The Gentleman Farmer

2011-02-27T23:25:00.000-06:00

It's finally happened.

Chainsaws were delivered to the hardware store. I obtained one. After waiting out several days of thunderstorms, today I was able to crank up the new saw and do some light clearing with it. I'm taking it slow for now, trying to keep good form and pay special attention to safety.

After some study, I chose the model of saw based on its warranty, 56.5 cc motor, and the width of it's cutting chain. You really don't have to put much effort into the actual cutting with this saw. It is sharp and powerful enough to make the sawdust fly with ease.

Most of the purpose of having the new saw is to clean up the property. Not so much to clear away the trees, but cut out enough brush so that I can bush hog most of the place. Some of the trees are being limbed up so the grass under them can be cut.

The next several weeks of nice days off will be spent with both hands on the saw. Some fence repair and upgrades are in order asap, also.

You just can't beat the smell of fresh cut cedar.

2011-02-21T19:11:00.000-06:00

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." - Anne Bradstreet

There's no denying it at this point. Spring is well on its way. Tennessee has had fabulous spring weather for the past ten days or so.

The hams continue to cure, and are starting to look more like country hams.I think it's fair to say Uncle is less skeptical on the question of whether the hams we are experimenting with (by hanging instead of salting periodically in a box) will turn out OK.

Today was supposed to be the day that the Gentleman Farmer purchased his very own first new chainsaw, but apparently everybody in town is buying chainsaws, so that will have to wait.

The buttercups are starting to open.

It's going to be a good spring.

Harbingers of Spring

2011-02-14T23:18:00.001-06:00

I don't know about the weather in your neck of the woods this winter, but I certainly have felt deficient in the Vitamin D department lately. Here in Tennessee, we are having much more distinct seasons than I remember growing up. We used to only get snow that actually covered the ground twice a year, if that, and never enough to really sled on. In recent winters, the school children have had so many snow days, they have been working at their studies later in the summer than normal. Accumulations of snow are happening often enough that my neighbors are actually learning to drive in the stuff. One of the results of all this wintery winter is that Tennesseans are in desperate need of Vitamin D.

From the National Institutes of Health:

Vitamin D is also known as the "sunshine vitamin" because the body manufactures the vitamin after being exposed to sunshine. Ten to 15 minutes of sunshine 3 times weekly is enough to produce the body's requirement of vitamin D.

Yesterday and today were a really nice break from the normal winter stuff. The weather has been gorgeous, with clear skies and temps in the mid-60's. I've been able to tend the fence some. Today I re-stretched a section that was looking a little saggy. Next, I have a new gate to hang and a string of barb wire to put around the top. These repairs and upgrades will happen over the next few weeks, in anticipation of stocking TRF with a new herd of goats.

Today's photos are from a long walk around the farm. I tried to look for colorful things, the first signs of spring. In the order of appearance: Berries on a thorn bush, a vibrant patch of moss, a shoot of honeysuckle, an extreme macro shot of the buttercup patch, and the single deepest post hole I've dug.

I hope you have been able to catch up on your Vitamin D production, and I hope the worst of winter is past us all. Here's looking forward to a productive season on the farm.

Country Ham

2011-01-23T00:49:00.000-06:00

So The Gentleman Farmer has helped cure hams before (see original post of this blog), but never made his own. The other day, my friend and I built a box for my hams.

Uncle ordered the hams and brought them from the grocer. Each one has to be trimmed up so that the edges are neat. This year we are curing most of the hams in the way that Uncle has taught us, and trying a new process.

The "traditional" way is to coat the surfaces of each ham with a salt cure mix, turning them over in the box and re-salting about every two weeks from mid-January until about the time we quit having frost.

The "new" way we are trying is very different. Uncle was polite, but I know he was skeptical. These hams (two of the sixteen we are curing this year) are "glazed" with a fine layer of salt over the skin, and the hock and meaty sides are packed with a pre-measured amount of cure mix. The ham and cure are wrapped in brown paper, wrapped again in cheesecloth, and then hung hock side down from the roof of the shed. These hams won't be disturbed at all until the last frost. The reason I want to try curing hams this way is because it feels like there is more control over how much salt is used and absorbed into the meat. Now that we started them, they definitely have that country ham look.

When the job was done, good luck and tradition demanded that we each partake in a splash of vodka. The Gentleman Farmer is not one to go against good luck or tradition.

I'm so excited for spring to start here. Upcoming chores and projects will include maintaining the fence and adding a string of barbwire to the top of it, planting a heckuva garden, stocking the farm with goats and bees, and clearing more of the back forty for projects to be determined.

Wilderness Photography Workshop

2010-09-25T20:28:00.000-05:00

This weekend, The Gentleman Farmer took part in a Wilderness Photography workshop sponsored by TNWild, which is an advocacy group dedicated to protecting wilderness on the Cherokee National Forest for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations.

Bill and Laura Hodge are wilderness enthusiasts who love the Tellico Plains area and honored us by sharing their photography knowledge and ideas. Their assistance and encouragement were huge assets to everyone who participated in the workshop. I highly encourage all interested parties to friend TNWild on facebook and sign up for the next session. We opened with a classroom discussion on the science and art of photography and then hiked the rest of the day, practicing our hobby and enjoying each other's fellowship.

The area we hiked is just east of Tellico Plains in the national forest, just off of the Cherohala Skyway. This area is pristine. There are ideal opportunities for camping, backpacking, hiking, scenic driving and photography. I wasn't familiar with the Cherokee National Forest before this visit, but I will be sure to return. Many of the trails, campsites and views were similar quality experiences to the National Park up the road, but the area was much less crowded. (As an aside, Tennessee's U.S. Senators have agreed to support changing this area from National Forest to Wilderness lands, protecting it from development, encroachment and preserving its natural beauty forever. Thank you, Sens. Corker and Alexander.)

