keljonma's Front Porch - Settling in and adjusting

[keljonma]

Weather has been crazy here.... The last days of August we had high temps near 100 and even our low temps were in the mid 90s. Then Thursday and Friday before Labor Day week-end temps were down in the mid-40s at night and highs were in the low 70s. We had a great deal of heavy rain, 30 mph winds, and thunderstorms through the holiday week-end, and ended up with one day of mostly sunny - Sunday.

Today we are in the low 60s, very strong winds and more thunderstorms and rain. It is almost like autumn!

I took advantage of the sun on Sunday to check out the hives.

Hive#1 still going gang-busters and we harvested another 3 pounds (1 qt jar) of honey. This honey is a bit darker than the earlier honey - and looks and smells like it has a touch of buckwheat in it.

Hive#2 is not doing as well as I had hoped for being 1 month old. A couple of the sheets of foundation had fallen out of the frames in the lower deep super (not sure how or when), and the girls had built comb and the queen had laid eggs in it. When I removed the 1st frame to check on brood/pollen/honey in Hive #2, some of the comb tore and I ended up removing it from the hive completely. I was pretty bummed about that not only because of the loss of brood; this super is natural beeswax foundation (like we used in Hive#1) and the bees did very well in drawing comb out quickly. The top deep super is Rite Cell foundation, which is a plastic foundation. Even though I rubbed it with beeswax, pressed some beeswax foundation onto the Rite Cell along the top bars of the frames, and sprayed the foundation thoroughly with HBH sugar syrup, the girls are barely drawing beeswax. Of course, this could be because they haven't finished filling up the lower super frames yet.

Another thing I noticed about both hives, but especially about Hive#2, is that there are a great many yellow jackets near the hive.

I think the yellow jackets are drawn by the smell of honey in Hive#1. But I am wondering if the yellow jackets are somehow getting to the HBH sugar syrup I am feeding Hive#2.

Many of the workers in both hives are coming back with pollen and nectar (guessing because they are low flying near the entrance and don't appear to be carrying pollen or as much pollen.

In retrospect, I should have inspected Hive#2 first; and will do that in future. Then I would have seen that I needed to move some brood/pollen/honey frames from Hive#1 to this hive so it would have a better chance of making it through this winter.

Of course, I still have time to help both hives before winter - providing the weather ever cooperates again.....

I am feeling a bit frustrated with beeking this month. Probably because beek-ing, harvest/preservation, family, church, and project obligations are all hitting at once.


Have fun!

 

[keljonma]

Cleaned the church kitchen last week-end and found 2 one-gallon glass pickle jars behind a bunch of junk.... I checked with Pat and she said she was going to use the jars for Lead The Way Cafe this year, however, that ministry has been moved to another location this year. So I was able to bring the jars home.

TR was off yesterday, so we flea bombed the house and gave Titan a bath. Since we had to be outside, I harvested more amaranth and threshed the bit that I picked earlier. I also finished canning some tomatoes (quartered in their own juice) and we now have a dozen full quarts. I was going to make sauce, but I think the quarters are more flexible.

I got the camera program downloaded to the new to us computer, so will be able to take some pics again for sharing.

The goldfinch have been going to town on the sunflowers...so I had to cut some yesterday and brought them inside to dry out in the mud room. We've had some nice weather the past few days (70s and sunshine), but lightening and thunderstorms since late last night. The weather is supposed to clear up again by the week-end, so hopefully TR and I will get the rest of the buckwheat and some millet harvested.

The honeybees have been bringing in yellow, white and orange pollens to the the hives. I think the orange is still coming from the nasturtiums, as I see a number of bees (maybe 20) on those plants. The small white flowers (look like miniature daisies) provide a pollen that is white. I haven't seen the color of the pollen from the golden rod, but it sure isn't because I haven't looked.

I may have mentioned this before; our house (and the landlord's place next door) are on 85 acres. The landlords parents and grandparents ran a dairy farm on this land. But the cows were sold in the mid-1980's when his parents died. Most recently, the landlord has rented out a couple of the pastures for local farmers to plant corn, soybeans and alfalfa. However, this year he did not rent out any of the 85 acres to anyone, so we have pretty much had the run of the place.

Although there are a couple orchards (cherry, apple, plum, peach), we really haven't had much of a fruit harvest. I guess this is because they haven't really taken care of the trees for so long. We did see blossoms this spring, so hopefully, the bees will find them again next spring.

Anyway, all this acreage is simply covered with golden rod and now the asters are in coming into bloom, as well as some other wild flowers. Can you possibly imagine how happy our honeybees must be to have all this food near to the hives?! The golden rod is in various stages of blossom - some is just starting now, and the stuff that blossomed earlier in the month is starting to look ragged and brown.

The rain was pretty bad for parts of the day, so while TR was at work today, I made sauerkraut with caraway seeds.

