In the last several weeks, there’ve been two that have been eating up most of my free time: tutoring and honey.

My tutoring company, No Excuses Tutoring, has had an unexpected bump in activity recently. I had several web leads that came in, and as a result I found 3 more students to tutor this semester. Which meant that I had to go out and find/vet/interview tutors for them, and in general become more serious about the company. This of course is great news, and my next challenge is making the website better. Easier to find on Google, easier to navigate and more focused in terms of what the company is and why it exists.

The other project, has been to help a local beekeeper sell honey to new, and hopefully more upscale, markets. The first thing we did is re-label the honey. In order to differentiate honey from all of the other honey options out there, we decided to tell a story of what makes the this honey special. Through the new label of Grampa’s Gourmet we can tell the story of a multi-generational beekeeper based in a unique location (San Luis Valley) – and attract a higher price as a result. I’ve been busy building the website, and looking for partnerships with other companies to sell the honey.

Simply Honey’s owner and sole employee is Brent Edelen, a third generation bee keeper. He has between 500 and 600 colonies that he moves to New Mexico in the cold months, and brings back to the San Luis Valley in the summer.

Brent let me taste four different types of honey: Clover, Tamarisk, Starthisle and Wildflower. By far the most interesting honey was the Tamarisk. The color of the Tamarisk honey jars is almost black, and it has a very distinct flavor.

I also experienced eating a raw honey comb for the first time in my life. It’s gooey, and the sweetness explodes in your mouth unexpectedly as the hexagonal wax cells all burst when you chew them.

Below are some pictures I took from the excursion.

As it looks like I will be getting more and more involved with helping Brent bring the honey to a new market, I will be writing more about Simply Honey, bee keeping and all matters of honey in general.

Brent of Simply Honey shows how he cuts out the honeycomb.

A frame still full of honey.

The finished product comes in a beautiful case.

Abandoned bee keeping supplies and barrels, once full of honey.

Amazing views of the Sange de Cristo Mountains.

Of the many interesting works on display, one caught our imagination. It was the “Fox Games” by Sandy Skoglund.

Below is a picture of the installation at the museum and are some images from her website.

Grant Park (and the bean) in Chicago as seen from the Aon Center.

Building a chicken coop.

The opera was Don Pasquale – here is how Opera Colorado described it:

Gaetano Donizetti’s amusing tale of deception and disguise is transported to the wild west of America in the 1800’s. This rousing version, which has toured to rave reviews across the US and Canada, hits Denver in perfect time to keep the theme of the National Western Stock Show momentum going strong!

It was certainly entertaining, even more so since it was the second opera I have been to, ever.

The ballet was Coppélia, performed by the Colorado Ballet, and here is how they describe it:

We start with “once upon a time” and end with “wow!” A children’s tale, perhaps. But this is really a magical event for everyone with an imagination and a funny bone. This classic ballet is filled with magic and mayhem. Start with one eccentric toy-maker, throw in a plan to bring a mechanical doll to life, and mix well with a red-blooded young lover, a jealous fiancé and an array of mischievous maidens. You end up with a wild mix of abracadabra, spooky adventure and plenty of old-fashioned love. Don’t miss this enchanting tale and playful choreography.

Both Jess and I had a good time.