The first thing we talked about in our workshop was the word Wilderness, with a capital W. The definition of Wilderness, as it applies to federal law is as follows: (at least skim the bold parts, mmkay) A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.

To those of you who have emailed The Gentleman Farmer asking for updates, thank you for doing so. More photos from the farm will be coming soon. It's going to be a beautiful fall.

Goodbye 2009...

2010-01-08T19:58:00.017-06:00

Hello again, from Tennessee Renaissance Farm.

It's been some time since I wrote last. Things slow down a lot as we move from fall into winter. And some things have happened that are frankly hard for me to write about. Thank you for your interest and encouragement. Bear with me through this update.

The late fall and start of winter have been much colder than recent years. With the onset of really cold (for us that's low's in the teens at night) weather, neighboring dogs seem to roam more. Some of the neighbors' dogs and some strays basically formed a pack, which is never a good thing. And so it was on the Sunday before Christmas. The dogs killed six of my nine goats that night, and one the following night. Howard the llama, normally the protector, was unable to stop what happened. It was a devastating thing. I just don't have the words. It was really heartbreaking to bury the seven of them.

Since those bad nights, the fence has been repaired and strengthened. I am reasonably confident that no more dogs have been inside the fence since then. The dogs have become wary of being around the farm, which is probably best for now.

We've had another, colder cold snap lately. I don't think it's been above freezing for the last week or so, and there are several more days of similar weather in store. It's unseasonably cold, for middle Tennessee. I sold one of the remaining goats at auction, but the other is too ornery to be caught lately. I can understand how he (Leviticus) might be wary of other creatures, lately. He seems to be in a better mood, and he's starting to at least hang out closer to Howard most of the time. Even in the snow, Levi joyously comes running at feeding time.

Carrying warm water for the livestock several times a day is tedious.

Having snow on the ground makes it easier to see the surface of the ground back in the trees and brush. I can see much clearer spaces inside the fence where the goats ate up alot of the brush. Being able to see more space open turns my mind to plans for spring. Some more fence will be built. Maybe a small building project or two will take place in the summer. It'll only take another day's rental of the tractor and much of my back forty will be walkable. I really enjoy that thought.

Thank you for your support of Tennessee Renaissance Farm in my first year of blogging. I will need your continued encouragement and ideas going forward.

Things I'm looking forward to in 2010:

Fresh vegetables from the TRF garden
More goats!
Harvesting my first honey! (I need your best biscuit recipes, by the way)
Inventorying plant and wild life on the Farm
Sustained above-freezing temperatures
More bees!
Fencing on flat ground instead of the hillside
New used farm equipment!

Autumn Gold

2009-10-29T22:16:00.001-05:00

So now is the peak of fall colors on Tennessee Renaissance Farm. What's left of the poplar leaves are flamey yellow. The maples are red like embers. It's a gorgeous time to stroll the farm and consider my plans for next year.

Last week, one of the goats passed away. It is sad. Their primary function is to work on the farm clearing brush, but I have to admit I am attached to them, to some degree. Rest well, Lil Buddy.

Today's photos are fairly self-explanatory, so I'll let you enjoy them.

Won't be long 'til there's frost on the pumpkin...

2009-10-12T23:48:00.002-05:00

This little guy is my buddy. He's the smallest goat, but definitely the friendly one. He likes to be petted, even when I'm not feeding. He's the one that meets me at the fence first each morning and walks with me when I make the rounds.
The next photo is of hedge apples on the ground. I don't know what, if any purpose they serve. I've heard a tale that hedge apples can be used to keep bugs away.
Poplar leaves are turning. The old timers at the farmer's co-op thought that such a wet summer meant we'd have pretty fall colors this year. I'm not convinced, yet.
This is what I spent a couple of hours working on in the rain on Friday. The fence runs downhill and there was a slight gap underneath, which allowed a couple of the goats to roam. I took some stakes and chicken wire, and wired them to the bottom of the fence. For good measure, I found an old fence post to weigh down the chicken wire with, on the inside.

Eviction day...

2009-09-29T21:10:00.004-05:00

Tennessee Renaissance Farm is here to benefit... me, mostly. The things that I do, the things that I choose not to do, the animals I bring in and the ones that were already here all serve purposes. This is the first real eviction from the Farm, but the rule here is everybody chips in. No free rent, right?

And so it is with yellow jackets. This particular gang of them has harassed The Gentleman Farmer and my family a few times this summer. One nephew has been stung on two occasions. It's hard to locate yellow jackets safely, so I've just avoided the area and put off dealing with it. Today I was mowing, thinking I was not close to where the nest was, actually kindof mowing a border around where I thought it was, when it suddenly looked like the ground was moving where I had just mowed.

Instinct kicked in before thoughts, causing me to run. When I slowed down and looked back, it was a literal cloud of the pests, much like the bees when I have a hive opened for inspection. The yellow jackets gradually settled down again, but it would be their last hurrah.

As dusk happened, I gathered some tools: Mag Lite, camera, matches, leftover citronella oil. The flames weren't as impressive as I had imagined. (I really don't like yellow jackets.)

ALSO NOTE IN THESE PHOTOS: The yellow jackets (sortof) have similar coloration to honeybees. They are NOT bees. Bees are not aggressive (they are defensive). Bees have fuzz on them. Yellow jackets are naked. Yellow jackets' heads are shaped weirdly. Usually, yellow jackets will help themselves to sugary drinks on your picnic. Bees much prefer nectar from flowers. Bees also do their part on the farm, producing that liquid gold that The Gentleman Farmer loves.

