2010-11 Winter at the Farm

In January we had some of the coldest weather we’ve seen in years. This is not too much different than the rest of the country. While they were stuck under snow (although we had our share of snow), we were fighting subzero temperatures. It has been a truly rough winter this year. Between frozen house pipes and driving on ice, I am pretty much ecstatic about warmer temperatures. This is veering away from my normal state of mind which thinks in terms of “I can always put more clothes on but I can only take so many off before getting in trouble”.

Brandy in 2011 at 38 weeks

Brandy is ready to have the Baby any moment now.The due date is March 3^rd but it’s highly possible the baby could come earlier. The sooner the baby comes, the better! Brandy is barely able to walk. As we did with Abby, we did also with this baby and that is not to find out the sex of the baby. We will be surprised.

Early into the winter we lost one bee hive and knew about it right away. I went out on one day right after a 17 degree night; the temperature had risen to almost 40 degrees so I went out and knocked on the hives to hear the comforting hum of the bee busy with minding their own bees wax.  But on one hive I didn’t hear that sound. I opened it and sure enough, there was honey, some pollen, and maybe 5 dead bees stuck in cells. No clue as to where the rest of them went. They were not dead on the floor…they were just gone. I had seen them there about 2 weeks earlier in the late fall (early November).

My Homemade Bee Trap

I have one bee trap set and have 2 more made and ready to hang. I planned on making more later on so that I can hang in various places with hopes of catching a swarm this spring. The trap is simple, a bucket with a painted outer covering with bark, grass, and leaves stuck into the paint. This was to provide a place to land for the bees and have traction. In the bottom of the bucket is a hole about ½ inch in diameter off center of the bucket. I took an old dark comb wooden frame and cut it to length and drilled two screws from outside the lid to the end of the frame. So I just take the lid with the dark comb frame attached and put it on the bucket.  Before closing the lid completely, take and add some queen pheromone in the hive on a rag (you pay money for it or just get some Lemon scented pledge). When I hung the bucket, I placed it about 10 feet in the air and mounted two pieces of metal that had bent hooks on the end. The bucket handle slips into that hook so that when it’s full of bees you can easily remove bucket without disturbing the bees too much. Think about how to close the hole after it’s full but before you take it down. I figured on using Duct tape or just taking a rag and filling the hole up before moving trap. If I had been thinking I would have looked for plugs, then cut the holes to the size of the plug.

Recently, we cleared the gardens of the old crop plants and cages, we dug up the potatoes still hibernating and we burned the vines on one of the garden plots to provide pot ash for the soil.  The other plot we spread the wood ashes from our woodstove on all winter. We have about a 3×60 foot row covered with ashes. So in a few days we’ll till in that newspaper and hay, that cattle manure from last year and a new spreading of manure from this year. The soil should be ripe for a good crop. There are lots of organisms in the soil because we protected it all winter with newspaper and hay; the soil has a much higher content of fiber which helps it to retain moisture that is so vital in preventing mold and keeping the plants watered.  The nutrient content is up from the manure and from the compost of plants that have deep penetrating roots that bring up usable nutrients deeper than the till level.

The first major snow of the year

The rest of the Farm sets in wait, in wait of birth, in wait of warmth, and in wait of my time to accomplish my tasks. The primary job this summer will be the barn and its completion. I have to finish the storage shed first to move all of the valuables into the shed first then the barn will be free of clutter so I can finish it. The storage shed began as a project to have an outdoor cooker but quickly changed when I discovered that I would be unable to finish the barn without a place to put all the items that are now cluttering up the floor and the upper level.

Bees are continuing to be a priority as is music.

I hope to have at least one more hive to add to my yard from a fallen bee tree I go to pickup Saturday, February 19^th. Lord willing, hopefully that hive will survive to spring.

This is a split from 2010. I have it over at a friends place.

I have already announced my Band “Southern Missouri Stringband” in a different post, and we are accepting any bookings that are available and we have a small charge per person.

I also have an additional business thought I am keeping to myself for now, but suffice to say, if I go for it, it could have the potential to provide a good income while I still hold down my full time job which pays for the improvements. Brandy would be able to implement the new business venture as manager and I would direct its course and be able to do my part on nights and weekends. It would be something I would grow into slowly! I repeat slowly!

Thank you for your time in reading this article. God Bless!