'Bee'gining Again

Heath has kept bees since he was young and has a great fondness for them - one that only a beekeeper could have.  Most people run scared when the see bees, but you can't keep Heath away from them.  He actually subscribes to two separate beekeeping magazines and is a proud member of the Organic Beekeepers Association. 

So after a long cold winter Heath couldn't wait to go and check on his hives.  After inspecting his hives he noticed that one hive didn't make it through the winter.  Heath was quite disappointed because he prides himself on never loosing hives.  He immediately went on the hunt for cold-hardy bees to replace the hive that he lost and ordered a package of Carniolan Bees.  A package of bees consists of about 10,000 bees from several different hives and a young queen bee placed in her own cage.  We finally received our package of bees Saturday.  So I thought it would be fun to share how you get 10,000 bees into one hive.  

After cleaning out some of Heath's equipment, we set up the new hive in a sunny location.  

Heath builds all of his own equipment out of used lumber that he finds or people give him.

After getting the hive body set up the way he wanted, Heath removed the syrup can and the queen cage from the package.  The syrup provides food for the bees while they are being shipped.  

There is the queen in her own private quarters.  The cage is plugged with a small candy door which the worker bees will eat away in the next two to three days and release the queen into the hive.  This queen is not in any way related to the bees in the package.  Therefore, the candy plug allows the bees two to three days to get used to her and accept her as their own before she is released to the masses.  If the queen was just dumped into the bees without the introduction period, she would most likely be killed by them.  

The queen cage is suspended in the center of the hive where the rest of the bees can cluster around and attend to the queen's needs.  

Then comes the fun part!  Heath then shook the bees into the hive to be with their queen.  

Then he began carefully placing the remaining frames into the hive.  

Heath then closed up the hive to allow the bees to get settled in.

With the top on and the hive set up, the almost empty cage was placed in front of the hive to allow the stragglers to make their way into their new home.  

Within just a few minutes, it was business as usual.  And the bees were getting lined out in their new home.  It was truly an amazing process.  The bees were very calm and docile.  Heath didn't even wear a veil, and the kids and I were right there next to him.  It really only took about 10 minutes for the entire process.  We love keeping bees, we get lots of delicious raw honey, they pollinate our flowers and garden, and provide much happiness for Heath.

The New Mower

For my birthday Heath surprised me with a new lawn mower!!!  Just kidding, we ordered it weeks ago and it just happened to show up on my birthday, therefore becoming the birthday joke.  

Honestly, with the slow arrival of spring we've been working a lot out in the yard and our lawn was in some major need of trimming.  We Heath researched, read reviews, and "test-drove" mowers and he decided on an electric, cordless mower from greenworks.  I know, I know electric!  When Heath first pitched it to me, I had the nightmare-like flashback of mowing the side of the mountain that my grandparents called a lawn with their corded electric mower.  The entire time I was terrified I would run over the cord with the blades, electrocuting myself and rolling to my death at the bottom of the mountain.  Whether this is even possible, I do not know, but at the time it was a very valid concern and terrified me none the less.  

So, you can imagine I wasn't so sure about this electric mower business.  But I have to say, (and I'm sure that Heath loves to hear it) he was right about this one.  

The mower has been great, it runs on a battery that you just plug in to charge.  There is no mess or hassle of gasoline or oil.  It is QUIET!! ( I honestly think my hair dryer is louder)  Its easy to use and self-propelled.  It is also cheaper to operate, it costs between $.07 - .09 for each charge! So it costs us about $.14 to mow our whole lawn, and we have a large lawn.  

The kids love it.  When Heath first snapped everything together and got it started, I looked out the window and there was Heath, mowing the lawn...and there were all three kids directly behind him, like little ducks in a row.  It was so cute!  

Everyone got to try out the new mower.

Heath was able to mow the entire front yard, side and just into the back before the battery died.  We were both really impressed by the amount of ground covered on a single charge.  The run time was about an hour and 15 minutes. 

Well done Heath, well done!

Celebrity Birthday Dinner

This week I had the honor of celebrating my birthday with, Skeletor, Iron Man and and very special woodland fairy!

Heath treated us all to a yummy dinner and the kids were delighted that the restaurant had a very talented face painter on hand for their "Kid's Night."  I am still not sure how I am feeling about my age, but one thing I know for sure is that I am incredibly blessed.  I am married to a wonderful, loving man who truly is my best friend.  I have the most amazing children who keep me on my toes and always make me laugh when I need it most. 

