Cancelled Shows

his is the time of year when we get ready for the upcoming season of craft fairs and art shows. From now through Christmas is a never-ending whirl of activity, of planning, making things, and going out to meet friends old and new at events all around the region. I'd like to tell you how much we are looking forward to that again this year.

 

I'd like to, but unfortunately, I can't. Covid-19 has brought about the cancellation of nearly all of the shows we were planning to do already. And the few shows that haven't yet cancelled are likely to do so shortly. We are greatly disappointed by this state of affairs, but we understand totally why these shows are cancelled, and we agree with their decisions. Much as we would love to see everyone again, we don't want to be in a position of putting ourselves or others at risk.

 

Our products are still available, however. Most of Ruth's soaps, lotions, and bath and beauty products are available at Town Square Market at 106 E Jackson St. in Carbondale. They also carry a nice selection of John's kitchen boards for use as cutting, bread, or charcuterie boards.

Need something else? Don't hesitate to give us call, drop us a text, or message us. We look forward to seeing you on the other side of this.

 

Honeybee Cutout

We had a great day yesterday doing a cutout.  A cutout is when a beekeeper removes a colony of bees which has made a home someplace they shouldn't be, such as the wall of a home, a shed, or, in this case, a garage.  Went went to the client's home earlier in the week and took a look to see what he had.

This is how it looked from the outside, a hole about ten feet up with bees going in and out.  See the patch underneath the hole?  That's the spot which got repaired when he had bees removed from the exact same place three years ago.  Yes, he had already had a colony of bees removed from his garage by another beekeeper.  Since bees love to move in to where other bees have already been, this was a great spot for them.  All they needed was for one of the knotholes in the cedar siding to fall out, which it obligingly did.






This is what it looked like on the inside.  There was a hole in the plaster, and the bees had formed a small cluster around the hole.  Looking at the bees going in and out on the outside, and the few hanging around inside, I determined that it was a fairly small colony.  The homeowner said they had first moved in about two moths ago, so we expected to find several bees, some brood, maybe some honey. 

We caught a real break on this cutout.  The garage had a twelve foot tall ceiling, and, of course, the bees were at the very top of the wall. It had been drywalled inside, but not taped and mudded.  The drywall had all been nailed in place except where the previous beekeeper had removed the colony and replaced the drywall.  This newer drywall was where the new colony was located, and it had been installed with drywall screws.   Right where the bees were was a square of new drywall. 

We set up a scaffold below the bees, then set a ladder on top of the scaffold to reach them.  Once I was up there, I removed the screws and tried to take out the whole square of drywall covering the bees, but the comb was attached to it, so I had to break it off in chunks to expose the comb.

The colony filled the space between the wall studs, and hung down below the lower edge of the open area.   It was attached at the top to the header, and in places to the outer wall of the garage.  I used a bee vac (yes, a shop vacuum modified to gently suck up the bees without harming them) to clear out enough that I could cut the comb loose from the enclosure.  I carefully pulled it out of the wall and handed it down to Ruth, who was on the floor below. 

The bees had made several sections of beautiful, straight comb.

Below is me holding a complete piece of comb just as it was taken from the wall.  It's over two feet long, filled with capped brood and covered with bees.  The more bees I could hand down on the comb, the fewer bees I would have to vacuum.

 

 Ruth took the large pieces of whole comb and cut them horizontally to fit into our frames.  She could get about two pieces into each frame.  Each piece of comb was secured into the frames with ruber bands.  This took some time, and I occasionally had to wait for her to finish a piece before I could cut out the next chunk and hand it down to her.

This shows the cavity once I had most of the comb removed.  This is the last full-width piece of comb, there were two narrower pieces behind this.  Once all the comb was gone, it was time to get the bees.  We got as many as we could on the comb, but many of the stayed behind, and most of them were inside the wall.  I vacuumed for a while, then had Ruth blow smoke from our smoker through the outside hole.  This drove many of them up to where I could reach them.  We repeated this process several times.  Eventually we got most of the bees, but there were still a lot of them flying about and some still inside the wall.

 Once we had most of the bees vacuumed up, we had to transfer them into the hive with the comb and the rest of the bees.  The best way to do this is to turn the bucket over, and bump it firmly on the hive, causing most of the bees to fall onto the top of the frames.  Of course, many of them start flying around when you do that, so you create a cloud of honeybees over your workspace.  But given a little time, they will settle down, land on the hive, and go down to join their sisters. 





This is a beekeepers hat when the beekeeper isn't keeping it on.


Once we had the comb hived and the bees cleaned up as best we could, we put a ratchet strap around the hive and took it out to Ruth's brother and sister-in-law's place.
We leveled a spot next to the hives we had put there earlier in the year, set some concrete blocks, and carried the hive to its new location.

 And here the ladies are in their new home.  We've given them some sugar syrup to feed on while they get used to their new surroundings.

Swarm Season Again!

 

Now that it looks as if Spring has come to stay, we're at the beginning of swarm season for honeybees.  Honey bees make new colonies by swarming.  About half of the worker bees and the old queen fly out of the hive to find a new place to live, leaving the remaining workers to raise a new queen.  The departing bees are a swarm, and they land somewhere, typically a tree branch or some other resting place, and form a clump or ball, where they will will stay for as little as fifteen minutes, or as long as three days.  While they are in this clump, scout bees go out looking for a new place to live, some suitable hollow or cavity where the swarm can take up residence and build a new colony. 

