Getting the bees ready for the winter!

A Vermont honey bee collects nectar from asters.

I love being a beekeeper! And I love the saints who talk about bees. Did you ever notice how often St. Francis de Sales mentions bees?

He must have had hives or at least visited with those who did. He's not a patron saint of beekeepers, but how often he used the busy bee as a model for the spiritual life. And so I thought of him today when we were working on our hives and admiring the busy girls bringing in colorful pollen: bright yellow and orange.

If you want to see what we were doing today, you can visit my grandma blog, The View from Camp Kreitzer.

Just as we have to get our bees ready for the winter, we act prudently when we get our souls ready: for Sunday, for Holy Days, for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, baptisms, confirmation, and for every ordinary day. That's what getting up and saying the morning offering is all about.

But there is something particularly special about big events and what an opportunity to create a memory. Larry and are getting ready for a big "winter" event right now -- our 50th wedding anniversary. We aren't celebrating with an extravaganza -- just renewing our vows at daily Mass and having a family breakfast back home with several of our children and their families -- with those closest and dearest.

Does this look like preparations for a golden wedding anniversary?

But despite the simplicity, we decided to make it a festive gathering by decorating and getting a local caterer to make the meal. We were married on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi and ask his intercession as we celebrate this holy day in the winter of our lives with wide-eyed anticipation (and a little fear, I confess) about what comes next.

Please pray for us on October 4th as we will be praying for you.