[ahsumaker]

Two out of four of our hives successfully overwintered. Yay! For me, along with the joy of knowing they’ve survived another season (with little doing on my part) comes a real sense of responsibility. It’s a moment where I choose to recommit to a set of beliefs and values and then act in accordance with them. If I want to continue keeping bees the way I want to keep bees, it requires making splits. With a loss rate of 50-66% every winter, I have to go into winter with multiple hives and play the odds, and then breed from any bees that survive. My favorite splits-making / queen rearing / swarm-prevention method is a modified CC Miller technique that I learned from my mentor Suzanne. During the flow when resources are plentiful, I choose a hive that’s doing well (has plenty of brood, including multiple frames with eggs in the cells, ideally before they have the mind to swarm), has the traits I want, and I find the queen. I set the frame with the queen safely aside. I replace the frame I removed with another frame and move the entire rest of that hive to a different location. In the original hive’s location I set up a new hive with the same number of boxes full of drawn comb, and include the frame with the queen. She gets plenty of room to lay eggs and the entire field force to support her. The hive in the new location has nurse bees galore and the resources to make a bunch of queen cells. In a week to 10 days I’ll check for and pull any queen cells to raise up in a queen castle, leaving one to be born and mate and lead the new hive. Timing is so key to this! I find it gives me a great reason to tune in to the natural rhythms of the bees and the season. (at Monroe, Virginia)

[ahsumaker]

Breathtakingly beautiful full moon tonight. #fullmoon #fullmooninaquarius #sturgeonmoon #cornmoon #lunareclipse #nofilter

[ahsumaker]

Studying for a point location exam on Friday. It's cumulative, and interesting for me to note what I remember and don't remember from previous trimesters. I'm trying not to rely on my short-term memory to get me through this time, rather focusing on learning it on a deeper level. I've found a combo that works for me: palpating on myself while looking at a diagram, quizzing with flash cards, reviewing quizzes and notes, and digesting the Acupuncture Point Compendium entry for each point. Body-Mind-Spirit learning for Body-Mind-Spirit medicine. #acupuncturestudentlife #bodymindspiritmedicine #trimester3 #pointlocation #spiritofthepoints @muihealth

[ahsumaker]

Self portrait: healing roots edition. . "Although you are a talisman protecting a treasure, you are also the mine. Open your hidden eyes and come to the root of the root of your Self." . #rumi #selfportrait #healingroots #downtowncharlottesville #rootchakra #rootchakrameditation #muladhara (at Charlottesville, Virginia)

[ahsumaker]

I've been craving fish a lot the past month and some variant of this #fishstew (recipe inspiration courtesy of @simplyrecipes ) has been in regular rotation. Today's version is #tomatofree and has #bacon #onion #celery and #celerytops #clamjuice and #beefbonebroth as its base. Splash of #vermouth splash of #fishsauce #applecidervinegar and #himalayansalt to taste. I threw in #yukongoldpotatoes to bulk it up. #haddock and #mussels for protein. #carrottops as a parsley and greens substitute because #wastenotwantnot plus herbs to add flavor and medicine #thyme #oregano #oshaleaves #fenugreekleaves . Delicious and hearty #onepotmeal with plenty of leftovers to pack for lunch. #handmadeceramicbowl made by a #tylerschoolofart student. #handcarved #woodenspoon in #cherrywood courtesy of @ranger_carver

[ahsumaker]

Delicious food, good company, perfect weather. #summertime #potluckparty #decksitting #crestofpedlar (at Monroe, Virginia)

[ahsumaker]

Last night I went to bed (after treating my first patients in ear acupuncture clinic--woot woot, exciting!) more tired than usual. I woke up this morning with a cold. Not good! I didn't have any of my herbal go-tos with me (elderberry, thyme, hibiscus, rose hips, echinacea, propolis, zinc) and panicked for a second. What's an #herbalist to do? And then I remembered: I'm also an acupuncturist-in-training (duh). So I asked my Dad to give me a Gua Sha treatment. Gua Sha is one of the most effective ways to "Release the Exterior" after being invaded by a pathogenic factor (in my case, Wind-Cold). The sooner you can do it, the better, and I caught it early. 30 minutes later, I could tell that the cold that had been on its way to getting bad was now on the downward trajectory of its course. That #treatment , plus sipping ginger tea with raw honey all day, drinking warm fluids, avoiding cold foods, wearing a sweater, and leaving my hair down to keep the back of my neck warm, kept me feeling relatively healthy all day. And now I get to sleep again! #guasha #chinesemedicineworks #selfcare #listentoyourbody #symptomsareyourfriends #acupunctureschool #acupuncturestudentlife

