january & febuary

bees: so sad...we lost 2 of our hives. but, i kinda expected it...they were smaller and weaker than the other 2. so, we will be buying 2 bee packages and starting again in the spring!

chickens: i have baby chicks! last week my order of 26 baby chicks came in from mcmurray hatchery...4 died within a day and i sold 6 to a neighbor...so we are down to 16. i tried some new breeds...partridge rock, buff orpington, speckled sussex, silver spangled hamburg, and silver laced & gold laced wyandottes.

garden 2012: if you are looking to buy non-gmo, heirloom seeds...you must check out "baker heirloom seed company" ...they have a beautiful free catalog, and so many varieties of seeds! i am so excited for spring...i cant wait to start growing!

kids: i am excited to say that my little boo is about 75% potty trained! it will be so nice, not to have any diapers to change!

thinking of spring...

this winter has been pretty mild compared to last year...we have had days in the 50's & 60's, and (i hate to say it, because i may be jinxing us) no snow! the boys are feeling very cheated this year...no snow days, no sledding, no snow! i, on the other hand, am grateful!...this year we have saved alot on our home-heating costs, compared to last year. the warmer days really make you look ahead to spring! my spring 2012 plans...

the garden: we made 2 more raised beds over the winter, and plan on making more! i have been making lists of all the veggies i want to grow this year... cutting out the ones that didnt do well last year, and picking some new ones to try...like blue corn :)

chickens: i have baby chicks coming!!! we had some new breeds that we wanted to try, so i placed an order with McMurray Hatchery...my little chickies are schedualed to arrive feb. 15th! we have gold and silver laced wyandottes, partridge rocks, buff orpingtons, speckled sussex and silver spangled hamburgs all ordered! i have a large rabbit hutch, that we are moving into the basement and going to use as their brooder. we are also lookng into expanding the chicken coop/ run area to give our girls more space...i am also on the lookout for and old kids outdoor playhouse...i saw a photo online where someone converted one to a little hen house!

bees: with the warmer temps our honeybees actually came out insearch of forage...i was happy to see that all 4 hives are still alive! i am really looking forward to a good honey harvest this year...hopefully the girls get an early start!

fall hive inspections...

honeybee out collecting some fall pollen!

things are changing here in new england! in 1 week we have gone from having 85 degree days to 50-60 degree days. bring on the apples, pumpkins, mums and hayrides!

yesterday, we did our fall bee inspections...all four hives are still active and bringing in pollen, which is good because they really need to stock up for the winter! i will be feeding them from now until winter...i made a more concentrated syrup than the one i feed in the spring. i also made up some grease patties, they help with treacheal mites. here is all the recipies i use for my bees...http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Beekeeping/Recipes_for_the_Bees.

there are important things to remember about winterizing your hives; ensure the colony has enough food stores; ensure the hive has proper ventilation; protect the hives from high winds ( i use ratcheting straps on all 4).

ventilation is very important...bees do not hibernate during the winter...they cluster together, with their queen in the middle. the middle of this cluster can get up to 90 degrees, so it is really important that the hive is ventilated, otherwise condensation will build up and moisten inside...the bees can tolerate the cold, but being wet will kill them!





lots of tomatoes and a bee update...

"black krim" heirloom

i have been waiting all summer for my tomatoes and they are finally ripe!! we have had weird weather this summer...only a few really hot days, several weeks of just rain, and alot of days in the 70's or 80's...i grew a few different varieties this year, and my fav is the "black krim"! they have a deep red/ purple skin, and a really strong flavor. i really love slicing them up for tomato sandwiches...toasted bread, mayo, tomatoes, salt...perfection!

in bee news...all 4 hives are doing well! here is a video of hive #2 "washboarding"...they are dancing forward & back. no one knows why they do this "social activity", but it is really cool to watch!

still learning...

about 2 weeks ago i wrote that i thought 2 of my hives were queen-less...well i was so wrong! i still have so much to learn...i jumped the gun and bought 2 new queens. when i went to hive them, i did another inspection and found eggs and capped brood in both! so we took 3 frames of brood, honey & bees and 1 of the new queens and made a nuc...the other queen i am trying to sell so she doesnt go to waste. making this split was not in my plans, but i hope it grows into another full colony!

