! Assuming all of the supplies will be delivered on time (and that is never an assumption in construction), the new owner should be in her new house no later than October!  

On a side note, when we took the trash to the dumpster, there was a perfectly good wheelbarrow in there. I dragged it out and pushed it back to the H house, because I really could use a good wheelbarrow. Kelly said the dumped it because the wheel keeps falling off. I called Ace Hardware and was told they have wheels in stock for various models, and the highest price is around $50. Hell, it would most likely cost me four times that much for a good heavy duty wheelbarrow, so I loaded it up in the back of my car and brought it home. I couldn't believe I actually got that thing into the car!  It was a snug fit, but it worked. 

Now I have to get the wheel assembly off and go get a new wheel. Worse case scenario, if I can't get a new wheel for it, I'll spray paint it bright yellow and plant flowers in it!

Black-chinned?

As I walked out the door to go to work this morning, there was a hummingbird one of the feeders - sleeping! I wonder if it had been there all night??  As I stepped out onto the deck it popped its head up and just sat there for a brief moment, and then quickly flew away. It looked like a Black-chinned! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one anywhere before, let along at my feeders! 

Why Do I Write Poetry?

I love writing poetry, but I cannot just sit down and tell myself I'm going to write something. It comes from elsewhere, somewhere outside of my mind and body. It comes in on whim, a breeze, a scent, a sound.It starts with a tiny seed; and idea that burrows into my mind and grows into an idea, and then matures into words. It might happen in a few moments, a few days, or even a few months. One poem I wrote took three years to complete. But however long it takes, once it's planted - it stays until I free it from my mind and onto paper.

Most of my poetry is inspired by nature; by the sights, smells, sounds and textures that surround me in the woods, by the river, the ocean, winds on the prairie, etc. I love to absorb myself in nature, and for me the best way to hold it close to my heart is to write about it

A Breath of Spring

Took a short walk this morning; what a beautiful morning! Blue sky with a few puffy clouds, and birds singing from seemed like every single tree, post and rooftop. House Finches, Goldfinches, Chickadees, Robins, Meadowlarks, warblers and a House Wren.

Spring sounds so lovely.

I bought a couple of hummingbird feeders yesterday, yes two more new ones. Just trying to find one that keeps the damn bees and hornets off of the feeders. I really like the first ones I got (and so do the hummingbirds), they’re smaller with straight glass and very easy to clean, but the nectar fills the entire reservoir beneath the glass and the hornets have a feast. I’ve tried to find bee guards for them but apparently they don’t make them anymore…  seriously?  The ones I got yesterday have four feeding stations and built in bee guards that the hornets cannot get through, nor can they reach the nectar. Maybe these will work.

I hung the hummer feeders up yesterday evening, even though it may be a bit early. But they’re migrating now and maybe I can entice some of them to stay.

I also purchased some flowers and herbs for the front porch. Marigolds and red salvia for the hanging planters (if I can figure out how to set them up to hang), chives, spearmint, English thyme, lemon thyme, basil, chamomile, lemon balm, bee balm, and a few others I can’t think of off the top of my head.

I still need lavender (In a barrel at the foot of the steps), blanket flower, and a few other natives.