Fall on the Farm

2009-09-24T23:46:00.001-05:00

My goats are doing well. They have definitely taken their piece of Tennessee Renaissance Farm and made it their own. The progress they are making in eating up the brush is amazing. As they have grown comfortable here, the goats seem to be more friendly. Now they come out and walk with me when I'm out and about on the farm. Even if I'm not feeding right then. Not a bad thing.

Howard is ever vigilant. When I found a gap under the edge of the fence the other day, he made took up a position beside that gap and would not let the goats near it. It's pretty cool how he picked up on that and did his job. He wears his hats as mayor and protector of the farm well.

The bees are slowing down after What I think was a very decent summer for them. Meagan, Taylor and Emily each have a good amount of honey stored up. Hopefully they will all come through winter in fine shape. I'm looking forward to that first golden harvest in a big way.

I know I've been lax in maintaining the blog lately. I've got enough projects in mind this fall and winter that I should have plenty to write about. Watch what happens next.

Settling in nicely...

2009-08-25T22:09:00.007-05:00

The llama and goats have gradually been getting to know each other and making the place their own. After much deliberation, the llama has been named Howard. It's been suggested that I find him a top hat and vest, and appoint him Mayor of Tennessee Renaissance Farm. Why not? Hah.

Howard was definitely the first to warm up. He's the first to allow anyone to pet him and not be (too) jumpy about it. He definitely takes his job as protector of the goats seriously. He keeps a watchful eye on the herd and is johnny-on-the-spot when a dog comes to the fence. It's very cool to know that Howard will be effective in case of predators visiting the farm to snack on my little goats.

The goats have been slower to get friendly. I think part of this is because they are smaller and generally less confident creatures, and I don't know anything about their lives before the auction barn. It's obvious that they were handled and raised as livestock and not pets.

Today was a first for the farm, also. One of the goats put his head through the fence and couldn't pull it back out. I think dislodging his head was easier than when my brother got his melon stuck in the railing of the stairs, but still traumatic for the little guy. It was the first time any of the goats ate from my hand, which seemed to calm him before I had to take him by the horns and help back his head out. It's odd how some animals will always look outside their fence when they have so much good stuff inside with them. Now I know why I count so carefully at feeding time and walk the fence a few times a day.

2009-08-02T14:34:00.001-05:00

My post Monday from the Woodbury sale barn was the prelude to this: I aquired 10 pygmy goats and since then, a llama.

Five goats were delivered Wednesday after their shots and deworming. Later I was given an option on five more from the same lot, and they are here now. I was told that a llama will help protect the goats from predators, so now a llama has joined the gang.

So far, the goats have been very skittish. At first, when I turned the corner of the fence, they'd disappear into the woods. They are starting to learn that I'm the one who brings the food that they like. They aren't quite friendly just yet, but they don't run away when they see people, either. So far the goats are pretty scattered, but I'm told over the next few days they should pretty much hang out in a group. They've had a hard week.

The llama is awesome. He has such character and seems to have a good nature about him. he'll come right up and smell your hands and then trot away to chew on a weed again. When you see his eyes, you know there's something going on in there. He seems to have some sort of wit about him.

So far none of these creatures have names. I figure I'll name the goats one at a time, as I get to know them. I'm accepting nominations over the next few days for names for Mr. Llama.

God bless you and yours. Thanks for reading about the Tennessee Renaissance Farm.

Night At The Sale Barn

2009-07-27T21:21:00.003-05:00

The Gentleman Farmer visited the Woodbury livestock sale tonight. It was definitely a spectacle for somebody who had never been before. I enjoyed watching the people who attended, the auctioneer and the animal handlers as people bid.

The gentleman I went to the sale with was very knowledgeable about the animals, pointing out flaws from a distance after they were on the floor for just a moment. I have to say I learned alot, just by being there with somebody who knows what he's talking about.

Please forgive the cell phone photo. This was an impromptu trip.

Miscellaneous...

2009-07-09T17:45:00.002-05:00

I've missed blogging lately, but that's not because I haven't been hard at work. Every day off, I feel huge progress as I clean up the Farm and get ready to do more with it. Considering that this is now mid-July in Tennessee, the weather is almost pleasant lately, and I've been able to be productive most of the time on my days off.

I've been chainsawing and clearing some places to make better passage for the tractor, when I have it over again. When the dozer cleared lanes for the fence last fall, it left alot of piles along the outside edge. That is alot of what I'm clearing out now. It's hard work, but you can definitely see progress after a few hours. Basically, I'll spend a long minute or three deciding the best way to cut the tree to the ground, and then cut the smaller stuff off and stack it on the brush pile. The decent logs are saved for future projects.

Today I checked on Meagan, Taylor and Emily. All good stuff in each hive. Each queen is producing a healthy number of eggs. Nurse bees tend the eggs as they grow into larvae and pupae. The field bees are still finding pollen and nectar to store up before the winter. Meagan will soon get another super added. That hive is definitely full and producing alot more baby bees.

Todays photos:

Checking a nice frame of honey and brood. Eggs are a sign that the queen is alive and well.
The heartwood of cedar is such a nice color when it is freshly cut.
Meagan is growing up, and will soon be expanded to allow a little breathing room inside.
This is the mother of the birds raised on the back porch. They have already flown away to do their little bird things.

PS - does anybody know much about livestock auctions? I'll be attending the Manchester goat sale soon and would appreciate some tips.

Dog days are early... This stuff is for the birds...

2009-06-24T23:23:00.001-05:00

Many of you are local, and know the weather here on the Farm was really hot the past week or so. Like August hot. I'm still working on the place a little at a time. I've been able to move around some brush, and burn some off. Somehow chainsawing and dragging limbs and logs, etc, just doesn't seem picturesque to me. So I don't take pictures of that work. I've also feared for my camera, with the amount of sweat my body produces on these hot, hot days. Maybe I should invest in a watertight case for it?

