Okey-Dokey

Well, now that the beekeeper is back home, we have confirmation that all is well in hive number 2. Eggs are being laid, pollen being collected, etc. All is well.

Whew!

Here's a bit of the burr comb that they started building in the space we had opened up into which to pour all the bees.

This little cutie paid us a visit while HE was away.

Shy Guy.

Installation

I am not the beekeeper in the house. HE is.

This is what the hive looks like after you "dump" in the bees

So it was a bit alarming to discover that our bees would be arriving while HE was in Denver for a conference. This was not part of my plan.

Well, really I didn't have a plan, but if I did, "HE away when bees arrive" would not have been included.

The bees were to have arrived back in April, but due to the cold spring the entire country seems to be having, they were delayed by over a month.

I had no choice, but to install them into the hive.

Here is where courage, patience and information serve one well.

1. Courage.

I wasn't especially afraid of the bees. They are really quite docile. But I was well aware of the fact that if you get stung, hormones (and screaming, probably) draw more bees to the sting site. One sting--manageable. Multiple stings--not so much. So while I wasn't afraid, per se. This information remained tucked in the (many) recesses of my mind.

And after all, I did have the bee suit.

2. Patience.

In fact, I felt very calm and purposeful about the entire process. HE had walked me through it and it didn't really seem too difficult. One problem: it was a super windy day and major storms were heading our way. There were lots of ominous looking clouds out to the west. Thunderstorm and tornado watches/warnings--that kind of weather.

I needed to move swiftly. I wanted them in the hive before it started raining, lightning, thundering and hailing. Of course, if a tornado did come, all would be for naught. Yes, in fact I did have that thought.

Probably not the best conditions to work under.

3. Information.

Well, I love to read. And I had read all of our honeybee books. Heck, I bought 'em all.

[[Shopping. There's something I do well.]]

So I did have some knowledge about the installation process even before HE walked me through it. Repetition is good. It's really a great way to learn.

Repetition. Hand's-on learning. Trial and Error. All good.

Except when you are installing a package of thousands of bees for the very first time.

The bees come in a wooden box with screens.

So I asked my 11-year-old daughter to do it.

Well, really. What would you have done?

She loves bees. She has much more courage and patience than I do. And while she never read any of our bee books, she has been "in" the hives lots of times with her dad.

Erica and HE last spring installing both hives

Clearly, she's way more qualified than I am.

It was all going quite well until she got stung and announced: "I'm going back up to the house".

Wimp!

'Course, it did occur to me that over the past year, Erica has been stung by our bees more than anyone else. Perhaps since she is so interested and helpful with our hives, we ought to purchase her a bee suit?

Ya think?

Anyway, thanks to Erica's assistance and reassuring presence, our bees are home.

Aidan was our intrepid (read as: maintaining a safe distance from the hives) photogapher

We plug the hole in the queens "box" with a bit of marshmallow. The workers will eat away the marshmallow so the queen can get out and start laying her eggs.

Man, I love that kid!

Bee lover!

What's that orange ball?

That, my dears is the sun.

Setting over Dead Rat Hill...

spring visitors

We only see Orioles for a short time in spring. Then they must travel even further north. I just love their burst of color.

As soon as I saw one this year, I put out oranges, which they love. I sure wish these guys would stick around-they are so pretty.

Movin' on up, to the East Side...

....of the chicken coop.

Sing it with me.

Our 29 babies moved out. And as any fledgling will do--they left a mess.

Kids!

Sheesh!

If Erica really wants "her" bathroom back, she ought to clean it. Don't you think?

The east side of the chicken coop is going to be a much nicer place for the chicks. the accommodations are much more spacious.

They will be with the big birds.

Though Rooster Bob wasn't so sure about these newcomers.

And on warm, dry days they can venture outside and learn how to eat all of the ticks.

that is the real reason I wanted chickens

it wasn't for the eggs

or the meat

it was so that our property would be tick-free.

Amen.

Case of the Missing Eggs

We need video surveillance in our chicken coop. Egg production has dropped--or perhaps more accurately--eggs are [dramatic pause] missing!

We've gone from collecting 8~10 eggs a day to some days only 3. I had thought that our chickens were beginning to molt, but there is no sign of missing feathers on our birds (save a few spots where RB seems to be particularly rough).

{When chickens molt (lose their feathers) at about 12 to 15 months of age, egg production drops as their bodies use the protein to create newer stronger feathers}

Are the chickens eating their eggs?

Could be. We did see evidence of this throughout the winter, occasionally. But that was when they were cooped up (get it--"coop"ed up, heh, heh). Now they are free to roam all around for yummy things to eat. I can't imagine they would be eating even more of their eggs this time of year.

Are they laying outside?

Maybe. But we still get eggs in the coop, so it's hard to say.

But the most daring theory of all:

Are the dogs eating them?

Even worse~ is Tippy, the best dog in the whole world, eating our chicken eggs??

Spotters I could believe. He just has bad manners.

But Tippy?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

The evidence may point directly to her:

She can access the chicken coop from the chicken door.
She doesn't seem all that interested in her dog food most of the time.
She has very stinky farts.

Okay, scratch that last. So does Spotters.

In fact...


Well, nevermind.

And crucially:
Tippy was nosing around the nesting boxes last night while HE was modifying our coop to accommodate the chicks (more on that later).
And~perhaps most damning of all~HE saw 3 eggs in the nesting boxes when he began his re-modeling...

[dramatic pause]

...NONE when he was finished!!

Dun, dun, dun, dun!


[sorry--I'm still in theater mode]

Tippy, the egg thief.

Say it isn't so.....

We've had a terrific couple of weeks. On April 30th our 4-H club presented a drama for the county drama festival and won the award for best overall presentation. The kids did a fabulous job and as their director I was extremely proud. It was an original production and you can find a link here to view the video. It was great fun.

This past weekend we spent in Oshkosh for the Wisconsin Parents Association homeschooling conference. We presented two workshops~one was a series of fun, team-oriented math and science challenges. The second was a discussion on how to homeschool when you do not have a support group or feel  unsupported in other ways.  We felt both workshops went well...... we had a great time, anyway!

My little girl decided to take over giving instructions about halfway through!

Now back to business--I have chicks in my bathroom and seedlings in my loft. Weeds in my garden and spring fever in my blood.

Bring it!

Sigh...

Tiny snowflakes yesterday and a hard frost this morning...

Spring, spring, where are you??