Candle Making Workshop in Rumsiskes, Lithuania.

Candle Making Workshop in Rumsiskes, Lithuania., a set on Flickr - click on the link at the beginning of the sentence to see the slides instead of these small thumbnails.

On the third day of our Lithuanian tour we went to the historic community open air museum near Rumsiskes. The area is set up in fragments of villages. It was established in 1966 and is a wonderful depiction of Lithuanian life with 140 buildings, flower gardens, orchards, etc.

We were lucky to get to take a candle making workshop and each of us got to try the old-fashioned way of pouring candles.

We discovered that the wax has to be kept at a relatively low temperature - I think wax melts at 140 degrees F. If it gets warmer than that, it won't harden on the wick and just slides right back down into the bowl.

In the end you get a candle that is long and pretty, but a little out of shape. A rolling pin/board is then used to even it up and to make an end for a candle holder.

We each went away with a candle and had a great time - not to mention a really good lunch of traditional food. To see the labels on the slide, click on each individual slide.
Created with flickr slideshow.

Bees Up In the Trees with Romas

Bees Up In the Trees with Romas, a set on Flickr - click on the link to see the entire slide show instead of just the thumbnails depicted above.

Although I've already posted on this amazing tree climb into the tops of trees to inspect high-up bee hives, this slideshow is more comprehensive and less difficult to scroll through.

I was so amazed by this process that I took lots of photos every step of the way.

BTW, all along this path were wild raspberries and huckleberries, so we feasted on them as we walked. There were also blackberries but they weren't ripe yet.

Romas also showed us his well for drinking water and his way of getting rid of the ants that bother his bees. He treats his tree trunks with a birch resin paint that he makes by steaming the birch bark in a dutch oven type arrangement in an outdoor fire pit.

There are ant lions living under his front porch and when he finds ants, he often throws them under his porch where the ant lions rather violently eat them (we saw this in action!).  Here's a link to a video of an ant being eaten by an ant lion.  And here's another.  I thought this was fascinating.

 To see the labels on individual slides, click on them in the slideshow:
Created with flickr slideshow.

Inspecting a hive in a tree

Inspecting a hive in a tree, a set on Flickr - click on the link at the beginning to see the entire slideshow and not just these thumbnails.

The ancient way of keeping bees in Lithuania was to keep the bees in hollow trees. The beekeeper would hollow out the trunk to make enough room for the bees and cut an entrance that he/she could use to access the hive. It's a joke for me to say he/she because in ancient times all the beekeepers were male.

Romas showed us how he inspects the hives that he has at his place near the museum.

He also shared some honey comb with us that we all enjoyed. Everyone put on veils, including Lukas, our guide (he's in the brown t shirt).

Romas also showed us how he entices a swarm into the tree, as you will see in the photos.

Created with flickr slideshow.