The bee project continues on. We're heading into fall, so with the reduced bee traffic, I thought it would be a good time to put the entrance reducer on, to prevent robber bees and/or mice from getting in.
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| From 2013-10-20 |
By making the entrance smaller, it gives the bees better odds of defending the hive against intruders.
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| From 2013-10-20 |
We were able to make a lot of honey this summer, in fact the top super is so heavy with honey I can barely lift it.
But with this being the first year, I thought I'd err on the side of leaving the honey in place. I want to keep them alive through the winter and make sure they have enough food so I ended up not harvesting any. There'll be plenty of time for that after the spring honey flow
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| From 2013-10-20 |
Fall is also time to move the animals from the summer pen to the winter pen. It's also time to buy hay for the winter. After having done this for going on three winters, I've come to find that I really like the 5x5 rolls alot better than the smaller sizes. They don't cost much more, but they seem to last a lot longer.
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| From 2013-10-20 |
The problem is that they weigh about 1000 pounds a piece. It's tough to work with them without special equipment. However, if you don't have a nice tractor, there are other ways, like chaining off to an old oak tree and pulling. Thankfully it worked exactly as planned and I had big bale of hay sitting in the middle of the pen.
With just Sadie and Chocolate Rain eating this winter, it should last them a long time.
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| From 2013-10-20 |
I usually line the others up so they're easy to roll into the pen, but these were so heavy, I just let them lay where they lie. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the hay spear rig I'm inventing ready by the time it's time to move the next one.
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| From 2013-10-20 |
Securing the winter pen is my other project. I've been going around the pen, post by post, lowering the high spots, raising the low spots, and putting in extra posts wherever things are saggy. I'm also putting an electric wire around it about 4 inches high, to deter dogs from digging under. I figure if a dog is small enough to get under a 4 inch high wire without getting shocked, then it's not big enough to hurt a goat.
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| From 2013-10-20 |
I'm also going to set up some traps at spots the dogs went in last year. I'm debating on whether to bait them or not. On the one hand, I don't want to any predators drawn in if they're not already interested, so I might just leave them unbaited so I don't encourage them.
Sadie seems pretty happy about the new arrangement. She has clean water, endless hay, and a nice shelter. What more could a donkey want.
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| From 2013-10-20 |
My other project has been putting up a fence where the poachers like to come in. It won't keep anyone out, but it will eliminate the excuse that they didn't know they weren't supposed to be there.
I used to be a lot more live-and-let-live about the whole trespassing thing, but then I started thinking, if I went on one of these guys' property, they'd be out there in a flash, with a shotgun in my face, so I figured I'd be at least as welcoming.
It was a lot of work to get in, but I think it turned out pretty good for doing it with very minimal help.
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| From 2013-10-20 |
My final project is starting to bear fruit (inside mushroom joke). The first trial on growing commercial style mushrooms is working exactly as planned. They're taking off and should be ready to eat in a few days. More to come.....
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| From 2013-10-20 |
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