 

[Farmfresh]

What a picture you paint of the wildflowers. Drink in that view for me.

 

[keljonma]

FF, from our upstairs north facing windows we can see for miles! The trees and shrubbery are beginning to get their autumnal coloring now. It is quite a sight!

 

[Farmfresh]

Sounds simply wonderful!!

How much honey have you gotten from your hives total this year? I remember hearing about you collecting from time to time, but can't remember how much you said you have gathered.

I am just curious. This IS the first year for the hive isn't it?

 

[keljonma]

TR doesn't work this week-end, and there is a long list of stuff to do. So we have been on the go all day.

We dropped off the hazmat materials at the county fairgrounds. This service is offered every September. There is nothing like free drop-off! Of course they won't take the tires that the last tenants left; and I refuse to pay $200 to get rid of their old truck tires! So they are still sitting behind the shed near the driveway. But we did get rid of about 50 cans of miscellaneous paints, strippers, varnishes, turpentine, and empty paint cans for which I am very thankful.

We went down to Cherry Valley and bought some sugar. as I will need to start making sugar syrup again for the honeybees. We also got coarse cornmeal, rolled oats, bulgar wheat, SAF yeast and some Qualitate flour.

On our way to the grocery, we dropped off the stuff at the recycle center in the village. TR bought some homemade cookies from the local high school pep squad's bake sale. Then I had to go to another store for Fels Naptha (time to make more laundry soap), so TR went to the Historical Society for their fall apple fritter & bake sale while I was shopping.

Then we went to Tractor Supply to look around and bought some flea meds for Titan. We just bombed the house and bathed him, so we wanted to get some meds on him quickly. Afterward, TR went down to the APL store in the mall while I went to JoAnn Fabrics to get more poly-fill so I can stuff more teddy bears and chickens.

It has been wet and chilly here. Last night it got so chilly we even shut all the windows in the house and put on another blanket on the bed! I am not ready for cold weather yet, that is for sure!

We are in the 70s today and the sun is shining, but it is quite windy. Tomorrow's forecast is calling for more rain, but then we are scheduled to have at least 2 or 3 days of sunshine. Harvest will have to wait, as all my books say to make sure grain is dry before harvest.

Tomorrow adult Sunday classes start back up. I am taking Beth Moore's study, Believing God. This study starts with a DVD lesson on Sunday, and then 5 days of homework; and this is the pattern for the entire study. I am looking forward to getting back into the groove of regular class.

TR signed up for a Disciples Study, which meets every Tuesday for 34 weeks. Last Tuesday was his first class. He is signed up for the 1st study, but was the only one to sign up. The other 11 students there are in the 4th year study. So Pastor Meredith and the rest of the students voted, and TR will be taking the 4th year study first. He is thankful that they agreed to let him participate. TR really misses church, since he misses it every other week-end because of work. So he feels this Tuesday class will help him on his path.

Well, I should get a move on and get back home to work on that stuff to do list.

Have fun!

 

[keljonma]

A friend gave us 1 1/2 bushels of apples today. I think I will can some applesauce and apple pie filling. She also gave us a dozen sweet corn, so we're having bbq beef short ribs with sweet corn for dinner tonight. TR said he was going to make some baked apples as well.

Temps here are back in the low 90s and upper 80s. I have some more amaranth in storage and some millet and sunflowers drying.

I think I love cockscomb flowers! The bumble bees and butterflies are all over them every sunny day. They don't have any smell - but, boy are they colorful; And huge! This picture from Baker Creek Seed does not do this beauty justice!

http://rareseeds.com/cart/products/Cockscomb_Amish-61-11.html

Well I best get home, since dinner is just about done and I still have to put together a salad. I made French baguettes yesterday and I think I will make one into garlic bread.

 

[lorihadams]

I swear girl, I don't know how you get everything done every day!

Hubby and I are still thinking about doing the bees but we have to focus on meat chickens now...

So is Titan feeling better?

 

[homesteadmomma]

Wow, you are so busy and I love reading your descriptive posts!

 

[keljonma]

Sounds simply wonderful!!

How much honey have you gotten from your hives total this year? I remember hearing about you collecting from time to time, but can't remember how much you said you have gathered.

I am just curious. This IS the first year for the hive isn't it?

Well, I haven't posted in a bit and was re-reading and saw I missed replying to this earlier post. Sorry, FF!

Yes, FF, this is the first year for the hive(s). We originally installed the first hive May 1st and then had the swarm late July.

All the experience says 1st year beeks should not expect a honey harvest, as the bees will most likely need it for winter.

However, we have harvested some - 9 pounds, which is 3 quart jars worth. We have more frames filled, but I am using them to feed the swarm hive. The original hive appears to be in fine shape for getting through the winter. God willing.