Bee's Guest House

[framing fowl]

They get the concept of payback, but not forward.

Isn't that the truth? I guess we all just need to keep on doing what we know is right and eventually, the right people will join along with us and it does grow.

It's amazing to me how many people we meet think that we want to be self-sufficient to totally cut ourselves off from society. In fact, for us it is the complete opposite. Our self-sufficiency goal is provide for ourselves and develop networks of trusted friends so that we can in turn provide for others. Some of them end up getting it and some don't

 

[Beekissed]

FF, I think that very idea that we are all trying to win at something and so cannot share with others is leading to the downfall of this country.

Back in the day, folks were more willing to give and share when they had less to offer, being poor themselves. They realized, I think, that we are all walking the same path and there are no winners or losers...just finishers.

Wish more folks knew that this is still reality today... :/


Well, just stopped in on the porch to talk about garden and foodlot progress.....there is starting to be some!

The garden, of course, did not turn out like I imagined in my mind all this winter...but it is coming along since the rains we had last week.

All these years of adding chicken manure, the addition of pelleted lime, the soil amendments of mulch and the clover path covering has finally paid off, I'm thinking.

As soon as everything is mulched that has not been oversown with clover, this garden will do great things! Everything is a deep, rich, green color....I'm thinking the added nitrogen didn't help my onions though...they just did nothing!

The tomatoes are very beautiful, thick stemmed and producing well as they should. We tied them up to the fencing today...no more staking! No more staking!

The broccoli is downright lovely and a deep, slate blue with thick growth....no heads yet. I may traumatize them a little to see if they will set heads a little later on.

The corn is downright lovely and doing well. The beans are great also.

The cukes, squash and pumpkins are coming along slowly but surely and should be ready just in time for fall.

The peppers are small...but they do this to me every year. They look awful all summer and then, all the sudden, they grow two feet, become trees and yield bushels of peppers...too many to even use!

Flowers in the annual beds are pitiful and I don't expect them to make anything of consequence.

Peas and beans are up and rearing to go.

I got several things in late and they are slow but I'm sure they will be coming along~carrots, lettuce, dill, cilantro, radishes, etc.

This clover is downright amazing! I've spotted so many beneficial bugs in it and the bees are working it overtime. Its so cool, green and lush that I can get down on my knees in it and work my beds without getting dirty, hurting my skin or being uncomfortable.

Weeds that grow into the clover that is in the beds just pull out so easily..roots and all! The clover must keep the ground very soft and broken up with their roots for this to happen. So easy to weed the few weeds that have breeched the clover...I love it!

The new ewe, Mo, has not lambed~all of her other flock mates have done so except her. She is huge and has bagged out, looks like she will go at any moment...I don't think she wants to stop eating long enough to have babies.

Our new kitten, Percy Jackson, has been helping me garden...and everything else! He has stolen our hearts and we can't help but smile or laugh when he is around. Never have I seen a more endearing kitten and that is saying a lot!

The bees are extremely busy and I have been trying to find the time to look in and see if they need more room and to remove an empty feeder. I swear those bees are trying to tell me something.....every once in awhile one comes and buzzes around my face like its very excited...it won't leave me alone! Weird, to say the least!

The new chicks are healthy and happy but I'm unsure if I got what I ordered.....do 2 wk. old RIR chicks have bars of coloring on their wings?

The meaties are what they are....despite being fed once a day, being free ranged, getting great exercise going up and down the ramp into the coop, not being fed high protein feeds...guess what?

They look exactly the same size as everyone else's at this age and they act the same also.....in the cool of the day they still forage some but mostly they just lay in the green grass. They take a few steps and drop, repeat if necessary. Very sad...

I will be processing them soon.

Anyhoo....that's the skinny on Sweetwater Farm right now. We are getting some warm nights so the garden may just yield this year and this makes me happy!

I hope everyone else is having similar results and will soon be covered over with crops!

 

[dragonlaurel]

" The bees are extremely busy and I have been trying to find the time to look in and see if they need more room and to remove an empty feeder. I swear those bees are trying to tell me something.....every once in awhile one comes and buzzes around my face like its very excited...it won't leave me alone! Weird, to say the least! tongue "

They might be saying- Thanks for the clover, but you need to check our place out soon. They probably have some honey for you by now.

Something is telling me you should get an empty extra hive ready in case anybody has a wild swarm. Or even if yours just need split this year from being so well fed.

 

[Beekissed]

I have a mighty big hive...do you think they could be crowded for room in this first year? I didn't hive them until the end of May.

I guess I just don't know how much honey a hive can put down with a good nectar flow.

I'll be checking them this week, as right now I have them between two follower boards with 8 bars in the middle.

From what I understand, one should expand towards the back of the hive instead of the front entrance but, unfortunately, my bees ignored the entrances I made and developed their own near the back of the hive!

I was thinking that we would not be able to remove any honey this year, as they got started so late in building a colony and even missed the early spring blossoms.

I guess I'll never know unless I look.....I just hate disturbing them and I still haven't gotten over being unnerved by the bees.

One fella told me to wear ear plugs while I'm working the hive so that I won't be bothered by the buzzing.

 

[dragonlaurel]

It sounds like they get lots of pollen near home. I wouldn't take much the first season, but they are likely to have some spare. They just seem like they want your attention- so check it out.

Maybe they are curious about you too. After all, you are sharing your land with them.

If anybody sees a swarm or wants a hive removed- would you still want it? I remember you were hoping for wild bees. A spare hive could let you have them on short notice.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I was hoping to maybe - lots of stress on the maybe - try to have a hive of bees next year.

I was originally going to start trying to get all of my supplies together this year, so that I could have the hive and everything needed to work safely around my bees, ready by spring for installing bees next year.

Now, with getting the new place and having to pay to get it moved, etc. it looks like I'll be working to get the box and supplies next year, and bees after that.

 

[Beekissed]

Aly, in our local ads this week someone was selling 3 hive bodies and supers and additional bee equipment, plus the suit and smoker, for $300....which is probably a mighty good deal!

I hope you can get some.....I'll let you know how much it helped my garden production. Supposed to increase yields by 50% but how does one measure something of this nature when there are so many variables?

DL, I would still want it and I will build the other hive as soon as I can get some things done around here. I would love to have two going this year but wouldn't I have to feed a lot if I got one right now....they couldn't make enough honey now to see them through the winter, could they?

Although....I've heard that a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon!

A swarm in July, pass it by.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I don't know your area - to be sure how much pollen is available, and when. Your local beekeepers would make a better guess about that. They could probably walk your neighborhood and know if it's likely to be fine.
Can you plant any shrubs or ??? that would give them extra pollen either this year or next year? Might be an option.
fixed typo

 

[Beekissed]

Well...my meat chicken project is winding up and we processed the first 12 yesterday. I have a few things to tell you all about these birds and some great pics, but it will take me some time to download them all.

On Monday we do the rest of them and some of my old laying stock. I hope to take pics of specific organs~to help folks identify these~ and ways to cut around things to make gutting a chicken easier. These will all go in the book eventually but I figured you all would like to see them also.

This has been a learning experience for me, even though I have been raising-off and on- and butchering chickens since I was in grade school. These birds were a whole 'nother kettle of fish in a few ways.

Here is a pic of the birds~at 11 wks~awaiting processing:

The average live wt. on these were around 9-10 lbs and the average dressed wt. was around 5-6 lbs.

I realize these aren't as big as most folks' meaties, but then I wasn't exactly going for quantity but quality and I believe I achieved that. These birds were very healthy and had very little smell when processing, which surprised the heck out of me.

And a pic of a few of them after processing:

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

hey, Bee! they look delicious!