We have been wanting bees here on the farm for SO long! But truthfully, the thought was a bit intimidating! I mean, we have all see those movies, with the people trapped in their cars by an angry swarm of killer bees...I did not want to be those people! Besides, it is a given that if you have bees, you WILL be stung. *Shivers* But, the more I learned about bees, and the more I realized that as a whole, the world needs more bees! So, I ordered the bees...and waited!
To get a package of bees, you usually have to order in the fall, and then they will come in the spring when the nectar flow is at a peak. This allows your bees to get a good start towards building the stores of honey that will feed them through their first winter in their new home! So the first step after ordering, is to get the hive ready.
I was so blessed to have my Dad help me with all things Bee! Growing up some of my earliest memories are my Dad taking care of his bees. So I knew that I HAD to have him help me through this exciting project. The hives I have, were actually HIS that I am sure he actually built. They are priceless to me!
Here is a picture of Dad and I at Lees wedding. He is such an amazing man. Love you Dad! Without all his help I am sure my beeventure would not have been a disaster!
Ok, for this post I am going to go through all the steps we went through to get the hives ready for the new tenants! Then, next I will detail the process of putting the bees INTO the hive and their first few weeks.
Now, to get the hives ready for the bees! First, I had to go through and put fresh wax sheets in each of the frames. I had one hive sitting out in the field for a couple of years hoping that a swarm might see it and make it their new home. But, no such luck, lol SO, since the bees would not come to the hive on their own, we decided to bring them in ourselves..Here are the old wax sheets.They were pretty brittle and mice had been having a snack it seems! Bad mice! Not to mention there was all sorts of pill bugs and creepy crawlies living inside. Eww!
Crickly!
Easy now! Do not want to break that tiny little wood thingy!
So I had to pry this little strip of wood off the top of the frame. It
will go back on to hold the wax sheet on the frame. I will admit, I was
pretty nervous as I am quite the queen of mishaps when I am doing stuff like
this..Not exactly a job for someone who has been told that they go about things like a bull in a china shop.
And peeeeel!
Ooooh! Cool! The wax sheets smell SO good! Almost hard not to take a bite! Look at those cute little hexagons! I will say, some people do NOT add the wax sheets, butI like to think it gives the bees a head start on making their comb. They will take this wax base, and draw it up until it looks like a traditional honeycomb. Bees are just so darn talented!
The wax sheets, also called the "foundation) has little wires that butt up against the top of the frame to help hold them in securely. This also helped me keep them straight.
Ok, now to put the little wood strip back on...hmm
Then, I replaced the little strip, making sure that it is nice and secure and the wax sheet is centered and straight. I was finally getting a little more confident by this point after doing half of the frames. Back in the hive they go! Easy peasy!
Putting the wax into the frames!
Half way done! Don't they look cute all nestled in the hive body.
All done! Ready for the BEES!
Dad cleaned an extra hive body that will go on top of the hive. It had been sitting out behind the shop so it was pretty dusty! I will put the sugar water can there and let the bees have a little room while they work to free the queen.
Dad cleaning the top boxes
The next apart is to get the hive all set up. It has to be clean and
level so the bees will build comb that is straight. Bees build straight
down. If the hive is not level, then the bees may build a crooked comb
that can stick all of your frames together, YUK!!
Has to be JUST SO!
And then the top box
Perfection!
And here they are! The star attraction!
Bees are sent through the mail. Yes! Through the MAIL!! I got the call that they had arrived and we quickly went to get them so we could feed them since the trip is hard on them. Although, the Apiary adds a really big can of sugar water to tide them over during their journey. See how they are all balled up? They are clustered around the sugar water, and also, in the middle of that pile of bees is their QUEEN! She is safely ensconced in her little cage along with approximately 6 attendants. After all, she is the Queen!
Look! You can see the can of sugar water there in the middle!
So, I had bees. Now what?!?! I did what I do to everything, I fed them! Woohoo! I made a sugar water solution and painted it on the sides of the cage. They LOVED it! You could actually hear the change, they started buzzing happily as their little tongues sucked up the yummy sweetness!