It won't be long before I bring the tractor over for a day of good dirty fun. The space on top of the hill that I bush hogged this spring are about knee deep with grass and weeds. And some poison ivy, if I'm being honest. Part of the goal of clearing brush from the hill is to open up more parts of the hill for bush hogging. So I will probably put off renting the tractor as long as I can stand it.

So far this spring and early summer, I have marveled at the wildlife on Tennessee Renaissance Farm. I gave it a whole post not long ago, and that just scratches the survace. Here's another example: the woods are apparently so full of birds that they are forced to nest on my back porch, in my hammock chair. I suppose they can stay a bit. My Mom thinks they are sparrows, but I've only see the beak and eyes of their mother, so I can't say I'm sure at all what type of birds they are. These two photos were taken 3 days apart, which explains why the chickies in the first one are naked (one still hadn't hatched, at that point), and in the next photo, they have that little fine chickie fuzziness on them. Using the macro setting on my camera so far has let me get close enough without scaring Mama away.

For now, the heat has broken, and the daytime seems almost pleasant, at 92 degrees, Fahrenheit, and only 88% humidity.

A visitor from the city...

2009-06-22T13:26:00.000-05:00

The Gentleman Farmer has a very talented family. This week, my brother (The Gentleman Chef?) paid a visit from his new haunts up north and served up a mighty fine lunch. Brother is a Chef in training at Sullivan University, and he expresses almost extreme pride in working at Vinnie's.

Lunch today was reason for him to be proud. And for me to be proud of him, come to think of it. Bowtie noodles, cream sauce, peppers, peas, carrots and some bacon-y stuff (prosciutto) went together in the hands of an already experienced Chef. Thanks, Bro.

Good and bad.

2009-06-14T20:17:00.005-05:00

Today I checked the beehives from top to bottom. Meagan, Taylor and Emily are all busy with activity. This is the bees' prime season. I could see all three hives are developing well. Emily seems to have more honey put up at this time. Taylor has more baby bees. Meagan has a balance of brood and pollen and honey. All three are disinterested in the syrup I was putting out for them. They strongly prefer real natural nectar and pollen that they gather themselves. The Gentleman Farmer can understand that feeling. It won't be long until Meagan and Emily need to expand like Emily already had. So far, I'm very proud of all three of these hives. My knowledge is admittely limited by my experience, but all signs point to good things.

You'll notice Hive #4 so far is not included in today's update. Hive #4 was started with a queen that ended up being extra. Instead of just letting her die or releasing her to probably die, I attempted to put her with some bees from Emily and start Hive #4. Today there was no life in the hive. Regulars here will know that I have nursed it along as best I could. I don't know if the queen was possibly damaged in shipment, or the amount of bees that stayed with her in the hive just weren't enough to make a go of it. In any case, I'm saddened.

My niece Meagan (not the hive of the same name) built a sweet birdhouse in shop class and donated it to the Tennessee Renaissance Farm. She chose its spot, and I installed it today. I meant to ask her what type of birds might nest in this box, but so far I haven't. With so many birds on the farm this spring, it won't be long before I get a definite answer.

I also weeded the garden this evening and I'm trying to decide where to put the berry bushes that I've been buying on clearance lately. I should get them in the ground Tuesday.

To the people who are reading and interacting with me on this blog: I really appreciate your encouragement. Some of you have written from countries The Gentleman Farmer had to look up on the atlas. Your moral support, curiosity and friendship all encourage me to keep on working and improving the farm.

Today's Photos:

Emily has this frame almost 2/3 full of honey.
Click on this photo to see it in full size. In some of the cells, you can see larvae in advanced stages of development, just before they are to be capped by the nurse bees and finish their final stages of growing into little bees. (The dark spots on some of the larvae are their eyes.)
Capped brood on the left, larvae in the middle cells, and eggs toward the right. Some of these eggs are late in development, on the in-between stage between egg and larvae. Also click on this photo to see it full-size. These are good examples of nice, healthy bees. Their wings are almost clear and they have that really fine fuzz all over them. Fuzz is one way to distinguish bees from similar-looking hornets.
Meagan's bird house.

A walk on The Farm

2009-06-07T22:27:00.004-05:00

So on my day off today, I did not work outside. Two days in a row of fencing last week was enough for now. Domestic chores were calling. A couple of them got done.

This afternoon, I took a stroll around the farm and I was just amazed at the richness of nature that is already here on the farm. I spotted wild rabbits, a red squirrel, five kinds of birds, dragonflies, four wildflowers in bloom and some warm sunshine. It's overwhelming and it's gorgeous.

I just don't have the words to express the privilege of living here on this earth and at this time. I don't have much to say about the photos I'm posting today that you can't see for yourself. They are all from a walk of maybe twenty minutes this afternoon and all taken on the Farm.

Two rolls up, one to go...

2009-06-06T20:17:00.001-05:00

After I got back in from Gatlinburg I spent a couple of days continuing work on the fence. My new friend came over for a day and we got all of the prep work done with setting and bracing posts. We also got a whole roll (330') of fencing unrolled, stretched and attached to the posts. Friday we got one more roll put on their posts. Tuesday will be the next workday, and I hope to complete getting the fencing put on the posts then. After that, I just have to attach the gates and improvise a way to extend the fence in low spots, so there's not much gap between the ground and the fence.

I've definitely spent more time on the fence than I have with the bees, but somehow the work doesn't lend itself to what I think of as interesting posts. Most of the time, I really don't mind the actual work. I enjoy being on the land and hearing the birds, soaking up the sunshine and perspiring. Even though it has felt like slow work, building the fence has been very satisfying. I have also been graciously blessed by a handful of my friends who have given up a day here and there to help me with it.

"You know, I think we got the hardest part of building the fence done today," has become a joke with my friends. The next workday has proven me wrong more than once since I started this project. Now I'm just working as much as I can and witnessing the progress as it comes.

