What would you do for a jar of honey?

If you love honey as much as John and the boys do then you would climb 40 feet in the air to capture a swarm of bees.

I really can't believe that I am actually writing about this. Well, maybe not that I am writing about it, because I like to write about everything. But I can't believe this sequence of events actually took place in my family and on our farm and once again, I had ZERO control over the situation. That is normally the way frightening situations pan out for me ... and all for good reason. If I were to have any ounce of control in this type of situation, I am certain that I would surrender almost instantly. I would rather run from danger instead of run to it... especially when the gain is so insignificant.

Let's start with last Thursday and I will set the stage for what happened on Saturday. Late on Thursday evening John went into the bee hives with intentions of splitting the two hives into four hives. After a lengthy inspection of the state of the hives, he engaged in a conversation with Beau about what was going on with me inside the house. Our security system monitoring company called to test our alarm system and with John being in the hive, I felt it was necessary to inform him that the alarm was soon to sound. Apparently all of this discussion and movement distracted John and allowed 3 bees inside his veil. He was stung twice in his left eyelid and once on the right cheekbone. Soon afterward, he was stung on the thumb as well. He managed to get through with his job and then came inside to remove the stingers out of his eyelid about 45 minutes later. Can you just imagine what his face looked like? Here is a quick description... Rocky Balboa on a bad day! Poor thing was a mess. The next day the left eye was swollen shut and the right eye was almost as bad as the left. So a trip to the doctor, a cortisone shot, and 2 days later things were starting to look brighter for him. Well, he could at least open both eyes.

Now, on to the swarm. Late Saturday afternoon while walking through the chicken yard we heard the loud BUZZing nearby. We looked up and watched an amazing presentation of organized chaos as the bees from hive 10 began to swarm. It was very cool to watch. Imagine miniature black fireworks (the bees) on a white background (the sky). In a way, it was sort of ominous. The chickens stood as still as we did, watching the spectacle unfold. As exciting as it was to see such an awesome display of nature at work; knowing John, I soon began to fear what was going to take place next. I have always heard John talk about swarm season, but never realized what it actually required of the beekeeper.

So the bees formed a tight cluster around the queen on a very high branch about 40 feet above the hive boxes. At this point, I am simply disappointed that we have lost so many bees. John, on the other hand, is fetching the 20 foot ladder. Suddenly my disappointment gave way to fear. Yes, he did! He climbed the ladder not once, but four times, to try to recover the bees. How do you coax thousands of bees into a bucket while you are dangling 40 feet in the air? I still don't know ... mainly because I couldn't watch. For many reasons, I was so afraid for him. First, with all of the stings he already had from Thursday, I feared he might get stung again. Next, I kept picturing him falling from the tree. How could I help him if he fell? Help would be pointless for him, I would be the one in need of help. I actually began to envision him falling and screaming. So, I just had to do the only thing I knew how to do... I snapped some pictures and went inside until it was all over.

In the end, it seems that he was successful! Apparently, he was able to capture the queen in the bucket and place her in the empty hive box. We can assume this is true as for the next hour or so we witnessed the bees standing at the entrance of the hive fanning their wings with their tails in the air. As with any swarm, the queen emits a pheromone that directs the worker bees to her and these workers were fanning the scent to the others. Today, it seems that they are happy in their new home. Bees are simply amazing!

Why do bees swarm? In our case, John feels the bees swarmed as a propagation method when a new queen hatched as he saw many queen cells in hive 10 on Thursday.

A Duck's Delight!

The day has finally arrived! Now that the weather is cooperating and the ducks are about 5 weeks old they are finally residing in their permanent home.... the pond! What a challenge it was to move 11 ducks at once. After journeying on the 4-wheeler from the garden across to the pond they were a bit unsettled to say the least. But after an hour or so and some gentle coaxing, the ducks were out exploring and venturing towards the pond. Once they were in the water there was no turning back! They actually stayed in the water and on the banks for the next 24 hours. Finally, today in a heavy down pour, they ran for cover. I was beginning to think they were lost. For shelter, we are using the original "hogtel" as it has proven a bit small for our growing herd of hogs. With a hog panel in front for predator protection, it seems to be working out as a nice home for them.

And now to answer the undoubtedly "burning question" in your mind.... No, the dogs have not eaten any ducks yet! Molly stayed uncomfortably close for about 30 mins after we relocated them, but after a good "talking to" she finally gave up her stake on the bank of the pond. Now Bella, on the other hand, did set out in a chase when she first noticed them, but being the people pleaser that she is, she responded well to my shrill exclamations! So, with careful watch and a "oh no you don't" every once in a while, they are now very well behaved around the ducks. Let's hope that lasts.

JellyFish!

Yesterday we found some frog eggs in the pond... A.K.A. jellyfish at our house. Thousands of jellied sacs in large clumps are all over the banks of the pond. Some are in just inches of water and some are clinging to sticks located in deeper areas. This kids really enjoyed seeing these eggs along with the many hundreds of tadpoles that have already "hatched". Aside from the fun of this lesson of the frog's life cycle, we are glad to see the ducks will be happily fed in their new home.

