Save the Bees!

Albert Einstein once said, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” In other words, bees are very important! This week, as an intern for the Virginia Cooperative Extension in Wise, I got the chance to experience a bee association meeting, work on a presentation regarding bee decline, and work on a poster about the different species of bees and the process of pollination. Next week, I look forward to having a bee exhibit on kid’s day at the Wise County fair. I hope that through presentations and this poster I can help educate people of all ages about the importance of bees and how they are currently in decline. Overall, remember bees are a vital part of our environment and it is up to us to save them.

Wise County Hay Contest

Not only did I focus on bees this week, but also taking hay samples from different individuals for the Wise County Hay Contest. This is an efficient way to test the quality of hay and how nutritious it is for farm animals. In fact, most people enter the contest to get the results back rather than striving to win the competition. With this being said, I enjoy meeting new people in the community and learning about why they want their hay tested. In the picture above are Chester (left) and Eeyore (right) who I got the chance to see while taking  hay samples. I am an avid animal lover and am always happy to make new furry friends. On a different note, I also got the opportunity to take soil samples this past week. The reason for a soil test is similar to the reason for testing hay, it is simply to test the quality of that particular soil. Also, in the picture above is a fawn that we stumbled across while getting these soil samples. 

Rain is a good thing!

The weather this past week has had rain in the forecast almost everyday. However, our gardeners in our Grow Wise program are definitely not complaining. Dolly Parton once said, “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” For gardeners that means that if you want the produce, then most days you wish for rain. With this being said, I have been on a couple site visits this week to see how everyone’s gardens are doing. So far, everyone seems to be doing just fine and I can not wait to see how their gardens have flourished after this rainy week. Don’t forget, rain can be a good thing!