So, now we have the hive ready, and the bees are here, and now it is time to get them IN the hive! Whew! This has been quite the adventure! Stay tuned and the next post will tell you how we got all these bees, into the hive and settled! I sure hope this has been as interesting to you as it has been for me. I am beyond happy! Go bees!
Spring has finally sprung here on the backwards Homestead! Goodness know we are SO ready to put all the winter garb away and have a little green instead of snowy white! Even the animals are Happy Happy Happy!
YIPEEE!
Sun!!
Miley says spring calls for belly rubs!
Brandy must be thinking about something serious!
Loving this warmer weather!
Kitty darts out the door every chance she gets to come out with me and lay in the grass, lol She absolutely loves the outdoors. I think I am the same way! Doing my inside chores is way more boring than being outside any day! I mean, dishes....or go plant something?!?! We all know what is going to win, right?
King Blu!
Blu thinks sun is just the bestest! This was before his spring trim, and he was looking pretty shaggy!
What is going ON over there!?
Clara Belle is such a pretty girl! Her ears say something has her interest, and I bet she goes to check it out! I figure she is looking for Flossie! She has NOT been happy that her friend has been on maternity leave!
This water really hits the spot!
Baelfire is growing So much! Here he is taking his long peaceful drink after his breakfast. He REALLY savors his water, lol We are all making bets about the color that is hiding under all that baby fuzz! Any guesses?
Hey! Mom! Mom! What are you eating over there?
Here is ELMER! He is so cute! I love this picture, even if there is a poo pile in the back there, but you know, such is the farm life! This little guy, is a fireball! He is never still, and has an attitude way bigger than he needs! I mean, look! Can you see all that majesty and self confidence stuffed into one little calf body!
YUMMY!
Here chicky chicky! This is part of our clean up crew. They go behind all the messy eaters and cut down on the waste ratio, LOL!
Hey! Scoot OVER!!
Here is Charlotte and her latest crew! These guys are just adorable! They are also quite piggy! They are 8 weeks old and ready to be weaned and move on to a pig pen of their very own!
The trees and flowers are also blooming and it smells so nice! I LOVE the smell of an apple tree in full bloom! Amazing! Here is one of our trees that is loaded with blossoms. I sure how we do NOT have a late freeze! The last two years we have not had any apples as the blooms were killed by freezy weather!
Lets hope we have a great apple year!
Wisteria
My wisteria is starting to reach for the sky! These are one of my favorite flowers and I am hoping it will travel along this fence and cover it with beautiful cascades of flowers! This is the third year it has been here on the farm, so hopefully this will be a big growth year!
Yep! Spring is HERE!
Grape Hyacinths! They are the sure sign that spring has finally arrived! So pretty! And LOOK! The lilacs are blooming too! Oh me! I LOVE LOVE LOVE lilacs!
You see it? Up there, in the top of the bush! Blooms!
I swear I absolutely love my life here in the boonies. It is just the perfect place for me. I love the lifestyle, as frustrating as it can be to maintain. I cannot imagine my life being any different than what I have right now. We still have some hard decisions to make, and some serious changes will have to happen so we can return our farm to the contributing asset that it is meant to be! We have let things get away from us, and it is time to buckle down and make our original vision a reality!
Sometimes life happens. Sometimes we have a moment where we lose sight of what is important. Emotionally things have been tough, and I have been tested. My faith, my strength and my courage have all taken a beating. Between the farm, the kids moving, and the decline of my Mom with Alzheimers, the year has been a rough one. But with all of that, I choose to try and look upward, and forward. Many many blessings have been given to me and my family as well! So many things that I look to God with sincere thanks! I pray that I can look to the positive, and pull myself out of this funk! As they say, it is all in the perspective!
With that said, I promise that big things are going to happen here on the Backwards Homestead! Just wait and see!
