We're gettin' bees

We've wanted to add bees to to farm since we moved in. After attending the Mother Earth News Fair last Oct. in Lawrence and getting a little bit more in depth about the whole process, I came home and set to work finding out more about food sources in our area and care and housing, etc. Jeremiah asked of one of the building construction instructors at school about building hives and they were on board!

I contated a few local people about obtaining some "nuc" (nucleus) colonies. Bee colonies are split in the spring. The hives should be ready to go just before we're ready to pick up the bees which will be just before the black locust trees bloom and that should give them a perfect start to the year. After October's seminars I wondered if would have a good enough food source for them. Country settings aren't always ideal as much of what grows are grasses and grasses don't flower. However, I remembered that a good majority of the trees around here are black locust and those DO bloom, a lot. Just once a year (when late ice storms don't zap them) and there are good years and better years for pollen production but that should be a good source. I found out a bee's radius for foraging is about 1.5 miles. I plan to take a drive as best we can on mostly perfectly grid-squared roads as the crow flies and see what's in that radius. I know there are alfalfa fields and we have some clover, fruit trees, etc. What we grow wouldn't be enough to sustain a colony I wouldn't think but the thought of feeding bees opens up a new world as far as what could be beneficial to plant in addition to what's regularly in the garden.

We'll have the school build the langstroth hives (traditional white box hives that are stacked) and Jeremiah and I will tackle some "top bar hives". Top bar hives are  like wooden v-shaped troughs. I'd like a few of each to see which we'll like working with the best. I also hope some friends who live in town wouldn't mind us placing some baited bee hives to catch a swarm or two. Cities are actually supposed to be great places to bait in swarms. Bees swarm usually when the colony gets to be too big, they choose a second queen and the (soon to be queen) takes off with her new entourage. I imagine most people who keep bees (apiaries) aren't too happy when their swarms take off and they do things to ensure they don't but anyway, it's not uncommon to catch bee swarms and that's why swarm removers exist, often times the swarm removers are bee keepers themselves.

Anyhow, I'll post more on that as time progresses and we've made progress there. It was important to find someone to sell us nuc colonies as nuc colonies aren't normally shipped. Packaged bees can be shipped. Rachel asked what a package of bees was. I told her it was like taking a lot of different people from a lot of different families (and in a package of bees they throw in a newly mated queen that was not chosen by the hive members), throwing them together and telling them to figure it out. Eventually they usually do but die affects numbers before the newly mated queen is ready lay eggs and then there' time for the eggs to hatch and yadda yadda yadda. It takes a lot longer for a hive to learn to work together, expand, etc. A nuc colony is a colony that has lived together, worked together, chosen their own queen and there is little stress in shipment because the bees aren't going far, etc. And because bees are such a wanted/needed commodity, getting on a waiting list for a spring colony is vital to whether or not one will have bees for that year. I contacted a lot of people that said the waiting list for last year spilt over to this year so I would be on a waiting list for the waiting list.


It's all very exciting and the whole bee life has really been very interesting to read up on. Busy week ahead. Have a great Tuesday.

Freezers, floods and spelling bees

This weekend's chore was to get more wood split and fix the greenhouse. It didn't weather a spring storm so well. We went to Lowes and ran some other errands Saturday and by the time we got home around noon we were done. Sears in Hutchinson is closing its doors so everything is 10-40% off. We nearly came home with a new fridge but I found it online from a Sears outlet cheaper including shipping for a new floor model. So, if and when we decide there's a budget for a new fridge, we'll look there. Ours still works, it's just massively obese for our small mouse-sized kitchen.

Saturday the high was 50 something and it rained Friday night, couple all that with the snow melt and there's a small lake in front of the greenhouse on the way out to the barn. It collects there unfortunately and there hasn't been a plan yet on what to do to fix it so working on the greenhouse was out of the question as was splitting wood because that was still covered in snow so, we spent the rest of the afternoon doing odd jobs like cleaning the house!

