Goodbye 2009...

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! 

A visitor from the city...

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.

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.