A Pre-Wedding Beehive

          With the countdown at less than two weeks to Katie's wedding, Indiantree Farm is a beehive of activity.

          And there are only two bees in the hive.

          Nola and I have been planting, pruning, scraping, painting and mowing (seemingly) from dawn to dusk.  B&B guests sometimes pitch in and help, but realistically they're here on vacation and should be kicking back and recharging their personal batteries, not engaging in grunt work.

          The ceremony site, at the peak of the hill and in the shadow of our Indian mound, has been off-limits for grazing by cattle and horses for a month and we've treated the area as if it were a lawn.  Looks like it too.

          I'm eager to see what it looks like when the muslin-covered straw bales are lined up for guest seating.

          Guests who don't wish to walk the 200 yards to the ceremony site will be transported in our antique (but rubber-tired) wagon pulled by the 60-year-old Farmall tractor.

          The wedding reception party will take place in the barn and Great-Grandfather Christ Miller – who built the barn well over a century ago - would never believe it.

          Twinkling lights hang in graceful long drapes from the hay slings in the center to the barn's far corners.  An old horse feeding trough has been resurrected to serve – appropriately - as a beverage station.  The sound system awaits setup as soon as remaining implements and machinery are relocated.

          Katie's parents and siblings spent many winter and spring weekends designing and decorating the barn interior.  They have several weekends to go, and all will be crammed into the next week. 

          Everyone's taking a week off and will turn the farm into a much more realistic beehive as the hilltop landmark gets a final decorating "push."