 If you see one of these swarms, don't panic.  They aren't looking to attack you, and in fact, are fairly docile, as they have no stores or brood to defend.  But the one thing you should do is call or text me immediately at 618-713-4101.  I will be over ASAP with a hive body to give the swarm the home that they are looking for.


By hiving the swarm, we are actually increasing their odds of survival.  Numbers vary, but only about 25% of wild colonies survive their first year.  While beekeepers lose colonies every year as well, the survival rate in an apiary tends to be much higher.  So do the bees a favor and let us know as soon as you see a swarm.  We - and the bees - will be very grateful.

Guitar Cutting Board

Looking for something different?

I had a request for a cutting board shaped like a guitar.

 What do you think?

276 Art Exchange Grand Opening

276 Art Exchange in Equality, Illinois is having their grand opening this weekend.  We're very excited about this.  Ruth & John have a large selection of wine racks and kitchen boards there, keeping company with works from some very fine artists.  If you have admired the hand-carved utensils we have had at our shows, they are made by Ruth's brother Thom Goodin, and they will be there as well.

This looks like a well-thought-out, well-run enterprise, and should be a worthy addition to the Southern Illinois Art scene.  We are proud to be a part of this, and look forward to their growth in the area.  Do stop by at 142 W Lane Street, Equality, Illinois 62934, and lend them your support.

2020: Where to Find Us

Edit:  Because of the Covid 19 situation, many festivals and fairs have been cancelled or postponed.  We will try to keep abreast of the changing circumstances and update this post as it happens.  But if you have information regarding one of the shows below, please do not hesitate to let us know.  Many thanks,

Ruth & John

2019 was our biggest year ever at Ruth & John’s.  Every one of the shows we were doing again was bigger than in previous years.  We tried out a couple of new events and were very happy with how they turned our and with the promise they showed.  We’re looking forward to an even better year in 2020 (Are we setting our expectations too high?  It would awfully difficult to beat last year). 

 To help you know where to find us this season, below is a list of the shows we expect to be participating in this year.  This is very much a tentative list.  Sometimes shows fold without warning.  Several of the dates listed are my best guess, based on when they were held last year.  You can tell these by the (?) after the date.  And who knows, we may learn of some new shows (or new to us) and spring up where you least expect us.  So take this list as a starting point.  We’ll keep you updated as better information becomes available.

Here, then, is the list of next season’s shows, as best we can tell:

Maple Syrup Festival

               Touch of Nature

               Feb 22-23

We’re looking forward to our first show of the season, out at SIU’s Touch of Nature, nestled deep in the woods of Southern Illinois, on the shore of Little Grassy Lake.

Pride Fest

               Carbondale

              Date TBA

Join us at this local celebration of a national event.

DuQuoin State Fair

               DuQuoin, IL

               Sept. 5-6 (?)

We had a great time at our first appearance at the fair last year, we’re looking forward to an even better time this year.

Murphysboro Apple Festival

               Murphysboro, IL

               Sept. 17-18

A truly Southern Illinois event, a celebration of one of our best local products.

DuBoisCenter Fall Festival

               DuBois Center, Dubois, IL

               Oct. 3 (?)

We didn’t know what to expect last year, but even with a rain-curtailed afternoon, we had a great show and met some wonderful people.  Can’t wait to try it again this year.

Wine and Art Festival at Rend Lake

                Artisan’s Center, Whittington, IL

               Oct. 10-11

The grand-daddy of wine and art shows in the area.  We’ve been doing this for over fifteen years.

              

VultureFest

               Makanda, IL

               Oct.  17-18

Vultures. Makanda.  Us.  This is always a fun time, and last year was the biggest any of us have seen.  You won’t want to miss this show.

    

Heritage Festival

               Southeastern Illinois College, Harrisburg, IL

               Nov.  7-8

A return to the eastern part of Southern Illinois, we look forward to seeing you all in our usual corner of the gym.

AutumnFest

                John A. Logan College, Carterville, IL

               Nov.  14-15

What a great show!  We love doing this one, as it has the largest group of the best artists and craftspeople in Southern Illinois.

Arts and Crafts Extravaganza

               Show-Me Center, Cape Girardeau, MO

               Nov.  21-22

 Our only out-of-state show last year, a chance to meet a whole new group of people.

Holiday Craft Sale

               SIU Student Center, Carbondale, IL

               Dec. 3-5

The grand finale, a three-day blowout in the student center at SIU.  We’re always amazed at how this show gets bigger and better every year.

So there you have it, the list of the shows we expect to be at this year.  Again, some of these dates are tentative, some may not happen, new shows may get added.  Check back here and at our Facebook page for regular updates.  And hey, if there is a particular show not on this list that you’d like to see us at, drop us line.  We’d love to hear from you.

           

276 Art Exchange, Equality, Illinois

The 276 Art Exchange in Equality, Illinois, is having their grand opening next week on Saturday, January 18.  This will be a great opportunity to stop by and check out Southern Illinois' newest addition to the artistic community. 

As you can see, they have a number of Ruth & John's pieces there, and we are proud to be a part of this.  They have a beautiful building, and have put a lot of time, effort, and thought into this endeavor.  We hope everyone will turn out to give them their support.