Of course I will be putting it all on here so you guys can take the journey with us! So keep checking back, and leave a comment or two so I know you have stopped by!
Hey! I haven't forgotten the blog! I know I have been slacking, and part of my 101 list is to blog consistently, and I am already failing! Boo! But, in my defense, things have been so crazy around here and with our oldest son Joshua moving to Virginia, 12 hours away, with two of the grandbabies I am having a hard time finding my emotional center. We do wish them well, but here on the Backwards Homestead we are feeling the loss to the core.
Also, I am afraid that there may be huge changes here on the backwards Homestead this summer. Hard decisions are never fun, but things are getting to be more than we can handle. As much as I love all that this farm has to offer, letting go of some of the animals may be in the cards. I cannot keep on letting my passion make things harder on those who are in this with me. This last winter was exhausting both emotionally and financially. We are in this to live simpler and it has become a much different venture than our original plans. Do not get me wrong, I love every part of this farm. Every animal is loved and it will break my heart if it comes to that at some point. But numbers do not lie, and no matter what, it has to be fulfilling for everyone for this lifestyle to work!
On a positive note, we have had some awesome things happen in spite of a brutal winter. Flossie had her calf, and Charlotte also blessed us with six little oinkers! Although, getting to this point was rough, the weather was not kind, and milk fever reared its ugly head here on the homestead for the very first time. Many days we were unsure if we were going to make it to the end of winter with all the animal residents still here and healthy.
First off I will give a short update here, and later I will go more in detail later in separate posts. Here we go!
Flossie had a little bull on February 3, 2015. He is quite the fireball! We named him Elmer, Awwww!
Such a good Mama!
Slurp Slurp!
Missed a spot!
Elmer now!
Here he is now, at a mere 7 weeks old. Yea, he's got a little something dangling for the nose area...darn straw!
Flossie had a very hard time after the birth. She had milk fever, (low calcium) and we thought we might lose her. We had to raise her up with a hip lift several times a day as she was just DONE. Even though she SHOULD get up, she was tired, felt bad, and was just a bit depressed. That lift, was awful. But she would have died if we had not forced her to stand. Sometimes we do what we have to do here on the farm, but Lord knows I cried many tears here in the barn over this cow. We prayed so hard, and thankfully the prayers were answered and Flossie did stand, and she is doing much better. yay!
Poor Mama!
Shout out to Mineral Wells Animal Clinic AGAIN for being the best as usual. Dr. Chad and Cody were awesome and went above and beyond. I am not sure what we would do if we did not have such a close relationship with everyone in the practice. They are always willing to answer questions, and do what it takes to make sure our animals get the best care possible.More on the exciting birth and Flossies struggle in another post. Stay tuned!
Ok, Charlotte. Where do I start?! She decided to have her babies the night of the worst snowstorm with subzero temps that we have had in years. Her pen is too far from the barn to even have a light for warmth. With a lot of hard work, and Gods grace, we managed to get her hut covered with anything and everything we could find to hold heat. We filled it with straw, and prayed for the best. She initially had 10 babies, then we counted 8, then 6...Then For days, we had no clue as the temps were still bitterly cold. THEN we had yet another snow storm. Finally, we get a peek and we still have SIX little wiggly piglets. Whew!!
Cuteness!
Charlottes little fortress, lol
Peeking out for some supper!
Aren't they tiny! I tell you, Charlotte is an amazing Mommy! Stuck in her hut, with her babies, and she was still so very careful not to squish them even in total darkness. Go Charlotte!
Out and about!
Charlotte!
So Cute!
Here is one of the last litter! WOW! So big!
Last but not least. Thanks and much love to my Pud'nin. He has never failed to be by my
side through all our animal/personal drama. Letting me cry, kick, flail and flap like the emotional mess that I am. Without all his support, I would surely be wearing a straight jacket by now singing Ladybug Picnic at the top of my lungs...I love you Pud'nin! You are indeed a strong man..
Well, that is a quick peek, a sort of overview. More later, I promise. I just need to get myself together and focus, focus focus! Feel free to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by! I love reading comments! Ok, Till next time, may you be blessed in all that you do. :)
I am so excited!! The time is here to start keeping a close eye on Flossie because she is in the last stretch of her pregnancy. I get so nervous at this point!! I love this darn cow so much and the thought of her having any issues, and God forbid...I just cannot say it.. Who knew that I would have such warm fuzzy feelings over a cow.
I have most of my birth kit ready, but I do need to get it all together and in the barn. We have everything for her yummy molasses water after the birth. I have come CPK in case of milk fever. I have Mineral Wells Animal Clinic on speed dial! Who by the way, is an AWESOME group of people. I swear, they are so patient with me, because I am quite a question box once I get going! Just LOVE them!
We also have little piggies on the way! Charlotte is also in the family way, and I have NO idea when they little oinkers are due, Oh no! I know when I thought they were Boom Chicka Wow Wow..ing. But, that due date came and went, so it was obviously just for fun. Now I have to get busy making a piggy maternity ward. So much to do! So little time! There she is, at the farthest trough. Pigging out!
Here are the last babies, rooting away, lol They have really grown and may get a chance to go out into the pasture soon. I haven't asked them what they think about that, so it may be a bust.
So, keep an eye out, I will be posting about all sorts of new babies soon. We all know that EVERYONE loves baby pictures!
Today was quite the busy day! We have had our barn for quite a while and only managed to get one stall wall partially finished. Boo! We were going with concrete, but have decided to keep Flossies milk stall concrete, but the rest of the barn stalls will be wood.
We started as soon as we got done feeding this morning. Let me tell you, Pud'nin was a force to be reckoned with today! He was a man on a mission! Did I mention that it was like 20 degrees today?
First we started by taking down the old panels. That was kind of bittersweet as we had put them up when Ciskgo was sick and needed to be inside. We are so blessed that he has healed and is now such a peppy pants! But now the panels had to go to make way for nice sturdy stalls!
Pud'nin working hard! Yea, that IS his happy face! :)
Panels down, now ready for some real stalls!
Then we had to dig some holes. Sounds easy, right? In theory, it would be a breeze, but in reality it was terrible! The ground in the barn is harder than heck! I mean the posthole auger just sit there smoking. Literally! Spinning, spinning, going nowhere. Pud'nin was determined, so he gave the tractor more gas! It was screaming!!Still nothing...
We finally had to resort to an unsafe practice that I will not document and finally had two lovely round holes!
Gorgeous I tell you!
The cool thing about this is I actually got to operate the tractor! Yea, the lift, the gas, and the PTO! I was pretty nervous, but I managed to get it done with Pud'nin patiently explaining the steps. He was probably so sweet and patient because he knew he would shortly be behind that tractor, with me in the seat!
Then it was time to set the posts. We had two awesome helpers today and they were perfect! Not only were they big helpers, they also found a whole nest of eggs that some hen had hidden in the hay!
Pretty Little Farm Girl!
Steady! Of course, Payton and his silly face!
WooHoo!
Then add in some boards, and you have a stall! All we have left is the gate. I am so excited! Now we only have four more to go! This is actually on my 101 list so look at me go! We are going have that list knocked out in record time.
TaDa!!
Joshua giving it the once over!
Since Flossie is possibly due to calve in a few weeks, we could not have waited another minute. She is getting rounder and rounder by the day. She has not bagged up yet, but that can happen in a flash. I do feel so much better knowing that she will have a warm safe place to bring her little one into this world.
Look at that belly!
I really like the look of wooden barn stalls. They remind me of my grandfathers barn where he used to let us use the hand corn sheller. I loved watching all the yellow kernels falling down into the wooden box and then he would let us take a scoop to Midnight the pony. Those were some of the best times of my childhood. Helping on the farm and learning how to properly care for the animals has stuck with me. I really think that early exposure to the simple lifestyle is the reason that I love it so much now!
Well, there you have it, our day in a nutshell. Let me know what you think!
