Here are some pictures of our summer gardens. We are just starting to harvest many of the tomatoes, peppers and squash. View of the main garden from the top. Picture taken about a month ago. Our 3 Layens horizontal hives down in the little orchard are finally full of honey bees. Sarah did a wonderful […]
2021 Summer Gardening Read More »
5 weeks ago we caught a swarm in one of our 7-frame Layens swarm traps. This morning we transferred the colony from the trap and into our 3rd 20-frame Layens hive. Never again will we wait so long between catching the swarm and transferring the colony into a full hive! The swarm trap was so
Another Swarm Trap of Local Honey Bees Installed Read More »
Water glassing eggs is an old method to store fresh eggs without any refrigeration. They will stay good for up to 2 years when preserved this way. During Spring and into Summer the chickens are laying lots of eggs each day, but as the days get shorter in Winter they will slow or even stop
Water Glassing Eggs Read More »
Both of our dogs love chewing on any brassica stalks. Weird!
Bonnie’s Favorite Chew Toy! Read More »
Lumber prices have increased exponentially since the Spring of 2020…when COVID-19 starting wreaking havoc in the U.S. We are starting to build a little cabin this summer so I’ve been interested in plywood/OSB prices. I can mill any boards I need, but it sure would be nice to use sheet goods on the subfloor, exterior
Lumber Prices Are Sky High Read More »
We had one of our honey bee hives swarm. I was working in the garden and could hear them buzzing much, much louder than ever before. I went to investigate and saw a cloud of bees at the top of a nearby pine tree. They massed around the queen on a branch for a couple
Sarah has been doing seed swapping on Facebook recently, so we have many new varieties to try. Tomato seedlings waiting until our last frost date before planting out.
Getting Tomato Plants Ready Read More »
We overwintered kale that we’re letting go to seed. Honey bees have discovered it on this cloudy, but warm day. Dead Nettle, Johnny Jump-Ups and Chickweed are blooming all over the garden, and a few dandelions too.
Honey Bees Foraging In The Garden Read More »
Sometimes we get larger than usual eggs that contain 2 yolks inside. These are most often laid by young hens (pullets) that have just started laying. The greatest number of yolks found in a single chicken egg is 9. That must have been a huge egg…and a painful experience for the hen. Some interesting egg
Our Honey Bees are riding out the winter in 2 Layens horizontal hives. They both have more space to add empty frames. We also have another Layens hive ready for bees either through splitting an existing hive or catching another swarm this spring. I just finished building frames in the workshop so we’re ready to
Building Honey Bee Frames for 2021 Read More »