Harbingers of Spring

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. 

Fall on the Farm

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.

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.

Miscellaneous...

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.

A walk on The Farm

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...

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.

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

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?
  

Fencing progress...

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.

Long live the queens!

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.
  

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.

Ready for a close up, with spring

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.