Time off for good behavior.

2009-06-04T21:26:00.000-05:00

I took off for a few days to go to Gatlinburg. I always enjoy visiting the mountains, and this trip did not disappoint.

Frogs from Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. This was my first time visiting the aquarium, and it is a first class experience. I really enjoyed their tunnel that takes you under the surface of the main aquarium. Ripley's also has several hands-on activities for children. It was definitely worth the price of admission.
This gentleman makes his living by carving logs into bears and other figures. He has an amazing talent with the chainsaw. He can be found on Gatlinburg's Arts & Crafts loop with hundreds of artisans and craftspeople. We saw woodworkers, potters, a glassblower, basket makers, leatherworkers, musicians, jewelers, painters and sculptors on the loop. It is free to visit just about anyplace on the loop, but you will want to take home some treasures.
The view from the Space Needle. I don't know how the tower gets its name, but you (almost) can't buy views like you see from the top. Nowhere else can you better see the contrast between the tourist town of Gatlinburg and the National Park, which is essentially untouched by commerce and development.
This gentleman in the Mountain Mall builds single string instruments called didley bows from cigar boxes. They are played with a slide. The didley bow goes back to the War of Norther Aggression, when there was little time or material to spare to building instruments, so people built them however they could improvise. I didn't think to ask how much time and energy they could have saved by not smoking cigars to get the boxes. The cigar box guitar he is playing in the photo has three strings. He introduced me to http://www.cigarboxnation.com/ , where you can see videos of people playing their instruments. I'm very impressed by the whole thing.
How can you not stop to witness the zen of the taffy pulling machine? The Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen is the world's premier expert on taffy making. It has spawned legions of expert taffy samplers in Gatlinburg.

If you missed the farm update this week, I did too. Updates are coming forth, and soon.

Antici. . . . . . -pation

2009-05-31T23:08:00.008-05:00

I thought today would be the day of truth for Hive #4. I started this one with a queen I got that turned out not to be needed by Taylor. I took a frame of brood and honey with some bees from Emily and put them in Hive #4 with the new queen about a month ago, now. It should be all she needs. I figured if I end up with another productive hive then great, and if not, I tried.

She's keeping me in suspense. Like she enjoys toying with me. She's taunting me, I think.

For the third week in a row, I have opened the small nuc box that houses Hive #4. Each time, I expect to see this queen laying thousands of little bee eggs, and each time so far, there are none. But there are other positive signs. It seems that the bees who are tending the queen have somehow grown in number, even though they are obviously not her offspring. Maybe they are expatriates from Meagan, Taylor and Emily. I honestly don't know. But these bees are in the hive, and the queen is still alive and seems to be as lively as her friends. They are not yet drawing out comb, which I think is the hitch with getting her to lay eggs, because they go in the cells.

So I put some honey and pollen supplements on this hive today, hopefully to stimulate the girls as they build up comb.

Today's photos, from the top:

Ian assisted me today. It seems wrong to teach someone his age to smoke.
Hive #4, with honey supplement hanging on the front and the entrance reducer in place to keep it easy for a smaller number of bees to defend.
Frames in Hive #4's nuc box.
Proper smoker fuel (pine needles), rather than the charcoal that caused an incident previously noted here.

A fence takes shape...

2009-05-28T23:04:00.000-05:00

This is hard work. Rewarding, but hard. Thursday I had some help come over and we worked on the fence some more. We hammered in 46 more steel posts and planted 11 cedar posts (this time with the post hole diggers instead of the auger I rented last time). The fourth side of the fence that goes from the shed toward the barn wasn't laid out at all, and it is set.

Does this strike you as more or less fun than beekeeping?

I'm hoping that the greater part of the work toward finishing the fence is done. I'm taking a few days away over the next week and hitting it hard after that. I'm hoping maybe two more good long days out there will be enough to get the bracing on the corners complete and the fencing attached to the posts.

Tennessee Renaissance Farm should be goat-ready in just a couple of weeks. Not bad, considering it rained the whole first half of May.

A Sunday Guest

2009-05-24T22:00:00.002-05:00

This guy and some of his friends were playing in the yard this morning. If I don't sound overjoyed, it's because mockingbirds like to eat bees. I'm wondering if it's a crime to defend my bees from our state bird...

2009-05-21T22:08:00.000-05:00

Excellent bee information and photos:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee

No one should own animals smarter than they are...

2009-05-21T20:14:00.006-05:00

My nephew was over today, so we did alot of little things toward getting the fence complete and we worked with the bees. He's a huge help, and often is the only thing that keeps me on task. Most of the photos for today's post were taken by him, also. Thank you, Michael.

Emily was looking a bit cramped, so we expanded her quarters. Essentially, the box we put on top (a "super," in the trade) is just like the bottom part of the hive (brood hive). It is shorter, so the frames are smaller. This is because when they fill up with honey, the supers can be very heavy. Smaller ones are easier to handle. You'll also notice the screen we put between the brood hive and super. It's a queen excluder. It is just large enough for worker bees to pass through, and just small enough that the queen is confined below. This keeps the queen from laying eggs above the brood hive, so that only honey is stored in the supers.

We checked Taylor, too. Everything is in order in there. Looks like good amounts of babies and honey being stored up. It won't be long before Taylor and Meagan get their own home improvements like Emily.

It's incredible to me how every bee has its job and just does it. Some tend the nursery. Some keep the interior of the hive clean. Some assist the incoming workers from the field with the pollen and nectar they bring in. The field workers literally work themselves to death so that the hive can carry on. Every bee goes through these jobs over their lifetime. On the other hand, the smoker got a little bit out of control when I was trying to be sure it had enough coals in it to last long enough to check both hives. You should not buy animals that are smarter than you are.