Sunday we got the 2x4's ripped for the greenhouse door and it's a mighty nice door! Friends of ours helped put up a high tunnel (hoop style greenhouse) over Christmas break in another state and showed us the plans. I don't intend to need anything that large but I did take some queues as to what to do about attaching the plastic to the frame. They used thin molding strips (we used ripped 2x4's) and folded the plastic around it and then attached the strips to the frame. it looks really really nice and hopefully the stress the wind creates on the plastic will better hold with a whole strip of wood than just staples every so often.

Last year I didn't have a window on the west side. It was sort of framed for one so I decided while we were ripping boards and a nice door, a nice window might be in order too so I build the window...well, I cut all the boards for the window, even figured out how to miter the diagonal brace board and at what angles.

I have some serious spring fever with this weather we've been having but I am sure it is short lived...the weather that is, not spring the spring fever. Athough, it is almost time to get ready to start seeds. I am thinking about expanding the garden to put corn and melons elsewhere which should give more room in the main garden for the main crops.

I am also thinking about doing a little straw bale gardening up by the house. If you'd like to read up on straw bale gardening, go here: http://strawbalegardens.com/ . A friend planted all of her 'taters in straw bales which made harvesting them a cinch! She just busted open the bales and there her huge crop of taters were then she had the straw for compost. It's hard for me to get the early crops in the garden because the the ground isn't always workable when the cabbage and things are ready to go in so I am thinking the straw bales may be a better option. The new wheat harvest (and subsequent straw) won't be ready to pick up until June or so which will be too late for this years garden but I have a good source for inexpensive straw. I keep saying I'll stock up when the new harvest comes in and bales can be had for something like $1 a bale! Anyway...

The pigs have done a good job rooting up their pasture area they are on and I was looking at the location next to the orchard yesterday for corn and melons. I'd have to do something about keeping the chickens out but we've also talked about fencing them in too. There is a netting product that is moveable and electrified so I could put them on new ground every week or so. I am tired of loosing them to foxes and we have a REALLY nice group of hens this year. I hatched out a good crop last Sept. and plan to put another batch in the incubator in a couple days and they'll be ready by mid-summer to lay.

We expect another litter of piglets in mid-Feb. I hope the weather is decent. The first goat babies are due in a couple of weeks and we'll be kidding until May.

We have 2 chest freezers that needed to be washed out well. We bought a new (to us) upright that's in the house now and have no need for the ones in the garage. We never did get to splitting the wood but the temps have been nice and look like they will continue to be at least until next weekend so we won't go through as much so what we have will last.

Rachel's birthday is Thursday. Wednesday evening she and I are meeting up with some friend for cocoa and coffee. She wants potato soup for dinner and home made bread Thursday evening and I think we'll try to fit in a movie next weekend. Jeremiah will be in Mo. for a competition on the weekend of the 25th of Jan. and mentioned maybe being out of town Valentine's Day weekend for a competition and then he'll be gone for training the week of St. Patrick's Day to Cleveland. Over the summer a robotic welder was purchased for the shop and it requires training to operate it. It's been sitting there since it was delivered because the 2 other people who are potential operators haven't been able to all schedule a time to be away to do the training. Jeremiah has also picked up a Tuesday evening teaching class for the college. He'll be teaching Machining 1&2 from tomorrow until some time in May when the semester is over.

It seems hard to believe but the kids only have 3.5 months of school left. They are out early again this year on April 30th where other districts are out some time toward the end of May. I don't know how much further the new school's progress has come but as of Oct. it was said to still be sitting as an empty lot so who knows if it will be ready in time. I know I am tired of the extended days. This year it's even longer going from 7:50 to 3:25. Last year it was 7:50 to 3:20. The kids don't get home until after 4 on the bus, though lately I have been picking them up. Jeremiah drops them off on his way to work.