Strawberry Patch

One thing (among a long list of others), Heath and I really want in our garden is Strawberries.  Heath did some more research of varieties and he decided on one called Honeoye.  They are a June bearing variety, over winter very well, great for canning and freezing and are known for their vibrant color.  If all goes well, we plan on doing lots and lots of canning and freezing!  We bought 30 bare root dormant plants and potted them up into none other than red plastic Solo cups.  

Here they are about a week after potting them and placing them under our grow lights.

This is three weeks after potting.

Foliage was growing and they were trying to to bloom, so Saturday we decided to get them into the ground.  

E was very anxious and willing to help.  If you were to ask her on any given day, she would tell you that strawberries are her favorite food.  

She did great, and it really is wonderful to see the kids get so excited about growing our own food.  

Wicked Jack

Last week a long awaited package arrived...BABY CHICKS!!!!  We now have 25 Black Sex-Link Pullets.  They are a cross between a Road Island Red and a Barred Rock.  They are a dual purpose chicken, that lay lots of big, brown eggs.  We ordered our chicks from Dunlap Hatchery in Caldwell, ID.  They were great to work with, our chick arrived on time, alive and healthy!  

Everyone quickly got settled in the brooder Heath made, and they couldn't be happier.

The kids absolutely love the new baby chicks and can't get enough of them.  First thing every morning (even before TV time, which is saying a lot) they want to go out and check on them. All three of them hop in the brooder and chase the little flock around until they work up the nerve to quickly grab one.

T has been cracking us up from the very beginning.  First he wanted to let the chickens live in his bedroom, and assured us that he would "take good care of them and keep them nice and warm."  Then, the first night after Heath got home from work and dinner was served, he asked the kids if they wanted to go and "tuck in the chicks for the night."  Of course they couldn't get out the door fast enough.  As I was washing up the dishes, T came back inside the house a little upset, still trying to convince Heath that we had to cover all of them up with straw and kiss them good night.  

He especially loves the "runt."  Every time we go and check on the chicks he has to find the littlest one, who he has affectionately named Wicked Jack, to hold and love on.  We are not really sure where he got this name from, but we don't have the heart to tell him that Jack is really a Jill.     

It's fun to have the chicks, but even more fun to watch our children love and care for them.  They all have been so responsible and loving.  We love watching our little flock grow and develop.  

The NanoDome!

While attending a gardening training/expo for work Heath won the NanoDome by Sun Blaster as a door prize.  He really is one of the luckiest guys I know! (He also won a Wii U after purchasing only one $10 raffle ticket)  We love it!! Heath has already started two flats of seeds including three varieties of tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, marigolds, and Texas blue bonnets.

The NanoDome in action!

Our seeds getting a little fresh air earlier this week.

Dirty Work

Spring is on its way and the snow has finally melted!  Preparations for our new garden are well underway.  We originally found a spot on our place that we thought would be perfect for our garden.  It had full sun, good drainage, easy access from all sides, it seemed to be perfect.  Heath cranked up the tiller and made two passes and we quickly discovered that it was loaded with rocks.  After six wheelbarrows full of rocks and not being able to notice any difference, we decided to reevaluate. 

We opted for this spot and as Heath attempted once more to till, we found it to be much better!  The dirt is a deep sandy loam, with very few rocks compared to our original plot.  After chopping down two small trees we got to work.  (Sorry Janie)

Even though we are well into April we are still getting quite a few nights of freezing temperatures, yet another thing we will have to get use to again.  Although we still have about 3-4 weeks until we will be ready to officially plant the garden we decided to start our asparagus.  

We purchased 24 dormant asparagus crowns - Viking KB3 was the variety we chose.  They were developed in Minnesota to be very cold hardy, and considering the winters we have here they will do great.  

We laid them out in two rows and mulched!  

Home Sweet Home

At the end of January Heath and I bought our first home.  It is nestled on five beautiful acres in rural Idaho.  It truly is a dream come true for us.  We love everything about the house and everything about the property.  Most days I have to pinch myself to insure that it's all real.   

The day we packed up our moving tuck and said good-bye to Tennessee, it was a beautiful, calm 75 degrees.  We were welcomed back to Idaho by the winters we once knew.  There was over a foot of snow with daily highs of 25 degrees.  Our children, who have for the most part grown up in the south, were stunned and amazed at the "winter wonderland" that lay before them.  

All three of them took to the snow like natural Idahoans, sledding, snowmen and snowball fights.