Today's photos, in order of appearance:

Emily, complete with the new super.
Saved from the lawnmower: a box turtle.
When the lid is off the hive, the girls come and go via the top.
Nectar on the left, complete honey capped on the right.
Emily's queen excluder.
Don't leave the smoker unattended. Good thing I have a spare. Does anyone know where to get a big scrap of Naugahyde?

2009-05-19T20:53:00.005-05:00

Looks like the Gentleman Farmer is not the only new beekeeper in the country. (That's the White House in the left of the background.)

Fencing progress...

2009-05-19T20:34:00.004-05:00

My friend came over today and helped me work on the fence some more. Last week, we dug holes with a machine I rented and put the corner posts in them. Today, we hammered in some metal posts. The driver I bought is basically a heavy reinforced sleeve of pipe that is capped and has handles on both sides. you position the tip of the post where you want it on the ground and slide the post driver down until it slams, hammering the posts in. While this is definitely hard work, it is much faster and easier than installing wood posts.

I'm probably going to hire out much of the rest of the labor for this fence. I've thrown out some feelers to find trustworthy help. I really want to get the fence done this month and bring over the goats.

I hope my arms are functional tomorrow.

The Buzz Grows...

2009-05-14T17:11:00.006-05:00

I have been fence-building the past couple of days off. My best friends came and helped me Tuesday. We got the corner posts all set. I've got a couple of them braced now. Fencing is HARD work, but I feel good about it because it is a huge improvement to the farm. Hopefully there'll be a little herd of goats inside the new fence sooner than later.

I also checked on Meagan, Emily, and Hive 4 today. The girls continue to build comb, store nectar and pollen, and tend the babies. Meagan (my niece) helped me check them, and everything looks good today. There are some great photos to share:

First photo: The hive is basically a 4-sided box that frames hang in by their top edge. When the bees moved in, each frame had only a flat sheet of beeswax on it. The bees build every cell on it before eggs can be laid or nectar and pollen can be stored. (If you wonder about my lack of bee suit, I don't miss it. It seems that I get stung less without the suit and gloves than with them.)
Next: Meagan's queen is spotted hard at work. I'd have a much harder time spotting her, but for the white mark on her back.
Third: This photo shows an excellent amount of eggs in the bottoms of the cells. They are the tiny white dots. They spend a few days as eggs, and then a little more than a week as larvae.You can also see a range of colors of pollen in the upper section of the photo.
Last: As the larvae mature, they grow until they fill most of the cell (bottom of the photo). The last stage of development is pupae, when the baby bees are capped over (top of the photo). Seeing a pattern of eggs in almost every cell in an area is an indication of a good (in this case, efficient) queen.

Rollercoaster thrills on the Farm....

2009-05-10T22:41:00.004-05:00

Okay, so it has been a while since my last post. Life happens, but mostly I was kindof discouraged about the girls. Those of you who know me will understand. So here it all is, as succinctly as I am able to express it.

You know from previous posts that Meagan and Emily's queens have both been confirmed as productive, as evidenced by baby bee eggs in their hives. I had waited until my nephew could help me to open Taylor and confirm her queen was also freed from her cage and producing little baby bee offspring. But she wasn't. We looked through every frame in the hive, pored over them four times. No queen. Either the colony rejected and disposed of her, or she was not healthy and died after being released from her cage. There are still bees in the hive, so I hurriedly ordered a new queen. They weren't so hurried in sending her, but she came in time.

So Thursday I went to install this new queen in the Taylor colony. So I opened up the hive to inspect and was absolutely gobsmacked to see little baby bee larvae in very good numbers. The queen had been released and was laying. The brand new comb in the hive is so white, I can see how I might miss the teeny white eggs laying in there (see previous post). The queen's marking is also not on her abdomen, making it more difficult to locate her.

So, hooray! Taylor is okay. Sweet. But wait. I just ordered a new queen. Do I just let her die? After some frantic calls to inquire about ordering another package of bees (not available), and calling the bee club members for advice, I decided the best action was to liberate a frame of bees from Emily and install them in the small nuc hive with the new queen. Hence, Hive 4.

You'll see in the photo with this post, the new fourth hive is in the background of the photo. Emily is still the hive in front, but she has moved into larger accomodations. It was an interesting conversation with the nephew explaining that the bees are the colony, and not the box.

Fast forward to today... Emily is absolutely amazing, with the activity going on at her entrance. almost literal clouds of bees are coming and going today. Meagan and Taylor have alot of bees coming and going, but nothing like Emily. Hive 4 has much less activity, but does have some bees in and out.

It has rained for three weeks. Or enough over that time that the grass hasn't dried enough to mow on my days off. Today was my first chance to cut it, and I just felt better being outside and doing something positive. The place looks much better now that the grass is 90% groomed. Another shower late this afternoon put the brakes on the last bit of trimming.

You'll notice Hive 4 is numbered and not yet named. Suggestions for names will be accepted via comments to this thread. So far the most offered suggestion is to name her "Mimi."

I'll also be accepting good energy from all of you via telepathy. I have an opportunity to obtain goats for a very favorable price, if I can complete a fence for them before the end of the month. Some of my better friends are coming this week to help me get a good start. Blog posts to come.

Long live the queens!

2009-04-28T16:33:00.005-05:00

Today I got to open the hives for the first time since I started them last week. By now, the queens and the field bees have been aquainted long enough that they are happy together. Meagan's queen was spotted doing her duty, laying eggs neatly in cells. I got a good photo of her, but didn't want to disturb her more than necessary to bother her for photos. Because Emily's queen was laying when I bought the nuc hive, I knew she was already aquainted in her hive. Today I spotted new eggs in the hive, which show she is still laying since moving to the Tennessee Renaissance Farm. I'm going to hold out until Thursday to open Taylor, so that my helper can be here to assist.

