Nature

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Adventures On Bee Hill (video of bee keeping and butterflies mating!)

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My Butterfly and Bee adventures

Journal entries from my sit spot “bee hill”

Spring 2020

I have a sit spot here in Brisbane on top of a hill where I have the most beautiful view of the bay.  I was going up there almost every day in March and April (during the pandemic) because it was full of wildflowers and tall grasses that sway in the wind.  I would watch the boats out on the bay and get into my zen head space.  I love watching sun flecks dance across the water.  I have a favorite tree stump there where I meditate, journal and reflect.  It’s near the bee hives that are kept up there. I even go there at night to watch the sunset and see the stars.  I bring a blanket and I lay on my back and try to identify the stars.  I’m grateful that during COVID-19 I have had more time for these indulgences like this.  I have learned my way around this area very well with the stay home order.  I feel blissful up there on top of the world.


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April 19, 2020

Sometimes I bring my neighbor/friend with me to the place I have nick named “Bee hill.”  I love introducing my hidden spots to other people and teaching them what I know or want to learn about the plants and insects I see up there.  One day when we were together, I met the bee keeper and I asked if I could come along when he was tending the bees.  The bee keepers name is Russ, but I always call him “the Brisbane bee guy.” He has  some hives by the community garden in town and he loaned me an extra suit so I could tag along.  I was over joyed about the experience…maybe to the point of being annoyingly inquisitive the entire time. 

It was a great experience to wear a suit and get so immersed in the work of a bee keeper.  I learned about using smoke to calm the bees and pheromone spray at the entrance of the hive to attract more bees.  As soon as I finish grad school, I will consider joining the local beekeeper’s guild to learn more.  In the meantime, I got this great book to get me started.



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***It’s also featured in the resource section of this website.

I saved some of the honey combs and put them in a jar so I could share with the children someday.  At my old school we always showed the children where the food came from before eating it.  We often shared grape vines, sunflower plants and tiny carrot seeds before eating.  Parents loved that!  They learned too.

I actually got stung that day. It was while I was putting my suit on.  I had my arm raised and the bee got me just under the arm pit on the flesh where the breast attaches to the back.  So, it’s a tender spot.  The bee keeper said it probably bit me but didn’t sting.  I have been stung hundred of times in my life. No harm no foul.  It’s part of being outdoors.

****Go to the herbal remedy section of this website to get an all-natural remedy for bee stings that works for me every time.

April 20, 2020

Today was a fascinating day at bee hill. I encountered mating butterflies!!! I have never seen anything like this before!  It was extremely fascinating- I have no words to describe this experience.  You’ll have to watch and listen to the video story below for all of the juicy details. 

I was engrossed while I watched these two butterflies “getting busy.”  Another one kept trying to interrupt.  Over and over again it tried to either join or distract?  And you’ll see in the video how close I was allowed to get to them.  The butterfly is called a Variable Checker-spot and it’s attracted to the California bee plant and sticky monkey flower, which both grow on bee hill. 

There’s a Waldorf School song that I learned from Teacher Amanda at SCFS. The music is featured in this video.

Spring is here said the bumble bee

How do you know said the old oak tree?

I saw yellow daffodils dancing with the fairies on the windy hill.



View of SF from “bee hill”

View of SF from “bee hill”

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'Twas The Night Before Mountain School (a short story/poem)

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I wrote this short story-poem about the last year that I taught at Mountain School 2018-2019. It was inspired by a parent who wrote a poem for his child in this format as a culmination project. I wrote about my memories at Stevens Creek Canyon County park near the Saratoga/Cupertino border. It’s a very natural setting with a creek and old shady oak trees. We spend 4 weeks there in the fall and then return to the same place in the spring. It’s one of the many places that we hold sacred at Mountain School.

*children’s names have been changed to protect their identity

A Day at Mountain School

By Teacher Carolyn

'Twas the night before Mountain School, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

Water bottle filled, first aid kit packed, with care,

In hopes that the families soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;

While visions of acorns and oak trees danced in their heads;

Teacher Anne in her converse, Teacher Jutta in her ball cap,

Had just settled our brains for an after-school nap,

In the morning I arose with such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to listen to the weather and other TV chatter.

Away to the Mountains I flew like a flash,

Tore through the trails and picked up the trash.

The suns glow on the wide-open sky,

Gave a luster of morning to objects below,

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,

But a miniature deer and eight tiny preschoolers,

With little Lucy so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be the T/TH threes class.

More rapid than eagles the children they came,

I giggled, and shouted, and called them name:

"Now, Abraham! now, Annie! now Patrick and Mandy!

On, Catie! on, Avery! on, Forest and Willa!

To the top of the Mountain! to the top of the trail!