4 - 2 = 1.5

Well, apparently that is swine arithmetic according to Rosie. After two exhausting nights with her AND her nesting instinct, we are left with many, many less piglets than we hoped for. To begin with, this was her first litter and she was only carrying 4 piglets. That alone is enough to make for a disappointing farrow. To add to this, she was a slave to her ferocious nesting instincts. During her delivery, she was very concerned about keeping her babies under the hay. Constantly, she would scratch hay on top of them. She would stand up and nose around to see what was happening. Just very uneasy. After the first two piglets were born, there was an hour or more delay until the next two came. She spent this time standing and scratching hay on top of them. So the last two piglets were stillborn. They were completely developed, not mummified or dehydrated. There was no heartbeat, but I still tried to stimulate breathing. All to no avail. We are pretty certain they died in the birth canal due to her inability to sit down and deliver them. Perhaps the umbilical cord had already detached (as most do) and they simply could not take a breath.

So we are left with one male and one female piglet. However, the little girl is most certainly a runt. I have often wondered what causes the runt to be the runt. We have had some small piglets from the other litter that were just fine. They came right along, nursed well and grew at a normal rate. This one, however, was a weakling from the start. She was very whiny immediately after farrowing and it took almost 3 hours for her to latch on for her first feeding of colostrum. Her big brother takes his choice of nipples, often switching back and forth from one to the other during nursing and then he moves over to the nipple that the little sister is on and pushes her off. She is still tiny and wobbly and very sleepy. She just doesn't have the oomph that the others have had. The big brother, firstborn, is now twice the size of her. So we say that we actually have 1.5 pigs. Hopefully, as we introduce solid feeds, she will progress more quickly.

This disappointing experience has left us thankful for the day job! I can't imagine depending solely on livestock as our livelihood. Crop failure would be very difficult to overcome if it were all we had. We had eight people waiting to purchase their breeding stock, but fortunately we do not take deposits until the pigs are on the ground. Now we can be careful to never count our pigs before they hatch!

Ferocious Nesting Instinct

Here are a few amazing clips of Rosie making her nest in the farrowing hut. She has tirelessly been nesting all day. Literally for hours on end she has been scraping, fluffing, dragging branches, bringing leaves and hay into her farrowing hut. Hopefully she will be satisfied and not too exhausted to have her babies very soon and in record time so we can all get some rest!!

Flowers among the Weeds

Deadnettle (L); Henbit (R): a cool season broadleaf weed.

On a warm-ish sort of day a couple of weeks ago, John went into the bee hives to check things out. He noticed some tiny purple flowers in the hive. What?? Flowers in the hive? This is very, very strange. It is the dead of winter here, there is nothing blooming anywhere. Not only that, but bees don't carry flowers back to the hive, do they? John did many searches online, read some of his bee books and contacted some other bee keepers to see if bees commonly carry flowers back to the hive. No luck. What a mystery!

This week, as he was headed down our street his eye caught a glimpse of a tiny spec of purple along the side of the road. He locked up the brakes and pulled over. He ran over to our neighbor's yard and picked some of the purple flowers growing from a patch of weeds. This was it! An exact match to the purple flowers he found in the hives. John called me to tell me that he had finally found what he had been searching for. We were so excited. I'm not sure why we were excited but it felt like had completed a mission or something. Later that same day I was pulling out of our driveway and stopped to check the mail. I looked down below the mailbox and saw a whole clump of the same type weeds with teeny tiny purple flowers on them. Right in my own driveway!! I looked across the street and there they were. These weeds are everywhere. Why had we over looked the flowers all this time? So, as with many of our farm experiences, this got the two of us thinking about how this situation pertains to our life on earth. The more I think about it the more similarities I find.

The world is so full of weeds that sometimes it is simple to overlook the flowers. It is our nature to look at life's problems as just that... a problem. I, for one, am guilty of always dwelling on the negative in a situation. If you need a grim outlook, just call me... I can show you the worst scenario! The bees however, see the flowers! It is their nature to look for the positive in life. They don't grumble to each other about the lack of pollen outside the hive. They just carry on with their duties and search for life in the dead of winter, promises of spring and flowers among the weeds. Just as an herbicide is a quick remedy for a weed, I often find myself trying to rid my life of problems. But, as in this situation, sometimes God accomplishes his will in unexpected ways. I am confident that he can use the "weeds" of life to bring forth goodness. Today, I pray that when faced with discomfort or distress, I will truly surrender my will, seek God's face and allow Him to sustain me. For it is only then that my life will glorify Him. In seeking Jesus each day, He will show me the flowers among the weeds.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4

You can't be serious???

Here's an article that may surprise you. Or for some, this may not surprise you. Apparently, our world is not far from growing pork in a petri-dish. So, you may not have a heart for "sustainable agriculture" or "pasture-raised" anything, but I will take a little dirt, a little work and a farm-raised piece of meat any day over this.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/15/scientists-turn-stem-cells-pork/

Cute quackers

It was warm enough today to let the babies out for a few minutes.

Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck...

But no goose! The latest additions to the farm are 10 baby ducklings.

It all started quite innocently, really. With the pond finally staying full, I hoped for a few ducks to visit again as they did last year when we first got the pond full. You know, some cute entertainment out on the pond. However, no ducks in sight this year. So, naturally, I head to the computer to start researching domestic ducks and duck eggs. After reading a good many articles, I thought I had it all figured out. I wanted a good forager, good egg layer, and good brooding instincts. Also, I wanted easy to pluck feathers and a good meat quality. When John came home from work, I sat down with him and unloaded the perfect duck spiel. I just knew the Muscovy was "our duck." So, after telling him all of the wonderful qualities of the muscovy, I decided to pull up a picture of it. "Oh well," I said, "Surely, there are other good ducks out there! There is no way I will be looking at that face everyday!" Bless them, they are horrific looking. I would hate to scare Emma Katherine or any kid for that matter. They are just unbearably ugly... scary even! So, back to square one...

I couldn't find all of the same qualities of the muscovy in one duck so we decided to get 3 different breeds. Each breed known for a certain trait. We have 3 khaki campbell, 3 welsh harlequin and 4 buff orpington ducks. The Khaki Campbell, developed in England in 1901, is known for its excellent egg production but has a very poor instinct to go broody. The buff, also developed in the early 1900's in England, is a multipurpose bird, laying good quantities of eggs and having the size and feather color to make a great roasting duck. The Welsh Harlequin is a fairly new breed, developed in 1949 and making its way to the US in 1968. They are also a multipurpose breed, they have excellent egg production due to their khaki campbell ancestors, yet they retain the instinct to sit and hatch ducklings. They are excellent foragers and very calm. They have been known to make an excellent table bird as well. All of these ducks are non-flyers for the most part. We plan to raise them to table size (usually 8 weeks for ducks) and then process 4 of them and keep a pair of each breed.

Apparently, ducks are very hardy, easier to raise than chickens and make great farm residents. We are looking forward to a fun spring time with these little guys.

Gone Batty!!

It's official... we've gone batty! Yes, it's true, we are erecting a bat house in the garden to help control the mosquito population near the house. What on earth are we thinking, right? According to Bat Conservation International, a single bat can capture 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour! There are many alternative mosquito control devices and repellants on the market today but, this is a cost effective, farm-friendly approach to achieve our goal. After much research in this subject, we have learned that erecting a bat house will boost the bat population on our farm and subsequently provide substantial mosquito/insect control. Bats eat enormous quantities of mosquitoes, garden insects and moths. In fact, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a colony of bats with approximately 100 members will consume more than 600 million insects in a 200-day feeding season.

So what exactly is a bat house? A typical bat house (approximately 3 feet wide and 14 inches tall) will house 100 bats. Bats normally live in trees and under bridges and in abandoned attics, etc. So constructing a habitat that mimics a natural home is important. It must be similar to the space between bark on a tree, a bat's ideal nursery to rear it's young. Bats like tight spaces, so the space inside the house is very narrow. It also needs to be warm and cozy for their babies so it is important to stain the box a dark color and to caulk edges to seal any gaps. Our bat house is 4ft wide x 2.5 ft tall and 6 inches deep. We have 5 chambers inside the house about 1 inch apart. Each chamber is roughened with a circular saw to create grooves and bark-like qualities. We are hoping to house about 300 or so bats.

John is trying to convince me that he is going to wipe out the West nile virus in our area, but I think he is just trying to relieve my fears about the bats living nearby in such large numbers. In reality, only .05% of bats carry rabies, whereas mosquitoes carry many more possibilities for disease and infection. So, in an effort to be supportive of housing bats on purpose, and in very close proximity to our house and our young children, I have chosen to change my theory from "I hate bats and I hate mosquitoes!" to .... "I love bats because mosquitoes love me!"

Lastly, if nothing else comes out of this venture, maybe we will at least benefit from the guano in the garden!

Snowy Surprise

It was almost this same time last year that I had a blog post entitled the same way. It was the snowy surprise that started our blog last year. What a year it has been! The farm life has been full of surprises. For the most part, all of our adventures have been fun and valuable learning experiences. We are looking forward to a great year and many opportunities.

Yard Bird

Here's a look at one of our best birds so far. This was a New Hampshire hen processed at about 14 weeks. We have decided that, while I love a pure breed, a cross that includes a cornish rooster is most likely going to be our next attempt at a good meat bird. The commercial poultry industry uses the cornish rock cross in producing a large bird in a five week period. This is accomplished by the genetic ability of the bird to efficiently convert feed into muscle coupled with high-protein feed, antibiotics, and hormones. We want to try to use the cornish rooster to cross with our early maturing New Hampshire hens in hopes to obtain a good foraging bird, that matures early and has a good meat carcass. This will also allow us to hatch our own birds here on the farm instead of ordering a batch of meat birds.