Today was also the first time I handled bees with bare hands. It's definitely a different tactile experience, and sometimes hard to fight the urge to swat when the bees walk on my skin. But no stings this time, so I'm calling it a win.

The photos have a range of things to point out:

The very white comb is brand new. Meagan made it since the bees arrived a week ago.
Meagan's queen was spotted (first photo). She has the white dot on her back, so she can be spotted easily.
There are eggs in the cells. They are tiny (small as the tip of a pencil, they say - click on the 2nd photo, look right next to the antennae on the bee toward the middle). Eggs are not more than 3 days old before they become larvae.
Cells that are capped have bees in the final stage of development from pupae to bee. Note the caps on those cells are brown and convex.
The bright yellow in some cells is pollen. Pollen can range from yellow to brown, orange, green or pink.
Liquid in the cells is nectar that is being dried into honey.
Drones can be spotted in some of the photos of Emily. Drones are much larger bees, and males. Their eyes take up most of their heads. I could tell they were living it up while they are able. Summer is looking very nice for them. The forecast for drones in the fall is not so good.
You really have to look at the last photo in its full size. Click on it. Note how the bees are in formation. I took it as a sign that they were ready for me to put their lid back in place.

Dear Google,

2009-04-26T13:22:00.001-05:00

How do I petition to have the satellite imagery of my property updated?

Thanks,
The Gentleman Farmer

2009-04-23T23:37:00.003-05:00

Somebody that I really don't care much about once said something to the effect of, "every day in this country, with amazingly few exceptions, is better than the one before..." I don't agree with the guy on much, but blind hogs do find acorns here and there. He got that one right.

Over the past year on the Farm, every day really has been better than the one before. This week, that has been true in leaps and bounds. My last post was about starting my first two hives of bees on Monday. The next day, I drove to Hendersonville to pick up the beginning of my third hive.

This new one is a different way to obtain a hive. Basically the gentleman I bought it from split one of his hives and ordered a queen. They go in a small hive with just five frames. The benefit of buying this kind of hive is that the colony is fairly established. I read that it is about a six week head start over starting from packages like the first two. This small hive, referred to in the trade as a nuc, already has a laying queen, brood in different stages of development, and honey and pollen stores already in place. The nuc doesn't have to build up these things like the package bees. From my limited experience, these bees seem to have the best temperament of any I have handled so far.

The girls are already bringing in pollen (look at the one who's coming in for a landing on the unpainted nuc hive; the yellow on her legs is pollen - click to enlarge) and eating up the food I've put out for them in larger quantities than I thought they would at this early stage. It's awesome.

FYI, from now on, the hives will be referred to (in the order they were established) as Meagan, Taylor and Emily.

Victory on Bee-Day

2009-04-20T22:53:00.007-05:00

It finally happened today.

This time last year, I became interested in beekeeping. Early last summer, I bought my first gear. Last fall, I got to apprentice with a real actual beekeeper after he took a spill from a ladder and had a cast on one arm. Each step took me deeper into the hobby, and none of them turned me off. Except maybe when Dan told me (as I was lifting the lid off the last hive of his that I helped with) this particular hive was "a little more aggressive" than I was used to. But I knew being stung here and there was part of the deal. I found out for sure that day that I definitely am not allergic, which ought to be the first requirement of beekeeping. This winter I ordered stuff and more stuff and assembled it all into hive parts. In January, I ordered two packages of three pounds of bees each. That's roughly 20,000 bees. Thursday I alerted the postmaster that this parcel was coming for me.

This morning he called. He'd appreciate it if I could run down and pick up the bees. Now. So I picked them up. They seemed to weigh more than six pounds of bees should weigh. At first sight, I could tell there were less dead ones in the bottom than the shipper warned is normal. I took it as a good omen. Three or four little Houdini bees had escaped, but clung to the outside of the screen. On the way home, these would fly around the car a bit, but land only on the cage where she started. Because it was still chilly and overcast, I left them in the car until the sun came out. Then the girls took respite from the sun on the back porch. A few times during the day, I fed them some syrup. They quit buzzing and enjoyed eating for a good while each time.

Finally the appointed hour came. I put on safety gear and prepared my tools. Fed both boxes of bees some more syrup. (Now was the time to get them on my side, for sure.)

Each package of bees was shipped with its own queen. Because this is a forced family arrangement among the queen and her colony, things have to be handled carefully from the start. The queen is shipped in a very small cage with a few attendants inside the box. This is to prevent the colony, which doesn't yet know her well, from killing her. The queen's penthouse cage is shipped with basically two plugs: one made of cork, the other made of candy. I removed the cork plug, and the idea is that by the time the colony eats through the candy plug, the queen and her subjects will have bonded intimately. The urge to kill the queen will be gone by then. That's the hope and prayer.

So the queen's luxury suite is installed hanging between two frames, for the time being (see photo). Then the rest of the package of bees is delicately and carefully coaxed, dumped and shaken into their new home. Frames that were removed to allow dumping space are replaced carefully. The hive is closed up. The remaining hangers on in the shipping cage are placed on top of the hive so hopefully they get the idea where their friends went, and want to go there.

Now I wait. Opening the hive before a week has passed can disrupt the ladies' bonding process and cause them to reject the queen. So next week, I'll open the hive and see how wonderfully the bees are moving in.

Tomorrow's mission is to bring home the nuc hive I have ordered from a beekeeper at Hendersonville.

Kudos to my 6-year-old nephew. Ian was the only person The Gentleman Farmer knew who was not busy when I needed help to install the bees in their new digs. (Or was he the only brave one?) Ian took most of the photos of the bees' moving in ceremony and helped put the hives back together once the bees were in place. Thank you, Bubba.

Something cool...