Now climb! Now jump! Now play one and all!"

As leaves fell from the trees, and birds flew by,

Our eyes meet with an astonishing red-tailed hawk in the sky;

So up above the mountain tops the hawk flew

With a circle and a dip, then there were two—

And then, on an inkling, we looked to the ground

Following the thumping of a little brush rabbit on a mound.

As we drew in our heads, and were turning around,

Down the tree came a squirrel with a bound.

He was dressed all in brown fur, from his head to his foot,

His tail looked all decorated with stripes the color of soot;

A bundle of acorns he had hidden below a tree,

And he looked like a robber trying to get free.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his teeth, how merry!

His cheeks were like gumballs, his nose like a black cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the crest on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of an acorn he held tight in his teeth,

And the sunlight, it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a fuzzy little tail

That flickered when he scolded and zig zagged up the trail.

Then I saw a snake, she was striped and plump, a right scary old reptile,

And I gasped when I saw her, in spite of myself;

A closer glimpse of her tail and a twist of her head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

We spoke not a word, but went straight to our field guide,

Filled with photos and facts; we turned the pages with a jerk,

 laying a finger aside of the photos,

And giving a nod, Up, up, up our knowledge rose;

We sprang to parents, to the teaching team gave a whistle,

And near they all flew like the down of a thistle.

 I heard a child exclaim, as the gopher snake dove out of sight—

“Happy to meet you Miss. Gopher, you look like a rattler but you don’t have rattle and your eyes are so round, your head so narrow, not like a rattler who is shaped like an arrow.”

Gopher head (narrow head) Rattler head (arrow or triangular shape head)

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A moral dilemma at “Raccoon Trail”-What should I do with this little “Nugget?”(video story)

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Friday, May 15th 2020

A moral dilemma at “Racoon Trail”-What should I do with this little “Nugget?”

Day Time: Today I was taking a walk around my neighborhood when I came across a tiny suffering baby racoon. I had my ear buds in but no music was playing when I heard it…it was a minute squeaking sound that I knew wasn’t a bird. At first, I looked around but I didn’t find anything. Then again, I heard the sound. It was a sort of faint squeak like a kitten in pain. I scanned the area but I didn’t see it. Finally, on the third squeak I saw her. She was tiny and barely moving hidden in a bed of clover. I could see some labored breathing but hardly any movement, so I knew she was alive. My heart went out to her and I wanted to help her. I was filled with feelings of empathy, curiosity and respect.

It made me think about what I would do if the children I teach were here. What would I role model? My logical brain said: “leave it be.” This is part of nature-the cycle of life and death and in outdoor school I try not to disturb critters that I encounter. I text a photo to my friend and she said, “save it!” I once rescued a baby bird that fell from a nest. I took it to a wildlife rescue facility in San Jose and they released it back into the wild, so maybe I could do this for her too?

I walked around the neighborhood looking for box or something to move her without touching her. I found an old cardboard sign and an empty crate. I used sticks to gently and respectfully lift her. Her tiny little feet and hands became more distinct to me as she spread them and tried to escape. I realized that she couldn’t open her eyes yet and may have just been born. When she struggled, she squealed and her sounds pulled at my heart strings. I just didn’t want to traumatize her more. I couldn’t bring myself to stress her even more! So I decided to leave her under a tree that was hollowed out at the bottom. I thought she might be safe under there where no one could step on her.

As I left the area, I felt sadness for this tiny creature. I sent a video of her to a “child” and her mom. The “child” I used to babysit for is a twenty-years-old now (an emerging adult) studying to become a veterinarian. I know Shawn and her mom share a love of animals. It was Shawn who suggested that I name her “Nugget.” They reassured me that I did the right thing for little “Nugget” but my heart went out to her without her momma.

Later that evening: When it got dark I had so much guilt about leaving the little Nugget. I was worried that she would be eaten by a coyote or that her momma wouldn’t find her because she had been moved. So, I went back with my friend. We found her all balled up freezing cold, shivering and barely able to move when we touched her. We gently put her in a small box with a towel. I wore gloves so I didn’t leave any oils or strange scents that would cause the momma to reject her. After doing some research my friend Kristy went Target and got baby formula and a syringe so we could force feed her. She cried and whimpered loudly....it tugged at our heart strings.

Again, a dilemma!!! What is the right thing to do with Nugget? She cried and cried so loudly. We learned that racoons are nocturnal and so the likelihood of the momma coming back for her at night was high. We returned her to the place I originally found her. Her cries were loud for such a tiny critter! When I checked on her in the morning the box was empty with no signs of struggle. I think the mother got her. That’s my hope anyway.

References:

Ohlone. (2020, April 27). Retrieved May 23, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohlone