Home Sweet Hive

The last post was about getting the hives ready, and the bees arriving. Now we are going to get the bees off my kitchen table and out to their new homes! I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about taking the bees, who were tucked away in a little screen box, and releasing them into the hive. I mean really, if you believe what you see in the movies, all bees will instantly attack and turn you into a lumpy, bumpy, calamine covered mess!
But, Dad said  no, that that was not going to be the case, lol My bees were going to love me, and I was going to love my bees. He was right of course!
Eat up little bees! I made sure they had a little more sugar water before we took them outside, They were so hungry!

Eat up little bees! Big things are on the way!

After they had a snack we took them out in the yard. The packages were attached by two wooden strips and we needed to separate them so we could put them IN the hives. If you have never met my Dad, let me tell you, he does not mess around!  He is like Sonic the Hedgehog, zipping here and there, so I did not have time to be scared!  I was too buys just trying to keep up with him!

Prying!

Dad and his trusty pocket knife! I swear I thought he was going to lose a finger! Those cages were really stuck together, but I guess you would not want them coming apart in the mail. Yikes!

Prying some more!

Finally!

And with a crack!  It happened, the two cages were separated and we were ready to take them to the hives.

The Bee Whisperer!

Here is Dad packing his box to the hives. Dad is so gentle with the bees, and they just ride along buzzing softly! He really is the Bee Whisperer!

Here you go little bees! Home sweet hive!

 Here we have walked out to the hives and now we open them up. I am starting to get a bit nervous. After all, we are about to release thousands of bees.Dad is cool as a cucumber! For me it is a normal reaction to start slapping and slinging when a bee lands on you, but Dad says that is bad, lol That we need to move slowly and gently, and they bees will not get upset. They just want to check us out!

Yikes! Look out! That is one sharp knife!

Here is Dad with his knife again,! That thing s a multi purpose tool I tell you! I will say, he did end up bleeding just a tad. We were glad that bees were not like sharks, and go crazy over a drop of blood, lol 

Tada!

We have the cage open, and now you can see the can of sugar water included to keep the bees fed while they are in transit. We will also leave it in the hive for a while so they can have easy food while they build their combs and learn the best places to forage. 

Easy now!

Now, how DO you get that can out?! Dads knife of course! What else?
Here is a video of us taking the jar out, and also the queen in her cage. A little warning, I look terrible, AND, I talk really fast. Especially when I am excited! Ok...so I talk REALLY fast all the time..

See! How cool is that!! So after that, we put the lid back on the top box and wait for them to get out of the package. Then they will get busy and liberate their queen! It took three days for both queens to be freed and get to work laying eggs.  Here they are down in the frames pulling out the wax out to make combs. I imagine the queen is somewhere in there busy laying eggs. Yay!!

Aww!

 I go out and check on them often to make sure all is well. Then a few days ago  I took the top box off the one hive, gave them an entrance feeder, and  now they are doing awesome! They are out foraging so they can bringing back lots of pollen and nectar. Here are a few of them returning to the hive!

Landing gear down!

Incoming!

The other hive was a bit testy when I checked on it about noon. There was a small hole in the top box and they decided that was the entrance. So instead of coming and going out the front, they were buzzing in and out the hole in the back of the hive. Dad came by today to check on everything and make sure all was well, and I was so glad!! He took the top box off the testy confused hive and we installed their entrance feeder. They were so thrown off that a bunch of them balled up where their "entrance" used to be and were looking around all lost. BUT, Dad assured me they would find the right door, and they did. When I checked them before bed they were all tucked away in their hives doing what bees do at night! Maybe watch B movies?. Hehe
Well, there you go! I am so enjoying my awesome Beeventure and I hope you are finding it as cool as I am! I will definitley keep you updated with their progress. :)
Early June we will be getting a nuc of bees. Yea, that is 5 frames filled with all stages of bees! Woo Hoo! Of course I will bring you along with me for the experience! So keep an eye out, we have some exciting summer plans here on the Backwards Homestead!
Shout out to Katrina for taking all these awesome pics and videos! Her, Pud'nin and Joy were all there cheering us on during the process. Quietly of course! LOL!
Also, Leave a comment and let me know you were here, I love hearing from anyone who happens to stop by!. :)

What a Bee Venture!

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!

Mary Mary Quite Contrary!

How does your garden grow?
Anyone remember that nursery rhyme from when you were a kid? My mom used to read nursery rhymes to me all the time and I actually remember them from way back then! The reason I used that particular nursery rhyme is that is is Spring! Yep, and that means it is time to get out in the SUN, and plant your garden!
This year we have decided that we are going to try and make this farm pay for itself a little bit, and since we will have the Backwards Homestead totally paid off this summer, there is no time like the present to start some self sustaining projects like bigger gardens!
For several years now we have been fighting the same garden spot and the hard clay dirt that it contains. It is a nightmare. I am totally serious when I say that you could actually throw a pot with the dirt. When we till, it turns into hard clods that just rattle around your hoe making you so mad that you could actually pitch those clods at anyone who even doubted the depth of the clayness!

WATER!!! WATER!!

To make things even more needful as far as MORE garden area, Katrina and Joy had went to town to buy me some seed potatoes and onion sets. When they get to the store, the guy is overcome with seed potatoes! He offers them a 50 lb bag, with a BOGO deal!  Trina, being her mothers daughter, comes home with 100 pounds of seed potatoes! To be fair, she did call first, but I am sure knowing the answer. I mean FREE TATER! Who would say no to that? Not I! I now needed a tater patch. A big tater patch...
We had already decided that we wanted to expand our horizons, and till up a few more garden plots.... But! I was pretty nervous because taking totally awesome grass, and tilling it up gives me hives! After all, what if the dirt was the same?! What if it was still clay-e?! What if it washed, and made a huge mess of the yard?!? What if!?!? I could pass out just thinking about all the things that COULD happen.

The INHUMANITY!!

 So, one day while I was inside, Pud'nin just went outside, leaped on his trusty tractor, and tilled me a spot. I was a bit nervous when I saw it, and I admit I was a bit itchy. It looked great, but....what if?!
But, we forged ahead.
But, this digging thing is addictive, and like most farm things, is one enough? Is two enough?! What about THREE! Since I had gotten my hives under control, and the world had not ended because we had tilled up the grass, we decided to till yet ANOTHER garden spot! This one is even bigger than the original garden area!! Woot!

The original area, AKA the clay mine!

This is the third spot, ignore the grass, been too wet to till!

The second area where I figured out the world will go on even  if I destroy the grass.

It has been SO awesome having all that dirt, all the possibilities. We planted onions, radishes, tomatoes and cucumbers! We planted potatoes, green beans, horticulture beans and watermelons. We planted until there was not a single inch of unseeded dirt. It.Was.Awesome.
Well, unless you count that I threw out my back and I am still not able to walk totally right, it was awesome! Someone had to take one for the team, so what is a little back pain...or alot of back pain. Debilitating back pain actually. Looking back, if you decide to triple your garden space, you might wanna stretch a bit first, it can be a bit of a buzz kill when you are laying flat on your back crying like a girl for days!

But, it was worth it because now I have so much stuff growing that when it all comes in I will be under mountains of produce! Acres of squash, billions of tomatoes!! I can't wait to start eating and canning all sorts of yumminess. We ate so much of my stash last winter that I will be one busy woman this summer. This is the part of being a throwback in time. Feeding my family from the land and from the work that I do myself as a labor of love! There is nothing better than popping open a jar of home canned goodies. Or being able to give someone a gift of summer deliciousness in the middle of December.

Yummy!

Did anyone else decide to go big or go home? Expand a garden? Take on a new project that will make things way better for yourself and your family? If so, I sure hope you are as excited as we are with our venture into mega gardening!

Springtime On The Farm!

Busy days around the farm. Warm weather brings a lot of work with it cleaning up all the mess that Mother Nature left during the winter. Flowerbeds to clean, leaves to rake, sticks and limbs to pick up. Not to mention all the spring animal chores like cleaning their pens, fence repair and making sure they are ready for the new season. Even though it is a lot of work, I can say that it is just so wonderful to see the flowers blooming and the sun shining!

I even managed to plant a few things in the garden! Yay me! Pud'nin tilled me up a small plot and I put out some cabbage and broccoli. I also planted some peas, lettuce, spinach and onions. It is always nice when it is time to garden. My favorite time of the year. Earlier this year we found a couple of the little greenhouse thingys on sale at Tractor Supply. We picked them up and I did manage to get some seeds started in there as well. Not many, but it will be nice to get an early start on a couple things. I will say that the wind has made the greenhouses a challenge, I have to tie them to the fence to keep them from blowing away!!

Such cute little things!

I checked yesterday and the seeds are actually sprouting, Woot! I am pretty excited, and I also planted some cabbage in a big pot that I have in the yard. It works like a charm every year. Keeps me from having to buy the plants from the store.

Look! Baby Cabbages!

Flossie and Eleanor are doing great too. Ellie is growing and is just beautiful! The only negative is that the little piggy is getting almost ALL of the yummy Flossie milk! She is quite the eater, lol She is eating hay, grass and will even belly up to the feed trough with her mama for her share of feed. She is leading pretty good, but a but stubborn! Hopefully we can get her all ready to be a milk cow like her Mama! It will not be too long before she will be old enough to wean, and I am sure she and Flossie will not be happy about that little bit of news. We are trying to figure out how to get Flossie and Ellie out in the pasture, but I am worried that once Ellie hits the open range, she will be hard to get back out to train. Not to mention that Twister can be a real turd and I do not want him to hurt her..Then we have Keg, the steer. He is just too aggressive for us to go out in the field to get her or Flossie. It is past time for him to go to freezer camp, but I actually have NO room in the freezer for him at this time. Seems nothing is easy when it comes to the farm life!

Here's my girls!

