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Author Archives: jim
A lot of changes
A lot of things have been going on in the last few weeks; so many that I not only haven’t been posting, but I haven’t even known what day of the week it was. Most of these happening have been … Continue reading
Posted in Construction, News
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Honeyflow
When all the flowers are a-bloom, and the bees are up to strength and are working their hardest, that’s the time of the year beekeepers refer to as “honeyflow”. Right now, we’re well into it. Today I visited my new … Continue reading
A gift most people don’t want
I got a call last week, one that happens to beekeepers from time to time: an offer of thousands of stinging insects. “I caught a swarm yesterday,” Jeff said, “But I don’t have a place to keep it, and I don’t want to … Continue reading
Designer insulation?
We’re starting to feel like we may actually get moved in before the fall after all! This week, our friends Adam and Christina came out and helped us finish installing the insulation on the cottage. We’re trying yet another weird … Continue reading
Funny looking dog
I was at Gravel Creek the other day checking my bees, and heard this weird snorting/ wheezing sound coming from the woods in the direction of the river. It was barely audible, but after a minute or two, my curiosity … Continue reading
We have water
Finally, after months of diddling around, we have a well. Yay! We’ve been waiting for months for the weather to turn favorable (look ma! no rain!), but in actuality it took drama and intrigue to actually brought this to completion. … Continue reading
Pushin’ up daisies
I went out to help Emily weed and plant beans the other day, and was struck by how scenic the orchard looks right now. It’s not supposed to look like this, mind you. It’s supposed to be well kept, weeded, … Continue reading
Dancing queen
I went to an interesting workshop last weekend on queen breeding. For all you non-beekeeper readers, that’s a subspecialty of beekeeping, where you select and raise queen bees. This is one of the cornerstones of what beekeeping is all about, … Continue reading
A chipper off the old block
This week we got to try out two of our new tractor implements. The big excitement was the chipper/shredder. I’ve never had (or used) one of those before, but the brush pile at Ryan’s house was the perfect chance to … Continue reading
Ladies and geisterbees
One of the things that I like about our farm is that it has a social aspect. Growing vegetables is (or, rather, can be) a relaxing, pensive pursuit. It’s nice to be out in the countryside, looking at the green … Continue reading