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. 

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

• 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.

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.

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.

A fence takes shape...

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.

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.

Rollercoaster thrills on the Farm....

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.

Dear Google,

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



Thanks,
The Gentleman Farmer

Hooray.

*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.