Ciskgo in the afternoon sun

Princess and Elvis are adjusting very well to their new home and they have become best friends. It has been really good for Princess since she is getting older and the huge pasture was sometimes a challenge for her as far as getting up to the barn at feeding time. Now we can keep a close eye on her and she does not have as far to walk to get to the food and water.

Elvis saying hello!

Time for a Spring Brushing!

We also have a few chicks this spring. We have Silkies, Buff Orpington and Polish Crested babies. We also have several eggs in the incubator. I sure hope we have a good hatch and can sell the little fluffballs to make a bit of money here on the farm. These guys need to pull their weight a little bit, LOL! Here are a few pictures of the little cuties!

Getting ready!

Chickies!

Little Polish Crested

Buffies enjoying the great outdoors!

Look at all these eggs! They were all laid right here on the farm! We are having a bit of an issue with Jayne getting in the chicken house and eating the eggs, so not so many eggs these days. We are working on persuading her to stay out of the henhouse, and I am sure she will get the point soon, She is a smart girl!

Can't you just hear them peeping!

The piggies are also getting along just great! Hopefully we will have the pitter patter of little hooves this summer. I know Wilbur has been wooing Charlotte and although she does not seem as impressed as she could be during the day, who knows what happens in the pig pen at night!? Here is the happy couple.

I am especially excited about something that is not even an animal! Pud'nin made us a fire ring! Yea, I am SO happy. He made it from the rim off an old tractor tire. Took him a while to cut the old tire off, but now I have not only a nifty flower bed, but we also have this nifty fire ring! Last night we all went out and roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. It was so nice, Sadly, I do not think we gone ONE picture..BOO!!! We were just having so much fun I suppose. But, I do have a picture of the fire ring filled with wood and ready to go.

Too Cool!

Well, that is what has been happening here on the Backwards Homestead. Now off to do a few more things on the endless list of chores! It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day, so lets all get outside and get some warm and cheery sunshine on our faces!

Sunny Morning

Today was really sunny which was really nice! Even if it is freezy cold! The animals are beginning to look much better with the warmer temperatures, and also getting a bit of Spring fever. Funny how a little sun can make you feel so much better! Wilbur is settling in nicely, and he is even having quite a bit of interest in Charlotte. (Ahem). lol She is not quite ready to make things facebook official yet, and is giving him a bit of the cold shoulder. I imagine if things go well, and Wilbur can manage to woo Charlotte successfully, we will have piglets by August at the latest. Cross your fingers!
Here they were at breakfast waiting for me to serve it up! He was chasing her around when we arrived, but nothing like a bowl of corn to postpone romance! As you can see, they were not as gentle on their feed bowl as I would have liked. Getting in their pen and fixing their pan twice a day is getting old! Especially when you have to go in with two rather massive piggies. Let me tell you, when they were named LARGE Blacks, they were not kidding, lol

Flossie was all itchy from all her winter hair coming off. She decided to have a scratch on her hay roll! Can we say eww! Who wants hair in their hay? Not me! Right now she looks all splotchy and almost mangy! I brushed and brushed her yesterday, so maybe soon she will be all sleek and smooth.

You also get a pic of Ellies booty! Darn calf, should have cropped that out, but such is farm life. :) The rest of the cows come up and visit with Flossie and Eleanor every day. I would let Flossie out in the pasture, but I am worried that Ellie might be a booger to catch, and Twist might not be too welcoming either. Hopefully we will have a pen for Ellie when it is time to separate her from Flossie, and then we can start training her to be a calm and obedient milker when she grows up! She sure is looking lovely, all stocky and full of energy. I must say, she is one of the prettiest calves we have had here on the farm. I am quite proud of Flossie and Mr. MooGurgles, they made a fine little baby! Here the others are visiting.

Here is Ellie in her Cameo, all vogue and glamorous! Hasn't she grown!

Porter was out of the family picture this morning, he was busy getting a big drink of water. He has really come out of the winter looking fine and fit. I was a bit worried this last winter when it was so darn cold. He was only about 5-6 months old when winter started, and the other cows were not as accommodating as they could have been. He was basically the outcast,:( Now he is one of the herd and is growing quite fast!

Pud'nin and I also had some big helpers this morning, or should I say some new livestock! Here they are looking of of the trailer.

 

Look out, they can be wild!!

Payton looking through a piece of ice that was on the water trough, Cool!

Kaelis face when Grandpa was telling her that all the straw in the compost pile was what they made Mini Wheats out of...Really Grandpa?!

Here are a couple more pictures of my helpers. Even Blu thought he would get in on the action! But I will say, he was probably hoping for a bowl of milk. But, these days Eleanor is getting the bulk of that, so he will just have to wait until this afternoon! Jayne was off chasing squirrels, so I will have to try and snap a picture of her today too, but let me tell you, the camera has to be fast to capture that girl! She is a fireball!
I know that I am really enjoying this sunny weather! Stay tuned, before you know it I will be starting the garden and getting the new chicken pens ready for our new projects! I know I can't wait!