2009-04-16T23:43:00.004-05:00

On the Kitchen Steps ( http://www.onthekitchensteps.com/ ) is a great blog my friend Pam sharedwith me last night. The writer, Chris W., does a great job of sharing his passion for awesome food. The thing that caught my attention was his post about butchering his own pork. Chris shares his thoughts on how people are so disconnected from their food. As a people, we generally don't put together the thought that the meat on the styro tray used to be a happy farm animal. Chris' blog is definitely worth a read.

Almost time to go out to the garden...

2009-04-16T23:23:00.004-05:00

These are the plants that I started indoors so they will be ready to plant with a head start this spring. For the new herb garden, I have basil, oregano, dill, parsley, thyme and spearmint. I also started 2 cultivars of strawberries, some rhubarb and spinach.

Herbs

Strawberry

If they don't win, it's a shame!

2009-04-10T02:00:00.003-05:00

Tonight was the opening game for the Nashville Sounds, and it was a blast. I took my neice and nephews. We met my sister early for a colorful dinner at Mrs. Winners and saw the game. Greer Stadium has undergone a pretty spiffy renovation since last season ended, and the team is under new ownership.

The game was just amazing. The weather was perfect. Mayor Dean threw the first pitch, and the game was on. Long story short, the Sounds and the New Orleans Zephyrs were pretty evenly matched until a long throw to first base went wild and allowed 3 runs in one inning. The Sounds rallied in the bottom of the 9th, but couldn't pull off a win.

Somehow it was all okay, I decided as we watched the post game fireworks show that proceeded with 'Rocky Top' playing on the PA. Even though our guys lost, it was a classy night out for not much money.

Hanging Hams

2009-04-10T01:41:00.005-05:00

My best friend Rick's uncle has a special skill. Every year since Heck was a pup, Uncle Mac has cured country hams for his family. They are a special treat, and certainly a skill that not many people have, anymore. I really enjoy seeing an old-timey skill preserved and handed down. My best friend is learning to cure hams from his uncle, so he'll be able to continue that tradition in his family. What a great inheritance! And nobody had to die to get it, either.

Here's the bullet-point version of curing hams:

Buy some hams. The standard cut of pork is whatever they call the ham made from the back leg joints. A good butcher will make the cuts clean and neatly. Whoever cures the ham may still find small flaps of skin and fat to trim, but that's part of the process.
Around the first of January the hams go in a big wooden box in a protected place outdoors (Mac uses a shed), and there they are salted. A lot. The hams get turned and patted with more salt every 2 weeks or so. Special care must be taken to keep the hams clean
When spring comes (this part was today), the hams come out of their box. They are rinsed with scalding hot water to remove excess salt deposits. Then they are dried and patted down with a mixture of the salt cure and garlic, cayenne and dry mustard. A hole is poked in the small end of the ham (towards where the foot was attached), and a double loop of twine is pushed through.
The hams are hung in a place that experiences outdoor temperatures, but is not accessible to bugs or light. They will stay hung in this dark place until October or longer. At this point, they are country hams, ready for biscuits.

After we helped with curing this year's hams, we were treated to some of the ham Mac made last year, on fresh biscuits. That was instant gratification.

In no way is this post intended to be a guide or authority on curing hams. My knowledge is admittedly slim on this subject, so bone up for yourself if this is something you'd like to try.

The Buzz

2009-04-06T23:09:00.004-05:00

Not much to tell today, but on break I talked to the gentleman who is selling me my first bees. Looks like I'll get the nuc from him and I'm having two more packages delivered around the same time.

Awesome!

Ready for a close up, with spring

2009-04-05T15:55:00.004-05:00

So this is the third post and I'm finally adding a couple photos of the farm. These are a few I took after mowing the grass.

The first photo shows the barn and part of the hill behind the house. This photo is a good place to compare this year vs. last. There is a dry section of ground on the center right of the photo. That was the detached kitchen, before the home had one built in. There was an ancient concrete slab there until last summer. The "yard" only went to the edge of that square closest to the house, about 35 feet from the back porch. At that time, the barn was invisible through the jungle, and probably 97% of what you see in that photo was literally inaccessible.

The second photo shows much of the same swath of ground, from a perspective uphill of the barn. The corn crib is there in the center, along with a really cool tree I saved from the bulldozer.

Today is an awesome day.

I've been able to get most of the grass cut. There's alot more of it now than last year. I was wondering if I'd be able to keep up with it this year, but I think after getting today out of the way, it'll be fine.

Bees are due next week and the week after, and I'm not sure where I want to put the three hives. Time to get to deciding. That's heavy on my mind this week.

Hooray.

2009-04-04T22:31:00.005-05:00

*tongue wags out*

What a week! I'm bushed from work, but excited about this being my first week of having 3 days off.

My to-do list for the home place next week is as follows:

make soap - at least 2 kinds
change oil in 2 cars
build 2 corners for my fence
cut grass if it's not too wet
fiddle with the new camera
set up and prepare beehives for occupancy
the Sounds opening game is Thursday. maybe I can go if i get some of this other stuff done.

I'm so excited that spring is coming. It's almost overwhelming, but I'm ready for the challenges and sunshine. The past year working on the farm has been so rewarding, and I know this is going to be the year that actual farm things begin, instead of just cleaning and preparing.

Uno.

2009-04-02T01:40:00.000-05:00

So here it is.

I've had this idea lately that I should have a new camera. I should use it to keep track of what I've been able to do so far with the farm. Later posts will get into some history on the farm, some photos, my plans for the home place (short-term and long-term). I'll also use this blog to share, vent, bloviate or otherwise annoy people. The photos I'm including are just the things I snapped with the new camera today.

This first photo is my camera at 1x, no zoom.

This one is my camera at full (10x) optical zoom. The third one is all the way out to 4x digital zoom.

I'm sure I'll play with the camera more soon.