today was pat's first day as a beekeeper! he is fearless and has been asking & asking to do an inspection with me...i had to gain some confidence in myself before i took him out there. he wore his dad's jacket (maybe we will save up and buy him his own suit) he did great, he loves it! pat is a nature boy, anything that is alive and growing he is all about it! im happy that we can teach him beekeeping and as he grows it may be a real passion for him...the world needs more beekeepers!

buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

bee troubles and garden 2011 update...

on sunday i was stung for the 5th time, and this one was the worst yet! she got me on my thigh, through my jeans! i had my gloves on, so i couldnt get the stinger out fast enough...my poor leg got every drop of bee venom she had in her...ouch! by monday morning i had a softball-sized lump...but today its a little better, so i think ill live :)...but, i am very worried because i think 2 of the hives are queen-less! no brood, no eggs, no larvae...not good! thankfully i found an apiary with lots of queens in our area, http://beehavin.com/ , we are going to pick them up ASAP!

today i harvested the first cucumbers of the year...hopefully they are the first of many, because i really want to make homemade pickles! summer squash & beans are still going strong and i can not wait for the tomatoes and corn.

in chicken news...we are still anxiously awaiting the first egg. come on ladies...any day now!!  

hive inspections and the start of summer!

yesterday we had bee~utiful weather, so we suited up, and went to check in on our girls! we started with hive #2...this was the hive we started with a 3 lb package. things are going good so far, but these bees have alot of building to do! the queen is laying eggs...we saw lots of capped brood and alot honey stored. but, this hive has me worried because they only have about 4 framed built out with comb...i have been checking in on them a couple times a day, there has been lots of activity, and i am still refilling the feeder every couple days...so i thought there was going to be much more growth...hive #3 was a split from hive #1, being beginners we had never "split" a hive before so we were really worried that we didnt do it right, and would loose our bees. BUT, this hive is going gangbusters! they had 6 out of the 8 frames covered with comb and bees, so we added a medium super on top. these bees are sucking down the sugar water i have been feeding them...i filled it yesterday afternoon, and this morning it is half empty!...hive #1 also has me kinda concerned...they seems to be having an ant problem. i read online that if the hive is healthy, they can keep invaders, such as ants, at bay. but it looks like alot of ants to me!...did you know that bees need plenty of water to drink? we used a chick waterer as our new bee waterer! we filled the base with small stones, so the bees have a landing spot!

yesterday, i harvested the first batch of peas! within a week or so we should have more peas, beans, lettuce, and strawberries... we built another raised bed, and i planted my herbs...chives, basil, parsley, cilantro and rosemary! in the big garden, we planted 5 rows of corn, 3 rows of pumpkins and 4 rows of onions! the corn was a local "early" growing variety, and has already sprouted!

our laying hens are about 16 weeks old now! so in another 5 weeks of so we should start getting eggs! finally, all our work/ expense will pay off!

my little boo, enjoying the weather!

the queen is free!

yesterday, we inspected the hive (hive #2) that we packaged last week...the queen has been released from the queen cage! it is amazing to see how much the worker bees have done in only 1 week! they have been out foraging everyday, and have 3-4 frames covered with comb! when we removed the queen cage, part of the comb was stuck to it. in the comb are tiny little eggs...so the queen is doing a great job!

beautiful new comb! inside is pollen and eggs from the queen!

we have decided to split hive #1! we are going to have 5 frames of brood and honey (frames with queen cells on them) and put them into an empty hive. within a few days the new queen should hatch...and then we will have 3 hives!

hiving a package of bees for our 2nd hive...

today, we drove to "trail's end farm" in richmond, ri and picked up a 3 lb package of bees with a russian hybrid queen! this package is for our 2nd hive. here is a video of us doing the installation...my poor bee-aphobic sister served as the camera man. this was the first time doing this... so we went on what we learned and from other people advice! usually, when hiving a package of bees you literally shake/ dump the bees out of the box into the hive...we have had terrible weather here lately. it has rained for almost 2 weeks straight (and the forcast call for rain till sunday). so we were literally doing this between rain showers, our bee supplier told us to just put the whole box in the hive and let them come out on their own. so thats what we did. we will check them out in a few days and make sure the queen has been released and add the rest of the frames to the super!

birthday, bees, peas & chickens..the month of may!

