My Nancy Drew fantasy come true

I always wanted to be a girl detective. I used to read a series of books about Trixie Belden, the slightly more rural version of Nancy Drew (every book featured a tortuously long choses session , detailing how Trixie had to do the dusting or help brush the horses before she could go solve the mystery). I also liked a series of books about Cam Jansen, who had a photographic memory. She would just say "click!" is she wanted to remember the scene. Then the book would show ou the picture in her mind and let you try to solve the crime.

Encyclopedia Brown, Miss Marple, you name it, I loved 'em. I even seriously considered trying to get into the FBI after high school.

So, I'm super thrilled that my chance to be involved with solving crimes may finally be on the horizons: NPR reported today that bees are now being used to help police.

You can check out the link here- It's from Robert Krulwich's blog, one of my favorite RadioLab dudes.

What do you want to be when you grow up? What were your favorite detective books?

P.S. - Mr. Holt points out that I do kind of solve mysteries now, figuring out stuff about the past etc. etc... This is a particularly romantic way of describing what I do, but it's Valentine's Day, and he's a romantic guy, so I'll take it.

Bee Barn

About two months ago a tornado swept through this heart-shaped state and decided to make a giant mess. An even bigger mess than a normal tornado, because this one hit a barn holding several 50 gallon drums of honey: the Wooster Honey Bee Barn.

image facebook snatched from the bee lab

That's what it looked like at first, you can see more pics of the mess and the resulting clean up here.

But I like to look on the bright side of things: Dr. Drone was a key player in the aftermath and he has a keen eye for salvage. A new/ancient smoker is coming my way!

Jenna and her Barn Heart

Jenna over at Cold Antler Farm is hosting a book and wool giveaway.

She's got it all- a farm, a truck, sheep, dogs, and yes, bees. I'm so jealous.

Her blog features gorgeous pictures and the day to day struggles of a girl and her farm, and I'm hooked. I suggest enjoying it with a your first strong cup of coffee in the morning.

Pumpkins and My Autumn Heart

My middle name is Autumn. Seriously- my mom was kind of a hippie back in the 80s.

When you are literally named after a season, I think it kind of creeps inside you and takes over your heart. It's my season now, although I'll gladly share it with you. Let's all perfume ourselves in woodsmoke and dry leaves and soak in the ruddy colors. To begin, I'm on pumpkin watch. My favorites so far:

Red pumpkins? What will they think of next?!

Apple Farm

Mr. Holt and I recently took our young niece to the apple farm to pick some fruit and run in fields. I think we all needed to spend some time running in a field. Now I have a giant bowl of apples to work my way through and I've already exhausted my apple cinnamon muffin tolerance. What do you do with a half-bushel of ripe apples?

Little Guys

Some very cold visitors arrive on my stoop this morning.

I think because of the crisp 50 degree air they were moving in slow-motion, barely fluttering their wings and wholly unconcerned at my presence.

Two tiny butterflies, each the size of a quarter. Good Morning!

Happ Fall Y'all

Clearly from Cake Wrecks.

I'm so excited about fall, and so busy with fall I haven't been able to enjoy it much yet. I recently read Catch 22 for the first time and I loved it so much I decided to stop using that phrase casually. I just wanted to reference it to make the connection.