[ahsumaker]

I went to bed last night (after treating my first patients in ear acupuncture clinic-woot woot, exciting!) feeling more tired than usual. I woke up this morning with a cold! Not good. I had none of my herbal go-tos with me (elderberry, thyme, hibiscus, rose hips, propolis, zinc) and panicked for a second. What's an herbalist to do? Then I remembered: I'm also an acupuncturist-in-training. (Remember that?!) So I asked my Dad to give me a Gua Sha treatment. 30 minutes later, I could feel that the cold that had been on it's way to getting bad was now on the downhill trajectory of its course. Gua Sha is one of the most effective ways to "Release the Exterior" when one has been invaded by a pathogenic factor (in my case, Wind-Cold). The sooner you do it, the better. I felt better within minutes. That treatment, plus sipping ginger tea with raw honey all day, drinking warm fluids, avoiding cold foods, wearing a sweater, and leaving my hair down to keep the back of my neck covered, got me through the day feeling relatively healthy. Now I get to sleep again! #guasha #windcoldinvasion #imlearning #chinesemedicineworks #selfcare #listentoyourbody #symptomsareyourfriends

[ahsumaker]

277 days into #acupunctureschool and they let us do our first needling! This is the 5 needle #nadaprotocol for #acudetox. It is simple, powerful, extraordinary. It can help treat trauma and addictions and mental health and stress, bringing your body back to equilibrium, NON-VERBALLY. I've been receiving this treatment weekly since starting school in September, and have fallen in love with it and all that it can do. As one of my teachers said today, "When the needles go in, you fall into your own zen cocoon." #auriculotherapy #auricularacupuncture #earacupuncture #zencocoon @muihealth

[ahsumaker]

He said he brought his "guard cucumber" to market today. 😬#lynchburgcommunitymarket #farmersmarketfun (at Lynchburg Community Market)

[ahsumaker]

We found a good spot for the trail cam! Our woodland friends making an appearance this week: Eastern Coyote, Eastern Grey Fox mama and pup (found their scat on the log, too), and White-tailed Deer (maybe the one who has been helping herself to our baby kale). #trailcam #crestofpedlar #easterncoyote #easterngreyfox #whitetaileddeer #whitetaildeer #backyardwildlife @ranger_carver

[ahsumaker]

We went looking for (and found!) wild lady's slipper orchids near Petite's Gap on the AT. Next year we'll start looking a little earlier in the year, just after Mother's Day maybe? #phenology #ladysslipperorchid #appalachiantrail #blueridgeva #nofilter

[ahsumaker]

First order of acupuncture supplies arrived today! Splitting supplies with a classmate and then time to assemble my travel kit for Clean Needle Technique classes starting next week. I'm getting excited! #toolsofthetrade #acupunctureneedles #moxa #acupunctureschool

[ahsumaker]

It took the bees two weeks to find this rain barrel as their water source. I love the tadpoles of various ages swimming beneath (from all the frog mating going on last week, oh my!). And then the one floating by on the life raft. It's too much. #honeybees #tadpoles #rainbarrel #springtime

[ahsumaker]

Day 1 of the third trimester. Today we participated in a beautiful Needle Ceremony, in the tradition started by Dianne Connelly, to induct us into the next phase of our practitionership, where we learn to use our tools of the trade: our hands, the needles, moxa. Together we reflected on the healing power of touch, the gift of our hands expressing the love in our hearts, the connection that forms Body-Body, Mind-Mind, Spirit-Spirit, in every interaction between patient and practitioner. . "Take this needle as an instrument of love, and with it, serve life well.” . “Take this moxa as an instrument of healing, and with it, serve life well.” . “We serve life not because it is broken. We serve life because it is holy.” . As our teachers were setting up the altar, a fox ran across the field. Fox is great medicine: she stands between the worlds, at the threshold. . . . #muih #fiveelementacupuncture #acupunctureschool #chinesemedicine #toolsofthetrade #acupunctureneedles #moxa (at Maryland University of Integrative Health)

[ahsumaker]

Watching the fog burn off this morning, I thought I was living in a Japanese watercolor. It made me think of something Annie Dillard once wrote: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." How blessed I am to get to wake up to this. #crestofpedlar #blueridgeva #birdsanctuaryinourbackyard #goodmorning #nofilter

[ahsumaker]

"I pledge allegiance to the Earth of our beloved solar system and to all of her creatures, for here they dwell, one planet united in harmony, with universal love and compassion for all." #ipledgeallegiance #weareallone #happyearthday (at Sperryville, Virginia)