Golden Buprestid Beetle, a golden jewel!

Found this Golden Buprestid Beetle in the house this morning.  His family is named for " a golden jewel"  !  You see the connection to jewelry, thus making this an appropriate topic for a jewelry blog!! (tee hee).    Here is some information about her?  Interesting part, her larva can live 40yrs.!!  And she could be a conversation piece???  Anyway, I put her outside.

The female golden Buprestid beetle lays her eggs in the bark of fir and pine trees, usually in a scar or break in the bark of a live tree or a freshly cut log. The egg hatches into a white grub that feeds on the wood, chewing increasingly larger tunnels as it grows. The larva grows slowly, especially if the wood is dry as in lumber. There are records of larvae taking as long as 40 years to complete their life cycle and emerge from the wood as adults. So do not be surprised if these beetles show up in your house many years after it is built. Fortunately, the female beetle will not lay eggs on wood that is smooth and painted or varnished, so once the beetles emerge, just fill up the holes and keep the pretty beetle to show your friends as a conversation piece.

Display case

Excited to go to St. Louis, Mo. and see my girlfriend, Dianna.  Also excited when she took my to a quint little area of St. Charles to see jewelry.  Love looking at jewelry anytime!!   But what caught my attention was the display cases.  Got the Gorge Artists Open Studio show on the 13-15th of April, and was not going to use this case.  I have hailed this thing across the U.S.A.!    But did not think it would work to display jewelry in.  Too low!   Well this is just like what they were using in St. Charles!!   So excited a simple modification and I am set!!  Hope to see some of you at the show!!

Bingen Skate Park Fundraiser, buy tickets now.

This sounds like fun, hope to see someone I know here.

Bingen Skate Park Fundraiser - Tickets Available Now

The Bingen Skate Park is a huge draw for both youth and adults of Bingen, White Salmon, and Hood River, and is recognized as a destination for extreme skating athletes throughout the Northwest. With the "Gorge Out! Skate Park Dinner & Auction" Bingen is raising funds to help complete the community Skate Park, including adding a series of skate bowls for different ability levels.  

The Gorge Out! event on March 24th at Bingen School Inn begins at 5:00pm with a social hour and time to view and bid on silent auction items.  Some of the fantastic live and silent auctions items include: flight instruction, private wine tastings, fine artwork, furniture, rafting trips, weekend getaways, scenic & adventure flights, golf packages, tools, and gift baskets for the gardener, coffee lover, wine connoisseur, car fanatic...the list goes on.

The evening also features live music by Jack Bone Dixie and food and drink from local restaurants, breweries and wineries including: Angel's Bakery, AniChe Cellars, Beneventi's Pizza, Cor Cellars, Domain Pouillon, El Rinconcito, Everybody's Brewing, Henni's Kitchen & Bar, Katina's, Los Reyes, Springhouse Cellars, Solstice, Subway, Sweet Things by Julie, Syncline Winery Wind River Cellars, Zieglar Vineyards, and more.  If your business is not on this list we would be delighted add you to the list!

Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes says, "Thanks to tremendous local support, we have been steadily raising funds for this project.  It has been incredible to see the generous spirit of local residents and businesses who have chosen to make this park a priority for our community."  Sponsors include Chips Bar & Grill, Columbia State Bank, Dickey Farms, Pilot Knob, Spaeth Creative, and The Enterprise, and Bingen is also the only city in the WA to receive a highly competitive grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation, primarily because of its focus on providing a healthy play space.

So help us finish the Skate Park.  Reserve the evening of SATURDAY, MARCH 24th for a great night of food, drink, music, auctions, and fantastic community spirit.  Gorge Out! tickets are $15 each or 2 for $25, including admission, dinner, a cash bar, and a mystery prize raffle ticket.

Purchase tickets at Bingen City Hall, Mt. Adams Chamber of Commerce, Postal Connections, Solstice Wood Fire Cafe, Dickey Farms Fruit Stand, or at the door of Bingen School Inn, (Frankln at Cedar)   If you have any questions check out BingenEvents.com, or contact the City of Bingen at 509-493-2122, or visit Bingen Skate Park on Facebook .