6 years ago today, at 7:08am, i was blessed with a second healthy baby boy! a little sweetie with blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes...my doctor said he was one of the most handsome boys he had ever seen. he was born with his hand up over his head "waving hello"... yesterday, i asked him if he could stay 6 years old forever and always be "my boy"....he told me that he couldn't stay 6 forever, but he would always be my baby :) happy birthday "DD"! mommy loves you so much & you make my world brighter everyday!

in bee related news...our package of bees (for our second hive) has been delayed for over 3 weeks now, because of the terrible weather in the south! we finally got word that our girls will be here next weekend! yayy, i cant wait! yesterday, we attempted another hive inspection on hive #1...i say "attempted" because we had a smoker malfunction...and by malfunction i mean it would not stay lit and SMOKE...we have tried different flamables in the smoker and for some reason we can not get it to smolder for longer than a few minutes?!? anyone have any smoker tricks?...so, i pulled the cover off, and without the smoker they were pretty irritated and stung me through my jeans on my leg. so we decided to let them BEE and come back another day with a working smoker.

"johnny" our ri red rooster!

our chicks are 9 weeks old, all healthy and loving being outdoors. i love watching them...they have such personalities :) AND we have peas, beans, raddish, butter~leaf lettuce, and strawberries all coming up in our new raised beds! other exciting news...next week there is a livestock auction that i am looking forward to! i almost have my husband convinced to let me get 2 goats...maybe "feta" and "cheddar" will come home with us next weekend!

peas!

moving the hive & being stung...

on tuesday, husband, sister, brother-in-law and myself packed up the minivan for an hour drive to pick up my new hive! i found it listed on craigslist...the woman selling it had lost interest in beekeeping. in preparation for the move i read up on "moving a hive" and watched lots of youtube videos of other people doing it, so i felt almost confident...we got there about 6:15 pm and the bees were all in the hive, which was exactly what we wanted. i duct taped the exits and strapped the hive together. my 2 strong men CAREFULLY carried the hive and all 10,000 honey bees to my van. then came the hour + drive back home with a car full of bees. my poor sister and her husband were such good sports.

the woman i bought the hive from had it put together wrong...as some of you can tell from the pictures. she has the inner cover, in between 2 shallow honey supers. she was not using a screened ipm bottom board, and she had not managed/ inspected the hive at all from last summer until now. i know that some people are thinking i may have inherited a headache (which may prove to be true). BUT, i did check the bees for signs of infection or illness (i did not see any), i got everything for cheap, all the hive componets are from brushy mountain bee farm (so it's quality equipment), and i plan on using this hive as my learning/ test hive.

yayyyy we did it!

because i really have an obsessive thing, i want everything to match (paint color) AND because i want to set the hive up with all the correct componets and equipment... i want to take all frames out of this hive (including the brood supers) and transfer them to my empty hive that i have all set up and ready to go. i know pretty ambitious...

on wednesday (the next day) i was stung for the 1st time! totally my fault...i was in a great rush to set up an entrance feeder with medicated syrup. i didnt realize it, but i approached the hive from directly infront of the entrance (and i was only wearing leggings on my bottom half AND i didnt have my smoker)...so guard bees came right out and stung me on the leg...i also should of left the hive alone for a week after i moved them, giving them time to adjust to the move. but i was EXCITED and couldnt help it! SO... next week i will try to do better! i will adhear to all safety measures and procedures...wish me luck :)

busy bees...

this will be our 1st year beekeeping! we are so excited! i have been reading for over a year and took a online beginner's bee course. i am really ready for my hands on experience. i have two bee packages that come in may 7th. but, i also found a woman on craigslist selling her whole hive bees & all! so on tuesday we will be picking up this 3rd hive! this colony is strong and active, so we should have a great honey crop this summer!  

beginning beekeeper...

here is one of my hives and my smoker...freshly painted and inspected! i just ordered my 3lb package of italian bees... that equals to about 10,000 bees and 1 queen! i pick them up april 9th, at the Boston Honey Co.! this is all new for me so...here is to hoping my mistakes are few and fixable :)