Snoozing Snow

King

I'll end for now. Have a great week. Oh, and last minute last week (it seemed) there was a spelling bee at school for the 4-6th graders. Of the 6 students who participated (2 from each grade all against  one another), Rachel was 2nd behind a 6th grader. We were very pleased. She finished her last Harry Potter book last night of the entire series. She says she's going on to Percy Jackson books next. She'll run out of books at the school's library if she stays there for many more grades =).  

Ann Curry (left) & Earl of Sandwich (right)

 

Moab & chickens

New Year's Eve and the roads were super quiet. We blasted through Salt Lake after getting diesel and, oddly enough, a PIZZA of all things and headed south. I don't know why we thought taking I70 would be the better option but we figured if we could drive for another hour or so, going south toward Grand Junction would give us more hotel options than going toward Park City, Utah and No-mans-land Wyoming. As it turns out, conditions were good, the road was still quiet (with all the traffic out of Salt Lake going toward Nevada to gamble I assume) and then south of Salt Lake traffic was flowing in. So, we practically had the road to ourselves all the way to Price. On the way, however, I thought it might be kind of fun to take a detour and go SEE something for a change. Not that we don't see a lot while traveling, we see a lot! But, to take a break and head off the beaten path route might be kind of fun. Not to mention doing something with the family would be a great way to start the new year.

So, we high tailed it through price, made it down to I70 and headed to Moab where we'd slide in to town just before midnight to watch the fireworks going off over the city. After a good night's rest, we got up early to hike in Arches National Park. I never would have thought that being there in temperatures below freezing with snow on the ground would be an ideal time to visit, but it really was!

We spent the better part of the morning hiking. "Delicate Arch" was (said) a 1.5 mile hike but given the terrain it was more like 3 Jeremiah said. I only went part of the way. The kids wore jackets, I happily designated myself to take them back when it got to about 40 degrees out and chances are it wouldn't have been too much further that I would have tucked tail and run anyway as Jeremiah said "the height and sheer wall cliffs along the trail" would have finished it for me. I am deathly afraid of them, beautiful view or not. He and the kids went though, I went back to the truck and took an hour snooze in the sunshine.  
   
   

Last fall when we butchered our broiler chickens 6 were spared freezer camp. We wanted to see how they'd do as layers. We got home to find SUPER large eggs from these birds! Three of them made a nice omelet perfect for sharing.

 

It's back to the old grind- laundry, chores and cleaning. We spend a day going through old paperwork. I am organizing, cleaning and finishing long over due to be done sewing projects in the sewing room. The Christmas tree has been taken down and ornaments put away. There's too much snow to bother taking out the tree to the pile so it's sitting on the ground, someone threw it off the porch.

Yesterday the temp was over 40 so there was a lot of melting snow. Friday we're supposed to get rain and freezing rain and this weekend looks like it will be in the 50's which we are really looking forward to!

Our "polar vortex" was experienced, it seemed, a day before anyone elses. Sunday felt so much worse than Monday by far even though the still temp on Monday was below zero degrees. Sunday's wind however was just awful. The animals are just fine, plenty of extra bedding and feed and no one seems worse for the wear. I don't know what the final reading was Monday morning but it was something like -17 to -20 with windchill. It honestly didn't feel that bad but then again, there was hardly any wind.

We need to get on wood splitting this weekend and it should be a dandy time for it...unless everything is covered in ice that is! We're working out way through the wood quick but on that note, Sunday night with the cold temps, the wood stove did well! I didn't set the thermostat or turn on the furnace. I wanted to see how the stove did with as cold a night as it was. We stocked it well before going to bed. The rest of the house was sitting at about 68 in the hall -with the living room being much warmer of course- and by 6 AM it had fallen to 58 (which is about where I have the furnace kick on). So, even with the bitterly cold outside, the stove is a fine job keeping the house reasonably comfortable for sleeping, for us. It took a while to warm it back up Monday but our old stove would have failed pretty miserably unless stocked several times in the night.

Time to get out and do chores. Happy Wednesday.